JP2023123292A - game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a game machine capable of suppressing deterioration in game amusement.SOLUTION: A game machine capable of executing a lottery when a start condition is established, and generating a special game state on the basis of a result of the lottery includes: reference value calculation means for calculating a reference value for determining whether or not a game is to be stopped; and game stop means for stopping the progress of the game on the basis of the reference value. The reference value calculation means can set a predetermined initial value to the reference value when power is supplied to the game machine, and upon acquiring a prize medium on the basis of the result of the game, subtracts a subtraction number corresponding to the acquired prize medium from the reference value. The game stop means stops the progress of the game when the reference value reaches a predetermined stop value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 554

Description

The present invention relates to gaming machines such as pachinko gaming machines (generally called "pachinko machines") and reel-type gaming machines (generally called "pachislot machines").

Some gaming machines, typified by pachinko machines, detect when the player is supplied with an excessive amount of prize media for the game media consumed in the game. 1).

JP 2017-80047 A

In the gaming machine disclosed in Patent Document 1, the difference (reference value) between the game media consumed in the game and the prize media obtained by the player is counted, and the game stop is determined based on the reference value. However, there is a risk that the game will not be able to continue properly due to the occurrence of an abnormality in the game machine, resulting in a loss of interest in the game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine capable of suppressing a decline in interest in a game by allowing the game to continue properly.

A game machine that performs a random number lottery when a starting condition is established, performs symbol variation based on the result of the random number lottery, and provides an advantageous state based on the result of the symbol variation,
game stop determination means for determining a game stop condition; game stop means for stopping the progress of the game when the game stop determination means determines that the game is to be stopped;
a special operation means inoperable by the player and a specific operation means different from the special operation means;
with
The conditions for determining that the game is stopped by the game stop determination means include at least a first game stop condition and a second game stop condition different from the first game stop condition,
The first game stop condition is when a predetermined state is detected by a predetermined detecting means,
The second game stop condition is when a counter updated based on a predetermined calculation result reaches a predetermined value,
A gaming machine characterized in that, when either one of the first game stop condition and the second game stop condition is met, the game is stopped based on the one condition that is met.

With the above configuration, it is possible to prevent the game from being continued when the number of acquired prize media is excessive (see paragraphs [4942] to [5252], etc.).

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to one form of this invention, the said subject is solved and it becomes possible to suppress the decline in interest of a game.

1 is a front view of a pachinko machine that is an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a right side view of a pachinko machine. 1 is a plan view of a pachinko machine; FIG. It is a rear view of the pachinko machine. It is the perspective view which looked at the pachinko machine from the front. It is the perspective view which looked at the pachinko machine from the back. 1 is a perspective view of a pachinko machine seen from the front with a door frame opened from a main body frame and a main body frame opened from an outer frame; FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a pachinko machine disassembled into a door frame, a game board, a main body frame, and an outer frame and viewed from the front; FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a pachinko machine disassembled into a door frame, a game board, a main body frame, and an outer frame and viewed from the rear; FIG. It is a front view showing an example of a game board. It is the perspective view which looked at the game board from the right front. It is the perspective view which looked at the game board from the left front. It is the perspective view which looked at the game board from the back. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a game board disassembled into main components and viewed from the front; FIG. It is an exploded perspective view of the game board disassembled for each main configuration and viewed from the back. It is the front view which cut|disconnected the front structural member and front unit in a game board in the approximate center of the front-back direction in a game area. It is a block diagram which shows roughly the control structure of a pachinko machine. It is a figure which shows the structure in main control MPU. It is a figure which shows the structure of the arithmetic circuit in main-control MPU. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a serial communication circuit; FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of initialization processing; FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing a continuation of the initialization process of FIG. 21; FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of timer interrupt processing; It is a flow chart which shows an example of character product ratio calculation and display processing. FIG. 25 is a flow chart showing a continuation of the role product ratio calculation/display processing of FIG. 24; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of arrangement|positioning of the program (code|code) stored in ROM and RAM which were built in main control MPU, and data. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data stored in the character product ratio calculation area|region. It is a figure which shows the structure of a character thing ratio display. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a driver circuit; FIG. 4 is a timing diagram of data input to the driver circuit; FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of mounting of a main control board. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of main-control MPU and a character-object ratio display device. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a load register selection table; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a character generator decoding table; It is a state transition diagram of a driver circuit. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a role product ratio. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a role product ratio. It is a block diagram which shows roughly the control structure of a pachinko machine. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation area update processing; FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation/display processing; It is a figure which shows an example of the update timing of the number of prize balls, and the calculation timing of a base value. It is a diagram showing another example of the update timing of the number of prize balls and the calculation timing of the base value. It is a diagram showing another example of the update timing of the number of prize balls and the calculation timing of the base value. It is a diagram showing another example of the update timing of the number of prize balls and the calculation timing of the base value. It is a diagram showing another example of the update timing of the number of prize balls and the calculation timing of the base value. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation area update processing; FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation/display processing; FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation area update processing; FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation/display processing; FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation area update processing; FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation/display processing; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the structure of data stored in a base calculation area; It is a front view showing another example of the game board. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation area update processing; FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation area update processing; FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation/display processing; 9 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation/display processing; 9 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation/display processing; 9 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation/display processing; 7 is a flow chart showing an example of processing when powering on a peripheral control unit; 9 is a flowchart showing an example of peripheral control unit V-blank interrupt processing; 9 is a flowchart showing an example of peripheral control unit 1 ms timer interrupt processing; 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of display selection processing; FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display selection table; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display selection table; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display selection table; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display selection table; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display selection table; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a display screen. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation area update processing; FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation area update processing; FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation/display processing; FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation area update processing; FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation area update processing; FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of timer interrupt processing; 6 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation processing 1; 10 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation processing 2; 9 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation processing 1; 9 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation processing 2; 9 is a flowchart showing another example of timer interrupt processing; 10 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation processing 3; 10 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation processing 4; 9 is a flowchart showing an example of base display processing; 10 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation processing 3; 10 is a flowchart showing another example of base calculation processing 4; 9 is a flowchart showing another example of base display processing; It is a block diagram which shows roughly the control structure of a pachinko machine. It is a figure which shows the arrangement|positioning of the frame side discharge|emission ball sensor. It is a figure which shows the arrangement|positioning of the frame side discharge|emission ball sensor. It is a figure which shows the connection example of an ejection|emission ball sensor and a main-control board. It is a front view showing an example of a game board. It is a figure which shows the structure of a main control input circuit. It is a figure which shows the example of mounting of a main control board. It is a figure which shows the example of mounting of a main control board. It is a figure which shows the example of mounting of a main control board. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a main control I/O port; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a main control I/O port; FIG. FIG. 98 is a timing chart in the configuration example of the main control I/O port shown in FIG. 97; It is a figure which shows the change of the state (interval) concerning calculation of a base value. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of characters displayed on a base display; 5 is a flowchart showing an example of initialization processing; FIG. 102 is a flow chart showing the continuation of the initialization process of FIG. 101; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a base calculation area; 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of timer interrupt processing; 9 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation processing; FIG. 106 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the base calculation processing of FIG. 105; FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of base display data generation processing; 9 is a flowchart showing a modified example of base calculation processing; It is a figure which shows calculation of a base when a game state switches. It is a figure which shows the structure regarding a storage area among the internal structures of main-control MPU1311. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a program for timer interrupt processing and base calculation processing; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a program for timer interrupt processing and base calculation processing; It is a figure which shows an example of arrangement|positioning of the program (code|code) stored in ROM and RAM which were built in main control MPU, and data. It is a figure which shows an example of the game history recorded on a gaming machine. It is a figure which shows the example of an error screen. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an error signal; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an error; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an error; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an error; 7 is a flow chart showing an example of processing when powering on a peripheral control unit; It is a figure which shows an example of a game history recording condition setting table. It is a figure which shows an example of game history. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a peripheral control board and its periphery; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the peripheral configuration of a peripheral control SRAM; FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of a game history recording condition setting table. It is a figure which shows the modification of game history. It is a figure which shows the modification of game history. It is a figure which shows the modification of game history. It is a block diagram which shows roughly the control structure of the pachinko machine which has a setting part. It is the perspective view which looked at the pachinko machine which has a setting part from the back in the open state. 131 is a rear perspective view of the pachinko machine shown in FIG. 130 with the door closed; FIG. 131 is a diagram showing a setting section of the pachinko machine shown in FIG. 130; FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of a setting part. It is a block diagram which shows roughly the control structure of the pachinko machine which has a setting part. It is the perspective view which looked at the game board which has a setting part from the back. 136 is a rear perspective view of the pachinko machine on which the game board shown in FIG. 135 is mounted; FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of initialization processing; 8 is a flowchart showing an example of setting change processing and setting display processing; 8 is a flowchart showing an example of setting change processing and setting display processing; It is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure of special symbol and special electric accessary product control processing. It is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure of a special symbol variation waiting process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of a special design variation pattern setting process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of a variation pattern selection determination process. (A) is an example of a variation pattern table that is selected when the gaming state is the normal state and the result of the special lottery is a loss. (B) is an example of a variation pattern table that is selected when the game state is the normal state and the result of the special lottery is a big win. FIG. 144(A) is a schematic diagram showing an example of an effect executed in the deviation variation patterns 20 and 24 to 29 in the variation pattern table of FIG. 144(A). FIG. 144(A) is a schematic diagram showing an example of an effect executed in the deviation variation patterns 1, 2, and 30 in the variation pattern table of FIG. 144(A). FIG. 144(A) is a schematic diagram showing an example of an effect executed in the loss variation pattern 31 and the hit variation pattern 34 in the variation pattern table of FIG. 144(A). FIG. 144(A) is a schematic diagram showing an example of an effect executed in the loss variation pattern 32 and the hit variation pattern 35 in the variation pattern table of FIG. 144(A). (A) is an example of a variation pattern table that is selected when the gaming state is the time saving state and the result of the special lottery is out. (B) is an example of a variation pattern table selected when the gaming state is the time saving state and the result of the special lottery is a big hit. It is a figure which shows the example of mounting of a main control board. It is a figure which shows another example of mounting of a main control board. FIG. 151B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A' in FIG. 151(B); It is a figure which shows another example of mounting of a main control board. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of initialization processing; 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of timer interrupt processing; 9 is a flowchart showing an example of setting confirmation processing; FIG. 4 is a timing diagram of security signals; FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing another example 4942 of initialization processing; FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of setting confirmation processing; It is another example of a fluctuation pattern table. It is an example of a final reserved color table. Table showing the appearance rate of each final reserved color for each variation pattern of setting 1 when the variation pattern is determined by the variation pattern table of FIG. 160 and the final reserved color is determined by the final reserved color table of FIG. An example. Table showing the appearance rate of each final reserved color for each variation pattern of setting 3 when the variation pattern is determined by the variation pattern table of FIG. 160 and the final reserved color is determined by the final reserved color table of FIG. An example. Table showing the appearance rate of each final reserved color for each variation pattern of setting 5 when the variation pattern is determined by the variation pattern table of FIG. 160 and the final reserved color is determined by the final reserved color table of FIG. An example. It is an example of a notice effect table. It is an example of a dialogue production table. This is another example of the advance notice effect table. It is an example of a setting suggestion effect table. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an outline of setting suggestion effect; FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an outline of setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect; (A) is an example of an effect limit table during setting confirmation mode, and (B) is an example of an effect limit table when an error occurs. It is an example of a new start prize effect limit table. 1 is an example of a processing table 1; 3 is an example of a processing table 2; 3 is an example of a processing table 3; 4 is an example of a processing table 4; 5 is an example of a processing table 5; 6 is an example of a processing table 6; 10 is a flowchart of power-on processing of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of power-on processing of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of performance display processing of another example 1; It is a figure which shows the alert|reporting aspect of another example 1. FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing notification priorities of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of power-on processing of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of power-on processing of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of a main control-side main process of another example 1; FIG. 11 is a flowchart of RAM abnormality initialization processing of another example 1; FIG. 10 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of setting processing of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of setting display processing of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of power-on setting processing of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of random number update processing 2 of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing of another example 1; 10 is a flowchart of switch input processing 1 of another example 1; FIG. 198(A) is a diagram showing a configuration example of the switch winning prize information data table of another example 1, and FIG. 198(B) is a diagram showing a configuration example of the switch input level/edge data area of another example 1. be. FIG. 199(A) is a diagram showing another configuration example of the switch winning information data table of another example 1, and FIG. 199(B) is another configuration example of the switch input level/edge data area of another example 1. It is a figure which shows. 10 is a flowchart of setting change/confirmation processing of another example 1; 201A is a diagram showing a configuration example of the switch input port 2 of another example 1, and FIG. 201B is a diagram showing a configuration example of the setting state management area of another example 1. FIG. 202A is a diagram showing a configuration example of a power-on operation command of another example 1, and FIG. 202B is a diagram showing a configuration example of a power-on state command of another example 1, 202C is a diagram showing a configuration example of a power-on recovery destination command of another example 1, and FIG. 202D is a diagram showing a configuration example of a setting value command of another example 1. FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the order of transmission of commands in another example 1; FIG. 12 is a diagram showing state transition of the setting state management area of another example 1; 10 is a time chart from start to end of the setting change mode of another example 1; 10 is a time chart from the start to the end of the setting confirmation mode of another example 1; 10 is a time chart from start to end of the setting change mode of another example 1; 10 is a time chart from start to end of the setting change mode of another example 1; 10 is a time chart from start to end of the setting change mode of another example 1; It is a figure which shows the structural example of the big-hit determination threshold value table of another example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the big-hit determination threshold value table of another example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the big-hit determination threshold value table of another example 1. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of power-on processing of another example 2; 14 is a flowchart of power-on processing of another example 2; 14 is a flowchart of setting value confirmation processing of another example 2; 14 is a flowchart of a RAM confirmation process outside the game area when the power is turned on of another example 2. FIG. It is a flow chart of the RAM abnormality outside the game area of another example 2 processing. 14 is a flowchart of RWM initialization processing outside the used area of another example 2; 14 is a flowchart of power-on setting processing of another example 2. FIG. FIG. 220A is a diagram showing a configuration example of the setting state management area of another example 2, and FIG. 220(C) is a diagram showing a configuration example of a power-on state command of another example 2. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a main control-side main process of another example 2; 14 is a flowchart of power-off processing of another example 2; 10 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing of another example 2; 10 is a flowchart of setting processing of another example 2; 10 is a flowchart of setting display processing of another example 2; 14 is a flowchart of power-on processing of another example 3; 14 is a flowchart of power-on processing of another example 3; 14 is a flowchart of a main control-side main process of another example 3; 13 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing for setting change processing of another example 3; It is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing for normal game of another example 3. 14 is a flowchart of a main control-side main process of another example 4; 19 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing for setting change processing of another example 4; It is an exploded perspective view seen from the front in which the center accessory and the display effect unit of the front unit of the game board are disassembled. FIG. 10 is a front view showing a state in which the display effect unit luminesces the first pattern; FIG. 10 is a front view showing a state in which the display effect unit luminesces the second pattern; It is a figure which shows the structure of a light-guide plate. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the structure of a reflective portion provided on the light guide plate; FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the structure of a reflective portion provided on the light guide plate; FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of a light-guide plate. It is a figure which shows the example of the pattern projected on a light-guide plate. It is a figure which shows the example of the pattern projected on a light-guide plate. It is a figure which shows the example of the pattern projected on a light-guide plate. It is a figure which shows the structure of a light-guide plate. It is a figure which shows the example of the pattern projected on a light-guide plate. It is a figure showing a mode that the pattern seen planarly by a light-guide plate is displayed. It is a figure showing a mode that the pattern seen planarly by a light-guide plate is displayed. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how a pattern viewed stereoscopically by a light guide plate is displayed; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how a pattern viewed stereoscopically by a light guide plate is displayed; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of effect display performed using a light guide plate; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of effect display performed using a light guide plate; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of effect display performed using a light guide plate; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of effect display performed using a light guide plate; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of effect display performed using a light guide plate; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of effect display performed using a light guide plate; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of effect display performed using a light guide plate; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of effect display performed using a light guide plate; It is a circuit diagram around the synchronous serial interface of the main control board. 4 is a circuit diagram showing connections between a serial/parallel conversion circuit and LEDs; FIG. It is a figure which shows the arrangement|positioning on the main-control board|substrate of main-control MPU and peripheral components. It is a figure which shows the arrangement|positioning of the port in main control MPU. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the timing of data output and capture by a synchronous serial signal; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another arrangement of the main control board in the main control board box; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another arrangement of the main control board in the main control board box; 1 is a perspective view of a slot machine; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slot machine with a front member opened; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of various mechanical elements, electronic devices, operating members, etc. provided in the slot machine; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing details of a storage area provided by ROM, RAM, etc., and a ROM area in this embodiment; It is a figure which shows the detail of the RAM area|region in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data stored in the character product ratio calculation area|region. It is a figure which shows the detail of the parameter information setting area|region of this embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of system reset start-up processing that is executed when the slot machine is reset; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of regular processing; 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of information signal N output processing; 14 is a flowchart of initialization processing of another example 5; FIG. 275 is a flowchart showing the continuation of the initialization processing of Example 5 of FIG. 274; FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing timer interrupt processing of another example 5; It is a figure explaining an example of prize-winning information transmitted from a main control board to a ball information control board. It is a figure explaining an example of the table which defines the number of winning balls corresponding to a winning opening. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a case where the number of prize balls is included in the prize information, (A) is a case where the number of prizes is totaled for each general prize hole, and (B) is a case where the number of prizes is totaled by aggregating the general prize holes. is the case. It is a figure which shows the example which memorize|stored prize-winning information in prize-winning order. It is a figure which shows an example of the game information transmitted from a main control board to a ball|ball information control board, (A) is an example of winning information, (B) is an example of main control recognition information. It is a diagram showing another example of the game information to be transmitted from the main control board to the ball information control board. It is a diagram for explaining communication between the main control board and the ball information control board when the game machine is started. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a case where there is no response from the sphere information control board to a notification from the main control board in communication between the main control board and the sphere information control board; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example in which there is no response from the sphere information control board to the notification from the main control board in the communication between the main control board and the sphere information control board; It is a figure which shows an example of the storage area allocated to main control built-in RAM in game control. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data area included in an input information storage area, (A) showing an input edge data 1 area (INPUT_EDG1) and (B) showing a winning ball determination area (PAY_JDG_AR). It is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure of switch input processing for acquiring information detected by a sensor or the like provided in the gaming machine. It is a flow chart for explaining the procedure of the big winning opening opening process. It is a timing chart for explaining the processing of each configuration when a game ball has won a prize in the big winning opening. It is a timing chart for explaining the processing of each configuration when a game ball has won the second start hole. It is a timing chart for explaining the processing of each configuration when the game ball has won in the variable probability area (V-AT area). FIG. 4 is a diagram explaining an outline of a bit transfer procedure; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an instruction code for executing a bit transfer instruction; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of types of bit transfer instructions; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart of processing using a bit transfer instruction "RBT"; FIG. 296 is a diagram showing an example of a program corresponding to the flowchart (FIG. 296) of processing using the bit transfer instruction "RBT"; It is an example of a flowchart in which the index creation process is subroutined, (A) is the caller process of the index creation process, and (B) is the subroutineed index creation process. It is a figure explaining an example of a table structure. FIG. 10 is a diagram explaining a detailed procedure of a bit transfer instruction, and is a diagram explaining a case of reading out single data from a table to be referred to; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the detailed procedure of a bit transfer instruction, and is a diagram for explaining a case where data is continuously read from a table to be referenced; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram explaining a bit transfer instruction for data having a size larger than 1 byte, (A) is a diagram showing a table to be referred to, and (B) is a diagram explaining a procedure; It is a diagram explaining an application example of a bit transfer instruction, (A) is a diagram explaining the relationship between the variation pattern and the corresponding range, (B) is a program code showing the variation pattern table, (C) is shown in (B) It is a figure explaining an example of the structure of the table before compression, and a table after compression about a corresponding fluctuation pattern table. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure which selects a fluctuation pattern. It is a figure which shows an example of the program which selects a fluctuation pattern. It is a figure which shows an example of the address map which shows the structure of the storage area of the main control board of a game machine. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a program implementation example of a processing address table in which addresses of processing (subroutines) are stored; FIG. 4 is an example of program code defining an index that identifies a process stored at an address stored in a process address table; FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation when an INVD instruction is executed; FIG. 10 is a diagram explaining a procedure for identifying a process called by an INVD instruction; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a program example of port read processing (PORT_RD); FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a program example of data setting processing (DAT_SET); FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a program example of work area setting processing 1 (WORK_AD); FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a program example of work area setting processing 2 (WORK_AD_INC_HL); FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a program example of 2-byte data search processing (LD_HLA_HL); It is a figure which shows the example of a program of big hit information command setting processing (TDINF_CMBF_SET), command buffer setting processing 1 (CMBF_SET1), and command storage processing (COM_SET). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a program example of output determination common processing 1 (OHAN_SUB1); FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a program example of output determination common processing 2 (OHAN_SUB2); FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a program example of output port data setting processing (PORT_DAT_SET); FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a program example of variation information number search processing (TI_SRCH); FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a program example of fraud notification setting processing (ILG_OUTSET); FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a program example of data search processing (HLA_SRCH); FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a program example of multiplication value addition address acquisition processing (MUL_WA_HL); FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a program example of SPI 2-byte output processing (SPI_TX__WA); FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a part of a program for calling a process by an INVS instruction, where (A) is a program extracting a part that calls a solenoid drive process and a motor drive process, and (B) is an example of a solenoid drive process program (one part), and (C) shows a program example (part) of the motor driving process. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the procedure of an INVI instruction; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of PSW, (A) is a structure of PSW, (B) is description of each structure. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example program for explaining the arrangement of processes called by an INVI instruction, where (A) shows an example program of an area to be read out of the process, and (B) shows an example program of the substance of the process; It is a flow chart which shows an example of timer interruption processing using various processing call instructions. It is a flow chart showing the procedure of the game stop time processing in the timer interrupt processing. It is an example of the program code of the game stop time processing in the timer interrupt processing. It is a figure which shows an example of the memory map of the area|region regarding a program/data among the ROM area|regions of the main control board of a game machine. It is a figure which shows an example of the program code of a fluctuation pattern selection process (Hp_select). It is a figure which shows an example of the mounting drawing of the main control board of the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a block diagram of the configuration for performing SPI communication to the main control MPU 1311 of the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a figure explaining the operation mode of SPI communication in the gaming machine of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of various registers for setting SPI communication in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, (A) is control register 1 (SPICNA0), (B) is control register 2 (SPICNA1), (C ) are prescaler registers (SPICPSA0, SPICPSA1, SPICPSA2, SPICPSA3). 4 is a time chart showing a state from when the gaming machine of the present embodiment is initialized to when SPI communication can be started; 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an SPI communication B buffer register in this embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of SPI common output setting data (SPI_COMTX_B) according to the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram centered on a configuration for receiving a signal through SPI communication in the gaming machine of the present embodiment; It is a flow chart which shows an example of the procedure of the switch input process which acquires the information detected by the sensor etc. with which the game machine of this embodiment was equipped. FIG. 342 is a diagram showing an example of program code for switch input processing according to the present embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. 342. FIG. 4 is an example of a program code of setting data (SPI input time setting data; SPI_SWRX_B) when starting reception of an input signal by SPI communication according to the present embodiment; 6 is an example of a program code of setting data (SPI restart setting data; SPI_RESTART_B) when initializing the communication circuit for SPI communication according to the present embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of SPI switch input information data according to the embodiment; 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of areas for storing level data and edge data according to the embodiment; FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example of a procedure of SPI double read processing (TWICE_SPI) according to the present embodiment; FIG. 348 is a diagram showing an example of a program code of SPI double read processing (TWICE_SPI) of the present embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart of FIG. 348; 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of level/edge data creation processing according to the present embodiment; FIG. 350 is a diagram showing an example of a program code for level/edge data creation processing according to the present embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. 350; 4 is a time chart showing a process from the start of switch input processing of the present embodiment to the completion of data transmission through SPI communication in chronological order; 4 is a time chart showing in chronological order the process from the completion of data transmission by SPI communication to the start of switch input processing by the next timer interrupt in the switch input processing of the present embodiment; It is a flow chart showing the procedure of the game available time process executed in the timer interrupt process of the present embodiment. FIG. 354 is a diagram showing an example of the program code of the game-enabled time process of the present embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. 354. FIG. It is a diagram showing an example of a circuit diagram extracting the configuration until the signal output from the contact detection sensor (touch sensor) and the firing stop switch (fire stop button) is input to the main control MPU in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. . 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of switch-related control processing according to the embodiment; It is a figure explaining the data structure of the history area creation data of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the history area creation data of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the area|region (data area) which stores the signal input into main-control MPU1311 of this embodiment. 7 is a flow chart showing the procedure of history monitoring switch data creation processing according to the present embodiment; 361 is an example of program code for history monitoring switch data creation processing according to the present embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a flow of creating history monitoring switch data according to the embodiment; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the data structure of switch history command transmission determination data according to the embodiment; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of switch history command transmission determination data according to the embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of switch history command transmission determination data corresponding to input edge data according to the embodiment; 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of switch history command transmission determination processing according to the embodiment; 367 is an example of program code for switch history command transmission determination processing of the present embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the internal function register of the main control MPU of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the history area creation data of the random number clock error stored in the internal function register of the main control MPU of this embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of applying switch history command transmission determination data of the present embodiment to an internal function register (random number clock error); FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of switch passing command data according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of switch passing command data according to the embodiment; It is a figure which shows an example of the switch address data of this embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another example of switch passing command data according to the embodiment; 6 is a flow chart showing the procedure of switch passing command transmission processing according to the present embodiment. 376 is an example of program code for switch passing command transmission processing according to the present embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of safe switch abnormality determination processing according to the present embodiment; 378 is an example of program code for safe switch abnormality determination processing of the present embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a connection form of connection lines for supplying power to various substrates that control the gaming machine of the present embodiment; It is a figure which shows the operation example for performing the setting function of the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a flow chart of the power-on processing of the gaming machine of the present embodiment. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of activation confirmation processing at power-on according to the embodiment; 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of RAM clear determination processing according to the embodiment; 384 is an example of program code for RAM clear determination processing of the present embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the procedure of setting value confirmation processing according to the present embodiment. 386 is an example of program code for setting value confirmation processing of the present embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. It is an example of the program code corresponding to the definition of the storage area related to the power failure flag of the present embodiment. It is an example of the program code corresponding to the definition of the setting value related to the setting of the gaming machine of the present embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of setting operation determination processing according to the embodiment; 390 is an example of program code for setting operation determination processing of the present embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the procedure of disconnection/short circuit abnormality determination processing according to the present embodiment. When the power supply is interrupted by disconnecting the wiring connected to the main control board of the present embodiment, the power supply is restarted after reconnecting the wiring, and an illegal act of executing the setting confirmation operation is performed. It is a timing chart explaining control. When the power supply is interrupted by disconnecting the wiring connected to the main control board of the present embodiment, the power supply is restarted after reconnecting the wiring, and an illegal act of executing the setting change operation is performed. It is a timing chart explaining control. Control when the wiring connected to the main control board of the present embodiment is disconnected, but the wiring is reconnected without cutting off the power supply, and the game is restarted by executing the setting change operation when the power is turned on again. It is a timing chart to explain. It is a timing chart for explaining the control when the wiring connected to the main control board is disconnected and reconnected while a weak error occurs in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a timing chart explaining the control which shifts to the time saving state by special condition time saving in the gaming machine of this embodiment. 4 is a timing chart illustrating an example of control when the game machine of the present embodiment is powered on by executing the first operation; FIG. 11 is a timing chart illustrating an example of control when the game machine of the present embodiment is powered on by executing a second operation; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the command transmitted to a peripheral control board from the main control board in the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen transition at the time of time saving state transition by special conditions time saving in the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen transition at the time of the time saving state completion|finish in the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the modification of the game board of the game machine of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the counting ball entrance arrange|positioned at the game board 5 of the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows sectional drawing of an example of the counting ball entrance unit arrange|positioned at the modification of the game board of the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the moving path|route of a game ball when the counting ball entrance unit of the modification of this embodiment is a ball entry permission state, (A) is a cross-sectional perspective view, (B) is sectional drawing. It is a figure which shows the movement path|route of a game ball when the counting ball entrance unit of the modification of this embodiment is a ball entry non-permission state, (A) is a cross-sectional perspective view, (B) is sectional drawing. It is a timing chart showing a change in the time reduction transition count in the modification of the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a timing chart when the second start winning opening functions as a counting ball entrance in the modification of the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a flow chart for explaining the procedure of state transition determination processing for determining whether to transition to another game state in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of state transition processing according to the embodiment; It is a figure which shows an example of the state transition data of this embodiment. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a work area for storing state transition data according to the embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the state transition data of this embodiment. It is a timing chart explaining the control which shifts to the time saving state by special condition time saving in the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of arrangement|positioning of the value memorize|stored in the storage area provided by the main control RAM of the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a diagram for explaining a storage area that is cleared when a RAM clear switch is operated and a RAM error occurs in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. When winning the special lottery in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, it is a diagram showing an example of setting data at the time of transition to the jackpot first interval set when shifting to the jackpot game state. It is a diagram showing an example of big winning opening closing setting data set when closing the big winning opening in the jackpot game state of the gaming machine of the present embodiment. This is a sample module for performing initial setting based on big winning opening closing setting data in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a program example of data initialization processing (DAT_SET_CLR) according to the embodiment; This is a sample module for performing initial setting according to a conventional procedure based on big winning opening closing setting data in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the value set to the setting state management area in the gaming machine of this embodiment, and a setting state management area. It is a diagram showing an example of a table for selecting initialization setting data at the time of initialization of the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a time chart which shows the output timing of the external output signal relevant to the time saving state by special condition time saving in the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a modification of the time chart showing the output timing of the external output signal related to the time saving state by the special condition time saving in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. 4 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of a peripheral control board; FIG. 1 is an example of a memory map of storage areas accessed by VDP. It is a figure explaining allocation of the storage area provided by production|presentation data ROM. 4 is a flow chart showing processing executed when the power of the peripheral control board is turned on; It is a figure which shows an example of a structure, such as a module used by the production|presentation control by the peripheral control board of the game machine of this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the outline|summary of production|presentation control of the fluctuation|variation (usually fluctuation|variation 12 second) in the first half of fluctuation pattern "10H03H." It is a figure which shows an example of the function in the production|presentation control of the gaming machine of this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the mechanism of 3D display by the lenticular method, where (A) shows a region viewed from the left eye (L) and (B) shows a region viewed from the right eye (R). It is a figure which shows an example of the lenticular image in the gaming machine of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of images stored in an image data area, (A) showing the arrangement of the entire image data area, and (B) showing the details of the arrangement of areas for storing 3D images. It is a figure explaining arrangement|positioning of the layer in which the image displayed on the production|presentation display apparatus of the gaming machine of this embodiment is drawn. It is a figure explaining the procedure which writes in a frame buffer the image for displaying on the production|presentation display apparatus of the gaming machine of this embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for generating a 3D display image (lenticular image) by synthesizing a side-by-side 2D image (background image, etc.) with a 3D image in which a left-eye image and a right-eye image are arranged side by side. It is a figure explaining the procedure which creates the image data in the 3D display effect|presentation in the gaming machine of this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a first method for generating side-by-side images; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a second method for generating side-by-side images; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a third method for generating side-by-side images; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for synthesizing a full-screen image from side-by-side images; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a layer structure with a single 3D layer; FIG. 445 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure for drawing on each layer in the layer structure of FIG. 444; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a layer structure when there are multiple 3D layers; FIG. 447 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure for drawing on each layer in the layer structure of FIG. 446; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the production|presentation selection mode of the gaming machine of this embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for using an image for 3D display effects in the 2D display effect mode in the gaming machine of the present embodiment; FIG. 450 is a flow chart showing a procedure for using an image for 3D display effect in the 2D display effect mode shown in FIG. 449; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an abnormality notification screen displayed when an abnormality occurs during execution of a 3D display effect; 4 is a timing chart showing the state of each configuration when the power supply to the main control board is interrupted during 3D display presentation. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition when the power supply to the main control board is interrupted during 3D display effect; It is a timing chart showing the state of each configuration when the power supply to the peripheral control board is interrupted during the 3D display effect in the jackpot game state. It is a figure which shows an example of a screen transition when the power supply of a peripheral control board is interrupted|blocked during 3D display production|presentation in a jackpot game state. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a structure for storing frame data for generating moving images; 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the interval at which one piece of reference frame data is arranged and the amount of data; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of areas for displaying images; It is a figure explaining the image corresponding to each area|region, the upper stage shows the image corresponding to each area|region, and the lower stage shows the display image produced|generated as a result of drawing the image corresponding to all the area|regions. 4 is a table showing configuration information of each area; It is a figure explaining the front-back relationship of each layer. It is a figure explaining the 1st procedure which produces|generates a moving image. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the capacity of a decoding buffer required when a moving image is generated in the first procedure; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of intervals at which reference frame data are arranged when a moving image is generated in the second procedure; It is a figure explaining the 2nd procedure which produces|generates a moving image. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the capacity of a decoding buffer required when a moving image is generated in the second procedure; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the capacity of a decoding buffer required when a moving image is generated by combining the first and second procedures; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of image management information; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an excerpt of a configuration for inspecting an external RAM; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a command for inspecting an external RAM; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating registers set by the RAM diagnostic circuit to perform testing of the external RAM; 4 is a flow chart showing a procedure of inspection processing (glitch margin check) of an external RAM in a boot program; 4 is a flow chart showing a procedure of inspection processing (R/W test) of an external RAM in a peripheral control program; 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of external RAM inspection processing (glitch margin check and R/W test) executed after power-on; It is a figure explaining the kind of hit of the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the hit determination random number in the gaming machine of this embodiment, (A) is a pattern 1, (B) is a pattern 2. FIG. It is a flow chart showing the procedure of fraud detection processing in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a flow chart showing the procedure of the big winning hole fraud detection processing in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a flow chart showing the procedure of fraud notification setting processing in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a diagram showing a timing chart when winning the first prize in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a diagram showing a timing chart when winning the second win before the number of consecutive wins of the first win reaches the upper limit in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a diagram showing a timing chart when winning the second winning in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a timing chart for explaining the operation when a game ball passes through a specific area when a small win is won in a gaming machine designed to maintain a gaming state when a small win is won. A timing chart that explains the timing of updating the number of continuous time-savings in a gaming machine with specifications that shift to a non-time-saving state (normal gaming state) when a small win is won, and the case where a game ball does not pass through a specific area when a small win is won. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing; In a game machine with a specification that shifts to a non-time-saving state when a small win is won, it is a timing chart for explaining the timing of updating the number of continuous time-savings, and shows a case where a game ball passes through a specific area after a small win is won. In a game machine having a specification to shift to a non-time-saving state when winning a small win, it is a timing chart showing improved timing for updating the number of continuous times of time-saving, and showing a case where a game ball passes through a specific area when winning a small win. Explain the operation when a game ball passes through a specific area when a small win is won in a gaming machine with specifications that shift to a non-time-saving state when a small win is won and start a special game state with a big win after the special game state with a small win is finished. It is a timing chart for It is a figure explaining the kind of variation|variation pattern table set at the time of the variation|variation display of the special design of the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the pattern which selects a variation pattern table according to the remaining number of times to the upper limit which a time saving state can generate|occur|produce continuously. It is a figure which shows an example of the range of the kind of random number acquired when a game ball wins a starting hole, and a random value. It is a figure which shows an example of the range which the result of a special lottery for every setting value of a game machine turns into a big hit. It is a flow chart showing the procedure of the special symbol / special electric role product control process in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a flow chart showing the procedure of the special symbol variation waiting process in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a flow chart showing the procedure of the special symbol/flag setting process in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a flow chart showing the procedure of the special symbol determination processing of the gaming machine of the present embodiment. It is a diagram for explaining the determination means of the lottery result, (A) is a table for determining the result of the variable display (special lottery) of the special symbol 2 when the setting value of the gaming machine is 6 in the high probability state. , (B) is a table for determining the result of the variable display (special lottery) of special symbol 2 when the setting value of the gaming machine is 1 in a high probability state, (C) is a setting of the gaming machine in a high probability state A table for determining the result of the variable display (special lottery) of special symbol 1 when the value is 6, (D) is a variable display of special symbol 2 when the setting value of the gaming machine is 6 in a low probability state ( A table for judging the result of special lottery), (E) shows a table for judging the result of variable display (special lottery) of special symbol 2 when the setting value of the gaming machine is 1 in a low probability state. It is. It is a figure explaining the process which some bits of the random number for judging a big hit are changed by factors, such as noise, and it changes into a value out of a range. It is a figure which shows an example of the data for special design determination, (A) shows the case of the special design 1, (B) shows the case of the special design 2. FIG. It is a figure explaining the design classification corresponding to a special design random number, (A) shows the case of special design 1, and (B) shows the case of special design 2. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of a special design variation pattern setting process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of a variation pattern selection determination process. It is a figure which shows an example of reach fluctuation pattern selection data. It is a figure for demonstrating a comparison value in order to operate an excess prize ball control means. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a table showing the relationship between commands and remaining numbers; It is a timing chart explaining the flow of canceling the game stop by the game stop first canceling means. It is a timing chart explaining the flow of canceling the game stop by the game stop second canceling means. It is a timing chart showing an example of the control of releasing the game stop by turning on the power again when the door is opened. It is a timing chart showing an example of control not to cancel the game stop by turning on the power again when the door is closed. It is a timing chart showing an example of the control of executing the setting change while opening the door after the game is stopped. It is a timing chart showing an example of the control of executing the setting change while opening the door after the game is stopped and closing the door after starting the gaming machine. It is a timing chart which shows an example of control which performs a setting change, closing a door after a game stop. It is a timing chart showing an example of the control of executing the setting confirmation while opening the door after the game is stopped. It is a timing chart which shows an example of control which performs setting confirmation, closing a door after a game stop. It is a timing chart showing an example of the control in which the opening of the door is the condition for canceling the game stop and the condition for starting the setting change. It is a figure which shows the structural example for performing a bell ringing production|presentation in the gaming machine of this embodiment. 1 is a front view (front view of a door frame) of a pachinko machine that is an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a plate unit including a performance operation part, (A) is a front view of the plate unit shown in a normal state, and (B) is a front view of the plate unit when the pressing operation part is in the raised position. and (C) is a front view of the plate unit when the central pressing operation portion of the pressing operation portion is pressed. It is a figure which shows the initial position of the production|presentation operation part, (A) is a top view, (B) is sectional drawing cut|disconnected by the plane containing a center. It is a figure which shows the raising position of the production|presentation operation part, (A) is a top view, (B) is sectional drawing cut|disconnected by the plane containing a center. FIG. 10A is a diagram for explaining the operation of the rotary operation unit when the pressing operation unit is lifted, in which (A) is a state in which the pressing operation unit is lifted, and (B) is a state in which the rotation operation unit is rotated by lifting the pressing operation unit; indicates It is a figure which shows an example of a screen transition when one visitor rings a bell once and succeeds. It is a figure which shows an example of a screen transition when one worshiper rings a bell once and fails. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the amount of rotation of the rotary operation unit and the movement of the bell corresponding to the strength of striking the bell in the bell ringing performance, where (A) is "high" intensity, (B) is "medium" intensity, (C ) is "weak", and (D) is a case where the bell is not rung because the intensity is below a predetermined level. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition when a bell ringing intensity is specified in a bell ringing presentation in which one worshiper rings a bell once; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition of a bell-ringing production in which a plurality of worshipers ring the bell in succession. It is a figure which shows the structural example for performing the point production|presentation of the bell ringing production|presentation in the gaming machine of this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the setting of point production. It is a figure explaining transition of the point acquired from the start of point production. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen transition of point production|presentation. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a notice effect executed based on the total points acquired in the point effect, (A) when the total points are 0, (B) when the total points are 20, and (C) This is the case when the total points are 50. It is a figure which shows an example of the bell-ringing intensity|strength by the attribute of a worshiper. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the transition of points earned from the start of the point presentation when the strength of ringing the bell is designated according to the attribute of the worshiper; It is a flow chart showing the first half of the procedure of processing when the payout control unit power is turned on. It is a flow chart showing the second half of the procedure of processing when the payout control unit power is turned on. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of prize ball control processing. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for updating a reference value counter; It is a flow chart showing the procedure of the RAM clear determination process corresponding to the initialization of the reference value (comparison value) based on the game stop error flag. It is a figure which shows an example of prior notification of excess prize ball suppression means (complete function). It is a figure which shows an example of the operation|movement alerting|reporting of an excess prize ball suppression means. It is a figure which shows an example of a screen transition in the case of operating an excess prize ball suppression means after a big-hit game state completion. It is a figure which shows an example of a screen transition in the case of satisfy|filling an operating condition while satisfy|filling advance notification conditions during a big-hit game state, and operating an excess prize ball suppression means after a big-hit game state end. It is a diagram showing an example of a screen in which an abnormality has occurred in the gaming machine while the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is being executed, (A) when an abnormality occurs, (B) when the power is cut off and turned on again. Indicates the restored state. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of power-on processing in the gaming machine of the present embodiment; (A) is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the storage area, (B) is a dump list when the start address outside the game area is "5060h", and (C) is outside the game area. This is a dump list when the start address of is "5065h". It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a process at the time of a game start. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a process at the time of a game start setting. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of excessive prize ball suppression setting processing. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of game stop determination processing. It is a figure which shows an example of the program code of a game stop determination process. It is a figure explaining the operation propriety of the excess prize ball suppression means corresponding to the progress state of a game. 4 is a flow chart showing a procedure of timer interrupt processing; It is a flow chart showing the procedure of the game available time process executed in the timer interrupt process of the present embodiment. 9 is a flow chart showing a procedure of performance display monitor processing executed in timer interrupt processing of the present embodiment; It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of excess prize ball suppression processing. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a target switch information data table; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of reference value addition processing; 7 is a flow chart showing a procedure of reference value subtraction processing;

A pachinko machine 1 that is an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the overall configuration of a pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. FIG. FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko machine which is one embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a right side view of the pachinko machine, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the pachinko machine, and FIG. 4 is a rear view of the pachinko machine. 5 is a perspective view of the pachinko machine seen from the front, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the pachinko machine seen from the rear. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the pachinko machine seen from the front with the door frame 3 opened from the main body frame and the main body frame 4 opened from the outer frame 2. As shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the pachinko machine disassembled into the door frame 3, the game board 5, the main body frame 4, and the outer frame 2 and viewed from the front. Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the body frame 4 and the outer frame 2 disassembled and viewed from behind;

The pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment comprises a frame-shaped outer frame 2 installed on an island facility (not shown) of a game hall, a door frame 3 for closing the front surface of the outer frame 2 so that it can be opened and closed, and a door frame 3. A body frame 4 which is supported so as to be openable and closable and which is attached to the outer frame 2 so as to be openable and closable; and a game board 5 having a game area 5a into which game balls are hit by.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the outer frame 2 of the pachinko machine 1 includes an upper frame member 10 and a lower frame member 20 which are separated vertically and extend left and right, and an upper frame member 10 and a lower frame member. 20 are connected to each other and extend vertically. The upper frame member 10, the lower frame member 20, the left frame member 30, and the right frame member 40 are formed to have the same front and rear width. Further, the vertical lengths of the left frame member 30 and the right frame member 40 are longer than the horizontal lengths of the upper frame member 10 and the lower frame member 20 .

The outer frame 2 includes a panel member 50 attached to the front side of the lower frame member 20 by connecting the lower ends of the left frame member 30 and the right frame member 40, and attached to the left end side of the upper frame member 10 when viewed from the front. and an outer frame side lower hinge member 70 attached to the upper left end side of the curtain plate member 50 in front view and the left frame member 30 . The body frame 4 and the door frame 3 are attached so as to be openable and closable by the outer frame side upper hinge member 60 and the outer frame side lower hinge member 70 of the outer frame 2 .

The door frame 3 of the pachinko machine 1 includes a frame-shaped door frame base unit 100 having a rectangular outer shape when viewed from the front and having a through hole 111 penetrating back and forth, and a door frame base unit 100 attached to the front lower part of the door frame base unit 100. A plate unit 200 having an upper plate 201 and a lower plate 202 capable of storing balls, a top unit 350 attached to the front upper portion of the door frame base unit 100, and a left side portion attached to the front left portion of the door frame base unit 100. A unit 400, a right side unit 450 attached to the front right part of the door frame base unit 100, and a game ball stored in the upper dish 201 attached to the front right part of the door frame base unit 100 through the tray unit 200. A handle unit 500 which a player can operate to hit the ball into the game area of the game board 5, and a tray unit 200 which is attached to the lower rear surface of the door frame base unit 100 and receives the game ball that fails to hit into the game area. A foul cover unit 520 that discharges to the lower tray 202, a ball feed unit 540 that is attached to the lower rear surface of the door frame base unit 100 and feeds the game balls on the upper tray 201 to the ball launcher 680, and the door frame base unit 100. A glass unit 560 that is attached to the rear surface and closes the through hole 111, and a security cover 580 that covers the lower rear surface of the glass unit 560 are provided.

The body frame 4 of the pachinko machine 1 consists of a frame-shaped body frame base 600 which can be partially inserted into the frame of the outer frame 2 and can support the outer periphery of the game board 5, and the body frame base 600. It is attached to both upper and lower ends on the left side of the front view, and is rotatably attached to the outer frame side upper hinge member 60 and the outer frame side lower hinge member 70 of the outer frame 2, and the door frame side upper hinge member 140 of the door frame 3 and the door frame. A main body frame side upper hinge member 620 and a main body frame side lower hinge member 640 to which the side lower hinge members 150 are rotatably attached, a reinforcing frame 660 attached to the left side surface of the main body frame base 600 in front view, and the main body frame base 600. A ball launching device 680 for hitting a game ball into the game area 5a of the game board 5, and an outer frame 2 and a main body frame 4 attached to the right side of the main body frame base when viewed from the front. , and a locking unit 700 that locks between the door frame 3 and the main body frame 4, and a reverse L that is attached to the rear side along the front view upper side and left side of the main body frame base 600 and pays out game balls to the player side. A letter-shaped payout unit 800, a board unit 900 attached to the lower rear surface of the main body frame base 600, and a game board 5 attached to the main body frame base 600 so as to be openable and closable on the rear side of the main body frame base 600. and a back cover 980 that covers the rear side.

Inside the back cover 980, a main control unit 1300 for controlling the progress of the game played on the pachinko machine 1 is provided. The main control unit 1300 is provided with a character ratio indicator. The character ratio indicator 1317 is composed of, for example, a 4-digit 7-segment LED. The character ratio indicator 1317 may be configured by a liquid crystal display device. Note that the character product ratio display 1317 may be provided in the payout control board unit 950 instead of the main control unit 1300 .

Also, the character product ratio may be displayed on the liquid crystal display devices 1600, 3114, and 244 without separately providing a display device for displaying the character product ratio. In this case, if the role ratio is always displayed on any of the liquid crystal display devices 1600, 3114 and 244, the player can be notified of the role ratio and the player can check the condition of the pachinko machine.

As will be described later, the role ratio can be calculated by dividing the number of balls won by the total number of balls won. Since it is obtained, it can be said that it is in good condition. On the other hand, a pachinko machine with a low accessory ratio (for example, 10%) has few jackpot games and few prize balls during the jackpot, so it can be said to be in poor condition. Therefore, the player can select the pachinko machine to play in consideration of the value of the accessory ratio.

As a mode for notifying the player of the role ratio, the numerical value of the role ratio may be displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 . For example, if the character ratio is 70% or more, the numerical value is displayed in red and the frame lamp is lit or blinked in red, and if it is 69% to 30%, the numerical value is displayed in green and the frame lamp is lit or blinked in green. do. It is preferable to display the numerical value of the character ratio in such a manner that it is not mistaken for a decorative pattern. For example, it may be displayed in a position that does not overlap with the display position of the decorative pattern when it does not fluctuate, or the size of the number indicating the role ratio may be made smaller than the decorative pattern. The display mode may be divided into any number of stages.

Also, the aspect of the decorative pattern displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 may be changed according to the numerical value of the role ratio to notify the player of the role ratio. For example, when the role ratio is 70% or more, the decorative pattern is displayed in red and the frame lamp is lit red or blinks, and when it is 69% to 30%, the decorative pattern is displayed in green and the frame lamp is lit in green. or blink. The display mode may be divided into any number of stages.

Alternatively, the information may be displayed on the liquid crystal display device 244 provided on the door frame 3 . In that case, the above-described display mode may be changed, and not only the role item ratio but also other information may be displayed. The other information includes the number of big wins, the number of consecutive big wins (so-called number of consecutive wins), the number of balls in possession, the remaining money, and the like.

Further, not only the character product ratio, but also a continuous character product ratio, a base value, and the like, which will be described later, may be displayed by changing the mode as described above. The character product ratio, the continuous character product ratio, and the base value may be displayed in different ways.

As shown in FIG. 13, the main control unit 1300 is enclosed in a transparent resin-made main control board box 1320 which is sealed in such a way that once it is closed, it cannot be opened without being destroyed, and is placed on a printed circuit board. The finished parts can be seen from the outside. Furthermore, for example, when the back cover 980 is made of a transparent resin, the main control unit 1300 can be seen from the back side of the pachinko machine 1, and the character ratio indicator 1317 provided in the main control unit 1300 can be used for pachinko. It can be seen from the back side of the machine 1 . By enclosing the character ratio display 1317 in the main control board box 1320, it is possible to prevent unauthorized modification of the character ratio display 1317 to make the pachinko machine 1 look less gambling, and the pachinko machine 1 can be displayed accurately. It can display the gambling nature.

If the back cover 980 is made of an opaque resin, the pachinko machine can be used by making a hole in the back cover 980 at the position of the character ratio indicator 1317 or by making the position of the character ratio indicator 1317 transparent. The character product ratio indicator 1317 may be viewed from the back side of the machine 1 .

Further, even when the back cover 980 is made of transparent resin, the surface of the back cover 980 at the position of the character ratio indicator 1317 can be flattened or the back cover 980 can be made thin. The ratio indicator 1317 may be made easy to see from the back side of the pachinko machine 1. - 特許庁

At the bottom of the back surface of the pachinko machine 1, a discharge port is provided for collecting the game balls flowing out from the game area 5a via the out port 1111 and the prize winning ports 2001, 2005, 2006, etc., and discharging them to the outside of the pachinko machine 1. ing. The game balls discharged from the discharge port are supplied to the ball tank 802 through the island facility. The pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment is provided with a discharge ball sensor 3060 for detecting game balls discharged from the discharge port.

As shown in FIG. 13, the main control unit 1300 is provided with a display switch 1318 . The main control board box 1320 is provided with a hole through which the display switch 1318 can be operated. On the printed circuit board near the display switch 1318 or on the main control board box 1320, it is preferable to display (print, engrave, seal, etc.) that it is a switch for operating the display of the character product ratio. The display switch 1318 is desirably provided near the character ratio display 1317, but even if it is not on the main control unit 1300, if it is a place where it is easy to operate, another board (for example, the effect control board 4700 , power supply device 4112 ), housing 4100 , or front member 4200 . It may be provided in the peripheral control unit 1500, the relay board provided separately from the main control unit 1300, the power board in the power board box 930 on the frame side, or the payout control board unit 950. Also, as will be described later, the display switch 1318 may also serve as a RAM clear switch. By providing the display switch 1318 at a position where the player cannot operate it, it is possible to prevent the player from erroneously operating it.

The dispensing unit 800 of the main body frame 4 includes an inverted L-shaped dispensing unit base 801 attached to the rear side of the main body frame base 600, and a dispensing unit base 801 attached to the top of the dispensing unit base 801 and extending to the left and right to open upward. A box-shaped ball tank 802 for storing game balls supplied from an island facility (not shown), and a ball tank 802 attached to a payout unit base 801 below the ball tank 802. A tank rail 803 extending to the left and right to guide, a ball guiding unit 820 attached to the rear surface of the upper left side of the payout unit base 801 in front view and guiding the game ball from the tank rail 803 downward in a meandering manner, and a ball guiding unit 820. It is detachably attached to the payout unit base 801 on the lower side, and the game ball guided by the ball guiding unit 820 is instructed from the payout control board 951 (see FIG. 17) housed in the payout control board unit 950. a payout device 830 which pays out one by one based on the base 801 and guides downward the game balls paid out by the payout device 830 attached to the rear surface of the payout unit base 801, and the game balls are stored in the upper tray 201 of the tray unit 200. An upper full ball path unit 850 that releases game balls from either a normal outlet or a full ball outlet according to the above, and an upper full ball path unit 850 attached to the lower end of the payout unit base 801 From the normal outlet of the upper full ball path unit 850 A normal guiding path guides the discharged game balls forward and guides them from the front end to the through ball passage 526 of the door frame 3, and guides the game balls discharged from the full tank discharge opening forward and guides the game balls forward and guides them from the front end of the door frame 3. and a lower full ball path unit 860 having a full guideway leading to the full ball receptacle 530 .

The board unit 900 of the body frame 4 includes a board unit base 910 attached to the rear side of the body frame base 600, and a board unit base 910 attached to the rear side of the body frame base 600 on the left side of the board unit base 910 in a front view and having a bass speaker installed therein. 921, a power supply board box 930 attached to the rear side of the board unit base 910 on the right side in front view and housing a power supply board therein, and a power supply board box 930 attached to the rear side of the speaker unit 920 and inside the box. An interface control board box 940 in which an interface control board is housed, and a payout control board 951 which is attached across the power board box 930 and the interface control board box 940 and controls the payout of game balls is housed inside. A payout control board unit 950 is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the game board 5 of the pachinko machine 1 defines the outer periphery of a game area 5a into which game balls are hit, and shoots game balls from the ball launching device 680 into the upper part of the game area 5a. A front structural member 1000 having an outer rail 1001 and an inner rail 1002 that guide to the front structural member 1000, a flat plate-like game panel 1100 attached to the rear side of the front structural member 1000 and defining the rear end of the game area 5a, and the game panel 1100 It has a box-shaped substrate holder 1200 attached to the lower part of the rear side and opened upward, and a main control substrate 1310 attached to the rear side of the substrate holder 1200 for controlling the game of the pachinko machine 1. A main control unit 1300 and a front unit (not shown) having a plurality of winning holes attached in the game area 5a on the front side of the game panel 1100 and capable of receiving game balls hit into the game area 5a ) and a back unit 3000 attached to the upper side of the board holder 1200 and the rear side of the game panel 1100 .

In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, when the player rotates the handle lever 504 while game balls are stored in the upper tray 201, the ball launcher 680 plays a game with a force corresponding to the rotation angle of the handle lever 504. A ball is driven into the game area 5 a of the game board 5 . Then, when the game balls hit into the game area 5a are accepted by the winning openings (not shown), a predetermined number of game balls are paid out to the upper tray 201 by the paying-out device 830 according to the accepted winning openings. . Since the payout of the game balls can enhance the interest of the player, the game balls in the upper tray 201 can be hit into the game area 5a, and the player can enjoy the game.

[2. Overall configuration of the game board]
Next, the overall configuration of the game board 5 of the pachinko machine 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 10 to 16. FIG. FIG. 10 is a front view of the game board. 11 is a perspective view of the game board seen from the front right, FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the game board seen from the front left, and FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the game board seen from the back. Also, FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the game board disassembled for each main structure and viewed from the front, and FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the game board disassembled for each main structure and viewed from the back. Furthermore, FIG. 16 is a front view of the front constituent members and the front unit of the game board, cut at substantially the center in the front-rear direction within the game area.

The game board 5 of the present embodiment has a game area 5a into which game balls are hit by the player operating the handle lever 504 of the handle unit 500 . The game board 5 includes a front structural member 1000 that defines the outer periphery of the game area 5a and has a substantially square outer shape when viewed from the front, and a front structural member 1000 that is attached to the rear side of the front structural member 1000 to cover the rear end of the game area 5a. A plate-shaped game panel 1100 that partitions, a substrate holder 1200 attached to the lower rear side of the game panel 1100, and a game ball attached to the rear surface of the substrate holder 1200, and the game is played by hitting the game ball into the game area 5a. and a main control unit 1300 having a main control board 1310 (see FIG. 17) for controlling game contents to be played. A plurality of obstacle nails that come into contact with the game balls are planted in a predetermined gauge arrangement in a portion within the game area 5a on the front surface of the game panel 1100 (not shown).

The game board 5 also includes a function display unit 1400 which displays the game status based on a control signal from the main control board 1310 and is attached to the lower left corner of the front component 1000 so as to be visible to the player side, and a game panel. A peripheral control unit 1500 attached to the rear side of 1100, a main liquid crystal display device 1600 arranged in the center of the game area 5a when viewed from the front and capable of displaying a predetermined effect image, and attached to the front of the game panel 1100. and a back unit 3000 attached to the rear surface of the game panel 1100.例文帳に追加A main liquid crystal display device 1600 is attached to the rear surface of the rear unit 3000 and a peripheral control unit 1500 is attached to the rear surface of the main liquid crystal display device 1600 .

The game panel 1100 has a transparent flat panel plate 1110 whose outer circumference is slightly larger than the inner circumference of the frame-shaped front structural member 1000, and holds the outer circumference of the panel plate 1110. and a frame-like panel holder 1120 attached to the rear side and to which the back unit 3000 is attached to the rear surface.

The table unit 2000 includes a plurality of general winning openings 2001 which are always open to accept the game balls hit into the game area 5a, and the plurality of general winning openings 2001 at different positions in the game area 5a. A first starting port 2002 which is always open to accept a ball, a gate portion 2003 which is attached at a predetermined position in the game area 5a and detects the passage of the game ball, and the game ball passes through the gate portion 2003. A second start port 2004 that enables the acceptance of game balls according to the result of the ordinary lottery drawn by this, and the first special lottery that is drawn by accepting the game balls to the first start port 2002 or the second start port 2004. It is provided with a first big winning hole 2005 and a second big winning hole 2006 which can accept game balls either according to the result of the lottery or the result of the second special lottery. The second big winning hole 2006 is composed of two big winning holes, a second upper big winning hole 2006a and a second lower big winning hole 2006b, which are arranged in one channel through which game balls circulate (Fig. 16).

In addition, the front unit 2000 is attached directly above the out port 1111 at the center in the left-right direction in the game area 5a, and has a first start port 2002 and a first big winning port 2005. A lower side unit 2200 that is attached along the inner rail 1002 on the left side of the mouth unit 2100 when viewed from the front and has three general winning slots 2001, and is attached above the left end of the lower side unit 2200 when viewed from the front. A side unit top 2300 and a frame-shaped frame having one general winning opening 2001, a gate portion 2003, a second starting opening 2004, and a second big winning opening 2006 attached substantially in the center of the game area 5a. A center accessory 2500 is provided.

The rear unit 3000 is arranged at a predetermined position in the rear box 3010 which is attached to the rear surface of the panel holder 1120 and has a box shape with an open front and a square opening 3010a in the rear wall. A plurality of general prize winning opening sensors 3015 for detecting game balls received in the general winning opening 2001 of the cage table unit 2000, and a lock attached to the rear surface of the back box 3010 for detachably mounting the main liquid crystal display device 1600. a mechanism 3020, a right ball passage unit 3030 attached to the right end in the front view inside the back box 3010 and for discharging game balls received in the general prize winning opening 2001 or the second starting opening 2004 of the center accessory 2500; A lower right ball passage unit is attached near the front end of the lower right corner in the front view inside the back box 3010 and is used to discharge the game balls received in the second big winning port 2006 or the second out port 2543c of the center accessory 2500. 3035 and .

The rear unit 3000 includes an upper relay board 3040 attached to the rear surface of the rear box 3010, an upper relay board cover 3041 covering the rear side of the upper relay board 3040, and rotatably mounted to the rear surface of the rear box 3010. A box-shaped production drive board box 3042, a production drive board 3043 housed in the production drive board box 3042, a panel relay board 3044 attached to the rear surface of the back box 3010, and a panel relay board 3044. and a panel relay board cover 3045 that covers the rear side of the .

Further, the back unit 3000 includes a back left middle decoration unit 3050 attached to the front end of the back box 3010 from the center in the vertical direction on the left side in front view, and a back left center decoration unit 3050 attached below the opening 3010a in the back box 3010. A back bottom rear movable effect unit 3100 attached near the rear wall of the box 3010, a back top left movable effect unit 3200 attached above the opening 3010a in the back box 3010 and on the left side in the front view, and the back box. A back left movable production unit 3300 attached to the left side of the opening 3010a in the front view in the back box 3010, and a back upper middle attached from the center in the left-right direction to the right end in the front view above the opening 3010a in the back box 3010. A movable effect unit 3400 and a back bottom front movable effect unit 3500 attached in front of the back bottom rear movable effect unit 3100 below the opening 3010a in the back box 3010 are provided.

[2-1. Front component]
Next, the front component 1000 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. The front structural member 1000 has a substantially square outer shape when viewed from the front, and an inner shape that penetrates in the front-rear direction in a substantially circular shape. The front component member 1000 includes an outer rail 1001 extending in an arc shape clockwise from the lower end of the center in the left-right direction in a front view, passing through the upper end of the center in the left-right direction in the front view, and extending obliquely upward to the right; The game is played on the inner rail 1002 which is arranged inside the front structural member 1000 substantially along the outer rail 1001 and extends in an arc from the lower center in the horizontal direction when viewed from the front to the oblique upper left when viewed from the front, and the right side of the lower end of the inner rail 1002 when viewed from the front. and an out-guiding portion 1003 formed at the lowest position of the region 5a and inclined so as to become lower toward the rear.

The front structural member 1000 includes a lower right rail 1004 which is linearly inclined from the right end of the out-guiding portion 1003 in front view to the vicinity of the right side of the front structural member 1000 so that the right end side is slightly higher, and the lower right rail 1004. from the right end of the front structural member 1000 along the right side of the front structural member 1000 to the lower side of the upper end of the outer rail 1001, the upper portion of which is curved inwardly of the front structural member 1000, and the upper end of the right rail 1005 and the outer rail 1001 and the impact part 1006 with which the game ball rolling along the outer rail 1001 abuts.

The front structural member 1000 is rotatably supported on the upper end of the inner rail 1002 and extends upward from the upper end of the inner rail 1002 so as to close the space between the front structural member 1000 and the front view clock. The backflow prevention member is rotatable only between the open position where it is rotated in the surrounding direction to open the gap with the outer rail 1001, and is biased by a spring (not shown) so as to return to the closed position side. 1007 is provided.

A shot ball sensor 1020 for detecting a game ball hit into the game area 5a is provided on the back side of the game board 5 near the exits of the rails 1001 and 1002 (preferably immediately after passing the backflow prevention member 1007). For example, the shot ball sensor 1020 is composed of a magnetic sensor, and outputs a signal when a game ball that has passed through the backflow prevention member 1007 and flowed into the game area 5a is detected. In addition, the shot ball sensor 1020 may be provided at a position through which the game ball always passes within the game area. By fixing the position of the shot ball sensor 1020 on the game board 5, specifications can be shared among a plurality of models, and inspections at manufacturing sites and after installation in halls are facilitated.

A shot ball sensor 1020 provided upstream of the game area 5a such as near the exits of the rails 1001 and 1002 detects an out ball before the winning opening sensor detects a winning game ball. That is, since game balls are detected in the order of out balls and prize balls, the base value can be accurately calculated without detecting prize balls caused by game balls not counted as out balls.

[2-2. Game panel]
Next, the game panel 1100 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. The game panel 1100 includes a flat panel plate 1110 whose outer circumference is slightly larger than the inner circumference of the frame-shaped front structural member 1000 and which is made of transparent synthetic resin, and the outer circumference of the panel plate 1110 is held. and a frame-like panel holder 1120 attached to the rear side of the front structural member 1000 and to which the back unit 3000 is attached to the rear surface. A panel plate 1110 of the game panel 1100 has an out port 1111 penetrating back and forth at the lowest position in the game area 5a. In addition, a plurality of openings 1112 are formed through the panel plate 1110 in the front-rear direction for mounting the front unit 2000 thereon.

The panel holder 1120 of the game panel 1100 detachably holds the panel plate 1110 from the rear side. In addition, the panel holder 1120 has a plurality of mounting holes for mounting the back unit 3000 and positioning holes formed on the rear surface.

When the game panel 1100 is attached to the rear side of the front component member 1000, the out port 1111 of the panel plate 1110 is opened to the rear side of the out guide portion 1003 of the front component member 1000. FIG. As a result, the game ball that has flowed down to the lower end of the game area 5a is guided to the rear out port 1111 by the out guide section 1003 and discharged to the rear side of the game panel 1100 through the out port 1111 .

[2-3. Substrate holder]
Next, the substrate holder 1200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 15. FIG. The substrate holder 1200 is formed in the shape of a horizontally long box that is open at the top and front, and the bottom surface is slanted downward toward the center in the left-right direction. This board holder 1200 can cover the lower part of the back unit 3000 attached to the rear side of the game panel 1100 from below when assembled on the game board 5 . As a result, all of the game balls discharged to the rear side of the game panel 1100 through the out port 1111 and the game balls discharged downward from the front unit 2000 and the rear unit 3000 can be received. 1201 (see FIG. 14).

[2-4. Main control board unit]
Next, the main control unit 1300 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 15 and 17. FIG. The main control unit 1300 is detachably attached to the rear surface of the substrate holder 1200 . The main control unit 1300 includes a main control board 1310 for controlling game contents, payout of game balls, etc., and a main control board box 1320 that houses the main control board 1310 and is attached to the board holder 1200. .

The main control board box 1320 has a plurality of sealing mechanisms. When one sealing mechanism is used to close the main control board box 1320, the sealing mechanism is destroyed to open the main control board box 1320. The opening and closing of the main control board box 1320 can be traced. Therefore, by looking at the traces of opening and closing, it is possible to discover unauthorized opening and closing of the main control board box 1320, and the deterrence against tampering with the main control board 1310 is enhanced.

[2-5. Function display unit]
Next, the function display unit 1400 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12. FIG. The function display unit 1400 is attached to the lower left corner of the front component 1000 outside the play area 5a, as shown. This function display unit 1400 can be visually recognized from the front (player side) through the through hole 111 of the door frame 3 in a state where the game board 5 is assembled to the pachinko machine 1 (see FIG. 1). This function display unit 1400 uses a plurality of LEDs based on control signals from the main control board 1310 to display the game state (game situation), the ordinary lottery result, the special lottery result, and the like.

Although detailed illustration is omitted, the function display unit 1400 includes a status indicator consisting of one LED for displaying the game status, and two LEDs based on the result of a normal lottery drawn by passing game balls through the gate section 2003. A normal pattern display device for displaying these two LEDs in a lighting mode according to the result of the normal lottery after the normal pattern is variably displayed by controlling blinking, and a variable display of the normal pattern related to the passage of the game ball to the gate part 2003 Among them, a normal holding indicator consisting of two LEDs that displays the number of holdings, which is the number of variable displays for which the condition for starting the variable display has not yet been established, and acceptance of game balls into the first start port 2002 (start winning After changing and displaying the first special pattern by blinking the eight LEDs based on the result of the first special lottery drawn by generation), these eight LEDs are displayed in a lighting mode according to the result of the first special lottery. The holding number, which is the number of variable displays for which the condition for starting the variable display has not yet been established, among the variable displays of the first special symbol related to the acceptance of the game ball into the first starting port 2002 and the first special symbol display device. Eight LEDs blink based on the first special holding number indicator consisting of two LEDs to be displayed and the second special lottery result drawn by accepting the game ball into the second start port 2004 (occurrence of start winning prize) A second special symbol indicator for displaying the eight LEDs in a lighting mode according to the result of the second special lottery after the second special symbol is variably displayed by controlling, and acceptance of the game ball to the second starting port 2004. A second special pending number indicator consisting of two LEDs that displays the pending number, which is the number of variable displays for which the condition for starting the variable display has not yet been established among the variable displays of the second special symbols related to the first special When the lottery result or the second special lottery result is "big hit" or the like, a round indicator consisting of two LEDs for displaying the number of repetitions (number of rounds) of the opening/closing patterns of the first big prize opening 2005 and the second big prize winning opening 2006. and are mainly provided. In addition, some indicators (for example, the first special symbol indicator) of the function display unit 1400 may be configured with 7-segment LEDs.

In this function display unit 1400, the number of reservations, patterns, etc., can be displayed by lighting, extinguishing, blinking, etc. of the provided LEDs as appropriate.

[2-6. Peripheral control unit]
Next, the peripheral control unit 1500 will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 15. FIG. The peripheral control unit 1500 is attached to the rear surface of the back case 3010 of the back unit 3000 . The peripheral control unit 1500 includes a peripheral control board 1510 (see FIG. 17) that controls the effects presented to the player based on control signals from the main control board 1310, and a peripheral control board that houses the peripheral control board 1510. box 1520; The peripheral control board 1510 includes a peripheral control unit 1511 for controlling lighting effect, sound effect, movable effect, etc., and a liquid crystal display control unit 1512 for controlling effect images (see FIG. 17). reference).

[2-7. Main liquid crystal display device]
Next, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 16. FIG. The main liquid crystal display device 1600 is arranged in the center of the game area 5a when viewed from the front, and is attached to the rear side of the game panel 1100 via the back box 3010 of the back unit 3000 . In more detail, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 is detachably attached to the rear surface of the back wall of the back box 3010 at substantially the center thereof. This main liquid crystal display device 1600 can be visually recognized from the front side (player side) through the frame of the frame-shaped center accessory 2500 in the assembled state of the game board 5 . The main liquid crystal display device 1600 is a full-color display device using a white LED as a backlight, and can display still images and moving images.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 has two left fixing pieces 1601 protruding outward from the left side surface when viewed from the front, and a right fixing piece 1601 protruding outward from the right side surface when viewed from the front. 1602 and . The main liquid crystal display device 1600 has two fixed grooves 3010c opened on the left inner peripheral surface in a front view inside a frame-shaped liquid crystal mounting portion of a back case 3010, which will be described later, with the liquid crystal screen facing forward. After inserting the two left fixing pieces 1601 obliquely from the rear of the box 3010, the right fixing piece 1602 is moved forward to insert the right fixing piece 1602 into the opening of the lock mechanism 3020, and the lock mechanism 3020 is pushed downward. It is attached to the back box 3010 by sliding it inwards.

[2-8. Overall configuration of table unit]
Next, the table unit 2000 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12 and 14 to 16. FIG. The front unit 2000 of the game board 5 is attached to the panel plate 1110 of the game panel 1100 from the front, and the front end projects forward from the front surface of the panel plate 1110, and the rear end penetrates the opening 1112. , and protrudes rearward from the rear surface of the panel plate 1110 . The table unit 2000 of the present embodiment is capable of receiving a game ball hit into the game area 5a, and has a plurality of general winning openings 2001 that are always open, and the plurality of general winning openings 2001 are located within the game area 5a. A first starting port 2002 that is always open to accept game balls at different positions, a gate part 2003 that is attached to a predetermined position in the game area 5a and detects the passage of the game ball, and a game ball A second starting port 2004 that enables the acceptance of game balls according to the result of the ordinary lottery drawn by passing through the part 2003, and the lottery by accepting the game balls to the first starting port 2002 or the second starting port 2004 A first big winning hole 2005 and a second big winning hole 2006 are provided in which a game ball can be accepted in either one according to the first special lottery result or the second special lottery result.

Three of the plurality (here, four) of the general winning openings 2001 are arranged in the lower part of the game area 5a, and the remaining one is arranged in the vicinity of the upper right in the front view in the game area 5a. The first starting port 2002 is arranged right above the out port 1111 at the center in the left-right direction within the game area 5a. The gate portion 2003 is arranged substantially directly below the impact portion 1006 on the upper right side in the front view in the game area 5a. The second starting port 2004 is arranged right below the gate portion 2003 to the right in front view. Of the plurality of general winning openings 2001 described above, the general winning opening 2001 arranged near the upper right in the front view in the game area 5 a is arranged directly above the second starting opening 2004 . The first big winning opening 2005 is arranged between the first starting opening 2002 and the out opening 1111 . The second big prize winning opening 2006 is arranged above the first big winning opening 2005 on the right side of the first start opening 2002 when viewed from the front.

As shown in FIG. 16, the second large winning opening 2006 in the table unit 2000 includes a second upper large winning opening 2006a and a second lower large winning opening 2006b arranged along one flow path through which game balls circulate. It is composed of As for the second big winning opening 2006, the second upper big winning opening 2006a is arranged near the lower right in the front view in the game area 5a, and the second lower big winning opening 2006b is arranged in the front view of the second upper big winning opening 2006a. It is positioned downwards on the left side.

In addition, the front unit 2000 is attached directly above the out port 1111 at the center in the left-right direction in the game area 5a, and has a first start port 2002 and a first big winning port 2005. A lower side unit 2200 that is attached along the inner rail 1002 on the left side of the mouth unit 2100 when viewed from the front and has three general winning slots 2001, and is attached above the left end of the lower side unit 2200 when viewed from the front. A side unit top 2300 and a frame-shaped frame having one general winning opening 2001, a gate portion 2003, a second starting opening 2004, and a second big winning opening 2006 attached substantially in the center of the game area 5a. A center accessory 2500 is provided.

[2-8a. starting unit]
Next, starter unit 2100 of front unit 2000 will be described. The starting port unit 2100 is arranged directly above the out port 1111 in the vicinity of the lower end portion of the center in the left-right direction in the game area 5a, and is attached to the panel plate 1110 from the front. This starting opening unit 2100 has a first starting opening 2002 and a first big winning opening 2005 .

The starting port unit 2100 includes a flat unit base 2101 attached to the front surface of the panel plate 1110 and having a rectangular shape extending left and right and having a first grand prize winning port 2005 penetrating back and forth. A ball receiving portion 2102 protruding forward from the upper part of the left-right direction approximately center above the big winning opening 2005 and forming the first starting opening 2002, and the first starting opening attached to the rear side of the unit base 2101. A ball guide portion 2103 that guides the game ball received in 2002 downward, a first start port sensor 2104 that is attached to the ball guide portion 2103 and detects the game ball received in the first start port 2002, and a first attacker unit 2110 attached to the rear surface of the unit base 2101 so as to close the main prize winning opening 2005 .

The first attacker unit 2110 of the starting port unit 2100 is attached to the rear surface of the unit base 2101 so as to close the first big prize winning port 2005 from behind, and the front end is opened forward with substantially the same size as the first big prize winning port 2005. A box-shaped unit case 2111 and a flat plate-shaped first big prize door with a horizontally elongated rectangular shape whose lower side is rotatably supported at the front end of the unit case 2111 so as to be able to open and close the first big prize gate 2005. A member 2112, a first attacker solenoid 2113 mounted in the unit case 2111 for opening and closing the first big prize winning opening door member 2112, and a first attacker solenoid 2113 mounted in the unit case 2111 and received by the first big winning opening 2005. A first large winning opening sensor 2114 that detects a game ball, a first starting opening sensor 2104 attached to the upper surface of the unit case 2111, a first attacker solenoid, and a first large winning opening sensor 2114 and a main control board 1310 and a starter unit relay board 2115 for relaying the connection with the starter unit, and a starter unit decoration board (not shown) attached to the lower part of the unit case 2111 for decorating the first grand prize winner 2005 with light. ing.

The ball receiving portion 2102 forming the first starting port 2002 opens upward to a size that allows only one game ball to be received at a time. The first big prize winning opening 2005 penetrating the unit base 2101 opens forward with a size capable of receiving a plurality of (for example, 4 to 6) game balls at a time.

In the starting port unit 2100, a first starting port 2002 formed by a ball receiving portion 2102 opens upward, and a game ball received in the first starting port 2002 is guided by a ball guiding portion 2103 to the unit base. After being guided downward at the rear side of 2101 and detected by the first starting port sensor 2104, the first attacker unit 2110 can be penetrated and discharged downward. In this embodiment, two first starting hole sensors 2104 are provided, and in the main control board 1310, when the two first starting hole sensors 2104 detect a game ball within a predetermined time range, the first starting hole At 2002, it is determined that the game ball has been accepted. This makes it possible to detect a fraudulent act by inserting a fraudulent tool into the first starting opening 2002 .

In the starting opening unit 2100, by attaching the first attacker unit 2110 to the rear surface of the unit base 2101, the first big winning opening door member 2112 of the first attacker unit 2110 opens to the unit base 2101. It is inserted into the opening 2005 from behind to close the first big winning opening 2005 . This first big prize winning opening door member 2112 is in an upright state that closes the first big winning opening 2005, and both left and right ends of the lower side are rotatably attached by the unit case 2111, and the upper side is forward and The first big prize winning port 2005 can be opened from the closed state by rotating so as to move downward.

The first large prize winning opening door member 2112 of the first attacker unit 2110 stands upright in a normal state (the state in which the first attacker solenoid 2113 is not energized) and closes the first large winning prize opening 2005 . Then, when the first attacker solenoid 2113 is energized according to the game state, the first big prize winning opening door member 2112 rotates so that the upper side moves forward and downward, and the upper side moves slightly above the lower side. Positioned. In other words, the first big prize winning opening door member 2112 is inclined forward from the lower side of the first big winning opening 2005 so as to be higher.

In this state, when the game ball flows down in front of the first big prize winning port 2005 and contacts the first big prize winning port door member 2112, the inclination of the first big prize winning port door member 2112 causes the game ball to flow from below. It changes to the rear, is received by the first big winning opening 2005 and enters the unit case 2111 . After being detected by the first big winning hole sensor 2114 , the game ball received in the first big winning hole 2005 is ejected downward from the lower surface of the unit case 2111 .

[3. control configuration]
Next, a control configuration for performing various controls of the pachinko machine 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is a block diagram schematically showing the control configuration of the pachinko machine. The main control configuration of the pachinko machine 1, as shown, is composed of a main control board 1310 and a peripheral control board 1510 attached to the game board 5, and a payout control board 951 attached to the body frame 4. Each control is shared. The main control board 1310 controls game operations (game progress). The peripheral control board 1510 controls the various production devices during the game based on commands from the main control board 1310, and the main liquid crystal display device 1600 and the upper plate liquid crystal display device 1600 based on the commands from the peripheral control section 1511. and a liquid crystal display control unit 1512 for controlling the display of effect images on the display device 244 or the like. The payout control board 951 includes a payout control unit 952 that controls payout of game balls and a launch control unit 953 that controls launch of game balls by rotating the handle lever 504 .

[3-1. Main control board]
The main control board 1310 that controls the progress of the game includes a main control MPU 1311, which is a microprocessor that includes a ROM 1313 that stores various processing programs and commands, a RAM 1312 that temporarily stores data, and an input/output device (I /O device), a main control input circuit 1315 to which detection signals from various detection switches are input, a main control solenoid drive circuit 1316 for driving various solenoids, a main control and a RAM clear switch for completely erasing the information stored in the RAM built in the MPU 1311 . The main control MPU 1311 has built-in ROM and RAM, as well as a watchdog timer for monitoring its operation (system), a function for preventing fraud, and the like.

The main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 includes a first starting hole sensor 2104 that detects a game ball accepted in the first starting hole 2002 and a second starting hole sensor that detects a game ball accepted in the second starting hole 2004. 2551, a general winning hole sensor 3015 that detects a game ball received in the general winning hole 2001, a gate sensor 2547 that detects a game ball that has passed through the gate section 2003, and a game ball that has been received in the first big winning hole 2005. 1st big prize winning hole sensor 2114, second big winning hole 2006a as second big winning hole 2006 and second big winning hole sensor 2554 for detecting the game ball accepted in the second big winning hole 2006b and Detected signals from the second lower grand prize opening sensor 2557, the discharged ball sensor 3060, the fired ball sensor 1020, the magnetic detection sensor that detects illegal magnetism in the game area 5a, etc. are sent through the main control I/O port 1314, respectively. is entered.

Based on these detection signals, the main control MPU 1311 outputs a control signal from the main control I/O port 1314 to the main control solenoid drive circuit, thereby causing the starting opening solenoid 2550, the first attacker solenoid 2113, the second upper attacker Output a drive signal to the solenoid 2553 and the second lower attacker solenoid 2556, or from the main control I / O port 1314 to the first special symbol display device of the function display unit 1400, the second special symbol display device, the first special symbol storage A drive signal is output to an indicator, a second special symbol memory indicator, a normal symbol indicator, a normal symbol memory indicator, a game state indicator, a round indicator, and the like.

In addition, in this embodiment, the first starting opening sensor 2104, the second starting opening sensor 2551, the gate sensor 2547, the first big winning opening sensor 2114, the second upper big winning opening sensor 2554, and the second lower big winning opening The sensor 2557 uses a non-contact type electromagnetic proximity switch, while the general winning hole sensor 3015 uses a contact type ON/OFF mechanical switch. This is because the game ball frequently enters the first starting hole 2002 and the second starting hole 2004 and frequently passes through the gate part 2003, so the first starting hole sensor 2104, the second starting hole sensor 2551, And detection of game balls by the gate sensor 2547 also occurs frequently. For this reason, proximity switches with high durability and long life are used for the first starter sensor 2104, the second starter sensor 2551, and the gate sensor 2547. FIG. In addition, when an advantageous gaming state (“jackpot” game, etc.) that is advantageous to the player occurs, the first big winning opening 2005 and the second big winning opening 2006 are opened (or enlarged) and the game balls are frequently released. Since the ball enters, the game ball is frequently detected by the first big winning hole sensor 2114, the second upper big winning hole sensor 2554, and the second lower big winning hole sensor 2557. For this reason, the first big winning hole sensor 2114, the second upper big winning hole sensor 2554, and the second lower big winning hole sensor 2557 also use proximity switches with high durability and long life. On the other hand, detection by the general winning hole sensor 3015 does not occur frequently in the general winning hole 2001 into which game balls do not enter frequently. For this reason, the general prize winning opening sensor 3015 uses a mechanical switch whose life is shorter than that of the proximity switch.

In addition, the main control MPU 1311 transmits various information (game information) related to the game and various commands related to payout to the payout control board 951, and receives various commands related to the state of the pachinko machine 1 from the payout control board 951. or Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 transmits various commands related to the control of game effects executed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 and the like and various commands related to the state of the pachinko machine 1 to the peripheral control board 1510 via the main control I/O port 1314. For example, it transmits to the peripheral control unit 1511 . In addition, when the main control MPU 1311 receives various commands related to the state of the pachinko machine 1 from the payout control board 951 , the various commands are shaped and transmitted to the peripheral control unit 1511 .

Various voltages are supplied to the main control board 1310 from the power board in the power board box 930 . The power supply board that supplies various voltages to the main control board 1310 is an electric double layer capacitor (hereinafter simply referred to as "capacitor") as a backup power supply for supplying power to the main control board 1310 for a predetermined time even when the power is cut off. do.). With this capacitor, the main control MPU 1311 can store various information in the RAM 1312 during power-off processing even when the power is off. The stored various information is completely erased (cleared) from the RAM 1312 when the RAM clear switch on the main control board 1310 is operated when the power is turned on. The operation signal (detection signal) of this RAM clear switch is also output to the payout control board 951 .

Further, the main control board 1310 is provided with a power failure monitoring circuit. This power failure monitoring circuit monitors the drop in various voltages supplied from the power supply board, and outputs a power failure warning signal as a power failure warning when those voltages become equal to or lower than the power failure warning voltage. This power failure warning signal is input to the main control MPU 1311 via the main control I/O port 1314, and is also output to the payout control board 951 and the like.

A character ratio indicator 1317 is attached to the main control board 1310 at a position visible from the back side of the pachinko machine 1 . The character product ratio display 1317 displays the character product ratio calculated by the main control MPU 1311 .

A display switch 1318 is also provided on the main control board 1310 . The display switch 1318 may comprise a momentary pushbutton switch, but other types of switches may be used. When the display switch 1318 is operated, the character ratio is displayed on the character ratio display 1317 . Note that the role product ratio display 1317 may always display the role product ratio, and the display content may be switched by operating the display switch 1318 .

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the main control MPU 1311. As shown in FIG.

The main control MPU 1311 includes a CPU 13111, a RAM 1312, a ROM 1313, a random number generation circuit 13112, a parallel input port 13113, a serial communication circuit 13114, a timer circuit 13115, an interrupt controller 13116, an external bus interface 13117, a clock circuit 13118, a verification block 13119, a unique It has information 13120 , an arithmetic circuit 13121 and a reset circuit 13122 .

The CPU 13111 executes programs stored in the ROM 1313 . A RAM 1312 stores data necessary for program execution.

One or more random number generation circuits 13112 are provided in the main control MPU 1311 . The random number generation circuit 13112 provides a random number for determining the lottery results of the variable display game results (first special lottery result, second special lottery result) and the effect contents of the variable display game. The random number generating circuit 13112 is a so-called hard random number generating means that outputs a random number updated at the timing of, for example, the clock period supplied to the main control MPU 1311 (or a signal obtained by dividing the clock period). The hard random numbers generated by the random number generating circuit 13112 are used for special symbol winning lotteries, special symbol variation display game winning symbol lotteries, and normal symbol winning lotteries.

A parallel input port 13113 is a port to which detection signals from various detection switches are input via the main control input circuit 1315 .

The serial communication circuit 13114 transmits/receives various commands regarding the control of game effects and various commands regarding the state of the pachinko machine 1 to/from the peripheral control unit 1511 of the peripheral control board 1510 via the main control I/O port 1314 . In addition, the serial communication circuit 13114 transmits/receives various information (game information) about the game and various commands about the payout of game balls to/from the payout control board 951 via the main control I/O port 1314 . Furthermore, the serial communication circuit 13114 transmits data for displaying the character product ratio to the character product ratio display device 1317 . A detailed configuration of the serial communication circuit 13114 will be described later with reference to FIG.

A timer circuit 13115 is a timer for timer interrupts and various time controls. The interrupt controller 13116 controls various interrupts to the CPU 13111 (general interrupts, NMI that cannot be masked by software). That is, when the interrupt controller 13116 detects an interrupt, it refers to the processing address table defined for each type of interrupt and jumps to the address set in the processing address table.

The external bus interface 13117 is an interface for connecting the internal bus of the main control MPU 1311 with external devices. An I/O request (IORQ), read (RD), write (WR), 16-bit address (A0-A15), and 8-bit data (D0-D7) can be input/output from the external bus interface 13117 .

A clock circuit 13118 generates an internal clock for the main control MPU 1311 from an input external clock signal (eg, 32 MHz). Also, the clock circuit 13118 divides the frequency of the input clock signal by a set number and outputs the result from the CLKO terminal to the outside. For example, a clock signal to be supplied to the driver circuit 13171 (see FIG. 28) of the character ratio indicator 1317 may be output.

A verification block 13119 is a functional block that verifies whether or not the ROM 1313 has been illegally modified using a predetermined code. The unique information 13120 is an ID unique to the main control MPU 1311, and is written in a non-rewritable manner when the chip is manufactured.

The arithmetic circuit 13121 provides an arithmetic function independent of the program recorded in the ROM 1313 . This arithmetic function is permanently written into the chip when it is manufactured.

The reset circuit 13122 has an undesignated running prohibition circuit, a watchdog timer, and a user reset function. When the CPU 13111 accesses an address other than the predetermined address in the ROM 1313, the undesignated travel prohibition circuit presumes that the access is by an unauthorized program, and resets the operation of the main control MPU 1311. FIG. The watchdog timer outputs a timeout signal when a predetermined timer time elapses and resets the operation of the main control MPU 1311 . The user reset function resets the operation of the main control MPU 1311 by a reset signal input to the SRST terminal.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the arithmetic circuit 13121. As shown in FIG.

The arithmetic circuit 13121 provides an arithmetic function independent of a program for the arithmetic result, and has a multiplication circuit 131211 and a division circuit 131215 .

The multiplication circuit 131211 is an arithmetic circuit that multiplies two values of a predetermined number of bits (for example, 16 bits) and outputs a 32-bit product. It functions as an output conversion circuit.

The CPU 13111 of the main control MPU 1311 stores multipliers and multiplicands of 16 bits or less in the multiplication input register A131212 and the multiplication input register B131213. The multiplication circuit 131211 reads the values stored in the two 16-bit multiplication input registers 131212 and 131213 at a predetermined timing, and stores the result of multiplying the two values in the multiplication result register 131214 . The CPU 13111 acquires the multiplication result from the multiplication result register 131214 . The process from writing values to the multiplication input registers 131212 and 131213 to storing the operation result in the multiplication result register 131214 is configured to be completed in a predetermined time (for example, one clock). , 131213, and after a predetermined number of clocks has passed, the multiplication result register 131214 can be referenced to obtain the multiplication result.

The division circuit 131215 is an arithmetic circuit that divides a dividend of a predetermined number of bits (for example, 32 bits) by a divisor of a predetermined number of bits (for example, 32 bits) and outputs a 32-bit quotient and a 32-bit remainder. It functions as a conversion circuit that converts an input value (divisor, dividend) into a quotient and remainder by a function and outputs the result.

The CPU 13111 of the main control MPU 1311 stores a dividend of 32 bits or less in the division input register A131216 and stores a divisor of 32 bits or less in the division input register B131217. When the division circuit 131215 detects that values are stored in both of the two 32-bit division input registers 131216 and 131217, the stored values are read out at a predetermined timing, and the quotient obtained by dividing the dividend by the divisor is obtained. The result is stored in the division result register A131218, and the remainder is stored in the division result register B131219. In addition, when the division circuit 131215 reads the values stored in the division input registers 131216 and 131217, it is preferable to erase the read values and clear the registers. Also, the division circuit 131215 may read the values stored in the division input registers 131216 and 131217 at the timing when the start instruction is input, and store the division results in the division result registers 131218 and 131219 . In this case, the values stored in the division input registers 131216 and 131217 may not be erased at read timing. Further, even if the division input registers 131216 and 131217 already store values (without clearing the stored values), the values may be overwritten.

The CPU 13111 acquires the division result from the division result registers 131218 and 131219 . The process from writing values to the division input registers 131216 and 131217 to storing the operation results in the division result registers 131218 and 131219 is configured to be completed within a predetermined time (for example, 32 clocks). After the values are stored in the registers 131216 and 131217 and a predetermined number of clocks has passed, the division result registers 131218 and 131219 can be referenced to obtain the quotient and remainder.

In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, as will be described later, division processing is necessary to calculate the base value. It takes. Therefore, it is difficult to execute the base calculation process for each timer interrupt process, and it is difficult to display the base value without delay. On the other hand, by performing division processing using the arithmetic circuit 13121, the time required to calculate the base value can be shortened, and the base value can be calculated multiple times in one timer interrupt processing (see FIGS. 75 and 80). . In addition, since the CPU 13111 is not occupied for division processing during the period from writing values to the division input registers 131216 and 131217 of the arithmetic circuit 13121 to reading the operation result from the division result register A131218, other processing can be executed. Base calculation processing can be efficiently executed during timer interrupt processing.

FIG. 20 shows a configuration of the serial communication circuit 13114. As shown in FIG.

The serial communication circuit 13114 has four data transmission/reception circuits, and each data transmission/reception circuit transmits/receives data for one channel to/from a predetermined device. In FIG. 20, only the data transmission circuit is illustrated, and the description of the data reception circuit (for example, one channel is implemented) is omitted.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the serial communication circuit 13114 has, as described above, channel 0 used for communication with the peripheral control board 1510, channel 1 used for communication with the payout control board 951, character ratio Three channels are used, channel 2 used to communicate with driver circuit 13171 of display 1317, channel 3 is unused.

The serial communication circuit 13114 includes a data register 3141, a transmission data register 3142, a parity generation circuit 3143, a transmission shift register 3144, a command status register 3145, a communication setting register 3146, a transmission trigger setting level register 3147, a baud rate register 3148, and a baud rate generation circuit. 3149.

Data input from the CPU 13111 is stored in the data register 3141 and then in the transmission data register 3142 . The transmission data register 3142 is composed of a FIFO with a predetermined capacity (for example, 64 bytes). The transmission data register 3142 adds the error detection code generated by the parity generation circuit 3143 for each data transmission unit to the data to be transmitted, and stores it in the transmission shift register 3144 .

The baud rate generation circuit 3149 generates a transmission clock signal for transmitting data at the rate set in the baud rate register 3148 from the clock signal supplied from the clock circuit 13118 . Then, the transmission shift register 3144 transmits data according to the transmission clock signal.

A command status register 3145 is a register referred to for checking the transmission status.

Communication setting register 3146 stores commands for controlling data transmission. The transmission trigger setting level register 3147 stores a threshold value for controlling the amount of data that causes the FIFO of the transmission data register 3142 to generate an interrupt. Baud rate register 3148 stores the baud rate setting for defining the data transmission rate. The communication setting register 3146, transmission trigger setting level register 3147 and baud rate register 3148 are set for each of the four channels as initial settings in step S28 of FIG.

These settings are described in detail below. The communication format of each channel is set in the communication setting register. Specifically, whether or not to use FIFO (FIFO mode, normal mode), the number of stop bits, and parity (whether parity is used, even parity or odd parity) are set. For example, in channel 0 used for communication with the peripheral control board 1510 and channel 1 used for communication with the payout control board 951, FIFO mode, stop bit = 1 bit, 1 xxx 1010B meaning even parity is set, and in channel 2 used for communication with the driver circuit 13171 of the character ratio display 1317, FIFO mode, stop bit=1 bit, and 1×××1000B meaning no parity are set.

In FIFO mode, the FIFO of transmit data register 3142 is used to transmit data. In addition, since the game machine is in a noisy environment, it is desirable to set parity when transmitting data to the outside of the main control board 1310 at high speed.

Since the character object ratio display 1317 is mounted on the main control board 1310, it is less affected by noise compared to communication with other boards via communication wires. Also, since the amount of data to be transmitted and received is small, the communication speed may be low, and there is little need to use parity. In addition, along the pattern for transmitting signals between the driver circuit 13171 of the character ratio display 1317 and the main control MPU 1311 (for example, the left and right and / or thickness direction of the signal line provided on the surface or inner layer of the printed circuit board A ground pattern is provided on the layer adjacent to the signal transmission pattern), and the shielding effect of the ground pattern can reduce noise superimposed on the signal transmission pattern.

The transmission trigger setting level register 3147 determines the amount of data that causes the FIFO of the transmission data register 3142 to generate an interrupt. Specifically, when the amount of transmission data stored in the FIFO of the transmission data register 3142 is smaller than the set number of bytes, a predetermined bit in the status register corresponding to each channel is set. By judging the relevant bit of the status register, it is possible to confirm whether or not the FIFO of the transmission data register 3142 is empty, and to judge the transmission timing of the data stored in the FIFO of the transmission data register 3142 .

Note that the bit in the status register can be used to determine whether there is an abnormality in the transmission FIFO. For example, even if data is not written to the FIFO of the transmission data register 3142 for a predetermined period of time, if the corresponding bit of the status register is not set, the FIFO of the transmission data register 3142 does not have an empty space. It may be determined that data has not been transmitted from the FIFO, and error processing (for example, error notification) may be performed.

Baud rate register 3148 defines the data transmission rate. For example, channel 0 used for communication with the peripheral control board 1510 is set to 19200 bps, channel 1 used for communication with the payout control board 951 is set to 1200 bps, and the driver circuit 13171 of the character ratio indicator 1317 1200 bps is set for channel 2 used for communication with.

In this way, the transmission rate is changed according to the data transmitted on each channel. This is because game balls are rolling inside the gaming machine, and the electronic circuits of the gaming machine are in an environment susceptible to noise. For this reason, the data for controlling the output of balls directly related to the profit given to the player is transmitted at a low speed to the payout control board 951 so as to be reliably transmitted. On the other hand, the peripheral control board 1510 transmits data at a high rate because the amount of data to be transmitted is large and has nothing to do with the ball being put out. In addition, the peripheral control board 1510 verifies whether the received command is abnormal, and if it determines that it is abnormal, it does not operate the peripheral control board 1510 or executes abnormality processing (for example, communication error notification), and the command request retransmission of Then, if the resent command is determined to be normal, the normal command is used to restore the state of the peripheral control board 1510 . Therefore, communication with the peripheral control board 1510 can transmit data at a high rate. Furthermore, if the communication rate with the peripheral control board 1510 is lowered, the player will be able to recognize the delay from the winning of the starting gate to the start of the pattern fluctuation, which may reduce interest.

The communication with the driver circuit 13171 of the character ratio display 1317 is at a high rate (19200 bps, which is the data transmission rate with the peripheral control board 1510) or at a low rate (1200 bps, which is the data transmission rate with the payout control board 951). good. In addition, the communication with the driver circuit 13171 of the character ratio display 1317 has a high rate (19200 bps, which is the data transmission rate with the peripheral control board 1510) and a low rate (1200 bps, which is the data transmission rate with the payout control board 951). You may adopt a rate between If the data transmission rate is increased, there is a possibility that other circuits may malfunction due to switching noise of the transistor of the driver circuit 13171 of the character ratio display 1317 or the like. On the other hand, even if an abnormality occurs in the transmitted data due to noise, the same data is retransmitted at each timer interrupt unless the transmitted data is updated. returns to normal, so there is no need to reduce the transmission rate extremely.

Command status register 3145 is a register referred to for checking the transmission status, and each bit is defined as follows, for example.
Bit 7: SnTC This is a flag indicating completion of transmission, 0 indicating that transmission is in progress, and 1 indicating completion of transmission. Bit 6: SnTDBE In normal mode (a communication mode that does not use FIFO), this is a flag indicating that transmission data is empty. That is, it is set when data is transferred from the transmission data register 3142 to the transmission shift register 3144 and no transmission data is stored in the transmission data register 3142 .

In the SnTFTL FIFO mode, the flag indicates the transmission FIFO trigger level. amount of transmitted data is below the trigger level. That is, it is set when the amount of transmission data stored in the FIFO of the transmission data register 3142 is less than the number of bytes set in the transmission trigger level setting register. Therefore, during communication in the FIFO mode, after confirming that the bit is 1, data is written in the FIFO of the transmission data register 3142 .
Bits 5-2: Not used (fixed to 0)
Bit 1: SnTCL Bit to clear transmit buffer, break code transmit, empty transmit data, or set transmit FIFO trigger level (SnTFL), written externally. For example, when forcibly clearing the contents of the buffer, 1 is set to the relevant bit. More specifically, it is used when a command is written to the FIFO, but transmission of the written command is canceled due to some circumstances (for example, occurrence of an abnormality). Note that even if bit 1 is set, the data in the transmission shift register is not cleared.

With the configuration described above, the serial communication circuit 13114 is capable of start-stop synchronous communication (asynchronous communication), but outputs a clock signal for synchronous communication (not shown). In this case, the clock signal supplied to the other party of communication (the driver circuit 13171 of the character product ratio display 1317) is output from the serial communication circuit 13114 instead of the clock circuit 13118. FIG. Each transmitting/receiving circuit of the serial communication circuit 13114 may be capable of synchronous communication by setting at least one channel, or a serial communication circuit for asynchronous communication and a serial communication circuit for synchronous communication may be provided separately.

Although not shown, the serial communication circuit 13114 outputs a signal (LOAD) indicating data loading timing used during synchronous communication.

[3-2. Payout control board]
Returning to FIG. 17, the description of the control configuration of the pachinko machine is continued. Although not shown in detail, a payout control board 951 for controlling the payout of game balls includes a payout control unit 952 that performs various controls related to payout, and a launching solenoid 682 that controls shooting. A launch control unit 953 that performs feed control, an error LED indicator that displays the state of the pachinko machine 1, an error release switch for canceling the error displayed on the error LED indicator, a ball tank 802, and a tank rail. 803, a ball guide unit 820, and a ball extracting switch for discharging the game balls in the payout device 830 to the outside of the pachinko machine 1 to start the ball extracting operation.

[3-2a. Payout control unit]
Although detailed illustration is omitted, the payout control unit 952 that performs various controls related to payout in the payout control board 951 is a microcontroller that includes a ROM that stores various processing programs and various commands, a RAM that temporarily stores data, etc. A payout control MPU as a processor, a payout control I/O port as an I/O device, an external WDT (external watchdog timer) for monitoring whether the payout control MPU is operating normally, and a payout It has a payout motor drive circuit for outputting a drive signal to the payout motor 834 of the device 830 and a payout control input circuit into which detection signals from various detection switches relating to payout are input. The payout control MPU has built-in ROM and RAM as well as functions for preventing fraud.

The payout control MPU of the payout control unit 952 receives various information (game information) on the game from the main control board 1310 and various commands on payout in a serial manner via the payout control I/O port. In addition to the operation signal (detection signal) of the RAM clear switch from is input via the payout control I / O port, the detection signal from the full tank detection sensor 535 is input, the ball out detection sensor 827, payout Detection signals from the detection sensor 842 and the blade rotation detection sensor 840 are input.

Detection signals from the out-of-ball detection sensor 827, the payout detection sensor 842, and the blade rotation detection sensor 840 of the payout device 830 are input to the payout control input circuit and input to the payout control MPU via the payout control I/O port. be.

Detection signals from the door frame open switch for detecting the opening of the door frame 3 with respect to the main body frame 4 and the main body frame open switch for detecting the opening of the main body frame 4 with respect to the outer frame 2 are input to the payout control input circuit, It is input to the payout control MPU via the payout control I/O port.

Further, a detection signal from the full tank detection sensor 535 of the foul cover unit 520 is input to the payout control input circuit, and is input to the payout control MPU via the payout control I/O port.

The payout control MPU outputs a drive signal for driving the payout motor 834 to the payout motor 834 via the payout control I/O, and outputs a signal for displaying the state of the pachinko machine 1 on the error LED indicator. , Output to the error LED indicator through the payout control I / O port, and send a command for indicating the state of the pachinko machine 1 to the main control board 1310 through the payout control I / O port in a serial manner. Also, the number of game balls actually paid out is output to the external terminal plate 784 via the payout control I/O port. This external terminal board 784 is connected to a hall computer installed on the game hall side. This hall computer monitors the game played by the player by grasping the number of game balls paid out by the pachinko machine 1, game information of the pachinko machine 1, and the like. Of the signals output from the external terminal board 784 , the signal generated by the main control board 1310 is output from the external terminal board 784 via the payout control board 951 from the main control board 1310 . In addition, the signal generated by the main control board 1310 may be output from the external terminal board 784 without passing through the payout control board 951 .

The error LED indicator is a segment indicator, and displays the status of the pachinko machine 1 by displaying alphanumeric characters, graphics, and the like. Contents displayed and notified by the error LED indicator include the following. For example, when the figure "-" is displayed, it is notified that it is "normal", and when the number "0" is displayed, it is notified that it is "abnormal connection" (specifically, the main control board 1310 and It informs that there is an abnormality in the electrical connection between the boards with the payout control board 951), and when the number "1" is displayed, it means that the ball is out (specifically, the ball is out) Based on the detection signal from the detection sensor 827, it informs that there is no game ball in the payout device 830), and when the number "2" is displayed, it means that it is "ball caught" (specifically, the blade Based on the detection signal from the rotation detection sensor 840, it is notified that the payout blade and the game ball are engaged in the payout passage of the payout device 830 and the payout blade is difficult to rotate), and the number "3" is displayed. When there is, a ``counting switch error'' (specifically, a malfunction in the payout detection sensor 842 based on the detection signal from the payout detection sensor 842) is notified, and the number "5" is displayed. When the number "6" is displayed, it is notified that there is a "retry error" (specifically, the number of retries for the dispensing operation has reached a preset upper limit), and when the number "6" is displayed, "full tank (Specifically, based on the detection signal from the full tank detection sensor 535, the game balls stored in the foul cover unit 520 are full), and the number "7" is displayed. When it is, it informs that "CR is not connected" (that the electrical connection is cut off in any part from the payout control board 951 to the CR unit), and the number "9" is displayed. Sometimes, it is notified that the game is "in stock" (specifically, that the number of game balls that have not yet been paid out has reached a predetermined number).

A game ball lending request signal from the ball lending button and a prepaid card return requesting signal from the return button are input to the CR unit. The CR unit transmits a signal designating the number of game balls to be rented according to the ball lending request signal to the payout control board 951 in a serial manner, and this signal is received by the payout control I/O port and input to the payout control MPU. be done. The CR unit updates the remaining amount of the inserted prepaid card according to the number of rented game balls, and outputs a signal for displaying the remaining amount on the display. entered and displayed.

[3-2b. Launch control section]
Although not shown in detail, a firing control unit 953 that performs firing control by the firing solenoid 682 and ball feeding control by the ball feeding solenoid 551 has a firing control input that receives detection signals from various detection switches related to firing. A circuit, an oscillation circuit that outputs a clock signal at regular time intervals, a launch timing control circuit that outputs a launch reference pulse for launching a game ball toward the game area 5a based on this clock signal, and this launch reference pulse. and a ball feed solenoid drive circuit that outputs a drive signal to the ball feed solenoid 551 based on the discharge reference pulse. The launch timing control circuit generates a launch reference pulse so that 100 game balls are launched toward the game area 5a per minute based on the clock signal from the oscillation circuit, and outputs the pulse to the launch solenoid drive circuit, A ball-feeding reference pulse obtained by multiplying the firing reference pulse by a predetermined number is generated and output to a ball-feeding solenoid drive circuit.

In relation to the handle unit 500, a contact detection sensor 509 that detects whether the palm or fingers are in contact with the handle lever 504, and a stop sensor that detects whether or not the launch of the game ball is to be forcibly stopped by the player's will. A detection signal from the button is input to the firing timing control circuit after being input to the firing control input circuit. When the CR unit and the CR unit connection terminal plate are electrically connected, the CR connection signal is input to the firing control input circuit and the firing timing control circuit. A signal from a handle operation sensor 507, which electrically adjusts the intensity of hitting the game ball toward the game area 5a in accordance with the rotational position of the handle lever 504, is input to the firing solenoid drive circuit.

This firing solenoid drive circuit receives a drive current for firing a game ball toward the game area 5a with a launching strength corresponding to the rotational position of the handle lever 504 based on a signal from the handle operation sensor 507, and a firing reference pulse is input. Triggered by this, it outputs to the firing solenoid 682 . On the other hand, the ball-feeding solenoid drive circuit outputs a constant current to the ball-feeding solenoid 551 in response to the input of the ball-feeding reference pulse, thereby feeding the game balls stored in the upper plate 201 of the plate unit 200. When one ball is received in the feeding unit 540 and the input of the ball feeding reference pulse is terminated, the output of the constant current is stopped to feed the received game ball to the ball launching device 680 side. In this way, the drive current output from the firing solenoid drive circuit to the firing solenoid 682 is variably controlled, while the drive current output from the ball feed solenoid drive circuit to the ball feed solenoid 551 is controlled to be constant. ing.

In addition, the power board that supplies various voltages to the payout control board 951 has a capacitor as a backup power supply for supplying power to the main control board 1310 for a predetermined time even when the power is cut off. Due to this capacitor, the payout control MPU can store various information in the RAM of the payout control board 951 in the power-off process even when the power is cut off. The stored various information is completely erased (cleared) from the RAM of the payout control board 951 when the RAM clear switch of the main control board 1310 is operated when the power is turned on.

[3-3. Peripheral control board]
As shown in FIG. 17, the peripheral control board 1510 includes a peripheral control section 1511 that controls effects based on commands from the main control board 1310, and a main liquid crystal display device 1600 based on control data from the peripheral control section 1511. , and a liquid crystal display control unit 1512 that controls drawing of the sub liquid crystal display device 3114 and the upper dish liquid crystal display device 244 .

[3-3a. Peripheral control unit]
Although detailed illustration is omitted, the peripheral control unit 1511, which performs performance control in the peripheral control board 1510, includes a peripheral control MPU as a microprocessor, a peripheral control ROM that stores various processing programs and various commands, and a high-quality performance. and a sound ROM in which sound information such as music and sound effects referred to by the sound source IC is stored.

The peripheral control MPU incorporates a plurality of parallel I/O ports, serial I/O ports, etc. When various commands are received from the main control board 1310, based on these various commands, each decoration board of the game board 5 The game board side light emission data for outputting a lighting signal, a blinking signal or a gradation lighting signal to the provided color LED etc. is transmitted from the serial I / O port for the lamp driving board to the effect driving board 3043, or the game board The game board side drive data for outputting the drive signal to the drive motor that operates the various production units provided in 5 is transmitted from the game board decoration drive board serial I / O port to the production drive board 3043, and the door Door-side drive data for outputting a drive signal to an electric drive source such as the vibrating device 242 provided on the frame 3 and the door lower right drive motor 272; door-side drive light-emission data for outputting a lighting signal, a blinking signal, or a gradation lighting signal to an LED or the like; or to transmit control data (display command) indicating a screen to be displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 or the upper liquid crystal display device 244 from the serial I/O port for the liquid crystal control section to the liquid crystal display control section 1512, In addition, it outputs a control signal (sound command) for extracting sound information from the sound ROM to the sound source IC.

Detection signals from various position detection sensors for detecting the positions of various effect units provided on the game board 5 are input to the peripheral control MPU via the effect drive board 3043 attached to the rear surface of the back box. . Detection signals from the touch panel 246 of the effect operation unit 220 provided on the door frame 3 and the effect button pressing sensor 258 are input to the peripheral control MPU.

Further, the peripheral control MPU receives a signal (operation signal) from the liquid crystal display control unit 1512 that indicates that the liquid crystal display control unit 1512 is operating normally. monitoring the action.

The sound source IC extracts sound information from the sound ROM based on the control data (sound command) from the peripheral control MPU, and outputs music and sounds in accordance with various effects from the speaker 921 provided on the door frame 3, the main body frame 4, etc. Control is performed so that sound effects and the like flow. The volume can be adjusted by rotating a volume protruding rearward from the peripheral control board box 1520 in which the peripheral control board 1510 is housed. In this embodiment, an acoustic signal as sound information (for example, a 2ch stereo signal, a 4ch stereo signal, a 2.1ch surround signal, or a , 4.1ch surround signal, etc.), it is possible to present a more realistic sound effect (sound presentation) than before.

Note that the peripheral control unit 1511 has an external WDT (watchdog timer) (not shown) in addition to the built-in WDT (watchdog timer) built into the peripheral control MPU. It diagnoses whether or not its own system is running out of control by using it together with WDT.

A display command output from the peripheral control MPU to the liquid crystal display control unit 1512 is performed through a serial input/output port. k) Bps (bits per second, hereinafter referred to as "bps") is set. On the other hand, output from the peripheral control MPU to the effect drive board 3043 attached to the rear surface of the back box, the initial data, the door frame side lighting blinking command, the game board side lighting blinking command, the movable body driving command, the display command , and in this embodiment, the bit rate is set to 250 kbps.

This effect drive board 3043 outputs a lighting signal or a flashing signal based on the received door frame side lighting flashing command to the LED of each decoration board provided in the door frame 3, or outputs the received game board side lighting flashing command A lighting signal or blinking signal based on is output to the LED of each decoration board provided on the game board 5. - 特許庁

In addition, the effect drive board 3043 transmits a drive signal based on the received drive command to the vibrating device 242 and door lower right drive motor 272 provided on the door frame 3, each drive motor provided on the game board 5, and the like. output to

[3-3b. Various control processing of the peripheral control unit]
First, the peripheral controller power-on process will be described with reference to FIG. When the power is turned on to the pachinko machine 1, the peripheral control MPU (not shown) of the peripheral control unit 1511 shown in FIG. 17 performs processing at power-on of the peripheral control unit as shown in FIG. When this peripheral control unit power-on process is started, the performance control program performs an initial setting process under the control of the peripheral control MPU (step S1000). In this initial setting process, the effect control program performs the process of initializing the peripheral control MPU itself, the hot start/cold start determination process, the process of setting the wait timer after reset, and the like. The peripheral control MPU first performs a process of initializing itself, but the time required for this process of initializing the peripheral control MPU is on the order of microseconds (μs), and the peripheral control MPU is initialized in an extremely short time. be able to. As a result, the peripheral control MPU is in a state in which the interrupt permission is set, so that, for example, in the peripheral control unit command reception interrupt processing to be described later, the command related to the control of the game effect and the pachinko game output from the main control board 1310 are output. Various commands such as commands relating to the state of the machine 1 can be received.

Following step S1000, the effect control program performs current time information acquisition processing (step S1002). In this current time information acquisition process, calendar information specifying the year, month, day and time information specifying the hour, minute, and second are acquired from the RTC control unit, and stored in the peripheral control RAM as the current calendar information in the calendar information storage unit. , and set it in the time information storage unit as the current time information.

Following step S1002, the effect control program sets the value 0 to the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG (step S1006). This V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG is a flag for determining whether or not to execute the peripheral control unit steady processing described later. are set to the value 0 when not executed. The V-blank signal detection flag VB-FLG is a peripheral control unit V-blank signal, which will be described later, which is executed when a V-blank signal is input to indicate that the screen data from the peripheral control MPU can be accepted. A value of 1 is set in interrupt processing. In this step S1006, the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG is initialized once by setting the value 0 to the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG.

Following step S1006, the effect control program determines whether or not the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG is value 1 (step S1008). When the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG is not 1 (is 0), the process returns to step S1008 to repeatedly determine whether the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG is 1 or not. By repeating such determinations, a standby state is established until the peripheral control unit steady-state processing is executed.

When the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG has a value of 1 in step S1008, that is, when the peripheral controller steady-state processing is executed, the steady-state processing flag SP-FLG is set to a value of 1 (step S1009). The steady-state processing flag SP-FLG is set to a value of 1 when the peripheral control unit steady processing is being executed, and set to a value of 0 when the execution of the peripheral control unit steady processing is completed.

Following step S1009, the effect control program performs 1 ms interrupt timer activation processing (step S1010). In this 1 ms interrupt timer start processing, a 1 ms interrupt timer for executing peripheral control unit 1 ms timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is started, and the number of times the peripheral control unit 1 ms timer interrupt processing is executed by starting this 1 ms interrupt timer is counted. 1 ms timer interrupt execution count STN for counting is set to 1 to initialize the 1 ms timer interrupt execution count STN. This 1 ms timer interrupt execution count STN is updated by the peripheral control unit 1 ms timer interrupt processing.

Following step S1010, the effect control program performs lamp data output processing (step S1012). In this lamp data output process, the performance control program performs continuous DMA serial transmission to the lamp driving board 4170 shown in FIG. In this case, the peripheral control DMA controller of the peripheral control MPU is used to perform continuous transmission to the serial I/O port for the lamp driving board.

Following step S1012, the production control program performs production operation unit monitoring processing (step S1014). In this effect operation unit monitoring process, in the effect operation unit information acquisition process in the peripheral control unit 1ms timer interrupt process described later, the operation of the operation button 220C etc. is performed based on detection signals from various detection switches provided in the effect operation unit 220. Based on the acquired various information, it monitors whether or not the operation button 220C is operated, and appropriately determines whether or not to reflect the operation state of the operation button 220C in the game effect.

Following step S1014, the effect control program performs display data output processing (step S1016). In this display data output process, drawing data for one screen (one frame) generated on the built-in VRAM of the built-in sound source VDP in the display data creation process described later is transferred to the VDP built-in sound source on the game board side decorative substrate 3053 and the door frame side. Output to the decoration board 233 . As a result, various screens are drawn on the game board side decoration board 3053 and the door frame side decoration board 233 .

Following step S1016, the effect control program performs sound data output processing (step S1018). In this sound data output process, the performance control program outputs sound data such as music and sound effects set in the sound source built-in VDP in the sound data creation process to be described later to the speaker 921, or notifies other than the music and sound effects. It outputs sound data of sound and notification sound to the speaker 921 .

Following step S1018, the effect control program performs scheduler update processing (step S1020). In this scheduler update process, the performance control program updates various schedule data set in the peripheral control RAM. For example, in the scheduler update process, among the screen data arranged in time series constituting the schedule data for screen generation, in order to indicate which screen data from the top screen data is to be output to the VDP with built-in sound source, Update the pointer.

Further, in the scheduler update process, among the light emission data arranged in time series constituting the light emission mode generation schedule data, the number of light emission data from the head light emission data is to be used as the light emission mode of each LED. , to update the pointer.

In the scheduler update process, among the sound data such as music and sound effects arranged in time series and the sound command data indicating the sound data of the notification sound and notification sound, the first sound A pointer is updated in order to indicate what number of sound command data is to be output from the command data to the tone generator built-in VDP.

Further, in the scheduler update process, among the drive data of the electric drive sources such as motors and solenoids arranged in time series that constitute the electric drive source schedule data, the drive data of what number from the head drive data is to be output. Update the pointer to indicate what to do.

Following step S1020, the effect control program performs received command analysis processing (step S1022). In this received command analysis process, the effect control program is information transmitted from the game board side decoration board 3053 and various commands transmitted from the main control board 1310, and peripheral control unit command reception interrupt processing (command receiving means) analyzes various commands received (command analysis means).

Following step S1022, the effect control program performs warning processing (step S1024). In this warning process, furthermore, when the commands analyzed by the received command analysis process of step S1022 as described above include various commands classified into predetermined notification displays, the effect control program issues various abnormal notifications. The schedule data for screen generation, the schedule data for emission mode generation, the schedule data for sound generation, the electric drive source schedule data, etc., which are set in the abnormal display mode for execution, are stored in the peripheral control ROM of the peripheral control unit 1511. Alternatively, it is extracted from the peripheral control RAM and set in the peripheral control RAM. In addition, in the warning process, when multiple abnormalities occur at the same time, the abnormality notification is performed in the order of the priority registered in advance, and the abnormality notification is automatically changed to the remaining abnormality notification after the abnormality is resolved. It is designed to Thus, a plurality of abnormalities can be simultaneously monitored without losing information that one abnormality has occurred due to the occurrence of another abnormality after the occurrence of one abnormality and before the abnormality is resolved. can be done.

Furthermore, in this warning process, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the power was turned on, the command analyzed by the effect control program in the above-described received command analysis process (step S1022) is classified into various commands classified as state displays, such as In the case of the error cancellation navigation command (second error cancellation command), by controlling in a mode different from the normal presentation mode accompanying the presentation operation, for example, the game board side decoration board 3053 (drawing device), the door frame side A decorative substrate 233 (rendering device) and a lamp (rendering device) are used to visually warn the outside, and a speaker is used to audibly warn the outside (error notification means). In this way, when a malicious player tries to input an error cancellation navigation command to the main control board 1310 by operating the operation switch of the payout control board 951 in spite of being in the game state, Since the pachinko machine 1 is configured to issue a warning to the outside, it is possible to deter fraudulent actions on the main control board 1310 that may affect the progress of the game.

Next, following step S1024 described above, the effect control program performs RCT acquisition information update processing (step S1026). In this RTC acquisition information update process, the presentation control program stores the calendar information stored in the calendar information storage unit and the time information storage unit acquired in the current time information acquisition processing of step S1002 and set in the peripheral control RAM. update the time information. By this RCT acquisition information updating process, the hour, minute, and second, which are the time information stored in the time information storage unit, are updated, and based on the updated time information, the year, month, and month, which are the calendar information stored in the calendar information storage unit. date is updated.

Following step S1026, the effect control program performs lamp data creation processing (step S1028). In this lamp data creation process, the effect control program updates the pointer in the scheduler update process of step S1020, and the pointer is designated among the light emission data arranged in time series constituting the light emission mode generation schedule data. Peripheral control of game board side light emission data SL-DAT for outputting a lighting signal, a blinking signal, or a gradation lighting signal to a plurality of LEDs of various decorative boards provided on the game board 5 based on the light emission data Created by extracting from the peripheral control ROM or peripheral control RAM of the unit 1511, set it in the peripheral control RAM, and a lighting signal, blinking signal, or gradation lighting to a plurality of LEDs of various decorative substrates provided on the door frame 3 Door-side light emission data STL-DAT for outputting a signal is created by extracting from the peripheral control ROM or peripheral control RAM of the peripheral control unit 1511 and set in the peripheral control RAM.

Following step S1028, the effect control program performs display data creation processing (step S1030). In this display data creation process, the presentation control program updates the pointer in the scheduler update process of step S1020, and out of the screen data arranged in time series constituting the schedule data for screen generation, the screen data indicated by the pointer. is extracted from the peripheral control ROM or peripheral control RAM of the peripheral control unit 1511 and output to the tone generator built-in VDP. When screen data is input from the peripheral control MPU, the VDP with built-in sound source extracts character data from the liquid crystal and sound control ROM 1512b based on the input screen data, creates sprite data, and displays it on the game board side decoration board 3053. And drawing data for one screen (one frame) to be displayed on the door frame side decoration board 233 is generated on the built-in VRAM.

Following step S1030, the effect control program performs sound data creation processing (step S1032). In this sound data creation process, the presentation control program updates the pointer in the scheduler update process of step S1020, and the pointer points out of the sound instruction data arranged in time series constituting the schedule data for sound generation. The sound command data is extracted from the peripheral control ROM or peripheral control RAM of the peripheral control unit 1511 and output to the tone generator built-in VDP. When sound command data is input from the peripheral control MPU, the VDP with built-in sound source extracts sound data such as music and sound effects stored in the liquid crystal and sound control ROM, and controls the built-in sound source to generate the sound command. Sound data such as music and sound effects are incorporated in accordance with the track number specified in the data, and the output channel to be used is set in accordance with the output channel number.

Following step S1032, the effect control program performs backup processing (step S1034). In this backup process, the performance control program copies and backs up the contents stored in the peripheral control MPU and the peripheral control RAM externally attached to the first backup area and the second backup area, respectively. The contents stored in the peripheral control MPU and the externally attached peripheral control SRAM are copied and backed up in the first backup area and the second backup area, respectively.

Following step S1034, WDT clear processing is performed (step S1036). In this WDT clear processing, a clear signal is output to the peripheral control built-in WDT 1511af and the peripheral control external WDT 1511e so that the peripheral control MPU is not reset.

Following step S1036, the effect control program sets the value 0 to the steady-state processing flag SP-FLG as the execution completion of the peripheral control unit steady-state processing (step S1038), returns to step S1006 again, V blank signal detection flag VB -FLG is initialized by setting a value of 0, and the determination in step S1008 is repeated until a value of 1 is set to the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG in the peripheral control unit V blank signal interrupt process, which will be described later. That is, in step S1008, the system waits until the value 1 is set to the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG. The process of S1038 is performed, and the process returns to step S1006. Thus, when it is determined in step S1008 that the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG has a value of 1, steps S1009 to S1038 are performed. The processing from step S1009 to step S1038 is called "peripheral control unit regular processing".

This peripheral control unit steady processing, effect control program, first step S1009 peripheral control unit steady processing is being executed and starts from setting the value 1 to the steady processing flag SP-FLG, 1 ms in step S1010 , and step S1036, and finally, in step S1038, the normal processing flag SP-FLG is set to 0 as execution completion of the peripheral controller normal processing. is set to complete. The peripheral controller steady-state processing is executed when the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG is 1 in step S1008. As described above, the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG is executed when a V blank signal is input from the tone generator built-in VDP to indicate that the screen data from the peripheral control MPU can be accepted. A value of 1 is set in peripheral control unit V blank signal interrupt processing, which will be described later. In this embodiment, as described above, the frame frequency (the number of screen updates per second) of the game board side decorative board 3053 and the door frame side decorative board 233 is set to approximately 30 fps per second. is input is approximately 33.3 ms (=1000 ms/30 fps). In other words, the peripheral controller steady-state processing is repeatedly executed approximately every 33.3 ms.

Next, as shown in FIG. 61, the V blank signal indicating that the screen data from the peripheral control MPU of the peripheral control unit 1511 can be received is input from the VDP with built-in sound source of the liquid crystal display control unit 1512. A description will be given of the peripheral control unit V blank signal interrupt processing which is executed with the . When this peripheral control unit V blank signal interrupt processing is started, the peripheral control MPU of the peripheral control unit 1511 determines whether or not the steady-state processing flag SP-FLG is 0 as shown in FIG. 61 (step S1045). As described above, the steady-state processing flag SP-FLG has a value of 1 when the peripheral control unit steady processing of steps S1009 to S1038 in the peripheral control unit power-on processing of FIG. Each of them is set to a value of 0 when the processing is completed.

If the steady-state processing flag SP-FLG is not 0 (is 1) in step S1045, that is, if the peripheral controller steady-state processing is being executed, this routine ends. On the other hand, when the steady-state processing flag SP-FLG is 0 in step S1045, that is, when the execution of the peripheral control unit steady-state processing is completed, the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG is set to 1 (step S1050), Exit this routine. As described above, the V blank signal detection flag VB-FLG is a flag for determining whether or not to execute the peripheral control unit steady processing. They are each set to a value of 0 when no routine processing is executed.

Next, the peripheral control unit 1ms timer interrupt processing which is repeatedly executed each time the 1ms interrupt timer is generated by starting the 1ms interrupt timer at step S1010 in the peripheral control unit steady processing of the peripheral control unit power-on processing of FIG. 60 will be described. . When this peripheral control unit 1 ms timer interrupt processing is started, the peripheral control MPU of the peripheral control unit 1511 determines whether or not the 1 ms timer interrupt execution count STN is smaller than 33 times, as shown in FIG. 62 (step S1100). As described above, this 1 ms timer interrupt execution count STN is determined by the 1 ms interrupt timer starting processing in step S1010 in the peripheral control unit steady processing of the peripheral control unit power-on processing in FIG. This is a counter that counts the number of times that a certain peripheral controller 1ms timer interrupt process has been executed. In this embodiment, as described above, the frame frequency (the number of screen updates per second) of the game board side decorative board 3053 and the door frame side decorative board 233 is set to approximately 30 fps per second. is input is approximately 33.3 ms (=1000 ms/30 fps). That is, since the peripheral control unit steady processing is repeatedly executed at intervals of about 33.3 ms, after starting the 1 ms interrupt timer in step S1010 in the peripheral control unit steady processing, the next peripheral control unit steady processing is executed. is executed, the peripheral controller 1ms timer interrupt processing is executed only 32 times. Specifically, when the 1 ms interrupt timer is activated in step S1010 in the peripheral control unit steady process, the first 1 ms timer interrupt occurs, the second, . will occur.

If the 1ms timer interrupt execution count STN is not less than 33 in step S1100, that is, if the 33rd 1ms timer interrupt occurs and the peripheral controller 1ms timer interrupt processing is started, this routine ends. If the occurrence of the 33rd 1 ms timer interrupt happens to precede the next occurrence of the V blank signal, in the present embodiment, the priority of the interrupt processing is given to the peripheral control unit 1 ms timer interrupt processing. Although it is set higher than the blank interrupt processing, the start of the peripheral control unit 1 ms timer interrupt processing due to this 33rd 1 ms timer interrupt is forcibly canceled. In other words, in this embodiment, since the V blank signal is a signal that governs the entire system of the peripheral control board 1510, if the 33rd 1 ms timer interrupt happens to precede the next V blank signal, , the start of the peripheral control unit 1 ms timer interrupt processing due to the 33rd 1 ms timer interrupt is forcibly canceled in order to execute the peripheral control unit V blank interrupt processing. Then, after the 1ms interrupt timer is restarted in step S1010 in the peripheral control unit regular processing due to the generation of the V blank signal, the peripheral control unit 1ms timer interrupt processing is newly started due to the generation of the first 1ms timer interrupt. ing.

On the other hand, when the 1 ms timer interrupt execution count STN is smaller than 33 in step S1100, the 1 ms timer interrupt execution count STN is incremented by 1 (step S1102). By adding the value 1 to the 1 ms timer interrupt execution count STN, the 1 ms interrupt timer is activated by the 1 ms interrupt timer activation process of step S1010 in the peripheral control unit steady process of the peripheral control unit power-on processing of FIG. The number of times the peripheral control unit 1 ms timer interrupt processing, which is this routine, is executed increases by one.

Following step S1102, motor and solenoid drive processing is performed (step S1104). In this motor and solenoid drive processing, pointer drives various motors, solenoids, and other electrical drive sources in accordance with the drive data indicated by , updates the pointer to the next drive data specified in chronological order, and executes this motor and solenoid drive process each time Update the pointer.

Following step S1104, movable body information acquisition processing is performed (step S1106). In this movable object information acquisition process, history information (for example, original position history information) of detection signals from various detection switches is determined by determining whether or not detection signals from various detection switches provided on the game board 5 are input. , movable position history information, etc.) and set it in the peripheral control RAM. It is possible to acquire the original positions and movable positions of various movable bodies provided on the game board 5 from history information of detection signals from various detection switches set in the peripheral control RAM.

Following step S1106, effect operation unit information acquisition processing is performed (step S1108). In this production operation unit information acquisition process, history information (for example, operation operation history information of the button 220C, etc.) and set it in the peripheral control RAM. Whether or not the operation button 220C is operated can be obtained from history information of detection signals from various detection switches set in the peripheral control RAM.

Following step S1108, drawing state information acquisition processing is performed (step S1110). In this drawing state information acquisition process, the history information of the LOCKN signal output from the door frame side performance receiver IC of the door frame side decoration board 233 is created and set in the peripheral control RAM. As described above, the LOCKN signal indicates that the drawing data received by the door frame side effect receiver IC SDIC0 of the door frame side decorative board 233 from the door frame side effect transmitter IC 1512d provided on the peripheral control board 1510 is abnormal data. It is a signal that is output to inform the decision when it is judged.

Following step S1110, backup processing is performed (step S1112), and this routine ends. In this backup process, the contents stored in the peripheral control RAM are copied to the first backup area and the second backup area for backup, and the contents stored in the peripheral control SRAM are copied to the backup second area. 1 area and the backup second area, respectively, to be backed up.

As described above, in the peripheral control unit 1ms timer interrupt process, various processes related to the effects of steps S1104 to S1108 described above are executed within a period of 1ms as the progress of the effects. On the other hand, in the peripheral control unit steady-state processing in the peripheral control unit power-on processing of FIG. are doing. In the peripheral controller 1ms timer interrupt processing, when the 1ms timer interrupt execution count STN is not less than the value 33 in step S1100, that is, when the 33rd 1ms timer interrupt occurs and this peripheral controller 1ms timer interrupt processing is started, Therefore, even if the occurrence of the 33rd 1ms timer interrupt happens to precede the next occurrence of the V-blank signal, the peripheral control unit will not be affected by the 33rd 1ms timer interrupt. After forcibly canceling the start of the 1 ms timer interrupt processing and restarting the 1 ms interrupt timer again in step S1010 in the peripheral control unit steady-state processing due to the generation of the V blank signal, the peripheral control is performed by newly generating the first 1 ms timer interrupt. 1 ms timer interrupt processing is started. That is, consistency between the progress state of the effect by the peripheral control unit steady processing and the progress state of the effect by the peripheral control unit 1ms timer interrupt process which is the timer interrupt control is prevented from collapsing. Therefore, it is possible to reliably match the state of progress of the production.

Also, as described above, the interval at which the V blank signal is output varies somewhat depending on the liquid crystal size of the game board side decoration board 3053 and the door frame side decoration board 233, and the peripheral control MPU and the sound source built-in VDP are mounted. In addition, the interval at which the V blank signal is output may vary slightly depending on the manufacturing lot of the peripheral control board 1510 as well. In this embodiment, the V blank signal is a signal that governs the entire system of the peripheral control board 1510. Therefore, if the 33rd 1 ms timer interrupt happens to precede the next V blank signal, the peripheral control In order to execute the part V blank interrupt process, the start of the peripheral control part 1 ms timer interrupt process due to the 33rd 1 ms timer interrupt is forcibly canceled. In other words, in the present embodiment, even if the interval at which the V blank signal is output changes slightly, by forcibly canceling the start of the peripheral controller 1ms timer interrupt processing by the 33rd 1ms timer interrupt, this It is possible to absorb the time lag due to slight changes in the interval at which the V blank signal is output.

[3-4. Liquid crystal display control unit]
Next, the liquid crystal display control unit 1512, which controls drawing of the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, and the upper liquid crystal display device 244 in the peripheral control board 1510, is not shown in detail, but is implemented as a microprocessor. A display control MPU, a display control ROM for storing various processing programs, various commands and various data, a VDP (abbreviation of Video Display Processor) for controlling the display of the main liquid crystal display device 1600 and the upper tray liquid crystal display device 244, and a main liquid crystal display. An image ROM (effect data ROM) for storing various data of screens displayed on the display device 1600, the sub-liquid crystal display device 3114 and the top plate liquid crystal display device 244, and various data stored in this image ROM (effect data ROM). an image RAM to which data is transferred and copied.

This display control MPU incorporates a parallel I/O port, a serial I/O port, etc., and controls the VDP based on control data (display commands) from the peripheral control unit 1511 to control the main liquid crystal display device 1600, Drawing control of the sub-liquid crystal display device 3114 and the upper tray liquid crystal display device 244 is performed. When the display control MPU is operating normally, the display control MPU outputs an operation signal to the peripheral control unit 1511 to that effect. Further, the display control MPU receives an in-execution signal from the VDP, and performs interrupt processing when the output of the in-execution signal is stopped every 16 ms.

The display control ROM stores control data (display commands) from the peripheral control unit 1511 in addition to various programs for generating screens to be drawn on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, and the upper liquid crystal display device 244. schedule data corresponding to , non-resident area transfer schedule data corresponding to the control data (display command), etc. are stored. The schedule data is configured by arranging screen data that defines the configuration of screens in time series, and defines the order of screens to be drawn on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, and the upper tray liquid crystal display device 244. It is The non-resident area transfer schedule data is composed of non-resident area transfer data arranged in chronological order to define the order in which various data stored in the image ROM (effect data ROM) are transferred to the non-resident area of the image RAM. It is This nonresident area transfer data is the screen data to be drawn on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114 and the upper tray liquid crystal display device 244 according to the progress of the schedule data. The order in which various data are transferred to the non-resident area is stipulated.

The display control MPU extracts the top screen data of the schedule data corresponding to the control data (display command) from the peripheral control unit 1511 from the display control ROM and outputs the screen data following the top screen data to the VDP. It extracts from the display control ROM and outputs it to the VDP. Thus, the display control MPU extracts the screen data arranged in time series in the schedule data one by one from the top screen data from the display control ROM and outputs the extracted data to the VDP.

When screen data output from the display control MPU is input, the VDP extracts sprite data from the image RAM based on the input screen data, and displays it on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114 and the upper plate. Rendering data to be displayed on the liquid crystal display device 244 is generated, and the generated rendering data is output to the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub-liquid crystal display device 3114, and the upper tray liquid crystal display device 244. FIG. When the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, or the upper liquid crystal display device 244 does not accept the screen data from the display control MPU, the VDP outputs an execution signal to that effect to the display control MPU. do. Note that the VDP employs a line buffer system. This "line buffer system" is a method in which drawing data for one line for drawing in the horizontal direction of the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, and the upper plate liquid crystal display device 244 is held in a line buffer, and the line buffer stores the drawing data. This is a method of outputting the retained drawing data for one line to the main liquid crystal display device 1600 , the sub liquid crystal display device 3114 and the upper plate liquid crystal display device 244 .

An extremely large amount of sprite data is stored in the image ROM (effect data ROM), and its capacity is large. When the capacity of the image ROM (rendering data ROM) increases, that is, when the number of sprites drawn on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, and the upper plate liquid crystal display device 244 increases, the image ROM (rendering data ROM) increases. The access speed cannot be ignored, and affects the drawing speed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, and the upper plate liquid crystal display device 244. Therefore, in this embodiment, the sprite data stored in the image ROM (effect data ROM) is transferred and copied to the image RAM having a high access speed, and the sprite data is extracted from this image RAM. The sprite data is base data that is data before the sprite is developed into a bitmap format, and is stored in an image ROM (effect data ROM) in a compressed state.

A "sprite" is an image displayed as a unit on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 or the top plate liquid crystal display device 244. FIG. For example, when displaying various persons (characters) on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, or the top plate liquid crystal display device 244, the data for drawing each person is called "sprite". Accordingly, when displaying a plurality of persons on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, or the upper plate liquid crystal display device 244, a plurality of sprites are used. In addition to the person, the houses, mountains, roads, etc. that make up the background are also sprites, and the entire background can be made into one sprite. For these sprites, the position to be arranged on the screen and the vertical relationship when the sprites overlap each other (hereinafter referred to as "sprite superimposition order") are set, and the main liquid crystal display device 1600 and the sub liquid crystal display device 3114 and the upper dish liquid crystal display device 244 are drawn.

Note that the sprite is constructed by gluing together a plurality of rectangular areas of 64 pixels each in length and width. The data for drawing this rectangular area is called a "sprite character". A small sprite can be expressed using one sprite character, and a relatively large sprite such as a person can be expressed using a total of 6 sprite characters, for example, arranged horizontally by 2×vertically 3. can be expressed. Larger sprites such as backgrounds can be represented using more sprite characters. In this way, the number and arrangement of sprite characters can be arbitrarily specified for each sprite.

The main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, and the upper liquid crystal display device 244 sequentially set the display state of each pixel in one direction along the pixels from left to right when viewed from the front. and sub-scanning that repeats main scanning in a direction intersecting with the one direction. The main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, and the upper tray liquid crystal display device 244 receive the drawing data for one line output from the liquid crystal display control section 1512, and the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the main liquid crystal display device 1600, and the upper liquid crystal display device 244 perform main scanning. When viewed from the front of the sub-liquid crystal display device 3114 or the upper liquid crystal display device 244, the signals are sequentially output to pixels for one line from left to right. When the output for one line is completed, the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, and the upper plate liquid crystal display device 244 shift to the line immediately below as sub-scanning, and drawing data for the next line is similarly input. Then, based on the drawing data for the next line, the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the sub liquid crystal display device 3114, and the upper liquid crystal display device 244 are sequentially scanned one line from left to right as viewed from the front. output to each pixel.

[4. Game content]
Next, game contents by the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, game balls are stored in the upper plate 201 of the plate unit 200 by rotating the handle lever 504 of the handle unit 500 arranged at the lower right corner of the front surface of the door frame 3 by the player. is driven into the upper part of the game area 5a through the space between the outer rail 1001 and the inner rail 1002 of the game board 5, and the game with the game ball is started. A game ball hit to the upper part of the game area 5a flows down either the left side or the right side of the center accessory 2500 depending on the hitting strength. The hitting strength of the game balls can be adjusted by the amount of rotation of the handle lever 504, and the more the handle lever 504 is rotated in the clockwise direction, the stronger the ball can be hit. That is, the game ball can be hit at intervals of 0.6 seconds.

In addition, in the game area 5a, a plurality of obstacle nails (not shown) are planted in a predetermined gauge arrangement at appropriate positions on the front surface of the game panel 1100 (panel plate 1110), and game balls are placed on the obstacle nails. By abutting, the falling speed of the game ball is suppressed, and various movements are imparted to the game ball so that the movement can be enjoyed. Further, in the game area 5a, in addition to the obstacle nail, a windmill (not shown) that rotates when the game ball abuts is provided at an appropriate position.

When the game ball hit to the top of the center role 2500 enters the outer peripheral surface of the front peripheral wall portion 2512 of the center role 2500 to the left of the highest portion in front view, a plurality of obstacle nails (not shown) are generated. While contacting the center accessory 2500, it flows down in the left area. Then, when the game ball flowing down the area on the left side of the center role 2500 enters the warp entrance 2520 opening on the outer peripheral surface of the front peripheral wall portion 2512 of the center role 2500, it passes through the warp passage 2521 and passes through the center role. It is supplied to the stage 2530 through the guide path 2523 from the warp exit 2522 opening in the frame of 2500 .

The game ball supplied to the stage 2530 from the warp exit 2522 rolls on the stage 2530 and moves back and forth to the left and right, and moves to the center guide portion 2531 in the center in the left and right direction, or the side guide portions 2532 on the left and right of it. is emitted backward from either When the game ball is released into the game area 5a from the central guiding portion 2531 of the stage 2530, the central guiding portion 2531 is located directly above the first starting port 2002, so the game released from the central guiding portion 2531 The ball will be accepted into the first launch port 2002 with high probability. When the game balls are received in the first starting port 2002, a predetermined number (for example, three) of game balls are paid out to the upper tray 201 from the payout device 830 via the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951. .

When the game ball rolling on the stage 2530 is released from the side guiding portion 2532 into the game area 5a, it flows down toward the starting port unit 2100. - 特許庁A game ball released from the stage 2530 of the center accessory 2500 into the game area 5a may be received by the first starting opening 2002 of the starting opening unit 2100, the first big winning opening 2005 in the open state, or the like.

By the way, if the game ball that has flowed down to the left side of the center accessory 2500 does not enter the warp entrance 2520, it will be moved to the center in the left-right direction by the shelf 2302 of the upper side unit 2300, and will enter the general winning opening of the lower side unit 2200. 2001, the first starting port 2002, and the like. Then, when the game balls are received in the general winning hole 2001, a predetermined number (for example, 10) of game balls are paid out to the upper tray 201 from the payout device 830 via the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951. .

On the other hand, the game ball hit to the upper part of the center role 2500 in the game area 5a enters (is hit) to the right of the highest part of the outer peripheral surface of the front peripheral wall portion 2512 of the center role 2500. ), and enters into the upper right circulation space 2541 of the right hitting game area 2540. In the upper right circulation space 2541, although not shown, a plurality of obstructing pegs are planted, and the game ball circulates while abutting against the obstructing pegs and variously changing its flowing direction. In this upper right circulation space 3541 , a gate part 2003 is provided in the upper part, and a general prize winning opening 2001 and a second starting opening 2004 normally closed by a second starting opening door member 2549 are provided in the lower part.

The game ball flowing down in the upper right circulation space 2541 enters into the lower right circulation space 2543 through the right circulation passage 2542 on the downstream side. The game ball that has entered this lower right circulation space 2543 is the second upper big winning hole 2006a and the second lower big winning hole 2006b that are arranged side by side as the second big winning hole 2006. The upper surfaces of the door member 2552 and the second lower big prize opening door member 2555 pass through the second attacker passage 2543a forming the bottom surface, and enter the game area 5a from the left end of the lowered release plate portion 2559 on the left side in front view. released. The downstream end (discharge plate portion 2559) of the second attacker passage 2543a is open so that the game ball is directed to the first large winning opening 2005 of the starting opening unit 2100, and when the first large winning opening 2005 is in the open state , When a game ball is released into the game area 5a from the second attacker path 2543a, the game ball is accepted in the first big winning hole 2005 with a high probability.

A game ball that circulates in the right circulation path 2542 and the lower right circulation space 2543 flows down while an increase in circulation speed is suppressed by a plurality of deceleration ribs 2546 . In rare cases, in the lower right circulation space 2543, it may enter the discharge passage 2543b that branches near the upstream end of the second attacker passage 2543a. It is discharged outside the game board 5 from the second out port 2543c without being returned inside.

When a game ball that hits right and enters the upper right circulation space 2541 passes through the gate portion 2003 and is detected by the gate sensor 2547, normal random numbers are updated within a numerical range predetermined in the main control board 1310. A normal lottery is performed by obtaining one normal random number from among them and comparing the obtained normal random number with a predetermined normal winning determination table. When the result of this normal lottery is "normal hit" when the time saving control described later is not executed, the second start opening door member 2549 rotates only once in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front to open the second start opening. 2004 is opened, and it is possible to accept game balls into the second starting port 2004 for a predetermined period of time (0.5 seconds in this example). On the other hand, when the time-saving control is executed, a lottery is drawn to select which of the ``first normal win'', ``second normal win'', and ``third normal win'' as the ``normal win'' in the normal lottery. Then, when the time saving control is executed, the normal lottery result of the normal lottery is one of "first normal win", "second normal win", and "third normal win", the second start opening door member 2549 By rotating in the counterclockwise direction in the front view and opening the second start port 2004, the game ball can be accepted into the second start port 2004 over a predetermined period. By rotating in the counterclockwise direction to close the second starting port 2004, the opening and closing control is performed a predetermined number of times (in this example, 5 times). In addition, when the ordinary lottery result of the ordinary lottery is "first ordinary hit", the second starting port 2004 is in a state where it is possible to accept game balls 5 times "0.3 seconds". , "0.28 seconds", "0.3 seconds", "0.28 seconds", "0.3 seconds", and when the normal lottery result of the normal lottery is "second normal hit" "0.3 seconds", "0.28 seconds", "1.1 seconds", and "0.28 seconds" as the periods of five times when the second starting port 2004 is in a state capable of accepting game balls. , "0.3 seconds", and when the ordinary lottery result of the ordinary lottery is "third ordinary hit", the second start port 2004 is set to a state where it is possible to accept game balls. The period is set to "0.3 seconds", "0.28 seconds", "0.3 seconds", "0.28 seconds", "1.1 seconds", "second normal per" and "third normal "Hit" is a hit that is more advantageous to the player than the "first normal hit" (easy acceptance of the game ball into the second starting port 2004). In addition, when the game ball is received in the second starting port 2004, a predetermined number (for example, three) game balls from the payout device 830 via the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 are paid out to the upper tray 201. be.

In this embodiment, in the variable display of the normal symbols performed by the normal symbol display device of the function display unit 1400 based on the game ball passing through the gate portion 2003, the normal symbols are displayed after starting the variable display of the normal symbols. A certain amount of time (for example, 0.01 to 60 seconds, also referred to as normal fluctuation time) is set until the stop display (until the normal lottery result is suggested). In the second starting port 2004, the second starting port door member 2549 rotates to open after the normal fluctuation time has elapsed. In addition, during execution of the time saving control described later, the control for shortening the normal fluctuation time is performed more than normal (the state in which the time saving control is not performed). In addition, the opening time to rotate the second starting port door member 2549 to open the second starting port 2004 may be changed according to the game state, for example, time saving control is performed. You may make it change the opening time of the 2nd starting mouth 2004 to a long time compared with the case where time saving control is performed when there is nothing.

In addition, after the game ball passes through the gate section 2003, until the normal symbol that is variably displayed on the normal symbol display device is stopped and displayed (until the result of the normal lottery is indicated), a new game ball is placed in the gate section. After passing through 2003, it is not possible to start the variable display of the normal symbols newly on the normal symbol display device, so the start of the variable display of the normal symbols is continued until the variable display of the previous normal symbols is completed (the result of the normal lottery). I'm trying to put it on hold until the suggestion ends). Specifically, the normal random number acquired by the main control board 1310 is stored based on the detection of the game ball passing through the gate part 2003 by the gate sensor 2547, and the normal symbol fluctuation display can be started. The start of the variable display of normal symbols is suspended until. It should be noted that the number of normal random numbers that can be stored in the main control board 1310 has an upper limit of 4, and any game balls that pass through the gate section 2003 are discarded without being held. . As a result, an increase in the burden on the game hall side is suppressed by accumulating the holdings.

In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, when the game ball received in the first starting port 2002 is detected by the first starting port sensor 2104, the main control board 1310 updates the numerical range predetermined. One first special random number is obtained from one special random number, and the obtained first special random number is collated with a predetermined big hit determination table to provide an advantageous game state (for example, "big hit") that is advantageous to the player. , "small win", etc.) is performed. Then, based on the first special lottery result drawn, the eight LEDs of the first special symbol display are controlled to blink over a predetermined fluctuation time (for example, 0.1 to 360 seconds). After that, the first special lottery result The result of the first special lottery is suggested to the player by displaying in a lighting mode corresponding to (displaying the stop pattern corresponding to the result of the first special lottery after the first special symbol is variably displayed). The results of the first special lottery drawn by receiving the game ball into the first starting port 2002 include "lose", "minor win", "2R big win", "8R big win", and "10R big win". By comparing the first special random number obtained with the jackpot determination table, it is determined which one of these, and furthermore, after the jackpot game, it is normal (low probability state: in this example, the probability is about 1/395 Probability improvement control (high probability state (also referred to as probability variable state): winning a jackpot with a probability of about 1/44 in this example) to improve the probability of winning a jackpot (winning probability) rather than winning a jackpot) Whether to execute (whether it is a probability variable jackpot) and whether to execute time saving control (time saving state) that shortens the fluctuation time than usual when at least the first special lottery result is lost (whether it is a time saving jackpot) or) and the period for executing the time saving control (the number of times of time saving: special design (number of fluctuations of the first special design and the second special design)) is also discriminated. Incidentally, the winning probability of the "small win" is always constant regardless of the gaming state (about 1/300 in this example).

In addition, when the game ball accepted in the second starting port 2004 is detected by the second starting port sensor 2551, one of the second special random numbers updated within a predetermined numerical range in the main control board 1310 The second special random number is acquired, and the obtained second special random number is collated with a predetermined big hit determination table to create an advantageous game state (for example, "big win", "small win", etc.) that is advantageous to the player. ) will be drawn for the result of the second special drawing. Then, based on the selected second special lottery result, the eight LEDs of the second special symbol display are controlled to blink over a predetermined fluctuation time (for example, 0.1 to 360 seconds) After the second special lottery result The result of the second special lottery is suggested to the player by displaying in a lighting mode corresponding to (displaying the stop pattern corresponding to the result of the second special lottery after the second special symbol is variably displayed). It should be noted that the second special lottery result drawn by receiving the game ball in the second starting port 2004 includes "lose", "2R big win", "4R big win", "5R big win", "6R big win", There are ``7R jackpot'', ``8R jackpot'', and ``16R jackpot'', and by collating the acquired second special random number with the jackpot determination table, it is determined which one of these, and furthermore, after the jackpot game, the normal ( Low probability state: probability improvement control (high probability state (also referred to as variable state) to improve the probability of winning a jackpot (winning probability) than the probability of winning a jackpot with a probability of about 1/395 in this example): this example Then you will win the jackpot with a probability of about 1/44) Whether to execute (whether it is a probability variable jackpot or not), and at least if the second special lottery result is lost Time saving control that shortens the fluctuation time than usual Whether or not (time saving state) is executed (whether it is a time saving jackpot) and the period for executing time saving control (number of times of time saving: special pattern (number of fluctuations of first special hitting pattern and second special pattern))) and also discriminate It is designed to be

If the special lottery result (first special lottery result and second special lottery result) drawn by accepting the game ball into the first start port 2002 and the second start port 2004 is a special lottery result that generates an advantageous gaming state , Eight LEDs of the special symbol indicator (first special symbol indicator, second special symbol indicator) after the elapse of a predetermined fluctuation time are displayed in a lighting mode according to the special lottery result, and then the first big winning opening Either of 2005 and the second big prize winning opening 2006 will be in a state in which a game ball can be received with a predetermined opening/closing pattern. When a game ball is received in the first big winning hole 2005 or the second big winning hole 2006 when the first big winning hole 2005 or the second big winning hole 2006 is open, the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 A predetermined number from the payout device 830 (for example, 11 when the game ball is received in the first big winning opening 2005, or 15 when the game ball is received in the second big winning opening 2006) Game balls are paid out to the upper tray 201. - 特許庁Therefore, when the first big winning hole 2005 and the second big winning hole 2006 are capable of accepting game balls, by making the first big winning hole 2005 and the second big winning hole 2006 accept the game balls, many games can be played. Balls can be paid out and the player can be entertained.

When the special lottery result is a "small win" or "2R big win", the first big winning hole 2005 holds the game ball for a predetermined short time (for example, between 0.2 seconds and 0.6 seconds). Repeat the open/close pattern multiple times (eg, twice) to reach an acceptable open state and then close. On the other hand, if the special lottery results are "4R big win", "5R big win", "6R big win", "7R big win", "8R big win", "10R big win", and "16R big win", the first big prize opening 2005 or the second large prize winning port 2006, after it becomes an open state capable of receiving a game ball, a predetermined time (for example, about 30 seconds) has elapsed, or it is predetermined to the first large winning prize port 2005 Either the number (for example, 7) of game balls is accepted or the predetermined number (for example, 10) of game balls are accepted to the second big winning hole 2006, and any condition is satisfied. , an opening/closing pattern (one opening/closing pattern is referred to as one round) in which a game ball is in a closed state, is repeated a predetermined number of times (a predetermined number of rounds). For example, 4 rounds for a "4R big win", 5 rounds for a "5R big win", and 16 rounds for a "16R big win" are repeated to generate an advantageous game state advantageous to the player. In addition, the opening and closing pattern executed when the special lottery result is a "small hit" or "2R big win" (the first big winning opening 2005 is for a predetermined short time (for example, between 0.2 seconds and 0.6 seconds) It is difficult to enter the game ball into the first big winning hole 2005 substantially in the opening and closing pattern that closes after becoming an open state that can accept the game ball. On the other hand, the opening/closing pattern executed when the special lottery results are "4R big win", "5R big win", "6R big win", "7R big win", "8R big win", "10R big win" and "16R big win". (After the first big winning hole 2005 or the second big winning hole 2006 becomes an open state capable of accepting a game ball, a predetermined time (for example, about 30 seconds) elapses, or the first big winning hole 2005 Either a predetermined number (for example, 7) of game balls are accepted into the second big winning port 2006 or a predetermined number (for example, 10) of game balls are accepted to the second big winning opening 2006 When this condition is satisfied, it is easy to enter the game ball into the first big winning hole 2005 or the second big winning hole 2006 in the open/close pattern that makes it impossible to accept the game ball. In addition, if the special lottery result is "4R big win", "5R big win", "6R big win", "7R big win", "8R big win", "10R big win", "16R big win", the above first big prize A predetermined time (for example, about 30 seconds) elapses after the opening 2005 or the second big winning opening 2006 becomes open to accept a game ball, or the first big winning opening 2005 is preliminarily determined. Either the number (for example, 7) of game balls are accepted or the predetermined number (for example, 10) of game balls are accepted to the second big winning opening 2006, any condition is satisfied. Then, the number of rounds in which the opening and closing pattern in which the game ball is in a closed state that cannot be accepted may be used as a substantial special lottery result, and the number (for example, , 7) game balls are accepted or a predetermined number of game balls (for example, 10) are accepted into the second big winning hole 2006, or any condition is satisfied, the game balls are satisfied. and the opening/closing pattern executed when the special lottery result is a "small win" or "2R big win" (the first big prize opening 2005 is opened for a predetermined short time (for example, 0.2 seconds 0.6 seconds), it may be provided to execute a plurality of rounds. For example, as a result of special lottery, "8R jackpot with substantially 4R" is provided, and a predetermined number (for example, 7) of game balls are accepted into the first big prize opening 2005, or the second big prize opening 2006, when a predetermined number (for example, 10) of game balls are accepted or any condition is satisfied, after repeating the open/close pattern four times to make the game balls unacceptable to the closed state, The opening and closing pattern executed when the special lottery result is "small hit" or "2R big hit" (first big winning opening 2005 for a predetermined short time (for example, between 0.2 seconds and 0.6 seconds), An opening/closing pattern that closes after being in an open state capable of accepting game balls) may be repeated four times.

By the way, in the present embodiment, the second big prize-winning hole 2006 is composed of a second upper big-winning hole 2006a and a second lower big-winning hole 2006b arranged side by side. In the case of "jackpot", for example, in the first round (1st round), the second upper big prize winning opening 2006a is opened to allow the reception of game balls, and is closed when the conditions for not accepting the game balls are satisfied, making it possible to accept the next game balls. Until (during the interval), the second lower big winning hole 2006b is opened to start the next round (2Rth) in which the game balls can be accepted, and when the second lower big winning hole 2006b becomes unacceptable, In the meantime, since the period of the interval has passed, the second upper big prize winning opening 2006a is opened again to make it possible to receive the game balls. Then, the second upper big prize winning opening 2006a and the second lower big winning prize opening 2006b are alternately opened and closed until a predetermined number of rounds are completed. As a result, in the second attacker passage 2543a, either the second upper big winning hole 2006a or the second lower big winning hole 2006b can receive a game ball during the "jackpot". When the game ball is circulated in the second attacker passage 2543a by hitting right with , the game ball is surely accepted in the second big prize winning port 2006, and the game ball is not left out to entertain the player. can be done.

In addition, in the present embodiment, for some of the above-described multiple types of jackpots, whether or not to execute the time-saving control after the jackpot game ends is differentiated according to the game state when the jackpot is won. For example, when the result of the first special lottery is an 8R normal jackpot in which the probability improvement control is not executed after the big win game in a non-time saving state (state where the time saving control is not executed), the time saving control is not executed after the big win game. On the other hand, when the result of the first special lottery is the 8R normal jackpot in the time saving state (the time saving control is being executed), the time saving control is executed after the jackpot game. When the result of the second special lottery is a 2R normal jackpot in which the probability improvement control is not executed after the big win game in a non-time saving state (state where the time saving control is not executed), the time saving control is not executed after the big win game. On the other hand, when the result of the second special lottery is the 2R normal jackpot in the time saving state (when the time saving control is being executed), the time saving control is executed after the big win game. In addition, the first special lottery result and the second special lottery result in the low probability non-time-saving state (both probability improvement control and time-saving control are not executed: normal state) Execute the probability improvement control after the big hit game In the case of the 2R probability variable jackpot, the time saving control is not executed after the jackpot game. On the other hand, 2R probability improvement control is executed after the first special lottery result and the second special lottery result are big wins in the state of executing the probability improvement control or the time reduction control, that is, in a state other than the normal state. When it is a big hit, time saving control is executed after the big hit game.

In this embodiment, the variation display of the first special symbol executed by the first special symbol display device by accepting the game ball to the first start port 2002, and the acceptance of the game ball to the second start port 2004 The variable display of the second special symbol executed by the two special symbol display devices is not executed at the same time, and only one of them is executed. Therefore, until the first special symbol that is variably displayed on the first special symbol display device by accepting the game ball to the first starting port 2002 is stopped and displayed (until the first special lottery result is suggested) and the second Until the second special symbol that is variably displayed on the second special symbol display device by accepting the game ball to the second starting port 2004 is stopped and displayed (until the second special lottery result is suggested), the first start When a new game ball is received in the port 2002 or the second starting port 2004, the first special symbol display device and the second special symbol display device newly start the variable display of the first special symbol and the second special symbol. Because it is not possible, the start of the fluctuation display of the special design (first special design, second special design) until the end of the fluctuation display of the previous special design (first special design, second special design) (first special lottery pending the completion of the results and the suggestion of the results of the second special draw). Specifically, the first special random number obtained by the main control board 1310 based on the detection of the game ball accepted in the first starting hole 2002 by the first starting hole sensor 2104, and the second starting hole sensor 2551 The second special random number acquired by the main control board 1310 based on the detection of the game ball accepted by the second start port 2004 is stored, and special symbols (first special symbol, second special The start of the variable display of the special symbols (first special symbol, second special symbol) is suspended until the variable display of the symbol) can be started. In addition, the first special random number and the second special random number holding number that can be stored in the main control board 1310 are respectively up to four, and more than that are used in the first start port 2002 and the second start port 2004. A ball is accepted but discarded instead of being held. As a result, an increase in the burden on the game hall side is suppressed by accumulating the holdings. Also, of the first special random number and the second special random number stored in the main control board 1310, the second special random number is preferentially digested. That is, regardless of the reception timing of the game ball to the first start port 2002 and the second start port 2004, if the second special random number is stored and the start of the fluctuation display of the second special symbol is suspended, the first special The variable display of the second special symbol is preferentially executed over the symbol.

This special lottery result is suggested by the function display unit 1400 (first special symbol display device, second special symbol display device) and the main liquid crystal display device 1600 (the sub liquid crystal display device 3114 may also be used). The function display unit 1400 is directly controlled by the main control board 1310 to suggest the result of the special lottery. Suggestion of the special lottery result in the function display unit 1400 is repeated lighting and extinguishing of the above eight LEDs constituting the special symbol display device (first special symbol display device, second special symbol display device) for a predetermined time. The lights are blinked and then stopped in a predetermined lighting mode, and the special lottery result is suggested by the combination of the LEDs that are lit at the time of this stop.

On the other hand, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 is indirectly controlled by the peripheral control board 1510 based on the control signal (variation pattern command, determination result notification command, etc.) from the main control board 1310, and the special lottery result is displayed by the effect image. Suggestions are made. Specifically, in the main liquid crystal display device 1600, a series of decorative pattern rows consisting of a plurality of different patterns are displayed in a plurality of rows (for example, three rows of a left decorative pattern, a middle decorative pattern, and a right decorative pattern). The variable display of the decorative pattern rows is started, and then the display is stopped sequentially (in this example, the left decorative pattern → the right decorative pattern → the middle decorative pattern are stopped and displayed in order), and finally all the decorative pattern rows are stopped. When displayed, the lottery result of the special random numbers (first special random number, second special random number) extracted by the combination of symbols stopped and displayed is suggested to the player side. In other words, according to the special lottery results (first special lottery result, second special lottery result) based on the special random numbers (first special random number, second special random number) obtained when the start winning prize occurs, the plurality of decorative pattern rows fluctuate. After being displayed, an effect image is displayed that is stop-displayed so as to suggest the special lottery results (first special lottery result, second special lottery result). In addition, the decorative design displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 is better than the first special design variably displayed on the first special design display or the second special design variably displayed on the second special design display. Since it is large and easy to see, the player generally pays attention to the decoration pattern displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 .

Note that the time indicating the special lottery result on the function display unit 1400 (blinking time of the LED (fluctuation time)) and the time indicating the special lottery result on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 (the symbol row fluctuates to indicate the final image). is displayed), and the function display unit 1400 is set to a shorter time.

Further, in the peripheral control board 1510, in addition to the display of the effect image for suggesting the result of the special lottery by the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the decorative body of the center accessory 2500, the back left, and the like are displayed according to the special lottery result of the lottery. Middle decoration unit 3050, back bottom rear movable production unit 3100, back top left movable production unit 3200, back left movable production unit 3300, back top middle movable production unit 3400, back bottom front movable production unit 3500, etc. , luminous effect, movable effect, display effect, etc. can be performed, and the player can be entertained by various effects, and the player's interest in the game can be prevented from decreasing.

[5. Various control processing of the main control board]
Next, processing executed by the main control board 1310 according to the progress of the game of the pachinko machine 1 will be described. Specifically, system/user reset processing executed when the gaming machine is powered on, and timer interrupt processing executed at predetermined intervals (4 ms in this embodiment) by a timer activated by the system/user reset processing. explain.

[5-1. Initialization process]
21 and 22 are flowcharts showing the procedure of initialization processing of the main control board in the embodiment of the present invention.

When the pachinko machine 1 is powered on, the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 executes the main control program to perform initialization processing. When the initialization process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first sets the protection of the RAM 1312 incorporated in the main control MPU 1311 to write permission, thereby enabling writing to the RAM 1312 (step S10). Specifically, "00H" indicating write permission is output to the RAM protect register.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 activates the built-in watchdog timer (step S12). Specifically, first, "03H" indicating mode setting is written in the watchdog timer control register, and "03H" indicating activation of the watchdog timer is written. Furthermore, the watchdog timer is cleared and reset (step S14).

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not a predetermined wait time has elapsed (step S16). Since the voltage does not rise immediately after turning on the power of the pachinko machine 1 until it reaches the predetermined voltage, if the voltage becomes smaller than the power failure notice voltage during the period from when the power is turned on until it reaches the predetermined voltage, the power failure monitoring circuit detects the power failure. A blackout warning signal is input from In the wait process, a predetermined monitoring wait value is set, and the process is made to wait for a predetermined time (for example, 200 milliseconds) while activating the watchdog timer.

If the predetermined wait time has passed, the time required for starting the sub-board (peripheral control board 1510, etc.) has passed, so it is determined whether the RAM clear switch has been operated (step S18). . When the RAM clear switch is operated, the data in the area other than the role product ratio calculation work area (the role product ratio calculation area 13128) among the data backed up in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 is erased (step S30 ) and proceed to step S24. On the other hand, if the RAM clear switch has not been operated, the data backed up in the built-in RAM 1312 is not erased, and it is determined whether a power failure flag has been set (step S20). The power failure flag is a flag that is set when the power supply of the pachinko machine 1 is cut off through normal processing such as power failure (see step S56 in FIG. 22).

As a result, if the power failure flag is not set, the data in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 may not be correct. S30), and proceed to step S24. On the other hand, if the power failure flag is set, the power failure flag is cleared, and the checksum calculated from the data backed up in the work area of the internal RAM 1312 using the checksum calculated at the time of the previous power failure and the checksum in step S48 The stored checksum is compared (verified) (step S22).

As a result, if the checksum calculated from the backup data does not match the checksum stored in step S48, the data in the work area of the internal RAM 1312 may not be correct. (other than the character product ratio calculation area 13128) is erased (step S30), and the process proceeds to step S24. On the other hand, if the checksum calculated from the backup data matches the checksum stored in step S48, the data in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 is correct. proceed to

Subsequently, using the check code, it is determined whether or not the work area for character product ratio calculation (area for character product ratio calculation 13128) is normal (step S24). If it is determined to be abnormal, the data in the role product ratio calculation work area may not be correct, so the data stored in the role product ratio calculation work area is deleted (step S26).

In addition, when one or more backup areas are provided in the character product ratio calculation area 13128, first, the main area is determined using a check code, and if it is determined that the main area is abnormal, the backup area 1 , 2, and N, and the data in the backup area that is first determined to be normal should be copied to the main area. After that, the data in the backup area can be erased or left as is. If the main area is determined to be normal, the data in the backup area may be deleted or left as is.

As for the area for calculating the role product ratio, the data in the area for calculating the role product ratio 13128 may be erased at predetermined time intervals, separately from the check code determination result when the power is turned on. In addition, for each predetermined amount of operation (for example, each predetermined number of shot balls, each predetermined number of winning balls, each predetermined number of special symbol variation display games, each predetermined number of special symbol variation display games, etc.) Data in the ratio calculation area 13128 may be deleted.

Thus, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, the data backed up in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 are different for each type of data (the game control data 13132 and the character ratio calculation/display data 13136). Erase conditionally. That is, by operating the RAM clear switch, the backed up game control data 13132 is erased, but the backed up character product ratio calculation/display data 13136 is not erased. If the role product ratio calculation/display data 13136 can be erased by operating the RAM clear switch, the role product ratio calculated by the pachinko machine 1 can be erased at any timing. For this reason, by operating the RAM clear switch, the backed-up character product ratio calculation/display data 13136 is not erased, thereby preventing erasure of the character product ratio calculation/display data 13136 by the operation of the game hall staff. , It is possible to prevent the concealment of an abnormal state of the character ratio. Therefore, it is possible to easily detect a gaming machine that has been remodeled to have a high or low accessory ratio.

The main control MPU 1311 executes initial setting for setting various setting registers of the main control MPU 1311 (CPU 13111) when power recovery setting of the RAM work area or RAM initialization processing is executed (step S28). In the initial setting of the main control MPU 1311, first, the CTC (Counter/Timer Circuit) is initialized and interrupts are permitted. In addition, the serial communication port and test signal output port are initialized. Start the hardware random number generator. Then, the serial communication circuit 13114 used for communication with the peripheral control board 1510, the payout control board 951 and the character product ratio display 1317 is set. Furthermore, after starting the operation of the serial communication circuit 13114, initial setting of the driver circuit 13171 of the character ratio display 1317 is performed.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes processing for setting a power-on command to be transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 (step S32). In the power-on command generation process, the game information is read from the game backup information, and various commands corresponding to the game information are stored in a predetermined storage area of the main control built-in RAM 1312 . A power-on command is generated by setting the power-on state reference command as reference command data and adding command addition data corresponding to the command to be generated.

The power-on command includes a power-on state buffer command and a special symbol/electric accessory operation number command. The state buffer command at power-on is a command for notifying the game state at the time of restoration after power-off, and notifies the winning probability of the special lottery and the operation mode of the normal electric accessory. On the other hand, the special symbol/electric accessary product operation number command notifies the execution status of the variable display of the special symbol.

After that, the main control MPU 1311 permits execution of interrupt processing including timer interrupt processing (step S34). Initialization of the pachinko machine 1 is completed by the processing from power-on of the pachinko machine 1 to step S34 (initialization means).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 acquires a power failure warning signal (step S36), and determines whether or not the power failure warning signal is ON (step S38). If the power failure warning signal is not ON (result of step S38 is "No"), that is, random number update processing is executed (step S40). In the random number update process of step S46, random numbers other than the random numbers for judging wins are mainly updated in the special lottery and the ordinary lottery. Note that random number update processing for judging winning in the special lottery or the ordinary lottery is executed by timer interrupt processing, which will be described later. The processes from step S36 to step S40 are executed until the power failure warning signal is detected, and these processes are defined as the main control side main process (normal means after initial setting).

On the other hand, when the power failure warning signal is detected (the result of step S38 is "Yes"), the main control MPU 1311 executes power failure processing (power failure setting means). In the power failure process, a process of backing up data for restoring the state before the power failure occurred is executed. Specifically, first, execution of interrupt processing is prohibited (step S42). As a result, timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is not performed, and writing to the main control built-in RAM 1312 is prevented, so that game information can be protected from being rewritten. Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 clears the output ports and stops the operation of the devices controlled by the outputs from each port (step S44). Specifically, power failure clear signal OFF bit data is set in the solenoid/power failure clear/ACK output port. It should be noted that not all output ports need to be cleared. For example, output ports for controlling solenoids and motors that consume a large amount of power may be cleared. By clearing these output ports, it is possible to reduce the power consumption during the time until the main-board-side power-off process is completed, and to reliably complete the main-board-side power-off process.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 calculates a checksum for determining whether or not the data stored in the work area to be backed up has been normally held (step S46). Further, the checksum calculation result is stored in the checksum area of the RAM 1312 (step S48). This checksum is used to determine whether the data backed up in the work area is normal.

Subsequently, a check code (for example, a checksum) is calculated from the data in the character product ratio calculation work area (character product ratio calculation area 13128) (step S50). If the check code is a fixed value, there is no need to calculate the check code in step S50. It should be noted that the check code may be calculated and stored each time the data is updated in the character product ratio calculation/display process instead of the main board power-off process.

Subsequently, the calculated check code (or a predetermined value used as the check code) is stored in a predetermined area of the character product ratio calculation area 13128 (step S52).

Subsequently, the data in the main area of the role product ratio calculation work (area for role product ratio calculation 13128) is copied to each backup area (step S54). At this time, the calculated check code is also duplicated. The backup may be executed as appropriate (for example, each time data is updated) in the character product ratio calculation/display process instead of the process when the power is turned off on the main board side.

In this way, by storing the data used for calculating the character ratio in the backup area together with the calculated (or predetermined value) check code, the data for calculating the character ratio can be retained even when the power is cut off. , the function ratio in long-term operation can be calculated.

Further, a value indicating normal backup is stored in the backup flag area as a power failure flag (step S56). This completes the storage of the game backup information. Finally, by outputting "01H" indicating write prohibition to the RAM protect register, writing to the RAM 1312 is prohibited (step S58), and the system waits until recovery from the power failure (infinite loop).

[5-2. Timer interrupt processing]
Next, timer interrupt processing will be described. The timer interrupt processing is repeatedly performed for each interrupt cycle (4 ms in this embodiment) set in the initialization processing shown in FIGS. 21 and 22 . FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing an example of timer interrupt processing.

When timer interrupt processing is started, the main control MPU 1311 first sets 1 to the RBS (register bank selection flag) of the program status word by executing the main control program, and switches the registers (step S70). The main control board 1310 in this embodiment has bank 0 and bank 1, which are switched each time the timer interrupt process is executed.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes switch input processing (step S74). In the switch input process, various signals input to input terminals of various input ports of the main control MPU 1311 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the main control built-in RAM 1312 . Specifically, detection signals from various sensors that detect game balls that have entered a winning opening such as a general winning opening, detection signals from the magnetic detection switch 3024 that detects fraudulent behavior using a magnet, and prize ball control processing. The payout control board 951 notifying that the payout control board 951 has received the prize ball command sent in , respectively, is read from the payout control board 951 and stored as input information in the input information storage area. In addition, in the switch input process, detection signals from the ejected ball sensor 3060 and the fired ball sensor 1020 are read, and the number of out balls is counted.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 performs timer update processing (step S76). In the timer update process, for example, the time during which the special symbol indicator 1185 lights up according to the variable display pattern determined by the special symbol and special electric auditors control process to be described later, the normal determined by the normal symbol and normal electric auditors control process In addition to the time during which the normal symbol indicator 1189 lights up according to the symbol variation display pattern, the payout control board 951 normally receives various commands sent by the main control board 1310 (main control MPU 1311). Time management such as ACK signal input determination time set as a determination condition when determining whether or not an ACK signal is input is performed. Specifically, when the variation time of the variation display pattern or the normal symbol variation display pattern is 5 seconds, the timer interrupt cycle is set to 4 ms, so each time this timer subtraction process is performed, the variation time is subtracted by 4 ms. When the subtraction result becomes 0, the fluctuation time of the fluctuation display pattern or the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern is accurately measured.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes random number update processing 1 (step S78). In the random number update process 1, the random number for judging a big hit, the random number for a big hit design, and the random number for a small hit design are updated. In addition to these random numbers, the random number for determining the initial value for the jackpot symbol and the small hit are updated in the non-hit-lose random number update process of step S40 in the system/user reset process (main control side main process) shown in the figure. The random number for design initial value determination is also updated.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes prize ball control processing (step S80). In the prize ball control process, input information is read from the input information storage area, the number of game balls (prize balls) to be paid out is calculated based on the read input information, and the calculated number is written in the main control built-in RAM 1312 . In addition, based on the calculation result of the number of prize balls, a prize ball command for paying out game balls is created, and a self-check for confirming the connection state between the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 is performed. create commands. The main control MPU 1311 transmits the created prize ball command and self-check command to the payout control board 951 as main payment serial data.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines the current game state, adds the number of prize balls to be paid out as game value to the area corresponding to the current game state, (see FIG. 26) is updated (step S81). The processing of step S81 can be skipped when there are no prize balls to be paid out in step S80, and the load on the pachinko machine 1 can be reduced.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes frame command reception processing (step S82). The payout control board 951 transmits various 1-byte (8-bit) commands (for example, frame state 1 command, error cancellation navigation command, and frame state 2 command) classified into state displays by the payout control program. On the other hand, as will be described later, the payout control program outputs an error generation command when an error occurs in the payout operation, or outputs an error cancellation notification command based on the detection signal of the operation switch. In the frame command reception process, when various commands are normally received as payer serial data, information to notify the payout control board 951 is stored in the output information storage area of the main control built-in RAM 1312 as output information. In addition, the main control MPU 1311 formats the command normally received as the payer serial data into a 2-byte (16-bit) command (for example, frame status display command, error cancellation notification command, etc.), and transmits the above-mentioned transmission as transmission information. Store in the information storage area. Also, in the prize ball discharge process, the number of prize ball discharges is recorded in the storage area (see FIG. 27) determined by the gaming state of the role product ratio calculation area 13128 .

The character ratio calculation area update process (step S81) may be executed in any order as long as it is after the prize ball control process (step S80) and before the character ratio calculation/display process (step S89). .

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes fraud detection processing (step S84). In the fraudulent act detection process, an abnormal state regarding the prize ball is checked. For example, when the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area, and when it is detected that the game ball is entering the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 by the count switch when it is not in the jackpot game state, the main control program generates a prize-winning abnormal display command classified as a notification display as an abnormal state, and stores it as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes a special symbol and special electric accessory control process (step S86). In the special symbol and special electric accessary product control process, it is determined whether or not the random number value for the big hit matches the hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM. Furthermore, based on the jackpot symbol random number value, it is determined whether or not to shift to the probability variation state. Then, when the variable probability transition condition is established, the state is shifted to the probability variable state thereafter, and when the variable probability transition condition is not established, the state is shifted to a game state other than the probability variable state. Here, the "variable probability state" refers to a state (high probability state) in which the odds of winning the special lottery are set relatively high compared to the normal game state (low probability state).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes normal symbol and normal electric accessary product control processing (step S88). In the normal symbol and normal electric accessory control process, the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area, and it is determined whether or not the detection signal from the gate switch 2352 is input to the input terminal. When the detection signal is input to the input terminal, the random number for normal symbol per determination is extracted, and it is determined whether or not it matches the normal per symbol determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM (" “General Lottery”). Then, it is determined whether or not to open and close the second starting port door member 2549 according to the lottery result of the ordinary lottery. When the opening and closing operation is performed by this determination, the second starting port door member 2549 is opened (or expanded), so that the game ball can be received in the starting port 2004. A game advantageous to the player. transition to state.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the display switch 1318 is operated. By referring to the number of winning balls stored in the calculation area 13128, the role ratio is calculated. Then, the calculated role product ratio is displayed on the role product ratio display 1317 (step S89). Thus, by calling the role product ratio calculation/display process in the timer interrupt process and calculating the role product ratio, it is possible to confirm the role product ratio (gambling property of the pachinko machine 1) based on the most recent data.

Regardless of whether the display switch 1318 is operated or not, if a body frame release switch (not shown) detects that the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2, the character ratio may be displayed. . Also, when the display switch 1318 is operated while the body frame opening switch (not shown) is detecting that the body frame 4 has been released from the outer frame 2, the role product ratio is displayed on the role product ratio display 1317. good too. Since the display switch 1318 is provided on the back side of the game board, if the display switch 1318 is displayed, the body frame 4 is normally open and the progress of the game is stopped. In this way, when the role ratio is calculated at the timing when the progress of the game is stopped, CPU resources are not consumed by division and subtraction for calculating the role ratio during the game, and the load on the CPU can be reduced.

Details of the character product ratio calculation/display processing will be described later with reference to FIGS. 24 and 25 . A specific example of the display method of the character product ratio will be described later. In addition, when the display switch 1318 is operated, all types of values (character ratio, continuous character ratio, total, total total) may be calculated, but each time the display switch 1318 is operated, You may calculate only the values that Also, the character product ratio may be calculated regardless of whether the display switch 1318 is operated, and the calculated character product ratio may be displayed on the character product ratio display 1317 if the display switch 1318 is operated.

Note that even when the pachinko machine 1 detects fraud and stops the game, the role product ratio calculation area update process (step S81) and the role product ratio calculation/display process (step S89) are executed. Regardless of whether fraud is detected or not, by executing these processes, it is possible to check the role product ratio even during the fraud notification.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes output data setting processing (step S90). In the output data setting process, various signals are output from output terminals of various output ports of the main control MPU 1311 . For example, from the output terminal of the predetermined output port of the main control MPU 1311 based on the output information, when normally receiving various commands from the payout control board 951 output the main payout ACK signal to the payout control board 951, or jackpot game When in the state, output a drive signal to the attacker solenoid (first attacker solenoid 2113, second upper attacker solenoid 2553, second lower attacker solenoid 2556) that performs opening and closing operation of the opening and closing member 2107 of the large winning opening 2005, 2006, In addition to outputting a drive signal to the starting opening solenoid 2550 that performs the opening and closing operation of the starting opening (second starting opening door member 2549), information output signal during probability fluctuation, special design display information output signal, normal design display information output Various information (game information) signals related to games such as signals, information output information during time saving, start winning prize information output signals, and security signals are output to the payout control board 951 .

Also, in the output data setting process, a signal corresponding to the number of out balls counted in the switch input process (step S74) is output from the external terminal plate 784. FIG. For example, a pulse signal of a predetermined length may be output from the external terminal plate 784 every predetermined number of out balls (10, etc.).

In the output data setting process, a test signal to be output to the inspection device connected to the pachinko machine 1 is set. The test signal includes, for example, a signal indicating a game state, a signal indicating a normal symbol, and a signal indicating a special symbol stop symbol (information signal output means).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes peripheral control board command transmission processing (step S92). In the peripheral control board command transmission process, transmission information such as commands and data is read from the transmission information storage area described above, and the transmission information is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 as main peripheral serial data. The transmission information stores various commands created in the timer interrupt processing of this routine. One packet of the main circumferential serial data is composed of 3 bytes. Specifically, the main peripheral serial data includes a status indicating a command type having a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), a mode indicating a variation of an effect having a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), and a status and a sum value calculated by considering the mode as a numerical value, and this sum value is created at the time of transmission.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 sets a predetermined value (18H) in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S96). By setting a predetermined value in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, the watchdog timer clear register WCL is cleared. Finally, the main control MPU 1311 switches (restores) the register bank. When the above processing is finished, the timer interrupt processing is finished and the processing before the interrupt is resumed.

In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the main control MPU 1311 executes the calculation processing of the role ratio and the continuous role ratio in the timer interrupt process. You may perform the calculation process of a material ratio. In this case, the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 of the peripheral control board 1510 may be sent a command for displaying the role ratio and the continuous role ratio, or from the payout control unit 952 to the peripheral control unit 1511 A command for displaying the character product ratio or the continuous character product ratio may be transmitted.

[5-3. Character ratio calculation/display processing]
FIGS. 24 and 25 are flowcharts showing an example of character product ratio calculation/display processing. The main control MPU 1311 executes the role product ratio calculation/display processing. Note that the peripheral control unit 1511 of the peripheral control board 1510 may execute the character product ratio calculation/display processing. When the peripheral controller 1511 calculates the character product ratio, the calculated character product ratio may be displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 . For example, when the calculated accessory ratio is within (or outside) a predetermined range, the effect in the game may be changed. Specifically, when the role product ratio exceeds a predetermined threshold value (threshold value smaller than the reference value), the notice effect may be changed to perform a notice effect that is more interesting than the normal notice effect.

First, a check code is calculated from the main area of the role product ratio calculation area 13128 of the RAM 1312 of the main control MPU 1311 (step S140), and the calculated check code is compared with the check code stored in the role product ratio calculation area 13128. It is determined whether they match (step S142). If the calculated check code matches the check code stored in the role product ratio calculation area 13128, the data in the main area is normal, so the role product ratio calculation process is executed and the role is calculated from the data in the main area. The product ratio and the continuous role product ratio are calculated and stored in the role product ratio calculation area 13128 (step S156). Specifically, the character ratio is calculated by dividing the number of acquired balls by the total number of acquired balls, and the ratio by the number of continuous acquired balls by the total number of acquired balls. It is preferable to truncate or round off the decimal part (value below the decimal point) of the calculated role product ratio and continuous role product ratio. Then, the process proceeds to step S160.

In step S156, each time the character product ratio and/or the continuous character product ratio in the character product ratio calculation area 13128 is updated, the updated value may be copied to the backup area.

If the number of bits in which the number of acquired balls is stored is large and the number of bits that can be calculated by the main control MPU 1311 is insufficient, in the calculation of the character ratio, the lower bits of the number of acquired balls are omitted and division is performed. may be calculated. For example, if the storage area for the number of acquired balls is 32 bits, numerical values from 0 to 4,294,967,295 can be stored. However, if the main control MPU is an 8-bit processor and can perform 8- or 16-bit calculations, the lowest 16 bits of the number of winning balls stored in 32 bits with a value of 1 is taken out and calculated. It is preferable to divide by storing in a register (16 bits). If the number of acquired balls is less than the maximum number of bits (32767, which is the maximum value of 16 bits) that can be used for calculation, the lower 16 bits should be taken out and used for calculation.

Also, if the total number of acquired balls is divided by 100 (rounded down after the decimal point) and used as the dividend (divided number) to calculate the character ratio, calculation using decimal numbers can be avoided.

Also, the upper limit of the character product ratio may be set to 99, and may be set to 99 when the calculation result of the character product ratio is 100 or more.

On the other hand, if the calculated check code and the check code stored in the character product ratio calculation area 13128 do not match, the data in the main area is abnormal, so calculation of the character product ratio from the data in the backup area 1 is performed. try. Specifically, the check code is calculated from the backup area 1 of the role product ratio calculation area 13128 (step S144), and the calculated check code matches the check code stored in the role product ratio calculation area 13128. (step S146). If the calculated check code matches the check code stored in the character product ratio calculation area 13128, the data in the backup area 1 is normal, so the data in the backup area 1 is copied to the main area (step S148 ), a role product ratio calculation process is executed, and a role product ratio and a continuous role product ratio are calculated from the data in the main area (step S156). Then, the process proceeds to step S160.

On the other hand, if the calculated check code does not match the check code stored in the character product ratio calculation area 13128, the data in the backup area 1 is abnormal, so the character product ratio is calculated from the data in the backup area 2. try. Specifically, the check code is calculated from the backup area 2 of the role product ratio calculation area 13128 (step S150), and the calculated check code matches the check code stored in the role product ratio calculation area 13128. (step S152). If the calculated check code matches the check code stored in the character product ratio calculation area 13128, the data in the backup area 1 is normal, so the data in the backup area 2 is copied to the main area (step S154 ), a role product ratio calculation process is executed, the data in the main area is read, and the role product ratio and the continuous role product ratio are calculated (step S156). Then, the process proceeds to step S160.

If there is another backup area, similarly, it is determined whether the data in the backup area is normal, and the character product ratio and the continuous character product ratio are calculated from the data in the normal backup area.

If the data in the main area and all the backup areas are abnormal, the character product ratio calculation work area (character product ratio calculation area 13128) is initialized, and the abnormality is notified (step S158).

Subsequently, a check code is calculated from the main area (step S160), and the calculated check code is stored in the role product ratio calculation area 13128 (step S162). The reason why the check code is calculated in the character ratio calculation/display process is that if it is reset in the middle of the power failure process on the main board side, the power failure flag and checksum are not calculated. Although the backed-up data is initialized, if the check code is calculated and stored periodically in the character ratio calculation/display process, the work area for calculating the character ratio can be saved even if the pachinko machine is turned on again. This is because the data in (character product ratio calculation area 13128) can be left without being erased.

Subsequently, the backup area allocation counter value is updated by adding 1 (step S164), and it is determined whether the backup area allocation counter value is an odd number (step S166). If the backup area allocation counter value is an odd number, the data in the main area is copied to the backup area 1 (step S168). On the other hand, if the backup area distribution counter value is an even number, the data in the main area is copied to the backup area 2 (step S170). It is possible to prevent an abnormal value from being written to a plurality of backup areas by distributing the copy destinations of the data in the main area according to the backup area distribution counter value and writing the data only to a part of the backup areas.

When three or more backup areas are provided, the backup areas to which data is written may be allocated according to the remainder obtained by dividing the backup area allocation counter value by the number of backup areas.

Subsequently, the calculated role product ratio is displayed on the role product ratio display 1317 (step S172). Specifically, using the calculated type of role product ratio and the calculated value, a conversion table (not shown) is referenced to obtain data to be displayed on each digit of the role product ratio display 1317, The acquired data is sent to the driver circuit 13171 of the character product ratio display 1317 . For example, if the type of role product ratio is the role product ratio (total), A7 is displayed in the upper two digits, and if the calculated role product ratio is 66%, 66 is displayed in the lower two digits.

The role ratio calculation process (step S156) of the role ratio calculation/display process reads out the data of the number of obtained balls from the role ratio calculation area 13128 (that is, the role ratio calculation work area shown in FIG. 27). , Data cannot be written in the storage area related to the number of winning balls in the role product ratio calculation area 13128. That is, as will be described later, when the processing of steps S156 and S172 is configured by a common program module, the common program module does not have the authority to write data to the storage area related to the number of acquired balls in the character ratio calculation area 13128. , data can be written in the storage area of the calculated role product ratio and continuous role product ratio.

As explained above, the data for calculating the character product ratio in the character product ratio calculation/display process is duplicated in the backup area. , the data for calculating the character ratio can be protected.

It should be noted that the processes of steps S156 and S172 are common regardless of the type of gaming machine, and thus may be configured with one or a plurality of common program modules. In this case, the process of determining whether the check code in the main area and the check code in the backup area are correct may be configured on the non-common side separately from the common program module. This is because the data check and backup methods differ from model to model. However, if the data check and backup methods are shared among the models, they may be arranged in a common program module.

[6. Storage area configuration]
Next, the arrangement of programs and data stored in the ROM 1313 will be described. FIG. 26A is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of programs (codes) and data stored in the ROM 1313 and RAM 1312 incorporated in the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310. FIG.

ROM 1313 contains game control code 13131, game control data 13132, debugging (inspection function) code 13133, debugging (inspection function) data 13134, character ratio calculation/display code 13135, and character ratio calculation/display An area for storing data 13136 is included. The ROM 1313 of this embodiment includes a game control area (first storage area) for storing programs and data related to the pachinko machine 1 such as game control code 13131 and game control data 13132, and a debug (inspection function) code 13133. and debug (inspection function) area (second storage area) for storing programs and data used for the purpose of outputting signals necessary for debugging (inspection function) of the pachinko machine 1, such as debug (inspection function) data 13134 and a role product ratio calculation area (third storage area) for storing programs used for the purpose of calculating the role product ratio, such as the role product ratio calculation/display code 13135 and the role product ratio calculation/display data 13136. is assigned.

Between the end address of the game control data 13132 and the start address of the debug (inspection function) code 13133, there is a free area (unused space) of 16 bytes or more, and when displayed in dump list format In addition, the game control area and the debug (inspection function) area can be easily distinguished. Similarly, a free area (unused space) of 16 bytes or more is provided between the final address of the debugging (inspection function) code 13133 and the leading address of the character product ratio calculation/display code 13135. When displayed in the form of a dump list, the debug (inspection function) area and the character product ratio calculation area can be easily distinguished. The value stored in the empty area should be the same fixed value, and should be set to a value different from or less frequently set to the value set in the game area and debug area. Also, the value stored in the empty area may be an instruction such as a No Operation code that causes the CPU to do nothing. In this way, when displayed in dump list format, the game control area, debug (inspection function) area, and character ratio calculation area can be easily distinguished.

Alternatively, the code 13135 for calculating/displaying the character ratio and the data 13136 for calculating/displaying the character ratio may be stored in a part of the debug area without dividing the debug (inspection function) area and the character-object ratio calculation area. good. That is, it is sufficient if the game control area and other areas are clearly distinguished. In this way, by clearly distinguishing the game control area from other areas, the character ratio calculation area (the character ratio calculation/display code 13135 and character object The ratio calculation/display data 13136) is arranged separately from the game control area to avoid the risk that a malfunction (such as a bug) of the role product ratio calculation/display code 13135 affects the game control.

In addition, the debugging (inspection function) area stores programs and data for purposes not directly related to the game. A code 13133 for outputting an inspection signal is stored. These debug (inspection function) codes 13133 are programs for outputting debug (inspection function) signals. Further, the role product ratio calculation area stores a program for the purpose of calculating the role product ratio, which is not directly related to the progress of the game.

Also, the game control code 13131 is executed by the main control MPU 1311 . In addition, the game control code 13131 can be read and written to the RAM 1312 as appropriate, but the game control area 13126 used in the game control code 13131 can only be read from the debug (inspection function) code. It is configured to be executable, and is configured so that writing to the area cannot be performed. Thus, the game control area 13126 constitutes a game area accessible only from the game control code 13131 . The processing based on the debugging (inspection function) code 13133 can be unilaterally called and executed while the game control code 13131 is being executed. is configured so that it cannot be called and executed. As a result, the independence of the debugging (inspection function) code 13133 can be enhanced, so even if the game control code 13131 is changed, the modification of the debugging (inspection function) code 13133 can be minimized. .

Also, the role product ratio calculation/display code 13135 is called from the game control code 13131 (for example, step S89 of timer interrupt processing shown in FIG. 23) and executed by the main control MPU 1311 . The character product ratio calculated by the character product ratio calculation/display code 13135 is stored in the character product ratio calculation area 13128 of the RAM 1312 . As illustrated, the role product ratio calculation area 13128 is provided separately from the game control area 13126 (outside the game control area). Thus, by designing the role product ratio calculation/display code 13135 separately from the game control code 13131 and storing it in a separate area, the role product ratio calculation/display code 13135 is inspected and the game control code 13131 is stored. can be performed separately from the inspection of the pachinko machine 1, and the labor of inspecting the pachinko machine 1 can be reduced. Also, the code 13135 for calculating/displaying the role product ratio can be used in common for a plurality of models without depending on the model.

FIG. 26B is a diagram showing details of the character product ratio calculation area 13128. As shown in FIG. The role product ratio calculation area 13128 may be provided with a main area for storing the calculation result of the role product ratio, and a backup area 1 and a backup area 2 for storing a copy of the data stored in the main area. There may be one or more backup areas. A check code for detecting data errors is added to each area. The check code may be a checksum of data in each area or a predetermined value. The check code is set in the initialization process when the power of the pachinko machine 1 is turned on, is set each time the data in the main area is updated in the character ratio calculation/display process, or is set in the process when the power is turned off on the main control side (Fig. 22 steps S50 to S54). In particular, when the check code is a fixed value, the check code is initialized when it is determined to be normal in the initialization process or when the data is erased, and the fixed value is set in the main control side power failure process (step S50 in FIG. 20). May be set. The check code may also be used as a power failure flag. That is, if a predetermined value is set in the check code of the main area, it may be determined that the power failure flag is set. Also, if the power failure flag is set to a predetermined value, it may be determined that the check code of each area has a correct value (that is, the data of each area is normal).

Incidentally, if it is determined that the main area is abnormal, it may be determined whether or not the backup area is normal, and the data in the backup area determined to be normal may be copied to the main area (step in FIG. 21). S24). Also, in the main control side power-off process, the values in the main area may be copied to each backup area (step S54 in FIG. 22). Also, in the role product ratio calculation/display process, every time the value in the main area is updated, the updated data may be copied to the backup area (steps S168 and S170 in FIG. 25).

Unused space is provided between the main area and the backup area 1 and between the backup area 1 and the backup area 2 . By providing an unused space between each area, the addresses of each area can be separated, and each area can be distinguished by the high-order digits of the address.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a specific structure of a work area for storing each data in the character product ratio calculation area 13128. As shown in FIG. The data of the number of winning balls in the character ratio calculation area 13128 is written in the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 23) clocked by the main control MPU 1311, and the character ratio calculation processing (step in FIG. 24) of the character ratio calculation/display processing S156). In this way, the role ratio calculation/display process reads out the data of the number of acquired balls from the area 13128 for calculating the role ratio, and the timer interrupt process (game control program) stores the data of the number of acquired balls in the area 13128 for calculating the role ratio. By writing , the game control program and the program for executing the character ratio calculation/display processing can be completely separated, and the program for the character ratio calculation/display processing can be shared even on gaming machines with different specifications. .

Note that the character product ratio calculation processing (step S156 in FIG. 24) of the character product ratio calculation/display processing uses the calculated character product ratio and the continuous character product ratio as the character product ratio and the continuous accessory ratio in the character product ratio calculation area 13128. Write to the ratio storage area. Data of the calculated character ratio and continuous character ratio are read in the character ratio display process (step S170 in FIG. 25) of the character ratio calculation/display process when the character ratio is displayed. The game control program does not access the storage area of the role product ratio and the continuous role product ratio of the role product ratio calculation area 13128 .

FIG. 27A shows the structure of the work area of the simplest method. In the structure of the work area shown in FIG. 27(A), the number of winning ball, the number of continuous winning balls, the total number of winning balls, the ratio of the winning role, and the ratio of the continuous winning role are stored. The number of prize balls obtained is the number of prize balls obtained by winning prizes for the prizes in operation (for example, the large winning openings 2005 and 2006 that are open, the second start opening 2004 that the second start opening door member 2549 is open). be. The number of consecutive award winning balls is the number of prize balls obtained by winning a prize to a role while the role is continuously operating (for example, the winning opening is open during a series of jackpot wins). The total number of won balls is the total number of prize balls paid out to the player. The role ratio can be calculated by dividing the number of acquired balls by the total number of acquired balls. The continuous role ratio can be calculated by dividing the number of balls acquired in a row divided by the total number of acquired balls. The number of winning balls, the number of consecutive winning balls, and the total number of winning balls are updated in step S81 of the timer interrupt process, and the role ratio and the consecutive role ratio are calculated in step S91 of the timer interrupt process, Stored.

Among the structure of the work area shown in FIG. It is a 4-byte storage area and can store numeric values up to 16777215 or 4294967295 in decimal. Since these data will not be erased unless an abnormality occurs in the data, a large storage area is provided so that long-term data can be stored. Also, the role product ratio and the continuous role product ratio are storage areas of 1 byte, and can store numerical values up to 255 in decimal.

FIG. 27B shows the structure of a work area using a ring buffer. In the structure of the work area shown in FIG. 27(B), the number of winning balls, the number of other winning balls, the number of successive winning balls, the total number of winning balls, the role ratio and the continuous role ratio are stored. Each data storage area is configured by a ring buffer having n storage areas for each predetermined number of prize balls (for example, n=10 storage areas for every 6000 prize balls). When the number reaches a predetermined number (6000), the write pointers for all the data are moved, and the storage area where the data is updated changes. After the data for the predetermined number of prize balls is stored in the n-th storage area, the write pointer moves to the first storage area and stores the data in the first storage area. In addition, when the data other than the total number of acquired balls (number of acquired balls, number of fired balls, number of winning balls, number of special symbol variation display games, number of special symbol variation display games, etc.) reaches a predetermined number, You may move the write pointer.

The write pointer and read pointer of the ring buffer are common to all data, and the write pointers of all data strings are moved for each predetermined number of winning balls. Further, the read pointer also moves along with the movement of the write pointer. The read pointer points to the storage area one before the write pointer. This is for calculating the character ratio using the most recent data for 6000 prize balls.

The cumulative total of each data is the cumulative value of the data stored in the n storage areas of the ring buffer. Yes, when the ring buffer is cycled and one storage area of the ring buffer is cleared for writing new data, the accumulated value is calculated excluding the data in the cleared area. The total cumulative value of each data is the cumulative value of the data collected in the past, and the total cumulative value of the role ratio and continuous role ratio calculated from the cumulative value is the value calculated from the total cumulative value of each data. Even if one storage area of the ring buffer is cleared in order to write new data after the ring buffer completes one cycle, the total accumulated value is calculated including the data in the cleared area.

Of the structure of the work area shown in FIG. 27(B), the number of winning character balls, the number of consecutive winning ball, the character ratio, and the continuous character ratio are the same as those explained in FIG. 27(A). The number of other won balls is the number of prize balls obtained by winning prizes other than accessories (a winning opening that does not open and close, for example, the general winning opening 2001). The total number of won balls is the total number of prize balls paid out to the player, and when this value reaches a predetermined number, the write pointer moves. The number of acquired balls, the number of other acquired balls, the number of continuous acquired balls, and the total number of acquired balls are updated in the storage area where the write pointer is located in step S81 of the timer interrupt processing, and the percentage of the acquired role and the number of continuous winning balls are updated. The product ratio is calculated and stored in step S91 of timer interrupt processing.

FIG. 27C shows the structure of a work area using a ring buffer. In the structure of the work area shown in FIG. 27(C), it is possible to obtain more detailed data than that shown in FIG. 27(B). , Other winning hole winning ball number, continuous role winning ball number, total winning ball number, role ratio and continuous role ratio are stored. Each data storage area is configured by a ring buffer having n storage areas for each predetermined number of prize balls (for example, 10 storage areas for every 6000 prize balls), and the total number of winning balls is When the predetermined number (6000) is reached, the write pointer moves and the storage area where the data is updated changes. After the data for the predetermined number of prize balls is stored in the n-th storage area, the write pointer moves to the first storage area and stores the data in the first storage area. In addition, when data other than the total number of acquired balls (number of special electric accessory acquired balls, number of fired balls, number of winning balls, number of special symbol variation display games, number of special symbol variation display games, etc.) reaches a predetermined number You may move the write pointer to

The cumulative total of each data is the cumulative value of the data stored in the n storage areas of the ring buffer. When the ring buffer is cycled and one storage area of the ring buffer is cleared for writing new data, the cumulative value is calculated excluding the data in the cleared area. The total cumulative value of each data is the cumulative value of the data collected in the past, and the cumulative value of the character ratio and the continuous component ratio is the value calculated from the cumulative value of each data. Even if one storage area of the ring buffer is cleared for writing new data, the total accumulated value is calculated including the data in the cleared area.

Of the structure of the work area shown in FIGS. 27(B) and (C), the number of winning balls in the ring buffer, the number of other winning balls, the number of continuous winning balls, the total number of winning balls, and the normal electric winning balls Each of the number, the number of winning balls for the special electric accessory, the number of winning balls for the starting opening, and the number of winning openings is a storage area of 2 bytes, and can store numerical values up to 65,535 in decimal. Number of winning balls, number of other winning balls, number of continuous winning balls, total number of winning balls, number of normal electric winning balls, number of special electric winning balls, number of starting balls and other winning balls The cumulative total of numbers is a storage area of 3 bytes each, and can store numerical values up to 16777215 in decimal. Since the cumulative total is the sum of data for 6000 prize balls×n (60000 prize balls when n=10), a large storage area is provided. Number of balls acquired, number of other balls acquired, number of consecutive balls acquired, total number of balls acquired, ratio of role, ratio of consecutive roles, number of normal electric accessories acquired, number of special electric accessories acquired, starting point The number of winning balls and the total cumulative number of winning balls are each a storage area of 3 or 4 bytes, and can store numerical values up to 16,777,215 or 4,294,967,295 in decimal. Since the total cumulative total is not deleted unless an abnormality occurs in the data, a larger storage area is provided so that long-term data can be stored. Also, the sum total and total sum of the role ratio and the continuous role ratio are each a storage area of 1 byte, and can store numerical values up to 255 in decimal.

In the structure of the work area shown in FIG. 27(C), the total acquired number of balls, the character ratio, and the continuous character ratio are the same as those explained in FIG. 27(B). The number of other winning balls is the number of prize balls obtained by winning prizes other than accessories (a winning opening that does not open and close). The number of winning balls of the normal electric accessory is the prize ball obtained by winning the normal electric accessory in operation (the second start port 2004 with the second start port door member 2549 open) according to the result of the lottery based on the normal pattern. is a number. The number of winning balls of the special electric role is the number of prize balls obtained by winning the special electric role in operation (for example, the large winning openings 2005 and 2006 that are open) according to the result of the special symbol lottery. The number of winning balls from the starting opening is the number of winning balls obtained by winning the starting opening (first starting opening 2002). The number of other prize-winning balls is the number of prize-winning balls obtained by winning a prize in a prize gate (general prize gate 2001) that is not an accessory (does not operate) and does not trigger a special symbol lottery. The number of normal electric accessory winning balls, the number of special electric accessory winning balls, the number of starting opening winning balls, the number of other winning opening winning balls, the number of consecutive winning balls, and the total number of winning balls are obtained in step S81 of timer interrupt processing. The data in the storage area with the write pointer is updated, and the role product ratio and the continuous role product ratio are calculated and stored in step S91 of timer interrupt processing.

In the data structure shown in FIG. 27A, when it is determined that the stored value is abnormal, the data in the character product ratio calculation area 13128 is deleted in step S116 of the initialization process. Data will not be erased on the occasion of Therefore, the data in the character product ratio calculation area 13128 may be erased for each predetermined period (for example, one day, one week, one month, etc.). Similarly, the total accumulation in FIGS. 25B and 25C may be erased every predetermined period.

Also, the data in the character product ratio calculation area 13128 or the calculated character product ratio is an abnormal value (for example, the character product ratio is over 100%, the calculation result of the character product ratio has changed significantly from the previous calculation value , the number of winning balls>total number of winning balls, etc.), the abnormal value may be deleted. All the data in the character product ratio calculation area 13128 may be deleted in addition to the abnormal value. In addition, when the data in the character product ratio calculation area 13128 or the calculated character product ratio is an abnormal value, an abnormality may be notified. Also, the data in the backup area may be inspected using the check code, and after duplicating the normal data in the backup area to the main area, the character product ratio may be calculated again.

[7. Configuration of character ratio indicator]
FIG. 28 is a diagram showing the configuration of the character product ratio display 1317. As shown in FIG.

The character ratio indicator 1317 is composed of a driver circuit 13171 and a plurality of 7-segment LEDs 13172 . For example, the 7-segment LED 13172 consists of 4 digits.

The driver circuit 13171 and the 7-segment LED 13172 are preferably housed in one package as a unit, but both may be housed in separate packages.

The driver circuit 13171 and the main control MPU 1311 are connected by three signal lines (DATA, LOAD, CLOCK).

The DATA line transfers data to be displayed on the character ratio display 1317 and signals for setting the operating state of the character ratio display 1317 and is connected to the serial communication circuit 13114 of the main control MPU 1311 . The LOAD line transfers a signal indicating data loading timing and is connected to the serial communication circuit 13114 of the main control MPU 1311 . The CLOCK line transfers a clock signal that defines the operating cycle of the driver circuit 13171 and is connected to the serial communication circuit 13114 of the main control MPU 1311 .

The driver circuit 13171 and the 7-segment LED 13172 are connected by four digit selection signal lines IDIG-0 to IDIG-3 and eight segment lighting signal lines ISEG-a to ISEG-Dp. The segment lighting signal lines ISEG-a to ISEG-Dp transmit signals for lighting each LED element (7 segments and decimal point) of the 7 segment LED 13172 . The digit selection signal lines IDIG-0 to IDIG-3 transmit control signals indicating which digit of the 7-segment LED 13172 the signals transmitted by the segment lighting signal lines ISEG-a to ISEG-Dp are. The direction of the illustrated signal (current) differs depending on whether the 7-segment LED 13172 is of the anode common type or the cathode common type, but an example of the anode common type is illustrated.

The R-EXT terminal of the driver circuit 13171 is connected to a resistor 13174 that determines the current value to be passed through each LED element of the 7-segment LED 13172 . By changing the resistance value of the resistor 13174, the light emission brightness of each LED element of the 7-segment LED 13172 can be changed.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing the configuration of the driver circuit 13171 of the character ratio indicator 1317. As shown in FIG.

The driver circuit 13171 includes a 16-bit shift register 3171, a 16-bit data latch 3172, 8-bit data latches 3173A-D, an 8x4 data selector 3174, a decoder 3175, a 2x8 data selector 3176, a constant current driver 3178, a driver 3179, It has a latch selector/load pulse distributor 3180 , a Digit-Limit controller 3181 , a duty ratio controller 3182 , a data selector controller 3183 , a standby mode controller 3184 and an oscillator 3185 .

The 16-bit shift register 3171 takes in the serial data input to the DATA IN terminal, holds 16-bit data, and sends it to the 16-bit data latch 3172 as parallel data. The 4 bits D15 (MSB) to D12 are data for selecting the operation mode of the driver circuit 13171 (see FIG. 35), and the 4 bits D11 to D8 are data for selecting the operation mode and the corresponding register. (see FIG. 33), and D7 to D0 (LSB) are data for the detailed settings.

The 16-bit data latch 3172 latches data at the timing of the LOAD signal, and D15 to D8 are controlled by each control section (latch selector/load pulse distributor 3180, Digit-Limit control section 3181, duty ratio control section 3182, data selector control section 3183, standby mode control section 3184), and send D7-D0 to 8-bit data latches 3173A-D.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 30, the 16-bit shift register 3171 takes in the serial data input to the DATA IN terminal at the rising timing of the CLOCK signal and shifts the data. The 16-bit data latch 3172 acquires 16-bit data as parallel data from the 16-bit shift register 3171 at the rise timing of the LOAD signal, and latches the data. Then, D15 to D8 are sent to each control section (latch selector/load pulse distributor 3180, Digit-Limit control section 3181, duty ratio control section 3182, data selector control section 3183, standby mode control section 3184). Also, the 16-bit data latch 3172 sends D7 to D0 of the latched data to the 8-bit data latches 3173A to 3173D at the fall timing of the LOAD signal.

The LOAD signal is also input to the latch selector/load pulse distributor 3180 . A latch selector/load pulse distributor 3180 acquires D15 to D8 and selects an 8-bit data latch 3173 that stores display data (8 bits of D7 to D0). Specifically, as shown in the load register selection table (see FIG. 33), if D15 to D8 are 00100010B, the latch selector/load pulse distributor 3180 selects data register 0, that is, 8 bits of Digit-A. Signals to select 8-bit data latch 3173 so that data latch 3173A stores data.

The 8-bit data latches 3173 are provided for the number of 7-segment LEDs 13172 (the number of display digits), and according to the selection signal from the latch selector/load pulse distributor 3180, take in the data to be displayed on each 7-segment LED, Hold. The 8-bit data latch 3173 sends the held data to the 8×4 data selector 3174 .

The 8×4 data selector 3174 selects the data sent from each of the 8-bit data latches 3173A to 3173D at the predetermined display timing of each digit, and sends it to the decoder 3175 and 2×8 data selector 3176.

The decoder 3175 uses the character generator decode table (see FIG. 34) to convert the input data into characters to be displayed on the 7-segment LED 13172, and generates data for lighting each segment. The generated data is input to 2×8 data selector 3176 .

The 2×8 data selector 3176 refers to the decode setting and selects the data from the decoder 3175 when the mode is set to use the decoder, and selects the data from the decoder 3175 when the mode is set to not use the decoder. 4 Select data from data selector 3174 . The selected data is input to constant current driver 3178 .

The constant current driver 3178 uses data from the 2×8 data selector 3176 to output current signals for lighting each segment from the data output terminals OUTa to OUTDp. The current output from constant current driver 3178 is controlled by the resistance value of the resistor connected to the R-EXT terminal, as described above.

Driver 3179 accepts a sink current of the current output from constant current driver 3178 to illuminate each segment of seven segment LED 13172 . Driver 3179 controls the current sink timing of terminals DIG-0 to DIG-3 to determine which 7-segment LED (digit) is displayed.

Digit-Limit control unit 3181 controls the number of display digits of 7-segment LED 13172 controlled by driver circuit 13171 . That is, the driver circuit 13171 can control the number of digits to be lit from 1 to 4 by external setting. Specifically, by inputting data in which D15 to D8 are set to 00100001B and D7 to D0 are set to XXXXXX0011B, a setting is made to use all four digits in the digit register (DIGITREGISTER) of the Digit-Limit control unit 3181. is written. Note that x indicates that either H or L data may be used, and whether the input data is H or L does not affect the truth table.

The duty ratio control section 3182 controls the duty ratio when the 7-segment LED 13172 is lit. That is, the driver circuit 13171 can control the duty ratio by setting from the outside, and controls the brightness with which the 7-segment LED 13172 lights. The duty ratio control section 3182 controls the duty ratio by controlling the pulse width of at least one of the timing signals sent to the constant current driver 3178 and the driver 3179 . Specifically, by setting D15 to D8 to 00100000B and inputting arbitrary data to D3 to D0, the duty register (DUTY REGISTER) of the duty ratio control unit 3182 can be set to 16 levels of duty from 0/16 to 15/16. Ratio settings are written.

A data selector control unit 3183 controls the setting of the decoder. That is, the driver circuit 13171 controls whether or not the decoder 3175 is used by setting from the outside. Specifically, by inputting data in which D15 to D8 are set to 00100001B and D7 to D0 are set to 0001××××B, the settings for using the decoder are written to the decode register, and D7 to D0 are set to 0000××. By inputting the data of XXB, the setting of NO DECODER that does not use the decoder is written. The data selector control unit 3183 controls the 2×8 data selector 3176 to select the data from the decoder 3175 when the decoder is set to be used, and controls the 2×8 data selector 3176 to select data from the decoder 3175 when the decoder is set to not be used. It controls the x8 data selector 3176 to select data from the 8x4 data selector 3174 .

The standby mode control unit 3184 controls standby mode setting and data clear setting. That is, the driver circuit 13171 can shift to the standby mode by external setting. Specifically, the standby mode can be set by inputting data in which D15 to D12 are set to 0100B and D3 to D0 are set to 0000B. In the standby mode, the setting at that time is maintained as it is, the current output to the 7-segment LED 13172 is interrupted, and the power consumption of the driver circuit 13171 is suppressed.

In addition, the driver circuit 13171 can clear all data held therein by setting from the outside. Specifically, by inputting data in which D15 to D12 are set to 0100B and D3 to D0 are set to 0001B, all data held in registers and latches are cleared and initialized.

Oscillator 3185 generates the clocks used within driver circuit 13171 .

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a mounting example of the main control board 1310. As shown in FIG. In this figure, the configuration of the main control board box 1320 is indicated by solid lines, and the configuration on the main control board 1310 is indicated by dotted lines.

FIG. 31(A) shows the main control board box 1320 of the implementation example 1. FIG. The main control board box 1320 is made of a transparent resin that accommodates the main control board 1310 in a sealable manner with a structure that cannot be opened without being destroyed once closed. (sticker, engraving, printing, etc.) or tamper seal is attached. The unsealed seal is a seal that records the history of opening the seal of the main control board 1310 .

Mounting example 1 shown in FIG. 31(B) shows a state in which the main control board 1310 is accommodated in the main control board box 1320 shown in (A). In implementation example 1, a main control MPU 1311 is mounted on the main control board 1310 . The main control MPU 1311 is preferably mounted such that the longitudinal direction of the main control board 1310 and the longitudinal direction of the main control MPU 1311 are the same.

The main control board 1310 is enclosed in a main control board box 1320 and constitutes a main control unit 1300 . The main control MPU 1311 is arranged at a position where it can be confirmed from the outside that it has not been improperly remodeled. Moreover, the main control MPU 1311 is arranged so that it can be easily confirmed from the outside that it has not been improperly remodeled by arranging no parts around it.

The character ratio indicator 1317 is arranged on the main control board 1310 at a position visible from the outside. The direction of the numbers displayed on the character ratio indicator 1317 should be the same as the model number display of the main control MPU 1311 and the model number display of 1320 on the main control board box. Moreover, it is preferable that the longitudinal direction of the character ratio indicator 1317, the longitudinal direction of the main control board 1310, and the longitudinal direction of the main control MPU 1311 are aligned in the same direction. In addition, when the main control board 1310 is mounted in the game machine in a landscape orientation, the longitudinal direction of the character ratio display 1317 or the longitudinal direction of the main control MPU 1311 and the longitudinal direction of the main control board 1310 are the same. It is preferable to implement the character ratio indicator 1317 and the main control MPU 1311 so that it becomes. In addition, when the main control board 1310 is installed in a game machine in a portrait orientation, the longitudinal direction of the character ratio display 1317 or the longitudinal direction of the main control MPU 1311 and the longitudinal direction of the main control board 1310 are at 90 degrees. It is preferable to implement the character ratio indicator 1317 and the main control MPU 1311 so as to be oriented.

Connectors CN1 and CN2 for drawing out signal lines from the main control board 1310 have ends along the long sides of the main control board 1310 (upper side Although it is the upper end along the side, it may be mounted on the lower end along the lower long side or the end along the left and right sides). That is, the wiring (harness) connected to the connectors CN1 and CN2 overlaps with the character ratio display 1317, and it is desirable that the connectors CN1 and CN2 are arranged at a position where the character ratio display 1317 is not obstructed. .

Furthermore, the model number display of the main control board box 1320 and the opening seal attached to the main control board box 1320 are attached to a position that does not overlap with either the main control MPU or the character ratio indicator 1317 .

By mounting the character ratio display 1317 in this way, the model number display of the character ratio display 1317 and the main control MPU 1311 is displayed in the correct direction, and the visibility of these is improved. Even in the inspection after installation, it is possible to check the ratio of accessories and whether or not the main control MPU 1311 has been modified without taking an unreasonable posture.

In another implementation example shown in FIG. 31(C), the model number display of the main control MPU 1311 and the number display of the character ratio display 1317 are mounted in the same direction, but circuits other than the main control MPU 1311 The orientation of the model number display of the module (for example, IC) is different from the orientation of the model number display of the main control MPU 1311 and the number display of the character ratio indicator 1317 . Also, the circuit modules other than the main control MPU 1311 may be arranged at a position overlapping the model number display of the main control board box 1320 and the unsealing sticker attached to the main control board box 1320 . This is because the importance of circuit modules other than the main control MPU 1311 is low when inspecting unauthorized modification, so there is little significance in arranging them in the same direction on the main control board 1310 .

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the main control MPU 1311 and the character ratio indicator 1317. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 32A, the signal line 13173 between the driver circuit 13171 of the character ratio indicator 1317 and the 7-segment LED 13172 may become unstable due to noise. Therefore, it is desirable to arrange the driver circuit 13171 and the 7-segment LED 13172 as close as possible.

For example, as illustrated, the distance between the driver circuit 13171 and the 7-segment LED 13172 (the length L2 of the wiring 13173) is the distance between the main control MPU 1311 and the driver circuit 13171 of the character ratio indicator 1317 (the length of the wiring 13191 L1) arranged to be shorter. That is, L1 becomes larger than L2.

Also, as described above, no parts are arranged around the main control MPU 1311, as indicated by the dotted line, in order to easily confirm from the outside that no inappropriate modifications have been made. For this reason, the wiring length L1 becomes a certain length, but the length L2 is made as short as possible.

The driver circuit 13171 and the 7-segment LED 13172 may be housed in one package or in different packages, and in either case, they are mounted such that L1 is greater than L2.

FIG. 32(B) is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the main control MPU 1311 and the character ratio indicator 1317 in another implementation example, and FIG. 32(C) is a diagram showing the implementation example shown in FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a printed circuit board; FIG.

As shown in FIG. 32B, ground patterns 13192 are provided on both sides of the signal line 13191 between the main control MPU 1311 and the driver circuit 13171 of the character ratio display 1317 . Furthermore, on the printed circuit board, a prohibited area 13196 where no signal pattern is provided is provided on the back surface and inner layer of the signal line 13191 . It is preferable to provide a ground pattern 13197 or a power supply pattern as a guard pattern on at least one of the back surface and the inner layer of the printed circuit board in the prohibited area 13196 .

To explain the arrangement of other signal lines in this implementation example, for example, the signal line 13193 that supplies the clock signal from the oscillator to the main control MPU 1311 should avoid the prohibited area 13196 (that is, the signal line 13193 and the signal line 13191 placed so that they do not cross). Also, the signal line 13194 connected to the main control MPU 1311 may be arranged so as to pass through the back surface or the inner layer through the through hole 13195 . In this case as well, the signal line 13194 is arranged to avoid the prohibited area 13196 (that is, the signal line 13194 and the signal line 13191 do not cross each other).

In addition, from the viewpoint of preventing unauthorized modification, the main control board 1310 is generally composed of a two-layer board having patterns on the front and back sides and no inner layer. It can also be applied to multi-layer substrates (4-layer, 6-layer, etc.) having inner layers.

FIG. 33 shows a load register selection table of the driver circuit 13171. As shown in FIG.

A load register selection table is a table for determining a register for storing data input to the driver circuit 13171 .

The driver circuit 13171 of this embodiment has seven registers. The duty register is used by duty ratio control section 3182 to set the duty ratio for lighting 7 segment LED 13172 . For example, when D15-D8 are 00100000B, the data set in D7-D0 is data for setting the duty ratio and is written to the duty register of the duty ratio control section 3182. FIG.

The decode register is used by the data selector control unit 3183 or the Digit-Limit control unit 3181 to set the use of the decoder 3175, that is, the presence/absence of decoding and the number of display digits. The decode register and the number of digits register may be configured as one register. For example, when D15 to D8 are 00100001B, the data set in D7 to D0 is data for setting the presence/absence of decoding or data for setting the number of display digits. It is written to the register or the digit register of the Digit-Limit control unit 3181 .

The data registers are used by 8-bit data latches 3173A-D to set the data to be displayed on each digit of the 7-segment LED 13172. For example, if D15-D8 are 00100010B-00100101B, the data set in D7-D0 is data for turning on the 7-segment LEDs and is written to the data registers in the 8-bit data latches 3173A-D.

The duty ratio, the presence/absence of decoding, and the number of display digits, which are set in the registers described above, do not need to be set every time the character ratio is displayed. is set as In addition, if the setting is made only once in the initial setting, there is a possibility that the setting will be changed due to the influence of noise after the initial setting. is pressed). As a result, correct display can always be performed even if the settings are switched due to noise.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a character generator decode table. The character generator decode table is used by decoder 3175 to convert input data into character data for display on 7-segment LED 13172 . By using the character generator decode table, characters such as numbers and some alphabets can be displayed without considering the font. When displaying numbers, since D5 to D0 match the numbers to be displayed, the calculation result can be input to the driver circuit 13171 and displayed on the 7-segment LED 13172 without conversion.

The lighting of the decimal point of each digit of the 7-segment LED 13172 is controlled by D6.

FIG. 35 is a state transition diagram of the driver circuit 13171, and FIG.

The driver circuit 13171 of this embodiment has five states: an initial state, a data input state, an LED lighting state (0000), an LED lighting state (lighting according to input data), and an LED lighting state (all lighting). is prepared.

To control these five states, there are mode setting instructions for blank, normal operation, register write, full lighting, and standby. A blank command shuts off the output of constant current driver 3178 and the output of driver 3179 . The normal operation command causes the 7-segment LED 13172 to display after completing each setting. When a normal operation command is input without setting display data, the 7-segment LED 13172 displays 0 in all digits. The register write command sets the number of digits to be used, sets the duty ratio, sets whether the decoder is used or not, and inputs display data. D11 to D8 select a register into which data is to be written, and D7 to D0 input contents to be set in the register (see FIG. 33). The all lighting command turns on the output of the data side constant current driver 3178 to light all segments of the 7 segment LED 13172 . Standby instructions are divided into two types according to parameters: a standby instruction for transitioning to a standby state and a clear instruction for transitioning to an initial state. The standby command maintains the current settings, stops the operation of the constant current drivers 3178 and 3179, cuts off the current output to the 7-segment LED 13172, and suppresses the power consumption of the driver circuit 13171. A clear command clears and initializes all data held in registers and latches, and turns off the display.

Note that the blank command is also a kind of display command, so in this specification, "display" includes any state of all lighting of the 7-segment LED, lighting of a part of the segments, and all extinguishing.

A display example in each state described above will be described with reference to FIG.

When the game machine is powered on, the initial setting of the driver circuit 13171 has not been completed or the display data has not been set, so the initial state (ALL BLANK) is present. All segments of are turned off. Also, when the main body frame 4 is closed and the game can be played, the character ratio indicator 1317 cannot be visually recognized.

After initial setting is completed by setting control data in various control registers in the driver circuit 13171 , when display data is input, a predetermined display is performed on the 7-segment LED 13172 . As for this predetermined display, as shown in FIG. 36(B), "-" may be displayed in all digits or all segments may be lit. It is preferable that the normal operation of the character product ratio display 1317 can be confirmed by this predetermined display.

Further, when the body frame 4 is opened, it is preferable to display a predetermined display on all digits so that the character product ratio display 1317 can be confirmed to be operating normally. For example, as shown in FIG. 36B, "-" may be displayed in all digits, or all segments may be illuminated.

When the display switch 1318 is operated and the display data is input to the driver circuit 13171, the LED is turned on (lighted according to the input data). Specifically, the character product ratio display state is entered, a code indicating the display content is displayed on the left two digits of the 7-segment LED 13172, and the value of the character product ratio is displayed on the right two digits. In the example shown in FIG. 36(C), "y175" is displayed, indicating that the character ratio 1 is 75%. In addition, when the displayed character product ratio is an abnormal value outside the specified range, it is preferable to display the fact so as to be identifiable. For example, all digits (or numbers) are displayed by blinking, or the decimal point is lit or blinked.

Further, when the display switch 1318 is operated and the display data is input to the driver circuit 13171, the display contents of the 7-segment LED 13172 are changed. In other words, another kind of character product ratio is displayed. Also in this case, the left two digits indicate the code indicating the display content, and the right two digits indicate the value of the character ratio. In the example shown in FIG. 36(D), "y263" is displayed, indicating that the character ratio 2 is 63%. Also in this case, similarly to the above, it is preferable to provide a display that allows the user to identify that the displayed accessory ratio is an abnormal value outside the specified range. A more specific display example of the character product ratio will be described later with reference to FIG.

Then, when the body frame 4 is closed, a predetermined display for confirming the normal operation of the character ratio display 1317 is performed (FIG. 36(E)), and after a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds), the 7-segment LED 13172 is turned on. It is preferable to turn off the lights to reduce the power consumption of the gaming machine. This character product ratio non-display state is the same mode as after the initial setting is completed, but may be a different aspect as long as it can be distinguished from the character product ratio display.

FIG. 36(E) is a display example when the character ratio indicator 1317 or the main control MPU 1311 has an abnormality and the character ratio cannot be displayed. The decimal point may be illuminated, blinked, or displayed differently for each digit. Also, the abnormal display may be in a form different from that illustrated, as long as it is distinguishable from the normal character product ratio display in order to indicate that the character product ratio display is not possible.

In addition, when an all-lighting command is input in any state, all segments of the 7-segment LED 13172 are lit. In addition, when a blank command or a standby command is input in any state, all segments of the 7-segment LED 13172 are extinguished while retaining data. In addition, when a data clear command is input in any state, all the data held in the registers and latches are cleared, all segments of the 7-segment LED 13172 are lit, and the state returns to the initial state.

[8. Display of character ratio]
Next, a method of calculating and displaying the character product ratio will be described.

As described above, the character ratio is displayed on the character ratio display 1317 provided on the main control board 1310 . As described above, the character ratio indicator 1317 is composed of, for example, a 4-digit 7-segment LED or a liquid crystal display device. display.

Also, the character ratio indicator 1317 may be composed of a 2-digit 7-segment LED. In this case, it is preferable to alternately display the value of the role product ratio and the type of the value.

The display mode of the numerical value of the role product ratio may be displayed in a different display mode depending on the result of comparison between the role product ratio and a predetermined reference value. For example, when the role product ratio exceeds a predetermined reference value, the numerical value is blinked or the color is changed (green when normal, red when exceeding the reference value, etc.). By changing the display mode according to the result of comparison with the reference value, it is possible to easily recognize that the character ratio is abnormal.

The character ratio indicator 1317 may be composed of one or more LED lamps. When the character ratio indicator 1317 is composed of one LED lamp, the result of comparison between the character ratio and the predetermined reference value is displayed in different modes. For example, when the character product ratio is smaller than the reference value, it is displayed in green, and when the character product ratio is larger than the reference value, it is displayed in red. Also, when the role product ratio is smaller than the reference value, it is lit, and when the role product ratio is larger than the reference threshold value, it is displayed by blinking.

When the character ratio indicator 1317 is composed of a plurality of (for example, 10) LED lamps, the character ratio is displayed with one LED lamp as 10%. For example, if the character ratio is 70% or more and less than 80%, seven LEDs are lit. In this case, it may be displayed in different display modes (display colors) depending on the display contents (character ratio or continuous character ratio, recent data display or mid-term data display, etc.).

In addition, if the total number of acquired balls is less than 6000, the period for collecting prize ball data is short, and the value of the character ratio may not have converged, so it is displayed in a different display mode (display color, blinking, etc.) You may It is desirable that the display mode when the total number of acquired balls is less than the threshold is different from the display mode when the total number of acquired balls exceeds the above-described reference value.

The character product ratio display 1317 may display the latest data, the medium-term data, and the long-term data by switching. The latest data display is the role product ratio calculated using the previous counter value currently being written in the ring counter shown in FIGS. 27(B) and (C). The medium-term data display is the role product ratio calculated using the cumulative sum in the ring counters shown in FIGS. 27(B) and (C). The long-term data display is the character product ratio calculated using the total sum in the ring counters shown in FIGS. 27(B) and (C).

The function display unit 1400 may also be used as the character ratio indicator 1317 . The function display unit 1400 normally displays the game status based on the control signal from the main control board 1310, but when the body frame opening switch (not shown) detects that the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2, the main body The control board 1310 switches the display so that the function display unit 1400 displays the character ratio. Although the display of the function display unit 1400 is switched by opening the body frame 4, it is preferable to continue the progress of the game. By continuing the progress of the game, when the main body frame 4 is closed, it is possible to quickly switch from the character product ratio display to the display of the game state. For example, when the body frame 4 is opened during the special symbol variation display game, the character ratio is displayed, but if the body frame 4 is closed before the variation time elapses, the variation display for the remaining time can be performed. can. Since the special pattern displayed on the function display unit 1400 is synchronized with the decorative pattern displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the decorative pattern stops at the timing when the special pattern variable display of the function display unit 1400 stops. Therefore, even if the function display unit 1400 displays the character ratio, it can be configured so as not to make the player feel uncomfortable.

The character product ratio display 1317 may display other than the character product ratio. For example, the number of winnings per type of winning opening per unit time and the number of winning balls paid out may be displayed. The unit time may be switched and displayed by operating the display switch 1318, such as 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour, or 10 hours.

The character ratio display 1317 may display the base. The base is the normal ball output rate excluding special prizes (during big hits), and can be calculated by dividing the number of safe balls by the number of out balls. The number of shot balls (number of out balls) is detected by a shot ball sensor 1020 . As described above, the shot ball sensor 1020 is provided near the exit (backflow prevention member 1007) of the rails 1001 and 1002 that guide the game ball from the ball launcher to the game area 5a (see FIGS. 10 and 16). Also, the number of out balls may be detected by the discharged ball sensor 3060 . As described above, the discharge ball sensor 3060 is provided at the discharge port for discharging the game balls flowing out from the game area 5a to the outside of the pachinko machine 1 (see FIG. 4). In addition, an out-hole passing ball sensor 1021 (see FIG. 53) is provided to detect game balls passing through an out-hole 1111 provided in the lower part of the game area 5a, and the number of game balls detected by the out-hole passing ball sensor 1021, The number of out balls may be detected based on the sum of the number of game balls detected by the starting opening sensors 2104 and 2551 and the number of game balls detected by various winning opening sensors 3015 , 2114 , 2554 and 2557 . Further, a ball sensor (not shown) for detecting a game ball supplied to the ball launching device 680, and a game ball (so-called foul ball) that has been launched from the ball launching device 680 but has not reached the game area 5a. A foul ball sensor (not shown) that detects is provided, and the number of out balls (the number of shot balls) is calculated by subtracting the number of foul balls from the number of game balls supplied to the ball launching device 680 detected by the launch supply ball sensor. may be detected.

The number of out balls may be counted by any of the methods described above. That is, it is sufficient to provide either the discharged ball sensor 3060 or the fired ball sensor 1020 among the illustrated sensors.

Also, the number of safe balls is equal to the number of awarded balls. Also, the base may be defined as the ball output rate for each game state (during normal play, during power supply, during probability fluctuation, during time reduction), and calculated by the number of safe balls / the number of out balls for each game state. . By displaying the base on the role ratio indicator 1317, it is possible to check the deviation of the ball putting performance from the design value during operation for each game machine on the spot. In addition, since the ball-putting performance can be confirmed without using a hole controller, inspection of each game machine can be easily performed during an on-site inspection of the game arcade.

The character ratio indicator 1317 displays information about other prizes and prize balls of the base (the number of prizes won to the general prize gate 2001 and the number of prize balls due to the prize, the number of prizes to the start gate 2002 and the number of prize balls due to the prize, The number of winnings to the big winning openings 2005 and 2006, the number of prize balls resulting from the winning, etc.) may be displayed.

The character product ratio display 1317 may always display the character product ratio, or may display the character product ratio by operating the display switch 1318 . For example, when the display switch 1318, which is a push button switch, is pressed, the display of the character ratio is started, and the display is turned off after being displayed for a predetermined time. Note that if the display switch 1318 is operated while the body frame opening switch (not shown) is detecting that the body frame 4 has been released from the outer frame 2, the role product ratio is displayed on the role product ratio display 1317. good. That is, even if the display switch 1318 is operated unless the body frame is open, the character ratio display 1317 does not display the character ratio.

Also, the display content may be changed for each operation of the display switch 1318 . For example, as shown in FIG. 37, when the display switch 1318 is operated once, A7, which means the role ratio (total), is displayed in the upper two digits, and the role for a predetermined number (for example, 60,000) of prize balls is displayed. Display the ratio in the last two digits. When the display switch 1318 is operated once again, the display of the upper two digits switches to A6, which means the continuous role ratio (total), and the continuous role ratio for a predetermined number (for example, 60,000) of prize balls is reduced by 2. It may be displayed on the digit (Fig. 37(B)). Furthermore, when the display switch 1318 is operated once, y7, which means the role ratio (6000 prize balls), is displayed in the upper two digits, and the role ratio according to the latest data is displayed in the lower two digits (recent data display). (Fig. 37(C)). When the display switch 1318 is operated once more, the display of the upper two digits is switched to y6, which means the role ratio (total), and the role ratio for a predetermined number (for example, 60,000) of prize balls is displayed in the lower two digits. Display (mid-term data display) may be performed (FIG. 37(D)).

The display switch 1318 may not be provided as an independent switch, but may also be used as a RAM clear switch provided on the main control board 1310 or the peripheral control board 1510 . That is, the switch functions as a RAM clear switch when operated when the power is turned on, and functions as a display switch 1318 when operated while the pachinko machine 1 is in operation. By consolidating the functions of the RAM clear switch and the display switch 1318 into one switch, only one switch is operated by the staff of the game arcade, and erroneous operations by inexperienced staff can be reduced.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to accurately calculate the accessory ratio of the gaming machine in operation, and to check the gambling nature of the gaming machine in operation.

In addition, since the data of the number of winning balls is accumulated as the character ratio calculation/display data 13136, and the check code is abnormal, the character ratio calculation/display data 13136 is erased, so that an incorrect character ratio is displayed. can be avoided.

In addition, since the data 13136 for calculating and displaying the character ratio is erased under conditions other than the conditions for erasing the data related to the progress of the game backed up in the RAM 1312 of the main control MPU 1311, the accurate number of prize balls is retained. , can calculate the exact role ratio.

In addition, since the role product ratio calculation/display data 13136 is not erased by the operation of the RAM clear switch, the role product ratio calculation/display data 13136 is not erased by mistake due to the operation of the game hall staff. Since the product ratio calculation/display data is not erased by the operation of the RAM clear switch, the data is not erased due to an erroneous operation by the staff of the game arcade. In addition, since the amusement center cannot intentionally delete the data for character product ratio calculation/display, the reliability of the character product ratio to be displayed is increased, and concealment of a high character product ratio can be prevented.

[9. Display Base]
[9-1. Basic Configuration of Game Machine Displaying Base]
So far, the embodiment of the pachinko machine that calculates and displays the character ratio has been described. Next, the embodiment of the pachinko machine that calculates and displays the base value will be described. In this embodiment, the pachinko machine that calculates and displays the base value will be exclusively described, but the character ratio may be calculated and displayed together with the base value.

In the pachinko machine described below, as described above, when a game ball wins at the starting port (the first starting port 2002, the second starting port 2004), a lottery based on random numbers is performed, and a special symbol variation display game is executed. . The variation pattern (variation time) of the special symbol variation display game is a relatively short time variation pattern (normal variation pattern of about 10 seconds, shortened variation pattern of about 2 to 5 seconds that is easy to select when the number of reservations is large) Or, there are relatively long-time fluctuation patterns (variation patterns such as Super Reach exceeding 1 minute). When the base value is calculated by the pachinko machine, the notification of the base value requires less urgency than the notification of the error. However, if the variable display time is long, without waiting for the end of one special symbol variable display game, when a predetermined condition is met (for example, the number of out balls (number of shot balls) or the number of prize balls number) has changed), it is preferable to calculate the base value and update the display. For this reason, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, when predetermined conditions are satisfied (for example, the number of out balls (the number of shot balls) or the number of prize balls (the number of payout balls ) changes), calculate and display the base value. Next, a specific configuration of the pachinko machine that operates in this manner will be described.

FIG. 38 is a block diagram showing the configuration around the main control board 1310 of the pachinko machine 1 that calculates and displays the base value.

The pachinko machine 1 shown in FIG. 38 has almost the same configuration as the pachinko machine 1 shown in FIG. The base display 1317 of the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment may use, for example, a 4-digit 7-segment LED as shown in FIGS. A 7-segment LED may also be used.

The pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment acquires data on the number of prize balls and the number of out balls in the area update process for calculating the role ratio (step S81) of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 23) executed by the main control MPU 1311, A base value is calculated and displayed in the role product ratio calculation/display process (step S89). In the following description, the "renewal process for calculating the character ratio calculation" in step S81 of FIG. calculation/display processing”. 26, the "character ratio calculation area 13128" shown in FIG. 26 is read as "base calculation area 13128"; The description will be made by replacing the "character product ratio calculation/display data 13136" with "base calculation/display data 13136".

FIG. 39 is a flow chart showing an example of base calculation region update processing (step S81). In the base calculation area update process, the current game state is determined, the number of prize balls to be paid out as game value is added to the area corresponding to the current game state, and the base calculation area 13128 of the main control built-in RAM 1312 is updated. do. In particular, the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. is directly updated (step S814), and the total number of out-balls is directly updated using the number of out-balls (step S822).

First, it is determined whether the game state is a special prize (step S810). When the game state is during the special prize, it means that the big winning holes 2005 and 2006 are open and the player can win many prize balls, but the opening and ending times of the big win game are included. good. When the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 are repeatedly opened and closed during one big win, the time (closing interval) from the closing of the big winning opening to the next opening may be included. That is, during the special prize in step S810 means that the condition device is in operation, for example, from the finalization of the jackpot symbol of the special symbol variation display game to the end of the ending. It may also include all the times during the instruction to hit to the right.

Furthermore, in the starting ports 2002 and 2004, during time saving, during variable probability (during ST), and during electric sapo may be included in the special prize. Furthermore, in a game state other than during time saving, during variable probability (during ST), and during power supply, a predetermined time after opening the starting port 2004 after closing (for example, until the ball that has won the starting port is detected as an out ball) seconds required) may be included in the prize.

The electrically operated accessories provided in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment are classified into two types from the viewpoint of calculation of the base value. As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, during the special prize relating to the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 is during operation of the condition device (for example, from the finalization of the jackpot pattern of the special symbol variation display game to the end of the ending), Since the base value is calculated based on the number of winning balls and out balls other than those during the special prize, normal winnings (during the so-called big wins) to the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 are not used for calculating the base value. On the other hand, the starting port 2004 (so-called electric tulip) having an opening and closing member uses winning balls and winning balls other than during the special prize (low probability time and non-time saving time) to calculate the base value. In other words, some of the electrically operated accessories (big prize openings 2005 and 2006) use the number of winning balls and the number of prize balls to calculate the base value regardless of the game state (whether or not a special prize is being played). Not used, other accessories (starting port 2004) can be switched between using the number of winning balls and the number of winning balls for calculation of the base value or not depending on the game state (whether special prizes are in progress or not). It will be. Not using the number of winning balls and the number of prize balls in the calculation of the base value means not counting the paid out prize balls in (the number of prize balls other than those in the special prize, which is the dividend in the calculation of the base value), It also includes not creating edge information for paying out prize balls according to the winning signal even if the winning signal is input.

Also, the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 may be opened (as a so-called small win) even when the condition device does not operate. In general, small hits occur during a short period of time, and since the game balls are less likely to win due to the short opening, there is no influence on the calculation of the base value. However, it is also possible to generate a small hit during a time other than the special prize (normal time) and open only the time when the possibility of winning the game ball becomes high. In this case, winning balls and winning balls into the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 in small wins other than during the special prize may be used for calculation of the base value. By doing so, the expected value (design value) of the base value can be changed by controlling the probability of occurrence of a small win other than during the special prize. That is, it is possible to provide a pachinko machine that can flexibly comply with the standard of the base value, and improve the degree of freedom in design.

If the game state is during a special prize, the prize balls are not related to the calculation of the base value, so the base calculation region updating process is terminated without updating the number of prize balls or the number of out balls. On the other hand, if the game state is not during the special prize, the number of prize balls calculated based on the input information in the prize ball control process (step S80) is obtained (step S811). The number of prize balls acquired in the base calculation region updating process may be the number of prize balls determined to be put out. Alternatively, the number of prize balls corresponding to the prepared payout command may be used. Alternatively, it may be the number of prize balls corresponding to the payout command that has already been sent. Moreover, the main control board 1310 may transmit the payout command to the payout control board 951 and may be the number of prize balls corresponding to the payout command for which the reception confirmation (ACK) is received from the payout control board 951 . Furthermore, the main control board 1310 may transmit a payout command to the payout control board 951 and may be the number of prize balls (the number of paid out prize balls) that receives a payout completion report from the payout control board 951 . This variation will be described with reference to FIGS. 41 to 44. FIG.

Then, the acquired number of prize balls is added to the total number of prize balls to update the total number of prize balls (step S814). It should be noted that it is possible to determine whether there are prize balls or not, and if there are no prize balls, the process of updating the total number of prize balls may be skipped. In addition, although the game balls enter the starting ports 2002 and 2004, the suspension is the upper limit value, and even if the winning to the starting ports is not suspended, the prize balls are paid out, so the total number of prize balls is updated. In addition, in a game state in which no prize balls are generated even if a game ball enters the winning opening (for example, when a specific error occurs), no prize balls are generated due to the winning, and the number of prize balls to be acquired is Since it is 0, the total number of prize balls is not updated. The total number of prize balls is recorded in the total number of prize balls storage area (see FIG. 52) provided in the base calculation area 13128 of the main control built-in RAM 1312 . That is, in the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 39, the total number of prize balls used for calculating the base value is updated each time the number of prize balls is calculated.

After that, the number of out-balls is acquired (step S818), and the total number of out-balls is updated so that the acquired number of out-balls is added to the total number of out-balls (step S822). As described above, the number of out balls is detected by the ball sensor 1020, the ball sensor 3060, etc. In the switch input process of step S74, the detection signals of these sensors are read, and if there is a sensor detection signal, an out ball is detected. Get the number of balls=1. The total number of out-balls is recorded in the total number of out-balls storage area (see FIG. 52) provided in the base calculation area 13128 of the main control internal RAM 1312 . That is, in the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 39, the total number of out balls used for calculating the base value is updated each time an out ball is detected. In this way, the base calculation process is executed for each timer interrupt process, the total number of out balls is updated, and the base value is calculated and displayed in the base calculation display process (Fig. 40), so the base value is displayed without delay. It is possible to judge without delay whether the base is normal or abnormal.

As in steps S815 to S817 of the base calculation area updating process (FIG. 46), which will be described later, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, and if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated. , You may reset the timer for prize ball abnormality notification. Further, as in steps S824 to S825, it is determined whether or not the timer for abnormal prize notification has timed out, and when the timer for abnormal prize notification has timed up, a command for stopping the abnormal prize notification is generated, and the abnormal prize notification is performed. may be stopped.

In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, the main control MPU 1311 executes base value calculation processing in timer interrupt processing, but the payout control MPU of the payout control unit 952 may execute base value calculation processing. In this case, a command for notifying the base from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 of the peripheral control board 1510 may be transmitted, or a command for notifying the base from the payout control unit 952 to the peripheral control unit 1511 may be sent.

Also, in one timer interrupt process, even if the information of both the winning ball to the winning hole and the out ball is acquired, the number of prize balls is set to the total number of prize balls (or the number of prize balls buffer in the embodiment described later). The number of out-balls is added to the total number of out-balls (or the number of out-balls buffer in the embodiment described later). Also, in one timer interrupt process, even if information on winning to a plurality of winning openings is acquired, the total number of winning balls due to multiple winning is calculated as the total number of winning balls (or in the embodiment described later, ). Therefore, the base value can be accurately calculated and displayed. For example, if a prize-winning sensor detects a prize-winning hole with 5 prize balls and a prize-winning hole sensor with 3 prize balls, a total of 8 prize balls are detected as the total number of prize balls. (or add to the prize number buffer).

Also, the number of prize balls may be added to the total number of prize balls (or the number of prize balls buffer) only when the shooting of game balls is detected. That is, only the number of winning balls detected within a predetermined time after detection by the ball sensor 1020 may be added to the total number of winning balls (or the number of winning balls buffer). In addition, the operation of the firing control unit 953 or the ball launching device 680 is detected, and while the firing control unit 953 or the ball launching device 680 is operating (furthermore, when the firing control unit 953 or the ball launching device 680 stops operating) to the predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds)) may be added to the total number of prize balls or the number of prize balls buffer. Also, the number of prize balls may be added to the total number of prize balls (or the number of prize balls buffer) when the player is operating the firing handle. That is, only the number of winning balls detected within a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) from the time when the contact detection sensor 509 of the handle unit 500 is detected to touch the contact detection sensor 509 with the palm or finger is counted as the total number of winning balls ( Alternatively, it may be added to the prize number buffer). In this way, it is possible to prevent the base value from being reflected in the base value of the prize balls due to an abnormality in which the prize balls are detected in a state where the game balls are not shot or fraudulent acts, and to prevent an incorrect base value from being displayed. Further, if the contact detection sensor 509 is used, it is not necessary to newly provide a sensor for detecting the launch of the game ball, so the increase in the cost of the pachinko machine 1 can be suppressed.

In the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 39, the base is calculated by excluding the number of winning balls and the number of out balls during the special prize, but the number of winning balls due to the winning of the general winning opening and the starting opening are not counted even during the special prize. Alternatively, the base value may be calculated by counting the number of out-balls, excluding the number of balls that have entered the big prize pool.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation/display processing (step S89). In the base calculation/display processing shown in FIG. 40, the base value is calculated each time (every timer interrupt cycle).

First, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S902). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base value is not calculated and the base calculation/display process is terminated. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the base value is calculated by dividing the total number of awarded balls by the total number of out balls (step S903). When the total number of winning balls is 0, 0 is calculated as the base value, but the base value may not be calculated. In addition, if an abnormal base value is calculated (e.g., if the total number of balls won is greater than the total number of outs and a value of 1 (100%) or more is calculated as the base value), the base value must not be calculated. good too. When the base value is expressed as a percentage, the base value is calculated by multiplying the total number of awarded balls divided by the total number of out balls by 100. Specifically, the total number of winning balls is multiplied by a predetermined number (for example, 100) and stored in the division input register A131216, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217.

The predetermined number by which the total number of balls stored in divide input register A131216 is multiplied controls the number of digits of the calculated base value. For example, if this predetermined number is 100, the base value is calculated up to the 1's place in the hundredth fraction, and the fractions below the decimal point are not calculated. Also, if this predetermined number is 10000, the base value is calculated to two decimal places in a fraction of 100. That is, by dividing the quotient output from the arithmetic circuit by 100, the base value of the fraction of 100 with two decimal places can be calculated.

Then, after 32 clocks have passed, the quotient is read from the division result register A131218 and used as the base value. During the 32-clock wait time from writing data to the division input registers 131216 and 131217 to reading data from the division result register A131218, the main control MPU 1311 waits without performing any other processing. may be performed. For example, the random number for judging the winning or losing of the jackpot may be updated between the writing of data to the division input registers 131216 and 131217 and the reading of data from the division result register A131218. More specifically, the hard random number generated by the random number generation circuit 13112 is updated at the timing of the clock cycle supplied to the main control MPU 1311 (or a signal obtained by dividing the clock cycle). is also updated with hard random numbers.

That is, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, even while the arithmetic circuit 13121 is executing the base arithmetic processing, other processing related to the game can be executed in parallel. Other processes related to the game include at least a process of updating random numbers for judging winning or losing. Also, during the calculation (division) process in the arithmetic circuit 13121, the random number that affects the game result is updated one or more times.

Also, if the total number of out balls is 0, even if the base value is calculated, the return value from the arithmetic circuit 13121 will be an error, so it need not be stored in the base calculation area 13128 . In this case, the base value displayed on base display 1317 is not updated.

Thereafter, a base notification command is generated (step S908), and the base is notified to the players and hall employees. The base notification command may simply notify the base value or may notify an abnormality of the base value. Abnormality of the base value is, for example, when the calculated base value becomes larger or smaller than the design value (normal value) beyond a predetermined allowable range. In addition, a plurality of stages of allowable ranges may be provided, and the degree of abnormality may be determined in a plurality of stages according to the degree of divergence of the base values.

There are various methods for base notification, and one or more of the methods described below may be used in combination. For example, the base value may be notified by the base display (7-segment LED) 1317, the liquid crystal display devices 1600, 3114, 244, etc. all the time or at a predetermined timing. Informing the player of the base value may allow the player to check the condition of the pachinko machine. At that time, the display mode described in the role item ratio may be applied to the base value. When notifying the base value, the calculated base value is displayed as a percentage notation on the indicator or the display device described above. Note that the value after the decimal point may be rounded down, rounded off, or rounded up. In display devices capable of displaying images, such as the liquid crystal display devices 1600, 3114, and 244, the first decimal place is displayed for more detailed display. may

When displaying a base value on the base display 1317 composed of 7-segment LEDs, the main control MPU 1311 inputs display data to a predetermined register provided in the driver circuit 13171 of the base display 1317 . That is, the main control MPU 1311 generates display data to be set in the register of the driver circuit 13171 as the base notification command. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 33 and 34, the main control MPU 1311 designates the digits for displaying numerical values in D15 to D8 by "data n setting", and sets the display content in D7 to D0. is generated and written to the shift register 3171 .

In addition, when the base value is displayed on the liquid crystal display devices 1600, 3114, and 244, a predetermined reference value (for example, 50%) is provided for the base value, and if the reference value is exceeded, the display mode may be changed. . For example, the numerical value is displayed by blinking or by changing the color (green when normal, red when exceeding the standard, etc.). Furthermore, the display mode of the base value may be changed in multiple steps. Specifically, the displayed base value is 30% or more, 25% or more and less than 30%, 20% or more and less than 25%, 15% or more and less than 20%, 10% or more and less than 15%, or less than 10%. It may be divided into a plurality of stages, and may be displayed by changing the emission color such as white, blue, and yellow in each stage. In addition, when the base value is low, self-deprecating comments may be displayed at each stage, such as "I'm feeling good", "I'm getting worse", "It's not bad", and "In a way it's amazing". If the base value exceeds the standard value, the pachinko machine is operating differently than expected, and there is a possibility that fraud is being carried out. For this reason, it is desirable to display in a manner that indicates a warning such as red. In addition, the display mode may be the same as or similar to a weak error that does not stop the progress of the game. Here, "similar" means that at least one of display, lamp, and sound is the same.

In addition, various lamps, a liquid crystal display device, sound, etc. may be used to notify the range of the base value (whether the base value is high or low, whether it is an abnormal value or a normal value, etc.). Further, if the base cannot be calculated (Yes in step S902) and there is no previously calculated base value, a base notification command may be generated for displaying on the liquid crystal display that base notification is not possible. By transmitting the notification command to the generated sub-board, the effect device controlled by the sub-board can notify the state of the base. can be reduced. Further, by informing that the base display is impossible when nothing is displayed on the base display 1317, it is possible to distinguish between the failure of the base display 1317 and the absence of the base value to be displayed. Furthermore, by displaying the abnormality of the base value on the liquid crystal display device, the abnormality of the base value can be known without looking at the back side of the game board provided with the base display 1317 .

The function display unit 1400 may also serve as the base display 1317 . In this case, a specific LED lamp (or 7-segment LED) of the function display unit 1400 should be used for constant notification. In addition, it is preferable to notify at a predetermined timing (for example, when the main body frame 4 is opened, when the special symbol variation display game is finished while the special symbol variation display game is not being executed).

Base information may be output from the external terminal board 784 to a hall computer installed in the game arcade. In this case, as in the base calculation/display processing (FIGS. 47, 49, etc.) to be described later, outputting base information at a predetermined timing (for each predetermined number of winning balls and for each predetermined number of out balls) good.

The base information output from the external terminal plate 784 may be a binary (high, low) signal indicating whether the calculated base value is higher or lower than a predetermined threshold value. In addition, a signal having a length roughly indicating the calculated base value may be output (for example, a 30-millisecond pulse when the base value is 30% or more and less than 40%). Also, the number of continuous pulses roughly indicating the calculated base value may be output (eg, three continuous pulses when the base value is 30% or more and less than 40%).

The base notification command may be generated even when the base value is not updated, and the base notification command may not be generated when the base value is not updated. The display of the base value continues even if the base notification command is not generated.

In addition, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 56, etc., it determines whether the calculated base value is abnormal, generates a base notification command for notifying the abnormality of the base value, and notifies the player or the hall employee of the abnormality of the base value. may be notified.

Also, whether or not to inform the player of the base may be determined according to the game state (game situation). This is because, if the base value is constantly reported to the player, the player's attention to the performance of the special symbol variation display game, which is the original enjoyment of the pachinko machine, may be neglected and the player's consciousness may be dispersed. is.

Also, based on the calculated base value, the effect of the special symbol variation display game being executed or to be executed in the future may be changed. For example, it is preferable to prepare a plurality of display selection tables and select an effect from different display selection tables (see FIGS. 64 to 68) depending on the base value.

Also, the base value may exceed or fall below a predetermined threshold value (for example, 30%) during the special symbol variation display game. Therefore, when the threshold value is exceeded or fallen below during the special symbol variation display game, the effect of the special symbol variation display game may be changed. When the base value rises above a predetermined threshold value and when it falls, the effect may be changed in the same manner, or the effect may be changed in different manners.

FIG. 41 is a diagram showing an example of the update timing of the number of prize balls and the calculation timing of the base value. As shown in FIG. 23, in this embodiment, the number of winning balls is updated in the base calculation area update process of step S81, and the base value is calculated in the base ratio calculation/display process of step S89.

Therefore, the main control MPU 1311 detects winning of game balls in the switch input process (step S74), calculates the number of prize balls determined for each winning hole in the prize ball control process (step S80), The prize number buffer is updated in the area update process (step S81). Thereafter, the base value is updated in the base ratio calculation/display process (step S89), and the payout command is transmitted to the payout control board 951 in the output data setting process (step S90).

After storing the received payout command in the memory, the payout control board 951 transmits a payout command reception confirmation to the main control board 1310 . When the payout control board 951 pays out the prize balls according to the payout command, the payout control board 951 notifies the main control board 1310 of the completion of the ball payout. In addition, the number of undischarged prize balls among the number of prize balls calculated in the prize ball control process (step S80) is backed up by the main control board 1310 or the payout control board 951. When the payout control board 951 backs up the number of undistributed prize balls, the payout control board 951 needs to transmit a payout command reception confirmation to the main control board 1310, but it is not necessary to notify the main control board 1310 of completion of ball payout. do not have. On the other hand, when the main control board 1310 backs up the number of undistributed prize balls, the payout control board 951 needs to notify the main control board 1310 of the completion of the ball payout, but the payout command reception confirmation is transmitted to the main control board 1310. No need.

In the pachinko machine according to the embodiment described above, the base value is calculated without delay during the game, and the state of the game machine can be known in real time. Therefore, an abnormality in the gaming machine can be detected early. For example, when it is determined that the base value is abnormal when the base value is lower or higher than a predetermined threshold, the base value is calculated multiple times during one special symbol variation display game, and the predetermined threshold is exceeded. The game is not stopped even if it is determined as such, and the calculation processing of the base value is continuously executed regardless of the abnormality determination. For example, the special symbol variation display game includes short-time games such as normal variation and long-time games such as reach variation, and the base value is calculated from the start to the end of one special symbol variation display game. If the condition is met multiple times, the base value should be calculated each time, and the base value should be updated and displayed each time. This is because if the calculation of the base value during the special symbol variation display game is restricted (for example, the base value is calculated and updated only once at the end of the variation display), it may take a long time to change the base value depending on the calculation timing of the base value. This is because there is a possibility that the information necessary for hall operation will not be output at an appropriate timing, causing inconvenience to the hall.

Also, if the launched game ball does not enter the starting opening or the general winning opening, the base value is lowered. In this state, the player is at a loss, so for example, additional effects to the effects performed on the liquid crystal (for example, effects related to wins and losses that are not related to changes in the base value, and effects that appear with changes in the base value) (Specific effects to be added), and notice effects with high expectations for big hits (among the effects that are not related to changes in the base value, notice effects with high expectations such as the next notice effect, and changes in the base value Of the specific effects that appear, a highly anticipated advance notice effect (for example, displaying the base value in a rainbow display) may be performed. As a result, the player can be motivated to continue the game by alleviating the discomfort caused by not winning the starting slot and the general winning slot.

On the other hand, if many of the launched game balls enter the start hole or the general winning hole (if more than the average number of past winnings wins), the base value rises. In this state, even if the result of the jackpot lottery is a loss, the player receives more game balls than usual, so the player's disappointment is alleviated. The effect of the variable display game may be changed to a less expected effect.

[9-2. Variation of the update timing of the number of prize balls and the calculation timing of the base value]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 42 to 44, variations of the update timing of the number of awarded balls and the calculation timing of the base value will be described. The outline of the update timing of the number of prize balls and the calculation timing of the base value in each variation is as follows.
・Fig. 41: Number of prize balls calculated → Number of prize balls updated → Base value calculated → Payout command sent ・Fig. 42: Number of prize balls calculated → Number of prize balls updated → Payout command sent → Base value calculated ・Fig. 43: Number of prize balls calculated → Send payout command → Update number of prize balls → Calculate base value ・Fig. 44: Calculate number of prize balls → Send payout command → Confirm command reception → Update number of prize balls → Calculate base value ・Fig. →notification of payout completion→update of the number of prize balls→calculation of the base value Note that the variations shown in FIGS. It is applicable to any base calculation area update process and base calculation/display process.

In the procedure shown in FIG. 42, unlike the procedure of timer interrupt processing shown in FIG. - Execute the display process (step S89).

That is, the main control MPU 1311 detects the winning of game balls in the switch input process (step S74), calculates the number of prize balls determined for each winning hole in the prize ball control process (step S80), and calculates the base calculation area. In the updating process (step S81), the total number of prize balls (or the number of prize balls buffer in the embodiment described later) is updated. Thereafter, a payout command is transmitted to the payout control board 951 in the output data setting process (step S90), and the base value is updated in the base ratio calculation/display process (step S89).

After storing the received payout command in the memory, the payout control board 951 transmits a payout command reception confirmation to the main control board 1310 . When the payout control board 951 pays out the prize balls according to the payout command, the payout control board 951 notifies the main control board 1310 of the completion of the ball payout. As described above, out of the number of prize balls calculated in the prize ball control process (step S80), the payout command reception confirmation or You may omit either of the ball payout completion.

In the procedure shown in FIG. 43, unlike the procedure of timer interrupt processing shown in FIG. to run.

That is, the main control MPU 1311 detects winning of game balls in the switch input process (step S74), calculates the number of prize balls determined for each winning hole in the prize ball control process (step S80), and outputs data setting process. A payout command is transmitted to the payout control board 951 (step S90). After that, in the base calculation area update process (step S81), the total number of prize balls (or the number of prize balls buffer in the embodiment described later) is updated with the number of prize balls corresponding to the transmitted payout command, and the base ratio is calculated. The base value is updated in the display processing (step S89). The number of prize balls corresponding to the generated payout command may be used instead of the number of prize balls corresponding to the transmitted payout command (even if the payout command has not been transmitted).

After storing the received payout command in the memory, the payout control board 951 transmits a payout command reception confirmation to the main control board 1310 . When the payout control board 951 pays out the prize balls according to the payout command, the payout control board 951 notifies the main control board 1310 of the completion of the ball payout. As described above, out of the number of prize balls calculated in the prize ball control process (step S80), the payout command reception confirmation or You may omit either of the ball payout completion.

In addition, the timing at which the main control MPU 1311 receives the command reception confirmation and the ball payout completion notification from the payout control board 951 depends on the processing speed of the payout control board 951 and the operating speed of the payout device 830, so the base calculation area update process ( The order of step S81) and the base ratio calculation/display process (step S89) does not matter.

In the procedure shown in FIG. 44, unlike the procedure of the timer interrupt process shown in FIG. (Step S89) is executed.

That is, the main control MPU 1311 detects winning of game balls in the switch input process (step S74), calculates the number of prize balls determined for each winning hole in the prize ball control process (step S80), and outputs data setting process. A payout command is transmitted to the payout control board 951 (step S90).

After storing the received payout command in the memory, the payout control board 951 transmits a payout command reception confirmation to the main control board 1310 .

When the main control MPU 1311 receives the payout command reception confirmation from the payout control board 951, in the base calculation area update process (step S81), the total number of prize balls ( Alternatively, in the embodiment described later, the number of winning balls buffer) is updated, and the base value is updated in the base ratio calculation/display process (step S89).

When the payout control board 951 pays out the prize balls according to the payout command, the payout control board 951 notifies the main control board 1310 of the completion of the ball payout. In the procedure shown in FIG. 44, the data of the number of undistributed prize balls is backed up by the payout control board 951 so that the data of the number of undischarged prize balls is not lost when a power failure occurs. Therefore, although it is necessary to confirm receipt of the command from the payout control board 951 to the main control board 1310, the ball payout completion notification may be omitted.

In the procedure shown in FIG. 45, unlike the procedure of timer interrupt processing shown in FIG. (Step S89) is executed.

That is, the main control MPU 1311 detects winning of game balls in the switch input process (step S74), calculates the number of prize balls determined for each winning hole in the prize ball control process (step S80), and outputs data setting process. A payout command is transmitted to the payout control board 951 (step S90).

After storing the received payout command in the memory, the payout control board 951 transmits a payout command reception confirmation to the main control board 1310 . When the payout control board 951 pays out the prize balls according to the payout command, the payout control board 951 notifies the main control board 1310 of the completion of the ball payout.

When the main control MPU 1311 receives the ball payout completion notification from the payout control board 951, in the base calculation area update process (step S81), the total number of prize balls (or Award number buffer) is updated, and the base value is updated in the base ratio calculation/display process (step S89).

In the procedure shown in FIG. 44, the main control board 1310 backs up the data of the number of unpaid prize balls so as not to lose the data of the number of unpaid prize balls when a power failure occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to notify the completion of the ball payout from the payout control board 951 to the main control board 1310, but the command reception confirmation may be omitted.

As described above, the pachinko machine of this embodiment updates the number of winning balls and the number of out balls, which are the parameters used for calculating the base value, when a predetermined condition is satisfied. For example, in the processes shown in FIGS. 41 and 42, the number of winning balls is updated when the winning opening sensor detects winning of game balls in the switch input process (step S74). Also, in the processing shown in FIG. 43, when the payout command is transmitted, the number of prize balls is updated. Also, in the process shown in FIG. 44, the number of prize balls is updated when the reception of the payout command is confirmed. Also, in the processing shown in FIG. 45, the number of prize balls is updated when the payout of prize balls is completed.

In the pachinko machine of this embodiment, there is a possibility that the number of prize balls during the special prize cannot be counted accurately due to the difference between the timing of determining whether the game state is the special prize and the timing of updating the number of prize balls. In particular, the problem becomes serious when it takes a long time to update the number of prize balls after winning a prize in the prize opening. For this reason, a flag is attached to the winning prize during the special prize, and the flag is inherited to the number of winning balls, the payout command, the reception confirmation, and the payout completion notification. Then, using the flag, it is determined at each stage whether the ball is in the middle of a grand prize. In this way, even if it takes a long time to update the number of prize balls after entering the winning hole, the number of prize balls during the special prize can be accurately counted and updated.

Further, in the pachinko machine of the present embodiment, the number of winning balls and the number of out balls are updated at these opportunities, and the base values are calculated and displayed. That is, since the base value can be known from the game machine alone, the time required for nail adjustment in the manufacturing process and the inspection process can be shortened, and the game machine can be efficiently manufactured.

Further, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, when the pachinko machine is out of balls and the prize balls cannot be paid out, the main control board 1310 or the payout control board 951 holds the number of unpaid balls.

When the main control board 1310 holds the number of undischarged balls, when the winning opening sensor detects the winning of the game ball in the switch input process (step S74), the number of winning balls corresponding to the winning opening in which the winning is detected is not counted. Add to the number of balls paid out. A predetermined upper limit may be set for the number of unpaid balls, but the upper limit may not be set. In this case, each time the number of prize balls to be paid out is calculated, the number of prize balls buffer for calculating the base value or the total number of prize balls may be updated. Also, the number of prize balls may be updated after the payout command is transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the payout control board 951 .

On the other hand, when the payout control board 951 holds the number of unpaid balls, when the winning opening sensor detects winning of game balls in the switch input process (step S74), the number of winning balls corresponding to the winning opening in which winning is detected to the payout control board 951. Even when the pachinko machine is out of balls and prize balls cannot be paid out, a payout command is transmitted and the number of unpaid balls is held in a payout control board 951.例文帳に追加In this case, each time a payout command is transmitted, it is preferable to update the number of prize balls buffer or the total number of prize balls for calculating the base value.

Also, when the payout control board 951 receives the payout command, the number of prize balls for calculating the base value may be updated. Although a predetermined upper limit may be set for the number of prize balls, the upper limit may not be set. Moreover, the number of prize balls for calculating the base value may be updated each time the prize balls are actually paid out. The payout control board 951 transmits the number of prize balls for calculating the base value to the main control board 1310, and the main control board 1310 calculates the base value using the received number of prize balls.

Also, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 47, without comparing the winning balls buffer value with the threshold value Th1, every predetermined number of wins (for example, 10 times) or every predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) , steps S891 and S892 may be performed.

As described above, the number of prize balls for calculating the base value can be updated at various times. Alternatively, the base value may be calculated and displayed at a predetermined timing (for example, every minute).

[9-3. Timing of updating the number of prize balls and calculating the base value]
Next, variations of the base calculation area update process (step S81) and the base calculation display process (step S89) will be described with reference to FIGS. 46 to 51. FIG. The outline of the calculation timing of the base value in each variation is as follows.
・Figures 39 and 40: Calculate the base value every timer interrupt cycle ・Figures 46 and 47: Calculate the base value for each predetermined number of winning balls ・Figures 48 and 49: Calculate the base value for each predetermined number of out balls Calculation ・Figure 50 and Figure 51: When either the number of awarded balls or the number of out balls reaches a predetermined number, the base value is updated.

FIG. 46 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation area updating process (step S81). In the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 46, the number of prize balls is recorded in the number of prize balls buffer in order to calculate the base value at the timing when the number of prize balls satisfies a predetermined condition (step S813). In FIG. 46, the same step numbers are given to the same parts as in the above-described base calculation area updating process (FIG. 39), and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether the game state is a special prize (step S810). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. If the game state is during a special prize, the prize balls are not related to the calculation of the base value, so the process proceeds to step S824 without updating the number of prize balls or the number of out balls. On the other hand, if the game state is not during the special prize, the number of prize balls calculated based on the input information in the prize ball control process (step S80) is acquired (step S811).

Then, it is determined whether there is a prize ball, that is, whether the number of prize balls obtained is one or more (step S812). As a result, if there are no prize balls, the process proceeds to step S818 without updating the number of prize balls. On the other hand, if there are prize balls, the acquired number of prize balls is added to the number of prize balls buffer (step S813). Each time the number of prize balls is added to the number of prize balls buffer, the number of prize balls may be output from the external terminal board 784 to a hall computer installed in the game hall, or the number of prize balls, which will be described later, becomes a predetermined threshold value Th1 or more. In this case, the threshold Th1 may be output from the external terminal board 784 to the hall computer. Here, the winning ball number buffer is an area provided in the main control built-in RAM 1312 for calculating the base value, and the number of winning balls paid out by the pachinko machine 1 is temporarily stored.

Then, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls (step S815). For example, an abnormality in the number of prize balls is defined as a number of prize balls in a predetermined time period other than during the special prize (for example, considering the number of prize balls in the general prize opening and the start opening, a prize corresponding to 10 or more prizes per minute) sphere) is obtained. It should be noted that the degree of abnormality may be determined in a plurality of stages according to the degree of deviation from the reference value of the number of prize balls provided with a plurality of stages of allowable ranges. Also, if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, it is not necessary to add the number of prize balls acquired to the number of prize balls buffer in step S813. good too.

As a result, if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated (step S816) to notify the player or hall employee that the number of prize balls is abnormal. There are various methods for announcing an abnormality, and one of the methods described below or a combination of two or more methods may be used. For example, various lamps, liquid crystal display devices 1600, 3114, 244, sounds, and the like may be used to notify the abnormal number of prize balls. Also, an abnormality in the number of winning balls may be output from the external terminal board 784 to a hall computer installed in the game hall. Furthermore, the number of prize balls determined to be abnormal may not be used for calculating the base value. In this case, prize balls may be paid out to the player. In addition, when the number of prize balls is determined to be abnormal and is notified by the above-described notification means (sound, lamp, LED, liquid crystal display device, information output from the external terminal board 784, etc.), the number of prize balls determined to be abnormal May be used to calculate base values. Furthermore, the game may be temporarily stopped. Specifically, the main control board 1310 initializes all data in the main control built-in RAM 1312 and initializes all data in the RAM of the peripheral controller 1511 even if the RAM clear switch is not operated. Then, the game is started from operation confirmation in the initial state. As another method of stopping the game, the game is temporarily stopped (for example, the variable display of the special symbols is stopped), and after the error notification is stopped, the original state is restored and the game is restarted. Therefore, even if the power failure monitoring circuit does not detect a drop in the power supply voltage, the power failure detection signal is output, and the main control MPU 1311 backs up all the data in the main control built-in RAM 1312 and stops the game. After the error notification ends, the data in the main control built-in RAM 1312 is restored from the backup area, and the game is restarted. At this time, the peripheral control unit 1511 waits for a command from the main control board 1310 as it is. However, 100 game balls (that is, out balls) are launched into the game area 5a, and all game balls may enter the general winning opening or the starting opening, so an abnormality in the number of prize balls is notified. It is preferable that the mode of alerting is a gentle mode (for example, a low volume or a low amount of light than a normal error notification) that is less urgent than a normal error (such as a magnetic sensor error). Also, the display time may be the same as or shorter than that of normal errors. In some cases, the notification time may be set to 0 seconds and the notification may not be performed.

Then, the prize ball abnormality notification timer is reset (step S817), and counting of the prize ball abnormality notification time is started.

After that, the number of out-balls is acquired (step S818), and the total number of out-balls is updated so that the acquired number of out-balls is added to the total number of out-balls (step S822).

After that, it is determined whether the timer for announcing abnormal prize balls started in step S817 has timed up (step S824). Then, when the timer for prize ball abnormality notification times up, a prize ball abnormality notification stop command is generated, and the prize ball abnormality notification is stopped (step S825). In step S824, the end of the notification is determined by the time of the timer for notifying the abnormality of the prize ball for a predetermined time, but the end of the notification is determined so as to notify the abnormality of the prize ball for the predetermined number of shot balls. good too. Alternatively, the anomaly may continue to be reported until a hall employee confirms it.

In the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 46, it is determined whether or not there is an abnormality in the number of awarded balls in step S985. (ie, whether there is an abnormality in the base value). For example, if the number of winning balls exceeds the number of out-balls in a predetermined time, or if the number of winning balls in the general winning opening and the starting opening is considered, a high percentage of out-balls (for example, 50% or more) wins. For example, if

FIG. 47 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation/display processing (step S89). In the base calculation/display process shown in FIG. 47, the base value is updated when the number of prize balls satisfies a predetermined condition. In FIG. 47, the same step numbers are assigned to the same parts as those of the base calculation/display processing (FIG. 40) described above, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether or not the number of prize balls stored in the number of prize balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th1 (step S890). Various methods can be used to determine whether the prize ball number buffer value is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold value Th1. For example, the value of the number of prize balls buffer may be compared with the threshold value Th1, or the value of a predetermined bit in the number of prize balls storage area may be used for determination. If the most significant bit becomes 1, it can be determined that the number of out balls is 128 or more). Also, in the base calculation region update process (Fig. 46), the determination result of comparing the number of prize balls and the threshold Th1 is recorded in a flag, and in the base calculation and display process (Fig. 47), the flag is used to set the number of prize balls buffer is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value Th1.

Then, if the number-of-balls buffered value is smaller than the threshold value Th1, it is not the time to calculate the base value, so the base calculation/display process ends.

On the other hand, if the winning ball number buffer value is equal to or greater than the threshold Th1, the threshold Th1 is added to the total winning ball number (step S891), and the threshold Th1 is subtracted from the winning ball number buffer (step S892). That is, if the number of prize balls counted from a predetermined starting point satisfies a predetermined condition (the number of prize balls stored in the number of prize balls buffer is equal to or greater than the threshold Th1), the fractional portion of the number of prize balls is calculated. Retain (leave the fraction obtained by subtracting the threshold Th1 from the number of prize balls buffer in the number of prize balls buffer), store the other part in memory (add the threshold Th1 to the total number of prize balls), and use it to calculate the base value Execute the processing to be performed. Specifically, when the threshold value Th1 is 100, the prize ball number buffer value is 99, and if 5 prize balls are generated by entering the general winning hole, the prize ball number buffer value is 104. However, 100 are moved to the total number of balls to be used for calculating the base value, and the remaining 4 are left in the number of winning balls buffer. In this case, the count of the four prize balls left in the prize ball buffer is used for calculating the base value when the prize ball buffer value becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value Th1 next time. Also, although the threshold value Th1 has been described as 100, other numerical values such as 1000 may be used. However, if a large threshold Th1 is set so that the base is not calculated even if a big win is obtained, the detection of fraud may be delayed. If there are jackpots (e.g., 4-round and 8-round jackpots), it should be set to less than or equal to the minimum number of prize balls per jackpot. In addition, from the viewpoint of detecting fraud at an early stage, it is preferable to update the base value frequently. For example, it is preferable to set the threshold Th1 to 10 instead of 100 because the base value is updated frequently.

It should be noted that steps S891 and S892 may be executed every predetermined number of wins (for example, 10 times) without comparing the buffer value for the number of winning balls with the threshold value Th1. Furthermore, Steps S891 and S892 may be executed at predetermined time intervals (for example, 5 seconds) without comparing the winning ball number buffer value with the threshold value Th1. This predetermined time may be measured by a timer operated by the main control MPU 1311 or measured by the output of an RTC (real time clock).

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S902). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base value is not calculated and the base calculation/display processing is terminated. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the base value is calculated by dividing the total number of awarded balls by the total number of out balls (step S903). Specifically, the total number of winning balls is multiplied by a predetermined number (for example, 100) and stored in the division input register A131216, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217. Then, after 32 clocks have passed, the quotient is read from the division result register A131218 and used as the base value. Note that if the total number of out balls is 0, even if the base value is calculated, the return value from the arithmetic circuit 13121 will be an error (or undefined). In this case, the base value displayed on base display 1317 is not updated.

In addition, when the total number of out balls is 0, or when the calculated base value is an abnormal value, the base value may not be calculated and the base calculation area 13128 may not be updated. For example, when the total number of out balls is less than or equal to the total number of prize balls, the base value is 100% or more, and the number of prize balls equal to or more than the number of shot balls (out balls) is obtained, and the game is normally played. Therefore, it is not necessary to store numerical values in the division input registers 131216 and 131217 and to calculate the base value. Further, when the base value is calculated and the value read from the division result register A131218 is 100% or more, the base calculation area 13128 need not be updated with the value read from the division result register A131218.

Also, the abnormality of the base value may be determined with a threshold of 1500%. Since the theoretical upper limit of the base value of a pachinko machine in which the maximum number of prize balls per winning hole is 15 is 1500%, a base value exceeding 1500% is an impossible value and the gaming machine is abnormal. It can be determined that there is In this case also, the base value may not be calculated, or the base calculation area 13128 may not be updated with the value read from the division result register A131218.

Also, the threshold for determining whether the base value is abnormal may be another value. A normal value (for example, 30% to 50%) of the base value in normal operation of the pachinko machine is determined, and if it is outside the range of the normal value, the value read from the division result register A 131218 is used to fill the base calculation area 13128. It does not update and may not update the display of the base value.

Although the case where the base value is not displayed has been described above, even if the calculated base value is an abnormal value, the abnormal base value may be displayed.

As will be described later with reference to FIG. 52, the total number of prize balls and the total number of out balls are cumulative values from when the pachinko machine 1 started operation. It may be initialized at timing (for example, every predetermined number of winning balls, every predetermined number of out balls).

Thereafter, a base notification command is generated (step S908), and the base is notified to the players and hall employees.

As described above, the pachinko machine of the present embodiment determines whether the number of prize balls is abnormal each time the number of prize balls is obtained, so that fraud can be detected early. This is because during a normal game, a considerable number of game balls (for example, 50% of the number of shot balls) do not enter the general prize winning opening 2001 and the start openings 2002 and 2004 with a high probability. Therefore, an abnormality in the prize winning to the prize winning openings (the general winning opening 2001 and the starting openings 2002 and 2004) which are always open is determined and notified.

Further, in the pachinko machine of the present embodiment, the base value is calculated when the number of winning balls satisfies a predetermined condition, so an accurate base value can be displayed at an appropriate timing.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 46 and 47, the base value is calculated when the number of prize balls reaches a predetermined number. load on the main control MPU 1311 can be reduced. When a new base value is calculated, a base notification command for notifying the calculated base value is generated and the new base value is notified, but until then, the conventional base value is notified. be done.

FIG. 48 is a flowchart showing another example of the base calculation area updating process (step S81). In the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 48, the number of out balls is recorded in the number of out balls buffer in order to calculate the base value at the timing when the number of out balls satisfies a predetermined condition (step S819). In FIG. 48, the same step numbers are assigned to the same parts as in the above-described base calculation area updating process, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether the game state is a special prize (step S810). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, the number of prize balls other than the special prize is obtained (step S811), and it is determined whether there are prize balls (step S812). Then, as a result of determination in step S812, if there are prize balls, the acquired number of prize balls is added to the total number of prize balls (step S814). That is, in the base calculation region updating process shown in FIG. 48, the total number of prize balls used for calculating the base value is updated each time the number of prize balls is calculated.

Then, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls (step S815), and if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated (step S816), and a timer for prize abnormality notification is reset (step S817). ).

After that, the number of out balls is acquired (step S818). The acquired number of out balls is added to the number of out balls buffer (step S819).

After that, it is determined whether the timer for abnormal prize notification has timed up (step S824), and when the timer for abnormal notification of prize ball has timed up, a command to stop the abnormal notification of prize ball is generated, and the abnormal notification of prize ball is stopped ( step S825).

Also, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, the base value is calculated for each predetermined number of winning balls. For this reason, for example, when a game ball wins the starting hole and it is decided to generate a look-ahead effect, and the display mode of the pending display is displayed in a mode different from usual (blinking display, red pending, etc.), The player expects that the special symbol variation display game corresponding to the prefetched hold will be a big hit, but the player will be disappointed if the special symbol variation display game fails. Even in such a case, if the base value is calculated for each predetermined number of winning balls as in this embodiment, the disappointment of the player as described above can be reduced. This is because the calculation of the base value is delayed from the timing of generating the prize ball, so that the base value increased by the prize ball that has entered the starting hole is notified. That is, even if it is determined to execute the look-ahead effect at the time of winning to the start opening, even if the number of prize balls paid out at the time of winning to the start opening is added, the above-described predetermined number (for example, threshold value Th1 = 100) If not reached, the base value is not updated. That is, the base value displayed to the player has not changed. However, since the prize ball was obtained, the base value should increase (in some cases, only the lower value changes due to the number of display digits, and the display does not change). Therefore, even if the above-described look-ahead effect is missed, the player thinks that the base value will rise later (that is, the player is in good shape), and the loss of interest can be suppressed. In other words, even if it is determined to execute the look-ahead effect, the base value is not updated if the prize ball buffer value has not reached the predetermined number (threshold value Th1). In addition, when it is determined to execute the look-ahead effect and when the prize ball buffer value reaches a predetermined number, the calculation of the base value may be delayed until the prize ball buffer value reaches the predetermined number next time. .

It should be noted that the player may be allowed to select whether to delay the calculation of the base value or to calculate it without delay. For example, at the start of the game, the operation button 220C can be used for selection. Also, the calculation timing of the base value may be determined by lottery. Further, when it is determined to perform the look-ahead effect, it is preferable to execute an effect capable of notifying the delay in the calculation of the base value. In addition, when the reserved memory of the special symbol variation display game reaches the upper limit, the jackpot lottery is not executed even if the player wins the starting slot. Even in this case, since prize balls are paid out as a prize is won in the starting hole, the number of prize balls is counted and used for calculating the base value. In addition, even if you win a start gate or a general winning gate due to a specific error, it will be treated as no winning and if no prize balls will be paid out, the number of prize balls will not be counted, and the base value will depend on the winning. is not updated.

FIG. 49 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation/display processing (step S89). In the base calculation/display processing shown in FIG. 49, the base value is updated at the timing when the number of out balls satisfies a predetermined condition. In FIG. 49, the same step numbers are assigned to the same parts as in the base calculation/display processing described above, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether or not the number of out balls stored in the number of out balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th2 (step S895). Various methods can be used to determine whether the out-ball number buffer value is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold value Th2. For example, the number of out-balls may be compared with the threshold value Th2, or the value of a predetermined bit in the storage area for the number of out-balls may be used for determination (specifically, the storage area for the number of out-balls is composed of 8 bits). , if the most significant bit becomes 1, it can be determined that the number of out balls is 128 or more). Also, in the base calculation area updating process (Fig. 48), the determination result of comparing the number of out balls and the threshold value Th2 is recorded in a flag, and in the base calculation/display process (Fig. 49), the number of out balls is specified by the flag. is equal to or greater than a threshold value Th2.

Then, if the out-ball number buffer value is smaller than the threshold Th2, it is not the timing to calculate the base value, so the base calculation/display processing ends.

On the other hand, if the out-ball number buffer value is equal to or greater than the threshold Th2, the threshold Th2 is added to the total out-ball number (step S899), and the threshold Th2 is subtracted from the out-ball number buffer (step S900). Steps S899 and S900 may be executed at predetermined time intervals (for example, one minute) without comparing the out-ball number buffer value with the threshold value Th2.

Thereafter, the base value is calculated by dividing the total number of awarded balls by the total number of out balls (step S903). Specifically, the total number of winning balls is multiplied by a predetermined number (for example, 100) and stored in the division input register A131216, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217. Then, after 32 clocks have passed, the quotient is read from the division result register A131218 and used as the base value. If the total number of out balls is 0, even if the base value is calculated, the return value from the arithmetic circuit 13121 will be an error. In this case, the base value displayed on base display 1317 is not updated.

The total number of awarded balls and the total number of out-balls are cumulative values from when the pachinko machine 1 started operation. may be initialized for each number of balls or for each predetermined number of out balls).

Thereafter, a base notification command is generated (step S908), and the base is notified to the players and hall employees. The base notification command may simply notify the base value, may notify the base value with a specific effect, or may notify an abnormality of the base value.

As described above, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, the base value can be updated and displayed each time the number of out balls (the number of shot balls) reaches a predetermined number. Therefore, the base value can be displayed at appropriate timing. Also, it is possible to provide a gaming machine that pursues amusement.

In addition, each time a prize ball is detected (detection of a prize, transmission of a payout command, arrival of a payout command, completion of payout of prize balls, etc.), the number of prize balls is added to the total number of prize balls. This is because there is a possibility that the base value cannot be calculated correctly if it is checked whether a predetermined condition is satisfied when adding the number of prize balls (for example, whether there is an out ball corresponding to the prize ball). For example, even if the shot is not performed for a predetermined time (about one minute), the slinging (grape) state caused by the game ball being caught on a nail arranged in the game area is eliminated, and the game ball is delayed in the winning opening. This is because they may win prizes. Therefore, it is desirable to update the number of prize balls regardless of the presence or absence of out balls.

If both the number of out balls and the buffer value of the number of out balls are smaller than the threshold Th2, it may be displayed that the buffer value of the number of out balls is a fraction smaller than the threshold Th2, or the buffer value of the number of out balls may be displayed.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 48 and 49, the base value is calculated when the number of out balls reaches a predetermined number. The amount of calculation (for example, the load of the main control MPU 1311) can be reduced. When a new base value is calculated, a base notification command for notifying the calculated base value is generated and the new base value is notified, but until then, the conventional base value is notified. be done.

FIG. 50 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation area updating process (step S81). The base calculation area update process shown in FIG. 50 records the number of prize balls in the number of prize balls buffer in order to calculate the base value at the timing when either the number of prize balls or the number of out balls satisfies a predetermined condition. , records the number of out pitches in the number of out pitches buffer. In FIG. 50, the same step numbers are given to the same parts as in the above-described base calculation area updating process, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether the game state is a special prize (step S810). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, the number of prize balls other than the special prize is obtained (step S811), and it is determined whether there are prize balls (step S812). Then, if there are prize balls, the acquired number of prize balls is added to the number of prize balls buffer (step S813).

Then, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls (step S815), and if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated (step S816), and a timer for prize abnormality notification is reset (step S817). ).

After that, the number of out balls is acquired (step S818), and the acquired number of out balls is added to the number of out balls buffer (step S819).

After that, it is determined whether the timer for abnormal prize notification has timed up (step S824), and when the timer for abnormal notification of prize ball has timed up, a command to stop the abnormal notification of prize ball is generated, and the abnormal notification of prize ball is stopped ( step S825).

FIG. 51 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation/display processing (step S89). In the base calculation/display process shown in FIG. 51, the base value is updated when either the number of winning balls or the number of out balls satisfies a predetermined condition. In FIG. 51, the same step numbers are assigned to the same parts as in the base calculation/display processing described above, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether or not the number of prize balls stored in the number of prize balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th1 (step S890). If the buffer value for the number of prize balls is smaller than the threshold value Th1, it is not time to update the total number of prize balls, so the process proceeds to step S895. On the other hand, if the winning ball number buffer value is equal to or greater than the threshold Th1, the threshold Th1 is added to the total winning ball number (step S891), and the threshold Th1 is subtracted from the winning ball number buffer (step S892). Then, the out-ball number buffer value is added to the total out-ball number (step S893), and the out-ball number buffer is set to 0 (step S894). Steps S891 to S894 may be executed every predetermined number of wins or every predetermined time without comparing the buffer value for the number of winning balls with the threshold value Th1.

After that, it is determined whether or not the number of out balls stored in the number of out balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th2 (step S895). If the buffer value for the number of out balls is smaller than the threshold Th2, it is not time to update the total number of out balls, so the process proceeds to step S902. On the other hand, if the out ball number buffer value is equal to or greater than the threshold Th2, the prize ball number buffer value is added to the total prize ball number (step S897), and the prize ball number buffer is set to 0 (step S898). Then, the threshold Th2 is added to the total number of out balls (step S899), and the threshold Th2 is subtracted from the buffer for the number of out balls (step S900).

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S902). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base calculation/display process ends. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the base value is calculated by dividing the total number of awarded balls by the total number of out balls (step S903). Specifically, the total number of winning balls is multiplied by a predetermined number (for example, 100) and stored in the division input register A131216, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217. Then, after 32 clocks have passed, the quotient is read from the division result register A131218 and used as the base value. If the total number of out balls is 0, even if the base value is calculated, the return value from the arithmetic circuit 13121 will be an error. In this case, the base value displayed on base display 1317 is not updated.

Thereafter, a base notification command is generated (step S908), and the base is notified to the players and hall employees. The base notification command may simply notify the base value or may notify an abnormality of the base value. Note that the base notification command may be generated each time the base value is calculated, or the base notification command may not be generated even if the base value is calculated.

In the base calculation/display processing shown in FIG. 51, the base value is calculated every time even if the total number of winning balls and the total number of out balls are not updated. That is, if the total number of won balls and the total number of out balls are not updated, the same value is calculated as the base value and the base value remains the same value. On the other hand, if the total number of awarded balls or the total number of out-balls is updated, the base value is updated to a different value.

FIG. 52 is a diagram showing the specific structure of the work area for storing each data in the base calculation area 13128. As shown in FIG.

The data of the total number of winning balls and the total number of out balls in the base calculation area 13128 are updated in the base calculation area updating process and the base calculation/display process executed by the main control MPU 1311 (Figs. 39, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, etc.) and read out in the base calculation/display processing (FIGS. 40, 47, 49, 51, etc.). In addition, the data of the winning ball number buffer and the out ball number buffer of the base calculation area 13128 are written in the base calculation area update process (FIGS. 46, 48, 50, etc.) executed by the main control MPU 1311, and the base calculation - Read out in display processing (FIGS. 47, 49, 51, etc.). For this reason, base calculation area update processing and base calculation/display processing can be configured separately from timer interrupt processing (game control program). can.

FIG. 52(A) shows an example of the structure of the work area of the simplest method. In the structure of the work area shown in FIG. 52(A), winning ball number buffer, total winning ball number, out ball number buffer, winning ball number buffer, specific winning ball number buffer, total out ball number and base are stored. The number of prize balls buffer temporarily stores the number of prize balls paid out to the player other than during the special prize, and when the number of prize balls satisfies a predetermined condition (for example, every predetermined number of prize balls) is used to calculate The total number of prize balls is the total number of prize balls paid out to the player except during the special prize. The number of out balls buffer is the number of game balls shot by the player other than during the special prize, and is used to calculate the base when the number of out balls meets a predetermined condition (for example, every predetermined number of out balls). be done. The winning ball number buffer temporarily stores the number of winning balls in the general winning opening and the starting opening. The specific winning ball number buffer temporarily stores the number of balls that have won a specific general winning hole or starting hole. The winning ball number buffer is used when counting the number of out balls by the number of balls passing through the out hole (FIGS. 55 and 56). The specific winning ball number buffer is used when correcting the number of out balls with the number of winning balls into a specific general winning hole (FIGS. 71 and 72). The total number of out balls is the total number of game balls shot by the player except during the special prize. The base is calculated by dividing the total number of winning balls/total number of out balls×100, and is a numerical value expressed as a percentage, and is calculated in step S903 of the base calculation/display processing.

Of the structure of the work area shown in FIG. 52(A), the total number of winning balls and the total number of out balls correspond to each area of the total accumulation shown in FIG. 52(B), which will be described later. and can store values up to 16777215 or 4294967295 in decimal. Since these data will not be erased unless an abnormality occurs in the data, a large storage area is prepared so that long-term data can be stored. The base is a 1-byte storage area corresponding to the total sum of bases in FIG. 52(B), which will be described later. It should be noted that a capacity that can be recorded with a decimal base value may be allocated.

FIG. 52B shows another example of a work area structure using a ring buffer. In the structure of the work area shown in FIG. 52(B), winning ball number buffer, total winning ball number, out ball number buffer, winning ball number buffer, specific winning ball number buffer, total out ball number and base are stored. Each data item is the same as described in FIG. 52(A). The storage areas for the total number of prize balls and the total number of out balls are divided into n storage areas for each predetermined number of prize balls (or for each predetermined number of out balls or for each predetermined time period) (for example, every 6000 prize balls). n = 10 storage areas), and when the number of prize balls reaches a predetermined number (6000), the write pointer for all data moves and the storage area where the data is updated changes. . After the data for the predetermined number of prize balls is stored in the n-th storage area, the write pointer moves to the first storage area and stores the data in the first storage area. Note that the write pointer may be moved when data other than the number of winning balls (the number of out balls, the predetermined time, etc.) reaches a predetermined number.

The write pointer and read pointer of the ring buffer are common to all data, and the write pointers of all data strings are moved for each predetermined number of winning balls. Further, the read pointer also moves along with the movement of the write pointer. The read pointer points to the storage area one before the write pointer. This is for calculating the base value using the most recent data for 6000 prize balls.

The total number of prize balls and the total number of out balls is the accumulated value of the data stored in the n storage areas of the ring buffer, and the base total value is the total of the total number of prize balls and the total number of out balls. is a value calculated from the values of recalculated. The total cumulative value of each data is the cumulative value of all data collected in the past, and the base total cumulative value calculated from the cumulative value is the value calculated from the total cumulative value of each data, and the ring buffer is Even if one storage area of the ring buffer is cleared in order to write new data, the total cumulative value is calculated including the original data of the cleared area.

In the structure of the work area shown in FIG. 52(B), the total number of winning balls and the total number of out balls in the ring buffer are storage areas of 2 bytes each, and can store numerical values up to 65535 in decimal. Since the cumulative total is the sum of the data for 6000 prize balls.times.n (60000 prize balls when n=10), a large storage area is prepared. The total number of winning balls and the total number of out-balls are storage areas of 3 or 4 bytes, respectively, and can store numerical values up to 16,777,215 or 4,294,967,295 in decimal. Since the total sum is not deleted unless an abnormality occurs in the data, a larger storage area is prepared so that long-term data can be stored. Also, each of the base total and the total total is a storage area of 1 byte, and can store numerical values up to 255 in decimal. It should be noted that a capacity that can be recorded with a decimal base value may be allocated.

In the data structure shown in FIG. 52(A), since the stored data is not erased, even if the data in the base calculation area 13128 is erased every predetermined period (for example, one day, one week, one month, etc.) good. Similarly, the total accumulation in FIG. 52(B) may be erased every predetermined period.

Also, if the data in the base calculation area 13128 or the calculated base value is an abnormal value, the abnormal value may be deleted. All the data in the base calculation area 13128 may be deleted as well as the abnormal value. Also, it may be notified that the data in the base calculation area 13128 or the calculated base value is abnormal. Alternatively, the check code may be used to inspect the data in the backup area, and after duplicating the normal data in the backup area to the main area, the base value may be calculated again.

[9-4. Base value display]
The base value calculated as described above may continue to be displayed while the pachinko machine 1 is powered on. Since this is not possible, the power consumption of the gaming machine may be reduced by turning off the 7-segment LED 13172 . Of course, even when the 7-segment LED 13172 is turned off, the base calculation region updating process (step S81) and the base calculation/display process (step S89) are executed.

Also, the base display 1317 may always display the base value, or may display the base value by operating the display switch 1318 . For example, when the display switch 1318, which is a push button switch, is pressed, the display of the base value is started, and the display is turned off after being displayed for a predetermined period of time. The base value may be displayed on the base display 1317 when the display switch 1318 is operated while the body frame opening switch (not shown) is detecting that the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 . That is, even if the display switch 1318 is operated unless the body frame 4 is open, the base display 1317 does not display the character ratio.

Further, when the body frame 4 is opened, it is preferable to display a predetermined display on all digits so that the base display 1317 can be confirmed to be operating normally. For example, as shown in FIG. 36B, "-" may be displayed in all digits, or all segments may be illuminated.

Then, when the body frame 4 is closed, a predetermined display for confirming the normal operation of the base display 1317 is performed (FIG. 36(E)), and after a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed, the 7-segment LED 13172 is turned off. , the power consumption of the game machine should be reduced. This base non-display state is in the same mode as after completion of the initial setting (FIG. 36(B)), but may be in a different mode as long as it can be distinguished from the displayed base value.

The function display unit 1400 may also serve as the base display 1317 . The function display unit 1400 normally displays the game status based on the control signal from the main control board 1310, but when the body frame opening switch (not shown) detects that the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2, the main body The control board 1310 switches the display so that the function display unit 1400 displays the base value. Even if the display of the function display unit 1400 is switched by opening the main body frame 4, the progress of the game is preferably continued. By continuing the progress of the game, when the main body frame 4 is closed, the base display can be quickly switched to the display of the game state. For example, when the body frame 4 is opened during the special symbol variation display game, the base value is displayed, but when the body frame 4 is closed before the variation time elapses, the variation display for the remaining time can be performed. . Since the special pattern displayed on the function display unit 1400 is synchronized with the decorative pattern displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the decorative pattern stops at the timing when the special pattern variable display of the function display unit 1400 stops. Therefore, even if the function display unit 1400 displays the base value, it can be configured so as not to make the player feel uncomfortable.

Further, even when the body frame 4 is closed, the calculated base value (character object ratio in the above-described embodiment) may be displayed on the base indicator (character object ratio indicator) 1317 . By doing so, the base value (accessory ratio) can be checked without opening the main body frame 4, so that it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the operation of the gaming machine. Moreover, it is not necessary to determine whether the body frame 4 is open. In an island facility where pachinko machines are installed on both sides, when the body frame 4 of the pachinko machine on one side is opened, the back side of the pachinko machine installed on the opposite side can be seen. In such a game machine, by opening the body frame 4 of the pachinko machine on one side, the base (character ratio) of the two pachinko machines installed back to back can be confirmed. In addition, when the base value is displayed even when the body frame 4 is closed, the base value is displayed in a form recognizable by the player (for example, on a display device that displays the effect of the special symbol variation display game or a display device attached to the frame). should be displayed. This is because the base value can be used as a barometer representing the condition of the pachinko machine and is worth watching by the player. When the base value is calculated by the main control board 1310 , a signal for displaying the base value may be transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510 . When the payout control board 951 calculates the base value, a signal for displaying the base value may be transmitted from the payout control board 951 to the peripheral control board 1510 . Also, a signal for displaying the base value may be transmitted via the relay board.

Further, the pachinko machine of this embodiment does not change the amount of light (brightness) of the base display 1317 even if it shifts to the energy saving mode. This is because if the amount of light on the base display 1317 is reduced during the energy saving mode, it will be difficult to confirm the base value on the base display 1317 when adjusting the pachinko machine outside the opening hours.

Specifically, the gaming machine of the present embodiment enters a standby state when a predetermined time elapses after the game ball does not enter any of the winning holes and the reserved memory of the special symbol variation display game is consumed. . In the standby state, the peripheral control unit 1511 continuously outputs BGM that is output with so-called normal variation. Furthermore, when a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) elapses in the standby state, the state shifts to the demonstration state. In the demo state, a moving image showing the motif of the game machine is reproduced, or the game machine is explained. Furthermore, when a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) elapses in the demonstration state, the mode shifts to the energy saving mode (note that the demonstration state and the energy saving mode do not have to be distinguished). In the energy saving mode, the amount of light of the liquid crystal display devices 1600, 3114, and 244 controlled by the peripheral controller 1511 and various lamps is reduced in order to suppress power consumption. However, the power consumption of the display devices (the function display unit 1400 and the base display device 1317) controlled by the main control board 1310 is smaller than the power consumption of the pachinko machine as a whole. good too. Also, if the light intensity of the function display unit 1400 is not reduced, a player who is going to play on an empty table can easily see the result of the previous lottery.

In addition, even if a game ball does not enter the starting gate or general winning gate, when a game ball is launched toward the game area and an out ball is detected, the displayed base value can be recalculated and updated. have a nature. If game balls are shot and the number of out balls increases, but the number of prize balls does not increase, the calculated base value will decrease, but some players will take revenge.

By informing such a player of the state of the game with the function display unit 1400 which also serves as the base display 1317, the interest in the game can be revived. That is, even if the player shifts to the demo mode or the energy saving mode, the display mode of the display on which the base value is displayed is maintained at the amount of light before shifting to the demo mode or the energy saving mode, or the amount of light is increased. It is good to be able to check the base value properly.

In this way, maintaining or increasing the light intensity of the display that displays the base value has been explained, but from the viewpoint of reducing energy consumption, even if the light intensity of the display that displays the base value is decreased or extinguished good. For example, during the energy saving mode, predetermined operations (fire stop button to forcibly stop firing, operation button to change the effect that appears, RAM clear button to clear the contents of RAM, power supply to the game machine It is preferable to reduce the amount of light of the display on which the base value is displayed when the operation of the operation means provided in the gaming machine, such as a supply adjustment button for switching between the presence and absence of the base value, is detected. Furthermore, not only during the energy saving mode, if the above-mentioned predetermined operation is performed, the light amount of both the lamp that reduces power consumption and the display that displays the base value will be reduced or turned off during the energy saving mode. good too.

When reducing or turning off the light intensity of both the lamp, etc. and the display that displays the base value, the light intensity of the lamp, etc. that reduces power consumption during energy saving mode is reduced before the display that displays the base value. In this case, the light amount of the lamp or the like, which consumes a large amount of power, is reduced first, thereby achieving a large reduction in power consumption. In addition, the light amount of the display on which the base value is displayed may be reduced or turned off prior to the lamp or the like. Effective. In addition, the lamp or the like that reduces power consumption and the display that displays the base value may be reduced or turned off at the same time during the energy saving mode. . Note that the terms before and after time (meaning "before" or "at the same time") in these descriptions include the order of internal processing timings and the order of appearance from the player's point of view.

Moreover, the display mode of the base value may be set in multiple stages, and the display mode of each stage may be changed. Specifically, the displayed base value is 30% or more, 25% or more and less than 30%, 20% or more and less than 25%, 15% or more and less than 20%, 10% or more and less than 15%, or less than 10%. divided into multiple stages. The indicator for displaying the base value may be composed of a multi-color LED, and may be displayed by changing the emission color such as white, blue, and yellow at each stage. In addition, the display unit that displays the base value is configured with a liquid crystal display device, and at each stage, the base value is low Occasionally it may display self-deprecating comments. Further, an effect of adding a comment as described above may be performed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 on which the decorative pattern is displayed without changing the display mode of the display that displays the base value.

[9-5. Calculation of base value using the number of balls passing through the out mouth]
Next, further variations of the base calculation area update process (step S81) and the base calculation display process (step S89) will be described with reference to FIGS. 53 to 56. FIG. In the processing described in FIGS. 54 to 56, the number of out balls is calculated using the number of winning balls and the number of balls passing through the out port, and the base value is calculated. The outline of the calculation timing of the base value in each variation is as follows.
・Figures 54 and 40: Base value is calculated every timer interrupt cycle ・Figure 55 and Figure 56: Base value is calculated for each predetermined number of prize balls and for each predetermined number of out balls The base value is calculated for each predetermined number of prize balls and the pattern for calculating the base value for each predetermined number of out-balls will be omitted, but they can be realized by combining FIGS.

If out balls are detected by the out ball sensor 1021 provided near the out hole 1111, there is a problem that the number of out balls cannot be counted accurately. This is because the game ball launched toward the game area 5a flows out from the game area 5a via the out hole 1111, the general winning hole 2001, the starting hole 2002, the big winning holes 2005 and 2006. Therefore, the out-port passing ball sensor 1021 cannot accurately count the number of game balls shot toward the game area 5a. Therefore, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, the number of winning balls and the number of balls passing through the out hole are used to accurately calculate the number of out balls, and to accurately calculate the base value.

FIG. 53 is a front view showing another example of the game board.

The game board of the pachinko machine of this embodiment has substantially the same structure as the game board shown in FIG. Out mouth passing ball sensor 1021 for detecting the number of balls passing through the mouth is provided. The out-port-passing ball sensor 1021 is preferably installed at a position where the player can see it through the out-port 1111 . By installing the sensor 1021 for balls passing through the out hole at a position where the player can see through the out hole 1111, the player can be made aware that the out balls are being counted, that is, the base is being calculated.

In addition, the out-hole passing ball sensor 1021 may be installed at a position not seen by the player, such as a gathering gutter where the game balls flowing down from the game area 5a through the out-hole 1111 are aligned. If it is installed at a position where the player cannot visually recognize it, the player does not need to be aware of counting out balls. In addition, by providing the out-port passing ball sensor 1021 on the far side of the out-port 1111, it is possible to secure a sufficient space for arranging the liquid crystal display device and the accessories (movable bodies), thereby improving the degree of freedom in designing the game board 5. can. In addition, in order to prevent double counting of game balls, the rolling surface on which the game ball that has passed the out exit passing ball sensor 1021 rolls is provided so that the game ball that has passed through the out exit passing ball sensor 1021 does not bounce back. It should be slanted or curved.

FIG. 54 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation area updating process (step S81). The base calculation area update process shown in FIG. 54 acquires the number of prize balls, the number of balls passed through the out hole, and the number of winning balls in order to calculate the base value using the number of balls passed through the out hole at each timer interrupt cycle. In FIG. 54, the same step numbers are given to the same parts as in the above-described base calculation area updating process, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether the game state is a special prize (step S810). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, the number of prize balls other than the special prize is obtained (step S811), and the obtained number of prize balls is added to the total number of prize balls (step S814). That is, in the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 54, the total number of prize balls used to calculate the base value is updated each time the number of prize balls is calculated. It should be noted that it is possible to determine whether there are prize balls or not, and if there are no prize balls, the process of updating the total number of prize balls may be skipped.

After that, the number of balls passing through the outlet is obtained (step S818), and the number of winning balls is obtained (step S820). Then, the sum of the number of balls passing through the out hole and the number of winning balls is added to the total number of out balls (step S822). That is, in the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 54, the total number of out balls used for calculating the base value is updated each time an out ball or winning ball is detected.

As in steps S815 to S817 of the base calculation area updating process (FIG. 46) described above, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, and if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated. , You may reset the timer for prize ball abnormality notification. Furthermore, as in steps S824 to S825 in FIG. 46, it is determined whether the timer for abnormal prize ball notification has timed up. You may stop ball abnormality information.

After recording the total number of winning balls and the total number of out balls in the base calculation area update process shown in FIG. 54, the base value can be calculated by the base calculation/display process shown in FIG.

FIG. 55 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation area updating process (step S81). The base calculation area update process shown in FIG. 55 records the number of prize balls in the number of prize balls buffer in order to calculate the base value at the timing when either the number of prize balls or the number of out balls satisfies a predetermined condition. , the number of balls passing through the out-hole is recorded in the out-ball number buffer, and the number of prize-winning balls is recorded in the prize-winning ball number buffer. In FIG. 55, the same step numbers are assigned to the same parts as in the above-described base calculation area updating process, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether the game state is a special prize (step S810). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, the number of prize balls other than the special prize is obtained (step S811), and it is determined whether there are prize balls (step S812). Then, if there are prize balls, the acquired number of prize balls is added to the number of prize balls buffer (step S813).

Then, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls (step S815), and if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated (step S816), and a timer for prize abnormality notification is reset (step S817). ).

After that, the number of balls passing through the out port is acquired (step S818), and the acquired number of balls passing through the out port is added to the out ball number buffer (step S819). Then, the number of winning balls is acquired (step S820), and the acquired number of winning balls is added to the number of winning balls buffer (step S821).

After that, it is determined whether the timer for abnormal prize notification has timed up (step S824), and when the timer for abnormal notification of prize ball has timed up, a command to stop the abnormal notification of prize ball is generated, and the abnormal notification of prize ball is stopped ( step S825).

In the base calculation area update process shown in FIG. 54, the sum of the acquired number of balls passing through the out hole and the number of winning balls is added to one storage area (total number of out balls), and the base calculation area update process shown in FIG. Then, the obtained number of balls passing through the out-hole and the number of winning balls are added to separate storage areas (out-ball number buffer, winning ball number buffer). In this way, the number of balls passing through the outlet and the number of winning balls may be recorded in one storage area or in separate storage areas.

Also, in the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 55, if the acquired number of balls passing through the out hole and the number of winning balls are recorded in separate storage areas, the number of out balls increases by 1 when the winning hole is won. Counting the number of balls passing through the out hole and the number of winning balls are simultaneously executed (within one timer interrupt processing), but the base value is calculated after updating both the out ball number buffer and the winning ball number buffer. At that time, if both the buffer for the number of out balls and the buffer for the number of winning balls cannot be updated within one timer interrupt process, whether the number of balls passing through the out port should be preferentially counted or the number of winning balls should be preferentially counted. should be determined in advance rather than being determined by lottery. In this case, if the process related to the prize balls is prioritized over other processes, the payout process of the prize balls can be executed quickly.

FIG. 56 is a flowchart showing another example of the base calculation/display processing (step S89). In the base calculation/display process shown in FIG. 56, the base value is updated when either the number of winning balls or the number of out balls satisfies a predetermined condition. In FIG. 56, the same step numbers are assigned to the same parts as in the base calculation/display processing described above, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether or not the number of prize balls stored in the number of prize balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th1 (step S890). If the buffer value for the number of prize balls is smaller than the threshold value Th1, it is not time to update the total number of prize balls, so the process proceeds to step S896. On the other hand, if the winning ball number buffer value is equal to or greater than the threshold Th1, the threshold Th1 is added to the total winning ball number (step S891), and the threshold Th1 is subtracted from the winning ball number buffer (step S892). Then, the out-ball number buffer value is added to the total out-ball number (step S893), and the out-ball number buffer is set to 0 (step S894). Steps S891 to S894 may be executed every predetermined number of wins or every predetermined time without comparing the buffer value for the number of winning balls with the threshold value Th1.

After that, it is determined whether or not the sum of the number of passing balls stored in the out ball number buffer and the number of winning balls stored in the winning ball number buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th2 (step S896). ). The sum of the number of balls passing through the out port and the number of winning balls is the number of game balls flowing into the game area, which is the number of out balls. As a result of the determination, if the calculated number of out-balls is smaller than the threshold Th2, it is not the time to update the total number of out-balls, so the process proceeds to step S902. On the other hand, if the calculated number of out balls is equal to or greater than the threshold Th2, the number of prize balls buffer value is added to the total number of prize balls (step S897), and the number of prize balls buffer is set to 0 (step S898). Then, the threshold value Th2 is added to the total number of out balls (step S899), the winning ball number buffer is set to 0, the winning ball number buffer value is added to the out ball number buffer, and the threshold value Th2 is subtracted (step S901). . Steps S896 to S901 may be executed every predetermined number of wins or at predetermined time intervals without comparing the number of out balls (buffer value for number of out balls + buffer value for number of winning balls) with the threshold value Th2.

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S902). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base calculation/display process ends. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the base value is calculated by dividing the total number of awarded balls by the total number of out balls (step S903). Specifically, the total number of winning balls is multiplied by a predetermined number (for example, 100) and stored in the division input register A131216, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217. Then, after 32 clocks have passed, the quotient is read from the division result register A131218 and used as the base value. If the total number of out balls is 0, even if the base value is calculated, the return value from the arithmetic circuit 13121 will be an error. In this case, the base value displayed on base display 1317 is not updated.

Thereafter, a base notification command is generated (step S908), and the base is notified to the players and hall employees.

In the base calculation/display processing shown in FIG. 56, the base value is calculated every time even if the total number of winning balls and the total number of out balls are not updated. That is, if the total number of won balls and the total number of out balls are not updated, the same value is calculated as the base value and the base value remains the same value. On the other hand, if the total number of awarded balls or the total number of out-balls is updated, the base value is updated to a different value.

As described above, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, the number of out balls is calculated by adding the number of winning balls passed through the out hole, so the number of out balls is counted accurately, and the base value is calculated accurately. can. Furthermore, by confirming the base value in the manufacturing process and inspection process of the game machine, it is possible to confirm whether the prize-winning switch, the base display 1317, and the processing for calculating the base value are normal.

[9-6. Base Abnormality Notification]
The processing described above is for generating a command for notifying the calculated base value. Next, the processing for determining an abnormality in the base value and notifying the abnormality will be described.
・Figure 57: Base value is calculated every timer interrupt cycle ・Figure 58: Base value is calculated for each predetermined number of prize balls and for each predetermined number of out balls Although the explanation of the pattern for calculating the base value for each number of out pitches is omitted, it can be realized by combining FIG. 57 and FIG.

FIG. 57 is a flowchart showing another example of the base calculation/display processing (step S89). In the base calculation/display processing shown in FIG. 57, the base value is calculated each time (every timer interrupt cycle).

First, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S902). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base value is not calculated and the base calculation/display process is terminated. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the base value is calculated by dividing the total number of awarded balls by the total number of out balls (step S903). Specifically, the total number of winning balls is multiplied by a predetermined number (for example, 100) and stored in the division input register A131216, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217. Then, after 32 clocks have passed, the quotient is read from the division result register A131218 and used as the base value. If the total number of out balls is 0, even if the base value is calculated, the return value from the arithmetic circuit 13121 will be an error. In this case, the base value displayed on base display 1317 is not updated.

After that, it is determined whether the calculated base value is abnormal (step S907). Abnormality of the base value is, for example, when the calculated base value becomes larger or smaller than the design value (normal value) beyond a predetermined allowable range. In addition, a plurality of stages of allowable ranges may be provided, and the degree of abnormality may be determined in a plurality of stages according to the degree of divergence of the base values. Then, if the base value is abnormal, a base notification command is generated (step S908), and the base is notified to the player or hall employee. On the other hand, if the base value is not abnormal, the base calculation/display process is terminated. The same method as the above-described base notification can be adopted as the method of notifying the abnormality of the base.

For example, one or a combination of two or more of the methods described below may be used. Specifically, base display (7-segment LED) 1317, liquid crystal display devices 1600, 3114, 244, etc. may be used to notify the abnormality of the base value. Informing the player of the abnormality of the base value may allow the player to confirm the abnormality of the pachinko machine. Abnormality of the base value may be notified by displaying the calculated base value in percentage notation on the above-described indicator or display device. Note that the value after the decimal point may be rounded down, rounded off, or rounded up. In display devices capable of displaying images, such as the liquid crystal display devices 1600, 3114, and 244, the first decimal place is displayed for more detailed display. may

Further, when the base values are displayed on the liquid crystal display devices 1600, 3114, and 244, the display mode should be changed if the base values are abnormal. For example, the numerical value is displayed by blinking or by changing the color (green when normal, red when abnormal, etc.). Furthermore, the display mode of the base value may be changed in multiple stages. Specifically, the displayed base value is 30% or more, 25% or more and less than 30%, 20% or more and less than 25%, 15% or more and less than 20%, 10% or more and less than 15%, or less than 10%. It may be divided into a plurality of stages, and may be displayed by changing the emission color such as white, blue, and yellow in each stage.

In addition, various lamps, a liquid crystal display device, sound, etc. may be used to notify the range of the base value (whether the base value is high or low, whether it is an abnormal value or a normal value, etc.). The function display unit 1400 may notify an abnormality of the base value. Also, the information on the abnormality of the base may be output from the external terminal board 784 to a hall computer installed in the game hall.

Note that the base calculation/display processing shown in FIG. 57 calculates the total number of awarded balls and the total number of out-balls at the timing when the number of awarded balls and the number of out-balls satisfy predetermined conditions as shown in FIGS. 50 and 55, for example. It is preferable to use it in combination with the base calculation region update processing to be updated.

FIG. 58 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation/display processing (step S89). In the base calculation/display processing shown in FIG. 58, the base value is updated at the timing when either the number of winning balls or the number of out balls satisfies a predetermined condition. In FIG. 58, the same step numbers are given to the same parts as in the base calculation/display processing described above, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether or not the number of prize balls stored in the number of prize balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th1 (step S890). If the buffer value for the number of prize balls is smaller than the threshold value Th1, it is not time to update the total number of prize balls, so the process proceeds to step S895. On the other hand, if the winning ball number buffer value is equal to or greater than the threshold Th1, the threshold Th1 is added to the total winning ball number (step S891), and the threshold Th1 is subtracted from the winning ball number buffer (step S892). Then, the out-ball number buffer value is added to the total out-ball number (step S893), and the out-ball number buffer is set to 0 (step S894). Steps S891 to S894 may be executed every predetermined number of wins or every predetermined time without comparing the buffer value for the number of winning balls with the threshold value Th1.

After that, it is determined whether or not the number of out balls stored in the number of out balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th2 (step S895). If the buffer value for the number of out balls is smaller than the threshold Th2, it is not time to update the total number of out balls, so the process proceeds to step S902. On the other hand, if the out ball number buffer value is equal to or greater than the threshold Th2, the prize ball number buffer value is added to the total prize ball number (step S897), and the prize ball number buffer is set to 0 (step S898). Then, the threshold Th2 is added to the total number of out balls (step S899), and the threshold Th2 is subtracted from the buffer for the number of out balls (step S900).

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S902). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base calculation/display process ends. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the base value is calculated by dividing the total number of awarded balls by the total number of out balls (step S903). Specifically, the total number of winning balls is multiplied by a predetermined number (for example, 100) and stored in the division input register A131216, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217. Then, after 32 clocks have passed, the quotient is read from the division result register A131218 and used as the base value. If the total number of out balls is 0, even if the base value is calculated, the return value from the arithmetic circuit 13121 will be an error. In this case, the base value displayed on base display 1317 is not updated.

After that, it is determined whether the calculated base value is abnormal (step S907). Abnormality of the base value is, for example, when the calculated base value becomes larger or smaller than the design value (normal value) beyond a predetermined allowable range. In addition, a plurality of stages of allowable ranges may be provided, and the degree of abnormality may be determined in a plurality of stages according to the degree of divergence of the base values. Then, if the base value is abnormal, a base notification command is generated (step S908), and the base is notified to the player or hall employee. On the other hand, if the base value is not abnormal, the base calculation/display process is terminated.

In the base calculation/display processing shown in FIG. 58, the base value is calculated every time even if the total number of winning balls and the total number of out balls are not updated. That is, if the total number of won balls and the total number of out balls are not updated, the same value is calculated as the base value and the base value remains the same value. On the other hand, if the total number of awarded balls or the total number of out-balls is updated, the base value is updated to a different value.

Note that the base calculation/display processing shown in FIG. 58 directly updates the total number of prize balls and total number of out balls using the acquired number of prize balls and number of out balls, as shown in, for example, FIG. 39 and FIG. It is preferable to use it in combination with the base calculation area update process.

As described above, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, if the calculated base value is abnormal, the abnormality is notified, so that the player can know the state of the gaming machine, and the hall staff can It is possible to know the possibility of illegal operation to the game machine. In addition, it is possible to detect and report abnormalities in gaming machines that cannot be detected by conventional error detection.

[9-7. Notification of base change]
Next, an embodiment of a gaming machine that reports changes in calculated base values will be described.

The base value calculated by pachinko machines naturally fluctuates. Since the base value indicates the condition of the gaming machine, the player during the game cares not only about the base value itself but also about changes in the base value. Therefore, it is desirable to inform the player of the change in the base value. The player can play the game with peace of mind when the display that serves as a reference for the upper and lower levels of the base value appears.

FIG. 59 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation/display processing (step S89). In the base calculation/display processing shown in FIG. 59, the history of calculated base values is recorded in order to compare the current base value with the history of past base values. In FIG. 59, the same step numbers are given to the same parts as in the base calculation/display processing described above, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether or not the number of prize balls stored in the number of prize balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th1 (step S890). If the buffer value for the number of prize balls is smaller than the threshold value Th1, it is not time to update the total number of prize balls, so the process proceeds to step S895. On the other hand, if the winning ball number buffer value is equal to or greater than the threshold Th1, the threshold Th1 is added to the total winning ball number (step S891), and the threshold Th1 is subtracted from the winning ball number buffer (step S892). Then, the out-ball number buffer value is added to the total out-ball number (step S893), and the out-ball number buffer is set to 0 (step S894). Steps S891 to S894 may be executed every predetermined number of wins or every predetermined time without comparing the buffer value for the number of winning balls with the threshold value Th1.

After that, it is determined whether or not the number of out balls stored in the number of out balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th2 (step S895). If the buffer value for the number of out balls is smaller than the threshold Th2, it is not time to update the total number of out balls, so the process proceeds to step S902. On the other hand, if the out ball number buffer value is equal to or greater than the threshold Th2, the prize ball number buffer value is added to the total prize ball number (step S897), and the prize ball number buffer is set to 0 (step S898). Then, the threshold Th2 is added to the total number of out balls (step S899), and the threshold Th2 is subtracted from the buffer for the number of out balls (step S900).

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S902). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base calculation/display process ends. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the base value is calculated by dividing the total number of awarded balls by the total number of out balls (step S903). Specifically, the total number of winning balls is multiplied by a predetermined number (for example, 100) and stored in the division input register A131216, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217. Then, after 32 clocks have passed, the quotient is read from the division result register A131218 and used as the base value. If the total number of out balls is 0, even if the base value is calculated, the return value from the arithmetic circuit 13121 will be an error. In this case, the base value displayed on base display 1317 is not updated.

After that, it is determined whether or not the base value management timer has expired (step S904). If the base value management timer has not timed out, it is not the time to store the base value in the base history, so the base calculation/display process is terminated. On the other hand, if the base value management timer has timed out, the base value is stored in the base history (step S905), and the base value management timer is reset (step S906).

The base value management timer is a timer used to record a base value every predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes), and every time the base value management timer times up, the current base value is stored in the base history. The base history is stored in base calculation area 13128 . Only one base history may be stored in the base calculation area 13128 , or a plurality of base histories may be stored in the base calculation area 13128 . When storing a plurality of base histories in the base calculation area 13128, a ring buffer may be configured in the base calculation area 13128 to store, for example, predetermined time×10 base values. Also, as shown in FIG. 52, a ring buffer for the total number of prize balls and the total number of out balls is configured in the base calculation area 13128, and for example, the number of prize balls and the total number of out balls for a predetermined time×n are stored, A base value may be calculated as needed.

Thereafter, a base notification command is generated (step S908), and the base is notified to the players and hall employees.

FIG. 63 is a flowchart illustrating an example of display selection processing. The display selection process is called from the display data creation process (step S1030) of the peripheral control unit power-on process (FIG. 60).

First, the MPU of the peripheral control unit 1511 selects a specific base history (for example, most recent base value) stored in the base calculation area 13128, and the selected base history value is smaller than the current base value. (step S10301). As a result, if the selected base history value is smaller than the current base value, the base decrease continuation time measurement timer is referred to, and it is determined whether a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed since the base value started decreasing. (Step S10302). Then, if the predetermined time has not passed since the base has started to decrease, the effect table for which the base is decreasing is selected (step S10303). On the other hand, if the predetermined time has passed from the start of the decrease of the base, the effect table for the continuation of the decrease of the base is selected (step S10304).

On the other hand, if the selected base history value is not smaller than (equal to or larger than) the current base value, the timer for measuring the duration of the base decrease is reset (step S10305), and the display selection table during base increase is selected (step S10306). ).

In the display selection process described above, in step S10301, it is determined whether the current base value is smaller than the base history value. You may Since the base value is obtained by division, it is generally a decimal value. Therefore, it is preferable to determine whether the base historical value and the current base value are equal in consideration of a predetermined allowable range (eg, 3%).

64 to 68 are diagrams showing examples of display selection tables. These display selection tables are used to select the effect of the special symbol variation display game with a random number selected upon winning a prize at the starting port (or before the start of the special symbol variation display game). The display selection table 1 shown in FIGS. 64 to 66 is selected when the base value is increasing or when the base value does not change, and the display selection tables 2 and 3 shown in FIGS. 67 and 68 are selected during the base value decrease. selected. In particular, the display selection table 3 shown in FIG. 68 is selected after a predetermined period of time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed since the base value started to decrease.

Each display selection table includes items of effect number, effect content, variable time, remarks, and distribution. The effect number is an identifier for uniquely identifying the effect selected in the display selection table. The effect content is the name of the effect. The variation time is the time from when the variation of the special symbol starts to when it ends due to the effect. The remarks are information describing the outline of the presentation so that the designer can understand it. Distribution is the probability that the effect is selected, and is defined by the numerator with 65536 as the denominator.

The display selection table 1 (lost) shown in FIG. 64 is selected when the result of the jackpot lottery is a loss and the base value is increasing or unchanged, and the display selection table 1 (win 1) shown in FIG. 65 is selected. is selected when the result of the jackpot lottery is a normal jackpot that does not lead to a variable probability state and the base value is increasing or not changing. The display selection table 1 (win 2) shown in FIG. 66 is selected when the result of the jackpot lottery is a variable probability big win that derives a variable probability state and the base value is increasing or not changing.

The display selection table 2 shown in FIG. 67 is selected while the base value is decreasing. Further, the display selection table 3 shown in FIG. 68 is selected when the base value continues to decrease even after a predetermined period of time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed since the base value began to decrease.

As shown, the display selection tables 2 and 3 include freeze effects 1 and 2 which are effects in which the pattern does not change, and the freeze effect is selected with a high probability. The freeze effect is displayed when a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) elapses after determination of the effect.

In addition, if the base value has decreased even after a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) has passed since the base value started to decrease, the display selection table 3 is used to select an effect, and the selected effect is displayed. You can switch.

Further, whether or not to display a specific effect for notifying the change of the base value may be determined according to the game state (game situation). This is because if the player is always notified of the change in the base value, the player's attention to the performance of the special symbol variation display game, which is the original enjoyment of the pachinko machine, may be neglected and the player's consciousness may be dispersed. Because there is

For example, during the execution of the special symbol variation display game (game situation in which the result of the jackpot lottery is not shown), the effect of the special symbol variation display game is preferentially executed, and when the variation is not in progress, the base value is increased. It is preferable to display a specific effect (an effect that serves as a guideline for a change in the base value) at the time of hour or at the time of descent.

The specific effect may be displayed at the timing when the special symbol variation display game is not executed for a predetermined period of time. This is because if the specific effect is displayed immediately after the special symbol variation display game ends, the player's sense of tension continues and fatigue accumulates. When the game ball wins in the starting hole while the specific effect is being displayed, the display of the specific effect is stopped and the effect of the special symbol variation display game is executed. This is because the winning of the start slot triggers a big winning lottery and the special symbol variation display game is started, so it is better to make the player pay attention to the special symbol variation display game.

The specific effect may be displayed even when the number of prize balls does not reach a predetermined number (threshold Th1) or when the number of out balls does not reach a predetermined number (threshold Th2). Also, the specific effect may be displayed according to the result of the lottery, or may be executed without fail if the same conditions are met.

Moreover, it is preferable that the specific effect is not displayed when the base value is increased, and is displayed only when the base value is decreased. This is because when a player is notified of a rise in the base value, the player's expectations rise, and if the base value does not rise to the extent that the player expects, the player may be disappointed due to the gap between expectations and expectations. be. On the other hand, if the player is notified of the decrease in the base value, some players will increase their fighting spirit in order to increase the base value.

In addition, in this embodiment, the display selection table is changed depending on whether the base value is decreasing or not (increasing, steady state), but the display is divided into three states: decreasing base value, steady state, and increasing base value. A selection table may be defined to inform the player that the base is rising. In this case, it is preferable to determine whether the base value is steady (whether the base history value and the current base value are equal) in consideration of a predetermined allowable range (for example, 3%).

Also, the specific effect may be displayed during the special symbol variation display game. In this case, the base value is more likely to decrease when displayed outside the special symbol variation display game than when displayed during the special symbol variation display game.

In addition, when no game ball enters the starting hole and the special symbol variation display game is not performed, the base value usually decreases. Also, if the special symbol variation display game is not performed for a predetermined time, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 displays a demo screen.

FIG. 69 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen of the pachinko machine of this embodiment.

FIG. 69(A) is a display example of normal reach, in which the left and right symbols are stopped at 7, and the middle symbol is fluctuating. FIG. 69(B) is a display example of special reach 1, the left and right symbols displayed on the upper left of the screen stop at 7, and the middle symbol fluctuates. In the central part of the screen, the player and the opponent are competing in rock-paper-scissors, and the middle pattern is determined according to the result of the rock-paper-scissors. FIG. 69(C) is a display example of special ready-to-win 2, in which the left and right symbols displayed on the upper left of the screen stop at 7, and the middle symbol fluctuates. In the central part of the screen, the player and the opponent are fighting each other, and the medium pattern is determined according to the result of the fighting.

FIG. 69(D) is a display example of freeze effect 1, in which the stopped decorative pattern is displayed in the center of the screen, and the base value is lowered to a position (for example, the lower right part of the screen) that does not interfere with the recognition of the decorative pattern. recognizable display. FIG. 69(E) is a display example of freeze effect 2, in which the stopped decorative pattern is displayed in the center of the screen, and the base value is lowered at a position (for example, the bottom of the screen) that does not interfere with the recognition of the decorative pattern. Display a recognizable continuation. In the freeze effect, the display indicating the decrease of the base value may be displayed at any position as long as it does not interfere with the recognition of the decorative pattern. Also, the display indicating the decrease in the base value may be displayed at a position overlapping the decorative pattern. For example, a pop-up display in the center of the display screen may be used.

An example of displaying the degree of change in the base value on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 has been described above, but the lighting mode of the decoration lamp may be changed. Also, instead of showing the up-and-down trend of the base value, changes in the base value may be displayed numerically.

The change in the displayed base value is the result of comparing the base value calculated in the time interval before the specified time with the base value calculated in the current time interval. and the total cumulative sum of the latest base values.

[9-8. Calculation of Base Considering Specific General Entrances]
Next, the process of accurately calculating the base value in consideration of the winning in a specific general winning slot will be described.

In a pachinko machine, a player shoots a game ball with the aim of winning a prize in a specific winning hole (for example, the big winning holes 2005 and 2006 that are open) in which the game ball is likely to win during the big win. Adjust the strength of the projectile. Even during a big hit, the game ball is shot at the same place as the so-called normal hitting to aim at the big winning hole 2005, or the shooting strength is strengthened to the maximum, so-called right-hand hitting to aim at the big winning hole 2006. - 特許庁There are variations. Among such variations, there is a case where a game board is designed such that a starting hole or a general winning hole is arranged downstream of the big winning hole and the balls spilled from the big winning hole are picked up.

Here, the downstream (lower part) of a pachinko machine that hits to the right during a big win will be described in detail. During the big win, the player hits to the right in order to win the game ball into the opened big winning hole. Most of the game balls shot toward the game area enter the large winning opening 2006 that is open. 10 and 16, the pachinko machine of this embodiment is provided with the general winning opening 2001 on the right side of the big winning opening 2005. When the player does not win the special prize-winning slot 2006, he/she wins the general prize-winning slot 2001.例文帳に追加That is, it can be said that the general winning hole 2001 on the right side of the big winning hole 2005 wins only when the right-handed game ball does not enter the open big winning hole 2006 .

The base value is the number of prize balls paid out by winning the start opening and the general winning opening when 100 game balls are fired toward the game area 5a (that is, the number of out balls paid out). In order to show the percentage of the number of prize balls that were put out), the number of balls that flowed into the game area but are unlikely to enter the start hole or the general winning hole (high possibility to enter the big winning hole) If the number of out-balls is counted, it is assumed that the base value will deviate from the actual base value.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the general winning opening 2001 on the right side of the big winning opening 2005 is defined as a specific general winning opening, and the number of balls won in the specific general winning opening during the special prize is excluded from the number of out balls. to calculate the base value.

The outline of the calculation timing of the base value in each variation of the gaming machine that calculates the base value in consideration of a specific general winning hole is as follows.
・Figure 70 and Figure 40: Base value is calculated every timer interrupt cycle. ・Figure 71 and Figure 72: Base value is calculated for each predetermined number of prize balls and for each predetermined number of out balls. and the pattern for calculating the base value for each predetermined number of out-balls will be omitted, but they can be realized by combining FIGS.

FIG. 70 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation area updating process (step S81). The base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. Get the number of balls and the number of specific winning balls. In FIG. 70, the same step numbers are assigned to the same parts as in the above-described base calculation area updating process, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether the game state is a special prize (step S810). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, the number of prize balls other than the special prize is obtained (step S811), and the obtained number of prize balls is added to the total number of prize balls (step S814). That is, in the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 70, the total number of prize balls used to calculate the base value is updated each time the number of prize balls is calculated. It should be noted that it is possible to determine whether there are prize balls or not, and if there are no prize balls, the process of updating the total number of prize balls may be skipped.

After that, the number of out balls is acquired (step S818), and the number of winning balls into a specific general winning hole (specific number of winning balls) is acquired (step S820). Then, the value obtained by subtracting the specific number of winning balls from the number of out balls is added to the total number of out balls (step S822). That is, in the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 70, the total number of out balls used to calculate the base value is updated each time an out ball or winning ball is detected.

As in steps S815 to S817 of the base calculation area updating process (FIG. 46) described above, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, and if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated. , You may reset the timer for prize ball abnormality notification. Furthermore, as in steps S824 to S825 in FIG. 46, it is determined whether the timer for abnormal prize ball notification has timed up. You may stop ball abnormality information.

After recording the total number of winning balls and the total number of out balls in the base calculation area update process shown in FIG. 70, the base value can be calculated by the base calculation/display process shown in FIG.

FIG. 71 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation area updating process (step S81). In order to calculate the base value at the timing when the number of prize balls and the number of out balls satisfy a predetermined condition, the base calculation area update process shown in FIG. Record the number in the out pitches buffer. In FIG. 71, the same step numbers are given to the same parts as in the above-described base calculation area updating process, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether the game state is a special prize (step S810). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, the number of prize balls other than the special prize is obtained (step S811), and it is determined whether there are prize balls (step S812). Then, if there are prize balls, the acquired number of prize balls is added to the number of prize balls buffer (step S813).

Then, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls (step S815), and if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated (step S816), and a timer for prize abnormality notification is reset (step S817). ).

After that, the number of out balls is acquired (step S818), and the acquired number of out balls is added to the number of out balls buffer (step S819). Then, the number of winning balls is acquired, and it is determined whether the winning hole corresponding to the acquired number of winning balls is a specific general winning hole, and the number of winning balls to the specific general winning hole is acquired (step S820). Then, the acquired number of winning balls to the specific general winning hole is added to the specific winning ball number buffer (step S823).

After that, it is determined whether the timer for abnormal prize notification has timed up (step S824), and when the timer for abnormal notification of prize ball has timed up, a command to stop the abnormal notification of prize ball is generated, and the abnormal notification of prize ball is stopped ( step S825).

FIG. 72 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation/display processing (step S89). In the base calculation/display processing shown in FIG. 72, the base value is calculated in consideration of the specific winning ball number recorded in the specific winning ball number buffer. In FIG. 72, the same step numbers are assigned to the same parts as in the base calculation/display processing described above, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether or not the number of prize balls stored in the number of prize balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th1 (step S890). If the buffer value for the number of prize balls is smaller than the threshold value Th1, it is not time to update the total number of prize balls, so the process proceeds to step S895. On the other hand, if the winning ball number buffer value is equal to or greater than the threshold Th1, the threshold Th1 is added to the total winning ball number (step S891), and the threshold Th1 is subtracted from the winning ball number buffer (step S892). Then, the out-ball number buffer value is added to the total out-ball number (step S893), and the out-ball number buffer is set to 0 (step S894). Steps S891 to S894 may be executed every predetermined number of wins or every predetermined time without comparing the buffer value for the number of winning balls with the threshold value Th1.

After that, it is determined whether or not the sum of the number of passing balls stored in the out ball number buffer and the number of winning balls stored in the winning ball number buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th2 (step S895). ). The sum of the number of balls passing through the out port and the number of winning balls is the number of game balls flowing into the game area, which is the number of out balls. As a result of the determination, if the calculated number of out-balls is smaller than the threshold Th2, it is not the time to update the total number of out-balls, so the process proceeds to step S902. On the other hand, if the calculated number of out balls is equal to or greater than the threshold Th2, the number of prize balls buffer value is added to the total number of prize balls (step S897), and the number of prize balls buffer is set to 0 (step S898). Then, the specific number of winning balls is subtracted from the total number of out balls and the threshold value Th2 is added (step S899), the winning ball number buffer is set to 0, and the threshold value Th2 is subtracted from the out ball number buffer (step S900).

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S902). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base calculation/display process ends. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the base value is calculated by dividing the total number of awarded balls by the total number of out balls (step S903). Specifically, the total number of winning balls is multiplied by a predetermined number (for example, 100) and stored in the division input register A131216, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217. Then, after 32 clocks have passed, the quotient is read from the division result register A131218 and used as the base value. If the total number of out balls is 0, even if the base value is calculated, the return value from the arithmetic circuit 13121 will be an error. In this case, the base value displayed on base display 1317 is not updated.

After that, it is determined whether the calculated base value is abnormal (step S907). Abnormality of the base value is, for example, when the calculated base value becomes larger or smaller than the design value (normal value) beyond a predetermined allowable range. In addition, a plurality of stages of allowable ranges may be provided, and the degree of abnormality may be determined in a plurality of stages according to the degree of divergence of the base values. Then, if the base value is abnormal, a base notification command is generated (step S908), and the base is notified to the player or hall employee. On the other hand, if the base value is not abnormal, the base calculation/display process is terminated.

In the base calculation/display processing shown in FIG. 72, the base value is calculated every time even if the total number of winning balls and the total number of out balls are not updated. That is, if the total number of awarded balls and the total number of out balls are not updated, the same value is calculated as the base value, the base value remains the same value, and if the total number of awarded balls or the total number of out balls is updated, Base value is updated to a different value. The base value may be calculated at the timing when one of the total number of awarded balls and the total number of out-balls is updated, or at the timing when both are updated.

In addition, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, since the base value is calculated by excluding game balls that have flowed into the game area but are unlikely to enter the starting hole or the general winning hole, deviation from the actual base value is calculated. A small base value can be calculated accurately.

In addition, the pachinko machine that hits to the right during the big win has explained the case where the general winning hole 2001 is downstream of the big winning hole 2006, but the invention according to this embodiment aims at the big winning hole 2005 by normal hitting during the big win. It can be applied to a pachinko machine or a game machine in which a starting opening or a general winning opening is arranged downstream of the big winning opening 2005.例文帳に追加

Also, in the game area 5a, big winning openings 2005 and 2006 are arranged, which normally do not accept game balls, but allow acceptance of game balls according to the result of the jackpot lottery. Prize balls that have won prizes in the big prize openings 2005 and 2006 may be excluded from the calculation of the base value. In this case, the game ball wins the start openings 2002 and 2004, the special symbol variation display game starts, and the special symbols are confirmed until the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 are opened (big winning opening). During the period from the closing of 2005 and 2006 to the start of the next special symbol variation display game (jackpot ending), the detected out balls are excluded from the number of out balls. In this way, the number of winning balls and the number of out balls during the special prize can be counted without determining whether the special prize is being executed in step S810 in FIG. 39 and the like. In addition, when the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 are repeatedly opened and closed in one jackpot, the time (closing interval) from the closing of the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 to the next opening may be included in the special prize. That is, during the special prize means that the condition device is in operation, for example, from the finalization of the jackpot symbol of the special symbol variation display game to the end of the ending. It may also include all the times during the instruction to hit to the right. Furthermore, in the starting ports 2002 and 2004, during time saving, during variable probability (during ST), and during electric sapo may be included in the special prize. Furthermore, in a game state other than during time saving, during variable probability (during ST), and during power supply, a predetermined time after opening the starting port 2004 after closing (for example, until the ball that has won the starting port is detected as an out ball) seconds required) may be included in the prize.

Also, in the game area 5a, a second start port 2004 is arranged which normally does not accept game balls, but allows acceptance of game balls according to the lottery result of normal symbols. Prize balls that enter the second starting port 2004 may be excluded from the calculation of the base value. In this case, the game ball passes through the gate portion 2003 and the normal symbol lottery is performed, the normal symbol variation display game is started, and the normal symbol is confirmed and released (opening), from the second start port 2004. During the period from the closing of the game to the start of the next normal symbol variation display game (ending), the detected out balls are excluded from the number of out balls. In addition, when the second starting port 2004 repeats opening and closing according to the lottery result of the normal symbol, the time (closing interval) from the closing of the second starting port 2004 to the next opening may be included in the special prize. In this way, all winnings to the second starting port 2004 can be excluded from the calculation of the base value, not just during the time saving.

As described above, it is possible to accurately count the number of prize balls and the number of out balls other than those during special prizes (jackpots, short working hours, etc.) without determining in step S810 of FIG.

In this way, the number of out balls and the number of winning balls while the player is hitting right can be accurately excluded, and the base value can be calculated accurately.

Also, depending on the pachinko machine, it is recommended to play the game with the left hand when neither the big win nor the time saving is in progress (so-called normal state), and to play the game with the right hand during the big win or the time saving. In such a game machine, a general prize winning port 2001 and a first start port 2002 for winning a prize when hitting to the left and a general prize winning port 2001 and a second start port 2004 for winning a prize when hitting to the right are provided. In such a gaming machine, the number of winning holes in the left to center of the game area 5a (the area where the game ball rolls when hitting to the left) and the right side of the game area 5a (the area where the game ball rolls when hitting to the right), Depending on the arrangement and the position of the nail, the ball entry rate to each winning hole is different. In other words, the base value for left-handed hitting and the base value for right-handed hitting are different.

The base value of the pachinko machine is set on the assumption that the player hits to the left in the normal state. However, if the base value differs between left-handed and right-handed, for the reason described above (for example, the base value for right-handed is designed to be lower than that for left-handed in normal conditions). , a low base value is calculated when the player hits right in normal conditions.

A pachinko machine with a low base value is considered to be abnormal and should be inspected or judged to be a machine with poor ball output performance. Even if the pachinko machine is judged to have poor ball output performance (lower than the expected base), the hole judges that the player is hitting the left hand, so the start opening that affects the base when hitting the left hand. Make adjustments to increase the ball entry rate of the general winning entrance. Then, adjust the abnormal nail to increase the base value. When the game machine adjusted in this way hits to the left, many prize balls can be obtained even in the normal state. In other words, many lotteries can be received with a small amount. In other words, even if the base when hitting left-handed is not different from what the hole has assumed, the hole misunderstands and adjusts to increase the ball entry rate of the starting opening and the general winning opening that wins when hitting left-handed. Since there is a possibility that the hole may be disadvantaged by such malice of the player, it is necessary to accurately calculate the base value for hitting left and the base value for hitting right.

By the way, in a pachinko machine that hits to the right during time saving, the second starting port 2004 that opens and closes depending on the game state and the gate part 2003 for performing the normal symbol lottery for opening the second starting port 2004 are used when hitting to the right. It is arranged in the area where the game ball rolls. In addition, when the game ball passes through the gate part 2003 by striking to the right in the normal state, even if the lottery of the normal pattern is performed, the probability of winning the normal pattern is extremely low to prevent the second start port 2004 from opening. Even if the symbol lottery is won, the opening time of the second starting port 2004 is shortened to make it difficult to win a prize to the second starting port 2004 in a normal state.

Here, in order to increase the base value in the normal state of hitting to the right, the rate of entry into the second starting hole 2004 should be increased. However, since the second starting hole 2004 is generally set to be more advantageous than the first starting hole 2002, increasing the ball entry rate to the second starting hole 2004 will put pressure on the profit of the hole. Therefore, when calculating the base value by counting the number of game balls passing through the gate section 2003 in the normal state, it is preferable to calculate the corrected base value using the number of passing balls of the gate section 2003 .

Specifically, the number of game balls passing through the gate portion 2003 in the normal state is subtracted from the number of out balls (the number of game balls hit toward the game area 5a) as the number of specific winning balls. A reduction in the number of out pitches allows for higher base calculations. For example, if a considerable number of game balls pass through the gate section 2003, a very high base value will be calculated. The degree of correction processing may be appropriately determined based on the design values (performance) of the gaming machine.

Furthermore, the passage of the gate portion 2003 is monitored, and when a game ball passes through the gate portion 2003 (when a predetermined number (for example, 3) of game balls pass through the gate portion 2003 without entering the starting hole, etc.) (conditions may be added), the number of out balls counted in a predetermined time or a predetermined number of shots after (or before and after) passing through the gate section 2003 may not be used for calculating the base value. In this way, the base value can be calculated more accurately. When passing through the gate unit 2003 is detected, a display or sound such as "Please return to left-handed" may be output without actively informing the player that the result will not be reflected in the calculation result of the base value. Further, when the passage of the gate portion 2003 is detected, the hole may be notified that the ball is hit to the right. For example, a specific lamp may be turned on, the lighting mode may be changed, or the fact that the game is being played to the right may be output from the external terminal board 784 to a hall computer installed in the game arcade.

As described above, by excluding the number of balls passing through the gate portion 2003 provided on the right side of the game area 5a (the area where the game ball rolls when hitting to the right) from the number of out balls, The base value of time can be corrected to a larger value. Therefore, it is possible to prevent fluctuations in the calculated value of the base due to the game style of the player.

[9-9. Initialize base value]
Considering the role of the base value of confirming the operation status of the pachinko machine 1, it is desirable that the calculated base value is retained for a long period of time. Also, it is desirable that the calculated base value cannot be easily deleted. Therefore, the base calculation/display data 13136 is erased under conditions different from the conditions for erasing the data related to the progress of the game backed up in the RAM 1312 of the main control MPU 1311 . As a result, it is possible to hold accurate data on the number of winning balls and to calculate an accurate role ratio.

Specifically, the operation of the RAM clear switch (first operation) does not erase the base calculation/display data 13136, but cuts off the backup power supplied to the main control MPU 1311 and turns off the power of the pachinko machine 1. All data backed up in the RAM 1312 of the main control MPU 1311 can be erased by the second operation of shutting down. For the second operation, one switch may be provided to realize this operation, or the pachinko machine 1 may be operated by removing the connector of the backup power line supplied to the main control board 1310 by an employee of the game parlor. may be turned off.

In other words, two operations are prepared for erasing the RAM 1312 of the main control MPU 1311. The first operation erases only the data related to the progress of the game, while the second operation erases the calculated base value. Delete all data, including data related to game progress.

By configuring in this way, the base calculation/display data 13136 is not erased due to an erroneous operation by the staff of the game hall, so the reliability of the displayed character object ratio is increased, and concealment of a high character object ratio can be prevented. .

[9-10. Calculation of Base Considering Winning Abnormality]
73 and 74 are flowcharts of the base calculation area update process in consideration of the winning abnormality.

In the pachinko machine 1, in addition to the abnormality in the number of prize balls determined in step S815 described above, an abnormality in prize winning may be detected. For example, when a prize is detected other than during the opening of the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 due to the derivation of a big win in the special symbol variation display game, or when a winning is derived in the normal symbol variation display game, the starting port 2004 If winning is detected other than when the is open, it is a winning error. That is, the abnormality in the number of prize balls determined in step S815 is an abnormal operation detected from the number of prize balls, and is mainly when many prize balls are obtained in a predetermined time. On the other hand, a winning abnormality is an abnormal operation detected from the number of winning balls, and is mainly a case where a winning is impossible or many winnings are detected within a predetermined period of time.

Since the winning ball related to this winning abnormality is counted as an out ball, it is desirable to calculate the base accurately by correcting this amount. Therefore, in the base calculation area update process considering the winning abnormality, the total number of out balls is corrected so as to reduce the number of winning balls related to the detected winning abnormality.

It should be noted that normally the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 and the starting opening 2004 win prizes only during the special prize, so the winning balls to these winning openings are not counted as out balls for calculating the base, and they win prizes. No need to consider anomalies.

FIG. 73 is a flow chart showing an example of base calculation area update processing (step S81). In the base calculation area update process, the current game state is determined, the number of prize balls to be paid out as game value is added to the area corresponding to the current game state, and the base calculation area 13128 of the main control built-in RAM 1312 is updated. do. In particular, the base calculation area update process shown in FIG. 73 is similar to the base calculation area update process shown in FIG. The total number of awarded balls is directly updated using the number of awarded balls calculated in (step S814), and the total number of out-balls is directly updated using the number of out-balls (step S822). In FIG. 73, the same step numbers are assigned to the same parts as in the above-described base calculation area updating process, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether the game state is a special prize (step S810). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded.

If the game state is during a special prize, the prize balls are not related to the calculation of the base value, so the base calculation region updating process is terminated without updating the number of prize balls or the number of out balls. On the other hand, if the game state is not during the special prize, the number of prize balls calculated based on the input information in the prize ball control process (step S80) is obtained (step S811). The number of prize balls acquired in the base calculation region updating process may be the number of prize balls determined to be put out. Alternatively, the number of prize balls corresponding to the prepared payout command may be used. Alternatively, it may be the number of prize balls corresponding to the payout command that has already been sent. Moreover, the main control board 1310 may transmit the payout command to the payout control board 951 and may be the number of prize balls corresponding to the payout command for which the reception confirmation (ACK) is received from the payout control board 951 . Furthermore, the main control board 1310 may transmit a payout command to the payout control board 951 and may be the number of prize balls (the number of paid out prize balls) that receives a payout completion report from the payout control board 951 . This variation has already been described with reference to FIGS. 41-44.

Then, the acquired number of prize balls is added to the total number of prize balls to update the total number of prize balls (step S814). It should be noted that it is possible to determine whether there are prize balls or not, and if there are no prize balls, the process of updating the total number of prize balls may be skipped. In addition, although the game balls enter the starting ports 2002 and 2004, the suspension is the upper limit value, and even if the winning to the starting ports is not suspended, the prize balls are paid out, so the total number of prize balls is updated. In addition, in a game state in which no prize balls are generated even if a game ball enters the winning opening (for example, when a specific error occurs), no prize balls are generated due to the winning, and the number of prize balls to be acquired is Since it is 0, the total number of prize balls is not updated. The total number of prize balls is recorded in the total number of prize balls storage area (see FIG. 52) provided in the base calculation area 13128 of the main control built-in RAM 1312 . That is, in the base calculation region updating process shown in FIG. 73, the total number of prize balls used for calculating the base value is updated each time the number of prize balls is calculated.

After that, the number of out balls is acquired (step S818). Then, it is determined whether or not a winning abnormality is detected (step S826). Then, the number of game balls corresponding to the winning determined to be abnormal is acquired (step S827). Specifically, as described above, when a winning to the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 is detected in addition to the special prize (while the condition device is in operation) caused by the derivation of the big win in the special symbol variation display game, or In the case where winning to the starting port 2004 is detected while the game is not open due to the winning being derived in the normal symbol variation display game, it is determined that there is a winning abnormality.

It may be determined that the winning ball is abnormal when one winning ball related to the winning abnormality is detected, or it may be determined that the winning ball is abnormal when a predetermined number of winning balls related to the winning abnormality are detected. Further, when a predetermined number of winning balls related to the winning abnormality are continuously detected, it may be determined as a winning abnormality, and when a predetermined number of winning balls related to the winning abnormality are detected within a predetermined time, it is determined as a winning abnormality. You may

Then, the total number of out-balls is updated so that the acquired number of out-balls is added to the total number of out-balls (step S822). The number of out balls is detected by the ball sensor 1020, the sensor 3060, etc., as described above, and is obtained by reading the detection signals of these sensors in the switch input process of step S74. At this time, the value obtained by subtracting the number of winning balls related to the winning abnormality from the acquired number of out balls may be added to the total number of out balls, and after adding the acquired number of out balls to the total number of out balls, winning a prize The number of winning balls that are abnormally applied may be subtracted from the total number of out balls. The total number of out-balls is recorded in the total number of out-balls storage area (see FIG. 52) provided in the base calculation area 13128 of the main control internal RAM 1312 . That is, in the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 73, the total number of out balls used for calculating the base value is updated each time an out ball is detected. In this way, the base calculation process is executed for each timer interrupt process, the total number of out balls is updated, and the base value is calculated and displayed in the base calculation display process (Fig. 40), so the base value is displayed without delay. It can be determined without delay whether the base value is normal or abnormal.

As in steps S815 to S817 of the base calculation area updating process (FIG. 74), which will be described later, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, and if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated. , You may reset the timer for prize ball abnormality notification. Further, as in steps S824 to S825, it is determined whether or not the timer for abnormal prize notification has timed out, and when the timer for abnormal prize notification has timed up, a command for stopping the abnormal prize notification is generated, and the abnormal prize notification is performed. may be stopped.

In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, the main control MPU 1311 executes base value calculation processing in timer interrupt processing, but the payout control MPU of the payout control unit 952 may execute base value calculation processing. In this case, a command for notifying the base from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 of the peripheral control board 1510 may be transmitted, or a command for notifying the base from the payout control unit 952 to the peripheral control unit 1511 may be sent.

Also, in one timer interrupt process, even if the information of both the winning ball to the winning hole and the out ball is acquired, the number of prize balls is set to the total number of prize balls (or the number of prize balls buffer in the embodiment described later). The number of out-balls is added to the total number of out-balls (or the number of out-balls buffer in the embodiment described later). Also, in one timer interrupt process, even if information on winning to a plurality of winning openings is acquired, the total number of winning balls due to multiple winning is calculated as the total number of winning balls (or in the embodiment described later, ). Therefore, the base value can be accurately calculated and displayed. For example, if a prize-winning sensor detects a prize-winning hole with 5 prize balls and a prize-winning hole sensor with 3 prize balls, a total of 8 prize balls are detected as the total number of prize balls. (or add to the prize number buffer).

Also, the number of prize balls may be added to the total number of prize balls (or the number of prize balls buffer) only when the shooting of game balls is detected. That is, only the number of winning balls detected within a predetermined time after detection by the ball sensor 1020 may be added to the total number of winning balls (or the number of winning balls buffer). In addition, the operation of the firing control unit 953 or the ball launching device 680 is detected, and while the firing control unit 953 or the ball launching device 680 is operating (furthermore, when the firing control unit 953 or the ball launching device 680 stops operating) to the predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds)) may be added to the total number of prize balls or the number of prize balls buffer. Also, the number of prize balls may be added to the total number of prize balls (or the number of prize balls buffer) only when the player is operating the shooting handle. That is, only the number of winning balls detected within a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) from the time when it was detected that the contact detection sensor 509 of the handle unit 500 was in contact with the contact detection sensor 509 is the total number of winning balls ( Alternatively, it may be added to the prize number buffer). In this way, it is possible to prevent the base value from being reflected in the base value of the prize balls due to an abnormality in which the prize balls are detected in a state where the game balls are not shot or fraudulent acts, and to prevent an incorrect base value from being displayed. In this case, if the contact detection sensor 509 is used, there is no need to newly provide a sensor for detecting the launch of the game ball, so the increase in cost of the pachinko machine 1 can be suppressed.

FIG. 74 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation area updating process (step S81). In the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 74, the number of out balls is recorded in the number of out balls buffer in order to calculate the base value at the timing when the number of out balls satisfies a predetermined condition (step S819). In FIG. 74, the same step numbers are given to the same parts as in the above-described base calculation area updating process, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, it is determined whether the game state is a special prize (step S810). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, the number of prize balls other than the special prize is obtained (step S811), and it is determined whether there are prize balls (step S812). If the result of determination in step S812 is that there are no prize balls, the process proceeds to step S818 without updating the number of prize balls. On the other hand, if there are prize balls, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls (step S815), and if there is no abnormality in the number of prize balls, the acquired number of prize balls is added to the total number of prize balls (step S814). . That is, in the base calculation area updating process shown in FIG. 74, the total number of prize balls used for calculating the base value is updated each time the number of prize balls is calculated.

On the other hand, if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated (step S816), and the timer for prize abnormality notification is reset (step S817).

After that, the number of out balls is acquired (step S818). The acquired number of out balls is added to the number of out balls buffer (step S819). Then, it is determined whether or not a winning abnormality is detected (step S826), and the number of game balls corresponding to the winning determined as abnormal is acquired (step S827).

After that, it is determined whether the timer for abnormal prize notification has timed up (step S824), and when the timer for abnormal notification of prize ball has timed up, a command to stop the abnormal notification of prize ball is generated, and the abnormal notification of prize ball is stopped ( step S825).

In the base calculation area updating process shown in FIGS. 73 and 74, the out balls are corrected for all the winning balls related to the winning abnormality. It is not necessary to correct the out ball for the winning ball related to the specific type of winning abnormality. For example, depending on the type of winning ball related to the winning abnormality, the winning ball may or may not be paid out. It is preferable that whether or not a prize ball is to be paid out in response to this prize winning abnormality is determined for each prize winning opening. In this case, in the case of a prize-winning abnormality in which no prize balls are paid out, the prize-winning balls should not be counted as total-out balls and should not be used in the calculation of the base value. On the other hand, as for the prize winning abnormality in which prize balls are paid out, the winning balls are counted as total out balls, and the paid out prize balls are also counted as the total number of prize balls, and used for calculating the base value. Note that even in the case of a prize winning abnormality in which prize balls are paid out, the winning balls may not be counted as the total out balls, the paid out prize balls may not be counted as the total number of prize balls, and may not be used in the calculation of the base value.

For example, as a result of maintenance (removal of jammed balls, etc.) for a game machine malfunction, a hall employee may manually insert a game ball into the starting hole to compensate for the ball output so that the player does not lose money. In that case, a prize ball is paid out for winning a prize to the start hole. Winning to this starting port is detected as a prize winning abnormality, but prize balls are paid out. When prize balls are paid out in this way, it should be reflected in the base value, so it should not be determined as a winning abnormality. In this case, in the winning openings (starting openings 2002, 2004) that are reflected in the calculation of the base value, prize balls are dispensed and abnormal winning is not determined. It is preferable to determine the winning abnormality without paying out. A winning hole for judging a winning abnormality has a smaller number of prize balls to be put out by winning than a winning hole for not judging a winning abnormality (three prize balls for a starting hole and 15 balls for a big winning hole). For this reason, although a winning abnormality is determined at the big winning opening, even if abnormal winning is not determined at the starting opening, it does not become a big security hole from the viewpoint of defense against fraud. In this way, by determining the winning abnormality, it is possible to prevent inconsistency between the number of out balls and the number of prize balls. In particular, by correcting the number of out balls using the number of winning balls related to a winning abnormality that does not generate any prize balls, it is possible to match the number of prize balls with the out balls that cause the prize balls.

As described above, it is possible to determine a winning abnormality in various winning ports, but a specific implementation example for a pachinko machine will be described.

First, the normal winning gate 2001 may not determine the winning abnormality, and the winning gate other than the general winning gate 2001 (large winning gates 2005 and 2006, starting gates 2002 and 2004) may determine the winning abnormality. Since it is difficult for a plurality of game balls to win at the same time, the general prize gates are designed to improve the security resistance of the gaming machine against fraudulent acts. The player can be compensated for the put-out ball by entering the general prize winning openings 2001 (4 in total) which are provided more than three in total. In addition, since the general prize winning opening 2001 can be easily identified by hall employees, maintenance of the pachinko machine 1 and operation for compensating for ball output are easy. The reason why hall employees can easily identify the general prize winning openings 2001 is that the general winning openings 2001 are often arranged together (in separate areas) in the game area, and the electric accessories (large winning openings) 2005, 2006, starting ports 2002, 2004) and decorative members (appearance) are different. In addition, when the number of winning balls for one winning ball in the general winning opening is small, there is an effect that the security resistance of the gaming machine against fraudulent acts is improved. It should be noted that it is also possible to determine the winning abnormality not only for a specific general winning opening (for example, the left end) but also for other general winning openings.

In addition, no prize-winning abnormality is determined in the large prize-winning ports 2005 and 2006 with a large number of prize balls, and prizes are won in the prize-winning ports other than the large prize-winning ports 2005 and 2006 (general prize-winning ports 2001, starting ports 2002 and 2004 with a small number of prize balls). Abnormalities may be determined. Since the number of winning balls for one winning ball is large in the big winning hole, even a small number of winning balls greatly changes the base value. Therefore, it is convenient to easily inspect the change of the base value when inspecting the pachinko machine. It should be noted that, instead of determining the winning abnormality only in a specific big winning opening (for example, the big winning opening 2005 where the game ball is easy to put in by hand), the winning abnormality may be determined in other big winning openings (for example, 2006). .

Further, the winning abnormality may not be determined at the starting ports 2002 and 2004, and the winning abnormality may be determined at the winning ports other than the starting ports 2002 and 2004 (general winning port 2001, big winning ports 2005 and 2006). Since the number of winning balls for one winning ball is smaller than that of the big winning hole, the starting hole can compensate the player for the ball while improving the security resistance of the game machine against the goto. It should be noted that the winning abnormality may not be determined only by a specific start opening (for example, the start opening 2002 provided in the center of the game board is easy to understand), and the other start opening 2004 may be used to determine the winning abnormality.

Furthermore, in the case of the big winning opening and the start opening, the opening/closing member of the winning opening is located in a position that can be seen from the front of the pachinko machine, that is, the opening/closing member can be easily operated by hall employees. Instead, the opening/closing member of the winning opening is located at a position that cannot be visually recognized from the front of the pachinko machine, that is, the opening/closing member may be difficult for hall employees to operate. For example, by tilting the opening and closing member that is vertically positioned in the closed state to an oblique position, the opening and closing member can easily operate a winning opening (so-called electric tulip) that picks up game balls. On the other hand, in the closed state, the winning opening is closed with a flat plate member, and when the flat member is retracted, the entrance to the winning opening opens (so-called Velochu). is difficult to operate. In this way, the security level is relaxed only for the winning openings used to compensate the players for putting out balls, so it is easy for hall employees to understand, and the security resistance of the gaming machine can be improved.

Also, the detected winning abnormality may be notified. The method of notifying the abnormal prize may be the same as the method of notifying the abnormal number of prize balls described above (for example, outputting a security signal to an external terminal board, displaying a warning on a display device such as a liquid crystal, Lighting and flashing of decorative lamps, output of voice, sound effect, warning sound, etc.) should be made looser than the notification of other abnormalities. Specifically, the abnormal notification time is short, the characters that notify the abnormality are small, the lamp does not light up when the abnormality is notified, and the abnormality notification sound is set to a lower volume than other abnormal notification sounds (suppressed). ).

In addition, in the notification of the winning abnormality, the abnormality is notified for a predetermined time after the detection of the winning abnormality. It is preferable to end the notification after a predetermined time or change the mode of notification. In this way, when the winning abnormality occurs continuously for a predetermined time (for example, several minutes), it can be determined that the hall is performing maintenance on the gaming machine, not the player's fraudulent act. Therefore, if the winning abnormality is notified only for a predetermined time and the notification is not continued after that, the work efficiency can be improved without interfering with the maintenance work of the game machine by the hall. In addition, by changing the mode of notification after a predetermined time, it can be seen that the maintenance work of the game machine is not hindered and the work is continued correctly. Specifically, it is preferable to stop the sound notification (or reduce the volume) while continuing the notification by the display device or the lamp.

In summary, the gaming machine of the present embodiment has correcting means for correcting the number of out balls according to the number of winning balls, and the correcting means classifies a plurality of winning holes into a plurality of types (starting hole, big winning hole). However, for the first type of winning opening, the number of out balls is corrected based on the winning balls detected while a predetermined condition is not satisfied (during the special prize), and for the second type of winning opening, a predetermined number of winning balls are detected. The number of out balls is not corrected based on the winning balls detected except when the condition is established (during the special prize). As a result, as described above, it is possible to prevent deviation of the number of out balls when compensating the player for maintenance of the gaming machine, and to accurately calculate the number of out balls. In addition, an abnormal base value may be calculated due to a malfunction of the game machine, and the adjustment of the base value is possible as the adjustment (maintenance). This allows an accurate base value to be calculated and displayed.

Up to this point, we have explained the detection of a winning abnormality and the exceptional handling of the detection of a winning abnormality (when it is not detected). Since there is a high possibility that the winning balls will be used for maintenance (adjustment of the base value), it is desirable that the winning balls determined to be abnormal should not be reflected in the number of out balls and should not be used in the calculation of the base value.

In addition, the winning abnormality detected in the base calculation area updating process shown in FIGS. 73 and 74 may be reported. For example, in the fraudulent act detection process (step S84) of the timer interrupt process, a winning abnormality display command is created with the winning abnormality as an abnormal state, and is transmitted in the peripheral control board command transmission process (step S92). The notification of the abnormal winning may be performed when one abnormal winning ball is detected, or when a predetermined number of abnormal winning balls are detected. Further, when a predetermined number of winning balls related to the abnormal winning are continuously detected, the notification of the abnormal winning may be performed, and when a predetermined number of the winning balls related to the abnormal winning are detected within a predetermined time, the abnormal winning is notified. Notification may be made.

Further, the notification of the winning abnormality may be ended after a predetermined time has elapsed, or may be ended when the winning opening is opened next time (the condition device is activated).

It should be noted that it is not necessary to report the winning abnormality.

[9-11. Base Value Calculation Processing Utilizing Characteristics of Arithmetic Circuit]
In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, since the arithmetic circuit 13121 performs the division processing for calculating the base value, the base value can be calculated without interfering with other processing than when the CPU 13111 executes division by a program. The base calculation processing described so far does not take advantage of this characteristic.

That is, in relation to the calculation of the base value, in the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 23) described above, in the switch input processing (step S74), the detection signals from the ejected ball sensor 3060 and the fired ball sensor 1020 are read, and the number of out balls is counted, and the number of game balls (prize balls) to be paid out is calculated in the prize ball control process (step S80). Thereafter, in base calculation area update processing (step S98), the number of winning balls and the number of out balls in the base calculation area 13128 are updated.

Thereafter, in the base calculation/display process (step S89), the base value is calculated by referring to the number of winning balls and the number of out balls stored in the base calculation area 13128, and the calculated base value is displayed on the base display 1317. indicate.

Although timer interrupt processing is executed at predetermined intervals, it is necessary to complete the predetermined processing for each timer interrupt. Therefore, in the slow division processing by the program, the timer interrupt processing includes the time-consuming processing. In other words, it was difficult to include base calculation processing multiple times in timer interrupt processing. On the other hand, by performing division processing using the arithmetic circuit 13121, the time required to calculate the base value can be shortened, the base value can be calculated multiple times in one timer interrupt processing, and the base value can be displayed without delay.

In addition, the CPU 13111 is not occupied for division processing from the writing of values to the division input registers 131216 and 131217 of the arithmetic circuit 13121 to the reading of the arithmetic result from the division result register A131218. That is, the wait time of 32 clocks from the input timing of the dividend and divisor to the output timing of the quotient can be effectively used, and other processing can be performed during this time. In other words, since the input timing of the dividend and divisor is separate from the output timing of the quotient, the flexibility of the base value calculation processing in the timer interrupt processing is improved.

FIG. 75 is a flow chart showing an example of timer interrupt processing that takes advantage of the characteristics of the arithmetic circuit. The timer interrupt processing shown in FIG. 75 is the same as the above-described timer interrupt processing (FIG. 23) except for the base calculation processing (steps S97 and S98), so description of the same processing will be omitted.

When timer interrupt processing is started, the main control MPU 1311 first switches registers by executing the main control program (step S70).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes switch input processing (step S74). In the switch input process, various signals input to input terminals of various input ports of the main control MPU 1311 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the main control built-in RAM 1312 . Specifically, it reads the detection signal from the sensor that detects winning balls, the detection signal from the switch that detects fraud, the detection signals from the discharge ball sensor 3060 and the launch ball sensor 1020, and determines the number of out balls. to count.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes base calculation processing 1 (step S97). In base calculation processing 1, the total number of out-balls counted in step S74 is used to update the total number of out-balls, and the base value is calculated. The details of the base calculation process 1 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 76 and 78. FIG.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes timer update processing (step S76) and random number update processing 1 (step S78).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes prize ball control processing (step S80). In the prize ball control process, input information is read from the input information storage area, the number of game balls (prize balls) to be paid out is calculated based on the read input information, and the calculated number is written in the main control built-in RAM 1312 . Also, based on the calculation result of the number of prize balls, a prize ball command for paying out game balls is created.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes base calculation processing 2 (step S98). In base calculation processing 2, the total number of prize balls is updated using the number of prize balls calculated in step S80, and the base value is calculated. The details of the base calculation process 2 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 77 and 79. FIG.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 performs frame command reception processing (step S82), fraud detection processing (step S84), special symbols and special electric auditors control processing (step S86), normal symbols and normal electric auditors A control process (step S88) is executed. Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes output data setting processing (step S90) and peripheral control board command transmission processing (step S92). Finally, the main control MPU 1311 sets a predetermined value (18H) in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S96). By setting a predetermined value in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, the watchdog timer clear register WCL is cleared. Finally, the main control MPU 1311 switches (restores) the register bank. When the above processing is finished, the timer interrupt processing is finished and the processing before the interrupt is resumed.

FIG. 76 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation processing 1 (step S97).

First, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the game state is a special prize (step S9701). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, if the game state is during the special prize, the out ball is not related to the calculation of the base value, so the base is not calculated, and the base calculation process 1 ends. On the other hand, if the gaming state is not the special prize, the number of out balls detected in the switch input process (step S74) is acquired (step S9702), and the total number of out balls is added to the total number of out balls. The number of out balls is updated (step S9705). If the number of out-balls cannot be acquired or the acquired number of out-balls is 0, the base calculation process 1 may be terminated immediately. By doing so, the load on the main control MPU 1311 can be reduced without needlessly calculating the base value.

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S9707). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base value calculation process 1 is terminated without calculating the base value. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the value obtained by multiplying the total number of winning balls by a predetermined number (for example, 100) is stored in the division input register A131216 of the arithmetic circuit 13121, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217. Store (step S9708). Then, after a predetermined time (32 clocks) has elapsed, the calculation result (total number of winning balls/total number of out balls) is read out from the division result register A131218 and used as a base value (step S9709).

After that, similarly to step S908 described above, a base notification command is generated (step S9710), and the base (base value or base value abnormality) is notified to the player or hall employee. The base notification command is a display command for the peripheral control unit 1511 when the display device (liquid crystal display devices 1600, 3114, 244) controlled by the peripheral control unit 1511 or the liquid crystal display control unit 1512 or the speaker 921 is used to notify the base value. and sound output commands. Also, when notifying with the base display 1317 or the function display unit 1400 controlled by the main control board 1310, since these display devices are composed of 7-segment LEDs and LED lamps, the base notification command is sent to the LED elements. is the drive signal. Specifically, when the 7-segment LED is driven by the driver, the drive signal including the character code set in the driver (character generator in the driver) is the base notification command. Further, when the 7-segment LED is directly driven, the drive signal for lighting each LED element is the base notification command.

FIG. 77 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation processing 2 (step S98).

First, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the game state is a special prize (step S9801). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded.

As a result, if the game state is during the special prize, the base value calculation process 2 is ended without calculating the base value because the prize ball is not related to the calculation of the base value. On the other hand, if the game state is not during the special prize, the number of prize balls calculated in the prize ball control process (step S80) is obtained (step S9802), and the obtained number of prize balls is added to the total number of prize balls. The total number of prize balls is updated (step S9809). In addition, when the number of prize balls cannot be obtained or the number of prize balls obtained is 0, the base calculation process 2 may be ended immediately. By doing so, the load on the main control MPU 1311 can be reduced without needlessly calculating the base value.

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S9810). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base value calculation process 2 is terminated without calculating the base value. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the value obtained by multiplying the total number of winning balls by a predetermined number (for example, 100) is stored in the division input register A131216 of the arithmetic circuit 13121, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217. Store (step S9812). When the total number of winning balls is 0, 0 is calculated as the base value, but the base value may not be calculated. Furthermore, when the total number of prize balls is greater than the total number of outs, a value of 1 (100%) or more is calculated as the base value, but the base value does not have to be calculated. Then, after a predetermined time (32 clocks) has elapsed, the calculation result (total number of awarded balls/total number of out balls) is read out from the division result register A131218 and used as a base value (step S9813).

After that, a base notification command is generated (step S9814), and the base is notified to the players and hall employees.

Since the base calculation processing shown in FIGS. 76 and 77 is executed for each timer interrupt processing, the base value can be calculated and displayed without delay. Note that base calculation processing 1 and base calculation processing 2 may not be executed for each timer interrupt processing, but may be executed in timer interrupt processing at predetermined time intervals (for example, one minute longer than the timer interrupt processing). By not executing the base calculation display process for each timer interrupt process, the amount of calculation required for calculating the base value (for example, the load on the main control MPU 1311) can be reduced compared to the case where the base value is calculated for each timer interrupt process.

Next, another example of the base calculation process (steps S97 and S98) will be described with reference to FIGS. 78 and 79. FIG. The base calculation process shown in FIGS. 78 and 79 calculates a base value for each predetermined number of out balls and for each predetermined number of winning balls.

FIG. 78 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation process 1 (step S97).

First, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the game state is a special prize (step S9701). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, if the game state is during the special prize, the out ball is not related to the calculation of the base value, so the base is not calculated, and the base calculation process 1 ends. On the other hand, if the gaming state is not a special prize, the number of out balls detected in the switch input process (step S74) is acquired (step S9702), and the number of out balls is added to the number of out balls buffer. The ball number buffer is updated (step S9703). If the number of out-balls cannot be acquired or the acquired number of out-balls is 0, the base calculation process 1 may be terminated immediately. By doing so, the load on the main control MPU 1311 can be reduced without needlessly calculating the base value.

After that, it is determined whether or not the number of out balls stored in the number of out balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th2 (step S9704). Various methods can be used to determine whether the number of out balls is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold Th2. For example, the buffer value for the number of out-balls may be compared with the threshold value Th2, or the value of a predetermined bit in the storage area for the number of out-balls may be used for determination (specifically, the storage area for the number of out-balls is 8 bits). If the most significant bit becomes 1, it can be determined that the number of out balls is 128 or more).

Then, if the out-ball number buffer value is smaller than the threshold Th2, it is not the timing to calculate the base value, so the base calculation process 1 ends.

On the other hand, if the buffer value for the number of out balls is equal to or greater than the threshold Th2, the total number of out balls is updated so as to add the buffer value for the number of out balls to the total number of out balls (step S9705), and the buffer for the number of out balls is set to 0. set (step S9706).

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S9707). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base value calculation process 1 is terminated without calculating the base value. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the value obtained by multiplying the total number of winning balls by a predetermined number (for example, 100) is stored in the division input register A131216 of the arithmetic circuit 13121, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217. Store (step S9708). Then, after a predetermined time (32 clocks) has elapsed, the calculation result (total number of winning balls/total number of out balls) is read out from the division result register A131218 and used as a base value (step S9709).

After that, a base notification command is generated (step S9710), and the base is notified to the players and hall employees.

FIG. 79 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation process 2 (step S98).

First, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the game state is a special prize (step S9801). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, if the game state is during the special prize, the base value is not calculated because the prize ball is not related to the calculation of the base value, and the base calculation process 2 is terminated. On the other hand, if the gaming state is not a special prize, the number of prize balls calculated in the prize ball control process (step S80) is obtained (step S9802), and whether there are prize balls, that is, the number of prize balls obtained is 1 or more. (step S9803). As a result, if there are no prize balls, the process proceeds to step S9808 without updating the number of prize balls. On the other hand, if there are prize balls, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls (step S9805). The ball count buffer is updated (step S9804).

On the other hand, if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated (step S9806) to notify the player or hall employee that the number of prize balls is abnormal. There are various methods for announcing an abnormality, and one of the methods described below or a combination of two or more methods may be used. Specifically, various methods described in step S816 of FIG. 46 can be used.

Abnormality in the number of prize balls is, for example, a lot of prize balls in a predetermined time other than during the special prize (for example, considering the number of prize balls in the general prize opening and the start opening, a prize corresponding to 10 or more prizes per minute sphere) is obtained. It should be noted that the degree of abnormality may be determined in a plurality of stages according to the degree of deviation from the reference value of the number of prize balls provided with a plurality of stages of allowable ranges.

Then, the timer for prize ball abnormality notification is reset (step S9807), and counting of the prize ball abnormality notification time is started.

Then, it is determined whether or not the number of prize balls stored in the number of prize balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th1 (step S9808). Various methods can be used to determine whether the prize ball number buffer value is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold value Th1. For example, the value of the number of prize balls buffer may be compared with the threshold value Th1, or the value of a predetermined bit in the number of prize balls storage area may be used for determination. If the most significant bit becomes 1, it can be determined that the number of out balls is 128 or more).

Then, if the winning ball number buffer value is smaller than the threshold value Th1, it is not the timing to calculate the base value, so the base calculation process 2 is ended without calculating the base.

On the other hand, if the prize ball number buffer value is equal to or greater than the threshold Th1, the total prize ball number is updated so as to add the prize ball number buffer value to the total prize ball number (step S9809), and the prize ball number buffer is set to 0. Set (step S9810).

Each time the number of prize balls is added to the number of prize balls buffer, the number of prize balls may be output from the external terminal board 784 to a hall computer installed in the game hall, or the number of prize balls, which will be described later, becomes a predetermined threshold value Th1 or more. In this case, the threshold Th1 may be output from the external terminal board 784 to the hall computer. Here, the winning ball number buffer is an area provided in the main control built-in RAM 1312 for calculating the base value, and the number of winning balls paid out by the pachinko machine 1 is temporarily stored.

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S9811). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base value calculation process 2 is terminated without calculating the base value. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the value obtained by multiplying the total number of winning balls by a predetermined number (for example, 100) is stored in the division input register A131216 of the arithmetic circuit 13121, and the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217. Store (step S9812). Then, after a predetermined time (32 clocks) has elapsed, the calculation result (total number of awarded balls/total number of out balls) is read out from the division result register A131218 and used as a base value (step S9813).

After that, a base notification command is generated (step S9814), and the base is notified to the players and hall employees.

After that, it is determined whether the timer for announcing abnormal prize balls started in step S9807 has timed up (step S9815). Then, when the timer for prize ball abnormality notification times up, a prize ball abnormality notification stop command is generated, and the prize ball abnormality notification is stopped (step S9816). In step S9815, the end of the notification is determined by the time of the timer for notifying the abnormality of the prize ball for a predetermined time, but the end of the notification is determined so that the abnormality is notified only for the predetermined number of shot balls. good too. Alternatively, the anomaly may continue to be reported until a hall employee confirms it.

FIG. 80 is a flow chart showing another example of timer interrupt processing. The timer interrupt processing shown in FIG. 80 is the same as the above-described timer interrupt processing (FIGS. 23 and 75) except for the base calculation processing (steps S93 and S94) and the base display processing (step S95). are omitted.

When timer interrupt processing is started, the main control MPU 1311 first switches registers by executing the main control program (step S70).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes switch input processing (step S74). In the switch input process, detection signals from the ejected ball sensor 3060 and the fired ball sensor 1020 are read to count the number of out balls.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes base calculation processing 3 (step S93). In the base calculation process 3, the number of out balls counted in step S74 is used to update the total number of out balls, and the parameter for calculating the base value is written in the arithmetic circuit 13121. Details of the base calculation process 3 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 81 and 84 .

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes timer update processing (step S76) and random number update processing 1 (step S78).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes prize ball control processing (step S80). In the prize ball control process, input information is read from the input information storage area, the number of game balls (prize balls) to be paid out is calculated based on the read input information, and the calculated number is written in the main control built-in RAM 1312 . Also, based on the calculation result of the number of prize balls, a prize ball command for paying out game balls is created.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes base calculation processing 4 (step S94). In the base calculation process 2, the number of prize balls counted in step S80 is used to update the total number of prize balls, and the parameter for calculating the base value is written in the arithmetic circuit 13121. The details of the base calculation process 4 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 82 and 85. FIG.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 performs frame command reception processing (step S82), fraud detection processing (step S84), special symbols and special electric auditors control processing (step S86), normal symbols and normal electric auditors A control process (step S88) is executed.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 reads from the arithmetic circuit 13121 and executes base display processing to generate a command for informing the base (step S95).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes output data setting processing (step S90) and peripheral control board command transmission processing (step S92). Finally, the main control MPU 1311 sets a predetermined value (18H) in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S96). By setting a predetermined value in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, the watchdog timer clear register WCL is cleared. Finally, the main control MPU 1311 switches (restores) the register bank. When the above processing is finished, the timer interrupt processing is finished and the processing before the interrupt is resumed.

FIG. 81 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation processing 3 (step S93). Base calculation processing 3 shown in FIG. 81 is obtained by removing steps after step S9709 from base calculation processing 1 shown in FIG.

First, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the game state is a special prize (step S9701). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, if the game state is during the special prize, the out ball is not related to the calculation of the base value, so the base is not calculated, and the base calculation process 1 ends. On the other hand, if the gaming state is not the special prize, the number of out balls detected in the switch input process (step S74) is acquired (step S9702), and the total number of out balls is added to the total number of out balls. The number of out balls is updated (step S9705). If the number of out-balls cannot be obtained or the number of out-balls that is obtained is 0, the base calculation process 3 may be terminated immediately. By doing so, the load on the main control MPU 1311 can be reduced without needlessly calculating the base value.

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S9707). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base value calculation process 3 is terminated without calculating the base value. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217 of the arithmetic circuit 13121 (step S9708).

FIG. 82 is a flowchart showing an example of base calculation processing 4 (step S94). Base calculation processing 4 shown in FIG. 82 is obtained by removing step S9813 and subsequent steps from base calculation processing 2 shown in FIG.

First, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the game state is a special prize (step S9801). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, if the game state is during the special prize, the base value is not calculated because the prize ball is not related to the calculation of the base value, and the base calculation process 2 is ended. On the other hand, if the game state is not during the special prize, the number of prize balls calculated in the prize ball control process (step S80) is obtained (step S9802), and the obtained number of prize balls is added to the total number of prize balls. The total number of prize balls is updated (step S9809). In addition, when the number of prize balls cannot be obtained or the number of prize balls obtained is 0, the base calculation process 1 may be terminated immediately. By doing so, the load on the main control MPU 1311 can be reduced without needlessly calculating the base value.

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S9810). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base value calculation process 2 is terminated without calculating the base value. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the value obtained by multiplying the total number of winning balls by a predetermined number (for example, 100) is stored in the division input register A131216 of the arithmetic circuit 13121 (step S9812).

In step S9708 of FIG. 81, the total number of out balls is not stored in the division input register B131217, and in step S9812 of FIG. , and the total number of out balls may be stored in the division input register B131217.

FIG. 83 is a flow chart showing an example of the base display process (step S95).

The main control MPU 1311 reads out the calculation result (total number of prize balls/total number of out balls) from the division result register A131218 and uses it as a base value (step S8901). Thereafter, a base notification command is generated (step S8902), and the base is notified to players and hall employees.

Since the base calculation processing shown in FIGS. 81 and 82 and the base display processing shown in FIG. 83 are executed for each timer interrupt processing, the base value can be calculated and displayed without delay. Note that the base calculation process 1 and the base calculation process 2 may not be executed for each timer interrupt process, but may be executed in a timer interrupt process every predetermined time (for example, one minute).

Next, another example of the base calculation process (steps S97 and S98) will be described with reference to FIGS. 84 and 85. FIG. The base calculation process shown in FIGS. 84 and 85 calculates a base value for each predetermined number of out balls and for each predetermined number of winning balls.

FIG. 84 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation process 3 (step S93). Base calculation processing 3 shown in FIG. 84 is obtained by removing steps after step S9709 from base calculation processing 1 shown in FIG.

First, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the game state is a special prize (step S9701). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, if the game state is during the special prize, the out ball is not related to the calculation of the base value, so the base is not calculated, and the base calculation process 1 ends. On the other hand, if the gaming state is not a special prize, the number of out balls detected in the switch input process (step S74) is acquired (step S9702), and the number of out balls is added to the number of out balls buffer. The ball count buffer is updated (step S9703). If the number of out-balls cannot be obtained or the number of out-balls that is obtained is 0, the base calculation process 3 may be terminated immediately. By doing so, the load on the main control MPU 1311 can be reduced without needlessly calculating the base value.

After that, it is determined whether or not the number of out balls stored in the number of out balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th2 (step S9704). Various methods can be used to determine whether the number of out balls is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold Th2. For example, the buffer value for the number of out-balls may be compared with the threshold value Th2, or the value of a predetermined bit in the storage area for the number of out-balls may be used for determination (specifically, the storage area for the number of out-balls is 8 bits). If the most significant bit becomes 1, it can be determined that the number of out balls is 128 or more).

Then, if the out-ball number buffer value is smaller than the threshold Th2, it is not the timing to calculate the base value, so the base calculation process 1 ends.

On the other hand, if the buffer value for the number of out balls is equal to or greater than the threshold Th2, the total number of out balls is updated so as to add the buffer value for the number of out balls to the total number of out balls (step S9705), and the buffer for the number of out balls is set to 0. set (step S9706).

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S9707). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base value calculation process 1 is terminated without calculating the base value. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the total number of out balls is stored in the division input register B131217 of the arithmetic circuit 13121 (step S9708).

FIG. 85 is a flow chart showing another example of the base calculation process 4 (step S94). Base calculation processing 4 shown in FIG. 85 is obtained by removing step S9813 and subsequent steps from base calculation processing 2 shown in FIG.

First, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the game state is a special prize (step S9801). The same criteria as those described with reference to FIG. 39 can be used as the criteria for judging whether or not a special prize is being awarded. Then, if the game state is during the special prize, the base value is not calculated because the prize ball is not related to the calculation of the base value, and the base calculation process 2 is terminated. On the other hand, if the gaming state is not a special prize, the number of prize balls calculated in the prize ball control process (step S80) is obtained (step S9802), and whether there are prize balls, that is, the number of prize balls obtained is 1 or more. (step S9803). As a result, if there are no prize balls, the process proceeds to step S9808 without updating the number of prize balls. On the other hand, if there are prize balls, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls (step S9805). The ball count buffer is updated (step S9804).

On the other hand, if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated (step S9806) to notify the player or hall employee that the number of prize balls is abnormal. There are various methods for announcing an abnormality, and one of the methods described below or a combination of two or more methods may be used. Specifically, various methods described in step S816 of FIG. 46 can be used.

An abnormality in the number of prize balls is, for example, when a large number of prize balls are obtained in a predetermined time period other than during the special prize (for example, considering the number of prize balls at the general prize opening and the start opening, 10 or more prizes are won per minute). For example, if It should be noted that the degree of abnormality may be determined in a plurality of stages according to the degree of deviation from the reference value of the number of prize balls provided with a plurality of stages of allowable ranges.

Then, the timer for prize ball abnormality notification is reset (step S9807), and counting of the prize ball abnormality notification time is started.

Then, it is determined whether or not the number of prize balls stored in the number of prize balls buffer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th1 (step S9808). Various methods can be used to determine whether the prize ball number buffer value is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold value Th1. For example, the value of the number of prize balls buffer may be compared with the threshold value Th1, or the value of a predetermined bit in the number of prize balls storage area may be used for determination. If the most significant bit becomes 1, it can be determined that the number of out balls is 128 or more).

Then, if the winning ball number buffer value is smaller than the threshold value Th1, it is not the timing to calculate the base value, so the base calculation process 2 is ended without calculating the base.

On the other hand, if the prize ball number buffer value is equal to or greater than the threshold Th1, the total prize ball number is updated so as to add the prize ball number buffer value to the total prize ball number (step S9809), and the prize ball number buffer is set to 0. Set (step S9810).

Each time the number of prize balls is added to the number of prize balls buffer, the number of prize balls may be output from the external terminal board 784 to a hall computer installed in the game hall, or the number of prize balls, which will be described later, becomes a predetermined threshold value Th1 or more. In this case, the threshold Th1 may be output from the external terminal board 784 to the hall computer. Here, the winning ball number buffer is an area provided in the main control built-in RAM 1312 for calculating the base value, and the number of winning balls paid out by the pachinko machine 1 is temporarily stored.

After that, it is determined whether or not the total number of out balls is 0 (step S9811). If the total number of out balls is 0, the base value cannot be calculated, so the base value calculation process 2 is terminated without calculating the base value. On the other hand, if the total number of out balls is not 0, the value obtained by multiplying the total number of winning balls by a predetermined number (for example, 100) is stored in the division input register A131216 of the arithmetic circuit 13121 (step S9812).

In step S9708 of FIG. 84, the total number of out balls is not stored in the division input register B131217, and in step S9812 of FIG. , and the total number of out balls may be stored in the division input register B131217.

FIG. 86 is a flow chart showing another example of the base display process (step S95).

The main control MPU 1311 reads out the calculation result (total number of prize balls/total number of out balls) from the division result register A131218 and uses it as a base value (step S8901). Thereafter, a base notification command is generated (step S8902), and the base is notified to players and hall employees.

After that, it is determined whether the timer for announcing abnormal prize balls started in step S9807 of base calculation processing 4 has timed up (step S8903). Then, when the timer for prize ball abnormality notification times up, a prize ball abnormality notification stop command is generated, and the prize ball abnormality notification is stopped (step S8904). In step S8903, the end of the notification is determined by the time of the timer for notifying the abnormality of the prize ball for a predetermined time, but the end of the notification is determined so as to notify the abnormality of the prize ball for the predetermined number of shot balls. good too. Alternatively, the anomaly may continue to be reported until a hall employee confirms it.

As shown in FIGS. 75 and 80, in the timer interrupt processing of this embodiment, before the timer interrupt processing ends (before the timer interrupt cycle elapses and the next timer interrupt processing starts), the arithmetic circuit Input values (divisor, dividend) to the arithmetic circuit 13121 are written at the timing when the division result can be read from the circuit 13121 . Specifically, the timing of writing the input value (divisor, dividend) to the arithmetic circuit 13121 is in the first half of the timer interrupt process, or before the random number update process (step S78), or in the special design or normal design. Before the control process (steps S86, S88) is preferable.

Further, whether or not to execute the process of calculating the base value may be determined based on the number of game media (prize balls) given to the player. That is, from the viewpoint of the number of prize balls determined for each winning hole, whether to use the number of prize balls or the number of out balls for calculating the base value may be switched. For example, the winning ball in the winning hole that gives the maximum winning ball to one winning ball may not be used in the calculation of the base value.

Specifically, the number of prize game media (prize balls paid out for one winning ball) given when a game medium determined for each prize winning port provided in the game area wins is 1, 3, or 3. In the case of three types of 1 and 5, the maximum number of 5 winning balls and the number of out balls corresponding thereto may not be used for calculation of the base value. This is because if a prize with a large number of prize balls is used to calculate the base value, the calculated base value will change greatly, and the lower digits of the calculated base value will be rounded (rounded off, rounded up, rounded down, etc.) ), the displayed value may change frequently. This is because, in such a case, it is difficult for the pachinko hall to determine whether the pachinko machine is exhibiting a predetermined performance (for example, whether the ball output rate is as set).

Also, the minimum number of one winning ball and the corresponding number of out balls may not be used for calculating the base value. Since the change in the base value due to winning with a small number of prize balls is small, the lower digits of the base value calculated by the processing means are rounded off even if the single prize ball is not used in the calculation of the base value. This is because the displayed base value may not change if the displayed value is rounded (rounded off, rounded up, rounded down, etc.), and processing that does not contribute to the change in display may be omitted.

In addition, although the case where the number of prize balls is the maximum and the case where the number of prize balls is the minimum have been described, it is not necessary to use an intermediate number of prize balls between the maximum and the minimum for calculation of the base value. In this case, since the maximum and minimum numbers of winning balls are used to calculate the base value, the number of winning balls and the number of out-balls representing the operation of the pachinko machine as a whole are shown by averaging the maximum and minimum values, A base value can be indicated.

Although three types of prize ball number patterns have been described, the patterns are not limited to three types, and other types of prize ball number patterns such as five types and seven types may be used.

In addition, if a particular type of winning ball (such as the minimum value of 1, the middle value of 3, the maximum value of 5, etc.) is not used in the calculation of the base value, such winning will be All winnings in the game state when detected need not be used in calculating the base value. For example, if the winning to a winning hole that gives five balls is not used for calculating the base value, in the game state in which the winning to the winning hole is detected, until the game state ends, the winning Winnings in mouths or other winnings should not be used to calculate base values. Moreover, even after the start of the game state, winnings in the relevant winning opening and other winning openings are not retroactively used for calculation of the base value.

In addition, when the game state when the winning is detected occurs again, the winning may not be used for calculating the base value, and the game state when the winning is detected transitions to another game state. Winnings up to 2000 do not have to be used to calculate the base value. This is done by not using the number of winning balls and the number of out balls in the game state in which the base value to be calculated changes greatly, in calculating the base value. This is to eliminate the possibility of a delay in the judgment of

When the number of prize balls changes depending on the game state, the maximum (or minimum or intermediate) prize ball for one winning ball may not be used for calculating the base value.

Next, a specific process of not using the number of prize balls and the number of out balls for calculating the base value will be described, depending on the number of game media (prize balls) described above.

In the switch input process (step S74), when the detection signal from each winning opening sensor is input to the main control board 1310, the main control MPU 1311 may determine whether to use the winning for the calculation of the base value. . For winnings that are determined not to be used for calculating the base value, the total number of winning balls and the total number of out balls for calculating the base value are not updated, or the calculation processing of the base value is not executed. do. More specifically, for example, in the timer interrupt process shown in FIG. 75, in the base calculation process 1 (step S97), the number of winning balls to be excluded from the calculation of the base value is set to 0, and is excluded from the number of out balls to calculate the base value. In process 2 (step S98), the number of prize balls to be excluded from the calculation of the base value should be set to 0 and not added to the total number of prize balls. Also, if none of the detected winnings are used for calculating the base value, the base calculation process 1 (step S97) and the base calculation process 2 (step S98) of FIG. 75 need not be executed.

In the timer interrupt process shown in FIG. 80, in the base calculation process 3 (step S93), the number of winning balls to be excluded from the calculation of the base value is set to 0 and excluded from the number of out balls, and the base calculation process 4 (step S94). , the number of prize balls excluded from the calculation of the base value should be set to 0 and not added to the total number of prize balls. If none of the detected prize winnings are used for calculating the base value, base calculation processing 3 (step S93), base calculation processing 4 (step S94) and base display processing (step S95) of FIG. 80 are not executed. may

The method of excluding the number of winning balls determined not to be used in the calculation of the base value from the number of out balls may adopt the same method as the correction of out balls due to abnormal winning explained in FIGS. 73 and 74.

In this case, it is determined from the number of winning balls whether the detected winning prize is to be used for calculating the base value. In step S93) and base calculation processing 4 (step S94), it is not necessary to determine whether a prize is being awarded.

In this way, by excluding the number of out balls and the number of winning balls for a predetermined prize from the calculation of the base value, the processing can be executed without skipping. can be confirmed. In addition, by not executing the processing for calculating the base value and not updating the base value, the processing of the main control MPU 1311 is reduced, and other processing (lottery processing, processing for determining the variation pattern, etc.) is executed accurately. can.

That is, even if there are multiple prizes with different degrees of advantage, even if the largest prize is awarded to the player, it is not used for calculating the base value, and the base value is displayed without any change due to the awarding of the prize. be. Further, the calculated base value is displayed without change until at least the gaming state in which the maximum prize is given is terminated.

[9-12. Another configuration of the game machine displaying the base]
FIG. 87 is a block diagram schematically showing the control configuration of the pachinko machine of this embodiment.

In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, unlike the control configuration of the pachinko machine shown in FIG. 4. Either one of the board-side ejected ball sensor 3060A and the frame-side ejected ball sensor 3060B may be provided, or both may be provided.

The board-side discharged ball sensor 3060A is, as described above, the out-hole passing ball sensor 1021 that detects game balls passing through the out-hole 1111 provided at the bottom of the game area 5a (see FIG. 53). The output signal of board-side ejected ball sensor 3060A is input to main control board 1310 and input to main control MPU 1311, as will be described later with reference to FIG. In this case, the number of game balls detected by the out-hole passing ball sensor 1021, the number of game balls detected by the starting hole sensors 2104 and 2551, and the number of game balls detected by various winning hole sensors 3015, 2114, 2554, and 2557 The total number of out balls is the number of out balls.

As described above, the frame-side discharge ball sensor 3060B is provided at the discharge port for discharging the game balls flowing out from the game area 5a to the outside of the pachinko machine 1 (see FIG. 4). The output signal of the frame side discharge ball sensor 3060B is input to the main control board 1310 via the payout control board 951 and the connector connecting the main body frame 4 and the game board 5 .

When both the board-side discharged ball sensor 3060A and the frame-side discharged ball sensor 3060B are provided, the counting result of the board-side discharged ball sensor 3060A and the counting result of the frame-side discharged ball sensor 3060B are compared to obtain two counting results. An error may be notified when there is a difference of a predetermined value or more. Also, an error may be reported when a difference of a predetermined value or more occurs between two count results within a predetermined period of time.

In addition, in the pachinko machine of the present embodiment, the display switch 1318 is not an essential component, and as described later, the display contents of the base display 1317 (temporary section display and final section display) are switched at predetermined time intervals ( 99), the display switch 1318 may be operated to display the base value or switch the display contents.

Configurations other than those described above are the same as the control configuration of the pachinko machine shown in FIG.

88 and 89 are diagrams showing the arrangement of the frame-side discharged ball sensor 3060B.

FIG. 88 shows an example of a mechanism for aligning out-balls in a row in the ball flow path 960 provided in the main body frame 4 on the back side of the game board and counting out-balls with one frame-side discharged ball sensor 3060B. . A game ball rolling in the game area 5a flows into the main body frame 4 on the back side of the game board 5 via the out port 1111, the general winning port 2001, the big winning ports 2005 and 2006. The body frame 4 is provided with a ball flow path 960 for causing discharged game balls to flow down to the right side in a front view and to be aligned in a line. The frame-side discharge ball sensor 3060B counts the game balls aligned in one line.

FIG. 89 shows an example of a mechanism in which out balls aligned in a ball flow path 960 provided on the back surface of the game board are made to flow down in two rows and counted by a plurality of discharged ball sensors 3060 . A game ball rolling in the game area 5a flows into the body frame 4 on the back side of the game board 5 via the out port 1111, the general winning port 2001, the start ports 2002 and 2004, and the big winning ports 2005 and 2006. The body frame 4 is provided with a ball flow path 960 for causing the discharged game balls to flow down from the left and right to the vicinity of the center and to be aligned in two lines. Each of the two frame-side discharge ball sensors 3060B counts the game balls aligned in each row.

The frame-side discharged ball sensor 3060B is provided at the position shown in FIGS. Also, the frame-side discharged ball sensor 3060B may be configured to be detachable from the body frame 4 .

FIG. 90 is a diagram showing an example of connection between the ejected ball sensor and the main control board.

The output line of board-side ejected ball sensor 3060A is connected to connector 13101 provided on main control board 1310 via a relay board, and the output signal of board-side ejected ball sensor 3060A is input to main control MPU 1311. The output line of the frame side ejected ball sensor 3060B is connected to the connector 13102 provided on the main control board 1310, and the output signal of the frame side ejected ball sensor 3060B is input to the main control MPU1311.

A connector 13101 to which the output line of the board-side ejected ball sensor 3060A is connected is preferably provided on the upper side of the main control board 1310, and a connector 13102 to which the output line of the frame-side ejected ball sensor 3060B is connected is connected to the main control board 1310. It is preferable to be provided on the lower side of the

A connector 13101 to which the output line of the board-side ejected ball sensor 3060A is connected and a connector 13102 to which the output line of the frame-side ejected-ball sensor 3060B is connected are separately provided. The output line of 3060A and the output line of frame-side ejected ball sensor 3060B may be connected to one connector (for example, 13102).

Note that the output line of the board-side ejected ball sensor 3060A may be connected to the main control board 1310 without going through the relay board. The output line of the frame-side ejected ball sensor 3060B may be directly connected to the main control board 1310 . The output line of the frame-side ejection ball sensor 3060B may be connected to the main control board 1310 via the payout control board 951. The output line of the frame-side ejected ball sensor 3060B may be connected to the main control board 1310 via a relay board (not shown). After connecting the output line of the frame-side ejection ball sensor 3060B to the payout control board 951 or the relay board, it is connected to the main control board 1310 via a connector (for example, a floating connector) that connects the game board 5 and the main body frame 4. You may

Also, the pachinko machine of this embodiment is provided with a plurality of magnetic detection sensors 1030 . The output signal of the magnetic detection sensor 1030 is input to the main control MPU 1311 as will be described later using FIG.

FIG. 91 is a front view showing an example of the game board 5, and particularly shows the arrangement of the magnetic detection sensors 1030 provided on the game board 5. FIG.

The magnetism detection sensor 1030 is a sensor that detects illegal magnetism in the game area 5a, and is in the vicinity of the sensors that detect winnings to the various prize-winning ports 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006 (star positions in the figure). provided in The detection range of the magnetic detection sensor 1030 is indicated by a dashed line on the game board 5 and is partially overlapped.

In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, a magnetic detection sensor 1030 is also provided near the outlet 1111 . This is to prevent calculation of incorrect base values. That is, when the player brings the magnet closer to the out port 1111 to operate the discharged ball sensor 3060, the number of out balls is counted more than the actual number, and the base value is lowered. For this reason, the pachinko machine 1 is sometimes subjected to maintenance work so as to return the base value to a predetermined standard value at the game parlor. In a pachinko machine which has undergone maintenance work based on a base value different from the actual one, the number of balls put out in a normal state is increased, so that the player can play in a more advantageous state than usual and can obtain a lot of put out balls. A magnetic detection sensor 1030 is provided in the vicinity of the out port 1111 in order to calculate an accurate base value and prevent such an illegal payout of balls. In addition to the vicinity of the outlet 1111, the magnetic sensor 1030 may be provided at a location where the ejected ball sensor 3060 may malfunction due to magnetism.

The magnetic detection sensor 1030 provided near the out port 1111 should have a wider detection range than the other magnetic detection sensors 1030 as illustrated. This is because, as shown in FIG. 89, when detecting an out ball with a plurality of ejection ball sensors 3060, magnetism is detected within a sufficient range to cover the plurality of ejection ball sensors 3060. FIG. Also, the magnetic detection range of the magnetic detection sensor 1030 provided near the outlet 1111 may include other prize-winning outlets (for example, the large prize-winning outlet 2005 provided above the outlet 1111).

FIG. 92 shows a structure of main control input circuit 1315. Referring to FIG. The main control input circuit 1315 includes the discharge ball sensor 3060 and the winning opening sensors (general winning opening sensor 3015, first starting opening sensor 2104, second starting opening sensor 2551, first big winning opening sensor 2114, second big winning opening Sensor 2554, second lower grand winning opening sensor 2557, etc.), the output signal of the magnetic detection sensor 1030 is received and input to the main control MPU 1311.

Main control input circuit 1315 includes interface circuit 1331 and buffer circuit 1332 . The interface circuit 1331 level-converts or shapes (for example, eliminates chattering) signals input from various sensors, and outputs the signals. The buffer circuit 1332 outputs the input signal to the data bus at the timing instructed by the main control MPU 1311 .

Specifically, the output signal from each sensor is input to one of terminals A1 to A8 of the interface circuit 1331, and the signals level-converted and shaped by the interface circuit 1331 are output from terminals Y1 to Y8 and buffered. It is input to one of the terminals A1 to A8 of the circuit 1332. FIG. The buffer circuit 1332 outputs the signals input to the Y1 to Y8 terminals to the data bus at the timing when the chip select signals CS4 and CS5 of the main control MPU 1311 are input. Thereby, the detection result by each sensor is taken into the main control MPU 1311 .

The interface circuit 1331 includes an abnormality detection circuit and a power supply monitoring circuit. The anomaly detection circuit of the interface circuit 1331 monitors the inputs to the A1 to A8 terminals, and the level of the input signal to each terminal is lower than a predetermined threshold (eg, 4 V) or a predetermined threshold (eg, power supply voltage - 0.1 V), it detects a disconnection of the connection wire to the switch or a short circuit of the switch, and if the input of any terminal exceeds the normal range defined by the predetermined threshold value, an abnormal signal E , and outputs a signal at a level at which each sensor is OFF from the Y1 to Y8 terminals, regardless of the input signals to the A1 to A8 terminals. The power supply monitoring circuit of the interface circuit 1331 monitors the power supply voltage VS, and outputs an abnormality signal E when the power supply voltage becomes lower than a predetermined threshold (for example, 12V-20%) and an abnormality of the power supply is detected. At the same time, regardless of the input signals to the A1 to A8 terminals, each sensor outputs a signal at an OFF level from the Y1 to Y8 terminals. That is, even if an ON level signal is input from the sensor, the output of the interface circuit corresponding to the input becomes OFF level. Therefore, the main control MPU 1311 does not determine that the signal output from the sensor is valid (the output of the sensor is invalidated). This eliminates the need for the main control MPU 1311 to determine whether or not to process the input signal based on whether or not the power supply of the switch has decreased. Regardless of the states of the input signals A1 to A8, a signal at a level that turns each sensor off can be output.

As will be described later, when the main control MPU 1311 detects an abnormal signal, it does not calculate the base value (see FIG. 105). The interface circuit 1331 receives signals from sensors used to calculate the base value (number of discharged balls, number of prize balls) and signals from sensors not used to calculate the base value (gate sensor 2547, etc.). . The interface circuit 1331 outputs an abnormal signal when any of the input signals becomes abnormal. Therefore, even if an abnormality is detected in a sensor unrelated to the base calculation, the base calculation is not executed and the display content of the base display 1317 is maintained and does not change.

That is, the main control input circuit 1315 monitors the signal from the sensor used for calculating the base value and the signal from the sensor not used for calculating the base value. Output an anomaly signal to stop the base calculation.

93, 94, and 95 are diagrams showing examples of mounting the main control board 1310. FIG. FIG. 93(A) shows an example in which the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 are connected to different driver circuits 1334, and FIG. An example of connection to a driver circuit 1334 is shown. FIG. 94 shows the arrangement on the main control MPU 1311, the base display 1317 and the main control board 1310. FIG. 95(A) is a front view of main control board 1310 housed in main control board box 1320, FIG. 95(B) is a bottom view, and FIG. 95(C) is a right side view.

As shown in FIGS. 93A and 93B, the main control I/O port 1314 includes a latch circuit 1333 and a driver circuit 1334. FIG.

In the example shown in FIG. 93A, the display data of the function display unit 1400 and the display data of the base display 1317 are output from the main control MPU 1311 and taken into different latch circuits 1333 . Display data is then output from the different driver circuits 1334 to the functional display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 .

In the example shown in FIG. 93(B), the display data of the function display unit 1400 and the display data of the base display 1317 are output from the main control MPU 1311 and taken into one latch circuit 1333 . Display data is output from one driver circuit 1334 to the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 .

In the examples shown in FIGS. 93A and 93B, the main control MPU 1311 receives the reset signal from the reset circuit 1335 and the clock signal from the clock oscillator 1336 . Signal lines for outputting display data from the main control MPU 1311 to the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 should preferably be arranged so as not to cross signal lines for reset signals and clock signals.

Connector 13101 is a connector to which the output line of board-side discharged ball sensor 3060A is connected, and is preferably provided above main control board 1310 . The connector 13101 is connected not only to the output line from the board-side ejection ball sensor 3060A, but also to the output lines from the other prize winning opening sensors 3015 and 2104 and the magnetic detection sensor 1030 . Connector 13102 is a connector to which the output line of frame-side ejected ball sensor 3060B is connected, and is preferably provided below main control board 1310 . Signals from the ejected ball sensor 3060 input to the connectors 13101 and 13102 are input to the main control MPU 1311 via the interface circuit 1331 and buffer circuit 1332 .

FIG. 94 is a diagram showing the arrangement of components on the main control board 1310 arranged between the main control MPU 1311 and the base display 1317. FIG. FIG. 94 is a diagram showing the printed circuit board that constitutes the main control board 1310 from the back side. Solid lines are patterns on the back side, dashed lines are patterns on the component surface side, and dotted lines are components mounted on the component surface of the printed circuit board. indicates The illustration of the ground pattern and the power supply pattern is omitted.

The data lines (D1 to D8) output from the main control MPU 1311 are input to the latch 2 (1333) and passed through the driver 2 (1334) to the cathode side segment of each digit of the 7 segment LED of the base display 1317. connected to the terminal.

In addition, some of the data lines (D1 to D4) output from the main control MPU 1311 are input to the latch 1 (1333) and passed through the driver 1 (1334) to each digit of the 7-segment LED of the base display 1317. connected to the common terminal on the anode side of the

A chip select signal that controls the operation timing of the latch circuit 1333 is output from the main control MPU 1311. Specifically, the latch circuit 2 (1333) receives the chip select signal CS2 of the main control MPU 1311. , the data for controlling blinking of each segment is fetched from the data lines (D1 to D8). Also, the latch circuit 1 (1333) takes in data for controlling blinking of each digit from the data lines (D1 to D4) at the timing when the chip select signal CS3 of the main control MPU 1311 is input.

A reset signal from a reset circuit 1335 and a clock signal from a clock oscillator 1336 are input to the main control MPU 1311 . The reset signal is also input from the reset circuit 1335 to each latch circuit 1333. The latch circuit 1333 clears the latched data by the reset signal.

The data lines (D1 to D8) between the main control MPU 1311 and the base display 1317 are arranged so as not to cross the signal lines of the reset signal and the clock signal. Similarly, although not shown, the data lines (D1 to D8) between the main control MPU 1311 and the function display unit 1400 are arranged so as not to cross the signal lines of the reset signal and the clock signal.

This is because, in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the base indicator 1317 is controlled by dynamic lighting. The data line between the base indicator 1317 frequently changes levels. In particular, a large current flows between the driver circuit 1334 and the base indicator 1317 to drive the LED elements. Therefore, the data line between the main control MPU 1311 and the base display 1317 (especially between the driver circuit 1334 and the base display 1317) causes noise. Then, when the data line between the main control MPU 1311 and the base display 1317 and the signal line of the reset signal or clock signal cross each other, the signal line of the reset signal or clock signal will have noise, causing the pachinko machine 1 to malfunction. there's a possibility that. This intersection of signal lines can also occur in the intersection of wiring patterns on the front and back surfaces of the printed circuit board, or in the intersection of wiring patterns on inner layers and surface layers (front and back surfaces).

Specifically, when a reset signal is input to the main control MPU 1311 at a timing that cannot occur originally, the main control MPU 1311 is reset during the game, and the game may stop or the game state may be erased. . It should be noted that if the game state is erased at a timing that cannot occur originally, normal power-off processing will not be executed and will be reset. The game ends in the middle, or the suspension of the special symbol variation display game or the normal symbol variation display game is erased.

The main control board box 1320 is partly lower in height and higher in other parts depending on the height of the components attached to the main control board 1310 and interference with other members when assembled. It's becoming For example, as shown in FIG. 95, since the main control MPU 1311 is tall, the height of the main control board box 1320 is high where the main control MPU 1311 is mounted. In the area on the left side of , the height of the main control board box 1320 is high, and components such as relatively tall electrolytic capacitors are mounted. On the other hand, the height of the main control board box 1320 is low in the area on the right side of the place where the main control MPU 1311 is mounted, and short components such as ICs are mounted thereon (tall components cannot be placed). It should be noted that the main control board box 1320 is tall, and hatching indicates a region where tall components can be mounted. In addition, in the area where the connectors 13101 and 13102 are attached, the main control board box 1320 is formed at a height equal to or lower than the surface into which the mating connector is inserted (preferably the same height as the board surface). It is recommended that the insertion and removal of cables (connectors) to be connected to the board of the board should not be hindered.

In this way, by partially changing the height of the main control board box 1320 according to the height of the components mounted on the board, it is possible to suppress the act of mounting illegal parts (circuits) on the main control board. can.

In FIG. 95, the base display 1317 is arranged in the upper right part of the main control board 1310. However, even if the body frame 4 is opened at a predetermined angle for maintenance reasons, the base display is placed in a position where it is difficult for the player to see the display contents. A display 1317 is preferably arranged. For example, when the main body frame 4 is opened at a predetermined angle for maintenance during business (confirming the presence or absence of game balls in the supply tank), if the player can visually recognize the display contents of the base display 1317, the player can In many cases, the player does not correctly understand how to read the display of the base display 1317, so the player may ask for an explanation of the display content of the base display 1317. In addition, it is preferable to arrange the base display 1317 at a position where the player cannot visually recognize the display contents. In addition, by arranging the base display 1317 in this way, it is possible to suppress inquiries from players. That is, the base display 1317 displays the base value for the operation of 52,000 out-balls at maximum, but since the base value differs from the base value in a short-time game played by the player, complaints about the ball-out rate may arise. There is By arranging the base display 1317 in this manner, complaints from players can be suppressed. The above is the same for the character product ratio display 1317 described above, and it is preferable that the character product ratio display 1317 is arranged at a position where the display content is difficult for the player to see.

As shown, the base indicator (7-segment LED) 1317 is low in height, so it is mounted in the low height area of the main control board box 1320 .

FIG. 96 is a diagram showing the configuration of the main control I/O port 1314, and as shown in FIG. It is a circuit diagram. In this embodiment, an example in which the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 are configured by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) will be described, but they may be configured by lamps (light bulbs) or other light-emitting elements. The main control I/O port 1314 is arranged between the main control MPU 1311 and the base display 1317 or function display unit 1400, and outputs display data output from the main control MPU 1311 to the base display 1317 or function display unit 1400. do.

As previously mentioned, main control I/O port 1314 includes latch circuit 1333 and driver circuit 1334 .

The latch circuit 1333 takes in the input data at the timing of the clock signal, holds it until the next clock signal or clear signal is input, and outputs it. The driver circuit 1334 operates the switching transistors according to the input signal, and outputs the power supply voltage (+12 V) input to the VCC terminal of the driver circuit 1334 .

Specifically, the latch circuit 1333 captures the bus data input to the D1 to D8 terminals at the rising timing of the clock signal CK, and outputs the data to the driver circuit 1334 from the Q1 to Q8 terminals, respectively. The driver circuit 1334 operates the switching transistors according to the signals input to the I1-I8 terminals, and changes the voltages of the O1-O8 terminals, respectively. The outputs O1 to O8 of the driver circuit 1334 are connected to the segment terminals of the 7-segment LEDs forming the base indicator 1317 and the 7-segment LEDs of the function display unit 1400. FIG.

For example, in order to light the first digit 7-segment LED (7seg1) of the base display 1317, the driver 2 (1334) loads the bus data D1 to D8 captured in the latch 2 (1333) at the rising timing of CS1. Output as segment data (LOW when lit). Also, the driving timing of the 7-segment LED of the base display 1317 is determined by the timing of the voltage applied to the common terminal. That is, at the rising timing of CS0, the driver 1 (1334) outputs the bus data D1 to D4 fetched into the latch 1 (1333) as common data (HIGH when driven). Specifically, if the bus data D1 is HIGH at the rising timing of CS0, COM1 output from the driver 1 (1334) becomes HIGH, and the 7-segment LED (7seg1) of the first digit of the base display 1317 is turned on. driven.

In order to light the 7-segment LED of the function display unit 1400, the driver 3 (1334) converts the bus data D1 to D8 fetched into the latch 3 (1333) to the segment data (low when lit) at the rising timing of CS2. ). Further, the driving timing of the 7-segment LED of the function display unit 1400 is determined by the timing of the voltage applied to the common terminal (LED-C1). That is, at the rising timing of CS3, the driver 4 (1334) outputs the bus data D1 to D4 taken in the latch 4 (1333) as common data (HIGH when driven). Specifically, if the bus data D1 is HIGH at the rise timing of CS3, the O1 terminal of the driver 4 (1334) becomes HIGH, and the 7-segment LED (LED-C1) of the function display unit 1400 is driven.

In this embodiment, since the 7-segment LEDs of both the base display 1317 and the function display unit 1400 are of the anode common type, current flows from the driver 1 to the driver 2 through the 7-segment LEDs. Therefore, when the segment is lit, the outputs of drivers 1 and 4 are VCC (+12V), and the outputs of drivers 2 and 3 are GND (0V).

The latches 1 and 4 (1333) on the common side output the data input from the data bus to the Q1 to Q8 terminals as they are. A signal may be output from one of the terminals Q1 to Q8 according to the binary number data obtained from.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 93A and 96, the signal output timing when the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 are connected to different driver circuits 1334 will be described.

The segment data sent from the driver 2 (1334) to the base display 1317 and the common data sent from the driver 1 (1334) to the base display 1317 are output in the same timer interrupt processing. The segment data sent from the driver 3 (1334) to the function display unit 1400 and the common data sent from the driver 4 (1334) to the function display unit 1400 are also output in the same timer interrupt processing. That is, since both the common data and the segment data are sent to the base display 1317 and the function display unit 1400 through separate signal lines, both the display data to the base display 1317 and the display data to the function display unit 1400 are Output in one timer interrupt process.

Then, in the next timer interrupt process, common data for selecting the next digit (LED group) is output, and segment data for controlling lighting of each LED is output at the same timing as the output of common data.

The display data for the base display 1317 and the display data for the function display unit 1400 are generated by different processes within the timer interrupt process and output at different timings within the timer interrupt process. That is, the main control MPU 1311 executes the base calculation/display code 13135 outside the game control area to generate and output display data to the base display device 1317 . On the other hand, the main control MPU 1311 executes the game control code 13131 in the game control area to generate and output display data to the function display unit 1400 . These data are generated by different programs (codes) and output at different timings.

Next, a modification of the signal output timing when the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 are connected to different driver circuits 1334 will be described.

The segment data sent from the driver 2 (1334) to the base display 1317 and the common data sent from the driver 1 (1334) to the base display 1317 are output in the same timer interrupt processing. Similarly, segment data sent from driver 3 (1334) to function display unit 1400 and common data sent from driver 4 (1334) to function display unit 1400 are output in the same timer interrupt process. The timer interrupt process for outputting data to be sent to the base display 1317 is executed at a different timing from the timer interrupt process for outputting data to be sent to the function display unit 1400, and is preferably executed subsequently.

The process of outputting signals to the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 is executed according to programs (game control code 13131, base calculation/display code 13135) stored in different areas of the RAM 1312, but the same In order to prevent the common signal from being transmitted at the same timing, control data common to the two codes may be used to control the transmission timing of the common signal so as not to overlap. For example, a common counter is provided that is commonly used by the game control code 13131 and the base calculation/display code 13135. For example, when the common counter is 0 to 3, a common signal is output to the function display unit 1400, and the common counter is 4 to 7, control is performed to output a common signal to the base indicator 1317 .

The processing of outputting the common signal and the processing of outputting the segment signal may be configured separately or in one subroutine. A game control code 13131 for executing the process of outputting data to be sent to the function display unit 1400, and a base calculation/display code 13135 for executing the process of outputting data to be sent to the base display 1317, respectively. It is preferable to call the subroutine at the timing determined by the program and output a signal to the function display unit 1400 and base display 1317 . In this case, the output of data to be sent to the function display unit 1400 and the output of data to be sent to the base display 1317 are not performed within the same timer interrupt process. The game control code 13131 and the base calculation/display code 13135 are executed in one timer interrupt process, but the subroutine is called in different timer interrupt processes.

As shown in FIGS. 93A and 96, when the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 are connected to different driver circuits 1334, the display provided outside the main control board 1310 (function display unit 1400) Even if noise is mixed in from the main control board 1310, the influence on the display (base display 1317) inside the main control board 1310 and the circuit of the main control board 1310 can be suppressed.

FIG. 97 shows the configuration of the main control I/O port 1314. As shown in FIG. 93(B), the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 are connected to a common driver circuit 1334 on the common side. FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of an example that is used; The main control I/O port 1314 is arranged between the main control MPU 1311 and the base display 1317 or function display unit 1400, and outputs display data output from the main control MPU 1311 to the base display 1317 or function display unit 1400. do.

As previously mentioned, main control I/O port 1314 includes latch circuit 1333 and driver circuit 1334 . Since the configuration of the circuit included in the main control I/O port 1314 is the same as the circuit configuration described above, differences from the configuration example shown in FIG. 96 will be described below.

In the example shown in FIG. 97, the operation for lighting the 7-segment LED of the base display 1317 is the same as the example shown in FIG. Common.

In order to light the 7-segment LED of the function display unit 1400, the driver 3 (1334) converts the bus data D1 to D8 fetched into the latch 3 (1333) to the segment data (low when lit) at the rising timing of CS2. Output. Further, the driving timing of the 7-segment LED of the function display unit 1400 is determined by the timing of the voltage applied to the common terminal (LED-C1). That is, at the rising timing of CS0, the driver 1 (1334) outputs the bus data D1 to D4 fetched into the latch 1 (1333) as common data (HIGH when driven).

Thus, by sharing the driver circuit between the base display 1317 and the function display unit 1400, the circuit scale can be reduced. By reducing the number of parts, the failure rate is lowered, the board size can be reduced, and the board unit (including main control board 1310 and main control board box 1320) can be easily miniaturized. In the pachinko machine, the main control board 1310 does not use an inner layer pattern (printed board with three or more layers), but uses a two-layer board having patterns only on the front and back sides. For this reason, even if parts can be physically arranged on the main control board 1310 configured with a two-layer board, it is not possible to secure an area for routing wiring patterns, and the board must be larger than a multi-layer board with three or more layers. Therefore, miniaturization by reducing the number of parts is important.

FIG. 98 is a timing chart for an example configuration of the main control I/O port 1314 shown in FIG. In FIG. 98, dotted lines perpendicular to the time axis indicate divisions of timer interrupt processing (start timing of timer interrupt processing).

In the timer interrupt process, the main control MPU 1311 outputs the digit selection data to the data bus at the timing of outputting CS0. Latch 1 (1333) selected by CS0 takes in D1 to D4 from the data bus at the rising edge of CS0, and driver 1 (1334) outputs common data (when driving) corresponding to the digits indicated by D1 to D4. is HIGH).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 outputs the data of the segment to be lit in the function display unit 1400 to the data bus at the timing of outputting CS2. Latch 3 (1333) selected by CS2 takes in D1 to D8 from the data bus at the rising edge of CS2, and driver 3 (1334) outputs segment data (LOW when lit) indicated by D1 to D8. output to light the 7-segment LED of the function display unit 1400 .

After that, the main control MPU 1311 outputs the data of the segment to be lit on the base indicator 1317 to the data bus at the timing of outputting CS1. The latch 2 (1333) selected by CS1 takes in D1 to D8 from the data bus at the rising edge of CS1, and the driver 2 (1334) stores the segment data (LOW when lit) indicated by D1 to D8. output, and the 7-segment LED of the base indicator 1317 is lit.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 sets all the data on the data bus to 0 at the timing of outputting CS0, CS1 and CS2. As a result, the digit selection data set in the latch 1 (1333) and the display data set in the latches 2 and 3 (1333) are erased, and the 7-segment LED is turned off.

In the next timer interrupt processing, the main control MPU 1311 outputs next digit selection data to the data bus at the timing of outputting CS0, repeats the above-described processing, and outputs digit selection data and display data. In this way, the base display 1317 and the function display unit 1400 share the common side driver circuit, segment data are time-divided and output, and the common common data is used to display the base display 1317 and the function display unit 1400. The LED element with the display unit 1400 can be lit.

As shown in FIGS. 93(B) and 97, since the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 are connected to the common driver circuit 1334, the circuit scale of the main control board 1310 can be reduced and high-density mounting (for example, , the adoption of a multi-layer board and the close arrangement of components) can be easily mounted on the main control board 1310 .

In addition, in order to control both the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 with common data in one timer interrupt process, the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 can be 1317 outputs the segment data at a different timing. Therefore, while controlling both the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 by a common data line, both the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 can be displayed and controlled within one timer interrupt process. .

In the case shown in FIG. 98, the display data for the function display unit 1400 is output first, and the display data for the base display 1317 is output later. Each display data is latched at the rising timing of chip select (CS2, CS1) and erased at the rising timing of chip select (CS0) corresponding to the erase data. Therefore, as shown in the figure, when the display data for the function display unit 1400 is output first and the display data for the base display 1317 is output later, the display time of the function display unit 1400 is equal to the display time of the base display 1317. be longer. This is done by lengthening the lighting time in one cycle of the LEDs of the function display unit 1400 arranged on the front side of the pachinko machine 1 and increasing the brightness, thereby reducing visibility caused by direct lighting of the hall. This is to prevent In addition, since the base indicator 1317 is arranged on the back side, which is darker than the front side of the pachinko machine 1, the visibility of the base indicator 1317 is less affected even if the LED emits light at a low luminance. That is, in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the first LED and the second LED controlled by the main control MPU 1311 are provided, and the emission brightness of the first LED is made higher than the emission brightness of the second LED.

In contrast to the above, the display data for the base display 1317 is output first, the display data for the function display unit 1400 is output later, and the display data for the base display 1317 is displayed on the function display unit 1400. It can be longer than hours.

FIG. 99 is a diagram showing changes in states (intervals) involved in base value calculation.

On the base display 1317 of the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, provisional section display and fixed section display are switched at intervals of a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) and displayed. In the provisional section display, the base value of the section being measured is displayed. Specifically, "bA." is displayed in the upper two digits to indicate that the base value A is being displayed, and the base value A being measured is displayed in the lower two digits as a percentage of two digits. When the integer part of the percentage of the base value A is 99, "99" is displayed, when it is 100 or more, "99." is displayed, and when it is 0, "00" is displayed. Therefore, even if the number of display digits of the base display 1317 is two, the base value A can be displayed so as to be 0% or 100%.

Also, in the provisional section display, if the number of low-probability, non-time-saving out balls is less than a predetermined number (e.g., 6000), the upper two digits (or all four digits) are displayed blinking (e.g., cycle 0.6 seconds (Repeatedly turned on for 0.3 seconds and turned off for 0.3 seconds), indicating that an accurate base value cannot be measured. On the other hand, when the number of low-probability non-time-saving out balls is a predetermined number (for example, 6000) or more, the upper two digits are lit and displayed to indicate that an accurate base value can be measured.

In the fixed interval display, the base value of the previous interval is displayed. Specifically, the upper two digits indicate that the base value B is displayed by lighting up “bb.” The base value B), which is the final value of two digits, is lit and displayed as a percentage of two digits. When the integer part of the percentage of the base value B is 99, "99" is displayed, when it is 100 or more, "99." is displayed, and when it is 0, "00" is displayed. Therefore, even if the number of display digits of the base indicator 1317 is two, the base value B can be displayed so as to be 0% or 100%.

In the first section, the base value is not measured because the previous section is the test section. For this reason, in the fixed section display, the upper two digits are indicated by blinking "bb." and the lower two digits are indicated by blinking "--".

In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the base value is not calculated for a predetermined number (for example, 256) of less than 500 out balls since the power is turned on for the first time as a test section. This is because when the pachinko machine 1 is powered on for the first time and a predetermined number of shots are fired, the ball output may vary within the range of the probability distribution, the base value is not stable, and a meaningful base value cannot be measured. . Therefore, in the test section, the base value is not displayed on the base display 1317, and the base value is indefinite. Specifically, in the provisional section display, the upper two digits are displayed as "bA." and the lower one digit is displayed as "--". , displays “--” in the last digit. In the test section, all the digits of the base indicator 1317 are displayed blinking to indicate that an accurate base value cannot be measured. It should be noted that the base value may be indefinite without calculating the base value in the test section and displaying the calculated base value on the base display 1317 .

Here, when the power is turned on for the first time, the power is turned on for the first time after the pachinko machine 1 is completed, or immediately after the initialization of the base calculation work area (S26 in FIG. 101, S8013 in FIG. 108) is executed. state. Further, the time of power-on generally used in this specification means the time of power-on other than the first power-on.

Further, all the LEDs of all digits of the base display 1317 may flash for a predetermined time after the power is turned on, or after the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode is finished (from the OFF operation of the setting key 971). .

In addition, in the inspection of the data in the base calculation area 13128, which will be described later, if an abnormality is detected in the data and the data is erased, the calculation of the base value is restarted from the test section.

In each section other than the test section, when the number of all out balls reaches 52000 in all game states (during jackpot, normal game, time saving, non time saving, high probability, low probability, etc.), the next section , and measure a new base value. Note that the number of out balls in one section is not 52,000, and may be any other number as long as it is a predetermined value. For example, assuming that the pachinko machine 1 operates for 10 hours a day, 60,000, which is the number of out balls in one day, may be used as the number of out balls in one section. A round number of 50000 or 100000 may be adopted.

It should be noted that the configuration may be such that the number of out-balls in one section can be changed as appropriate. For example, a setting switch (DIP switch, rotary switch, etc.) may be provided on the main control board 1310, and the number of out balls for one section may be set according to the setting of the switch. The switch is provided on the main control board 1310 provided on the back side of the pachinko machine 1 or on another board connected to the main control board 1310 . Furthermore, if the setting of the switch is changed, the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128) of the RAM 1312 is initialized to restart the calculation of the base value from the test section, or restart from the beginning of the current section. good. Since the pachinko machine is often operated immediately after being introduced as a new machine, the number of out balls in one section is set to a large number, and after the business period has passed, the number of out balls in one section is set to a small number. That is, the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment has a setting means capable of setting the operation that determines the length of the section that is the unit for calculating the base value, and when the power is turned on for the first time, the operation set by the setting means is used. , the length of one section is set.

An example of displaying the section immediately before the provisional section currently being measured as the final section display will be explained. You may At this time, even if the display is switched from the provisional section → the fixed section 1 → the fixed section 2 → the fixed section 3 at predetermined time intervals, by operating the display changeover switch provided separately, the provisional section → the fixed section 1 → the fixed section 2 → The confirmation section 3 may be switched and displayed.

In this case, the upper two digits of the base display 1317 in the definite section display are not "bb." It should be displayed differently.

In this manner, the base display 1317 switches between the base value of the section currently being measured and the base value of one or a plurality of immediately preceding sections at predetermined time intervals. In addition, a part of the base display 1317 displays a distinguishable display content, and the other part displays the measured base value.

FIG. 100 is a diagram showing an example of characters displayed on the base display 1317. FIG.

As described above, the base display 1317 is composed of a plurality of digits (for example, 4 digits) of 7-segment LEDs, and displays numbers and characters by lighting or blinking segments of each digit. 0 to 9 can be displayed as numbers, and alphabetic characters A, b, c, d, E, F, L and - can also be displayed as letters. In addition, decimal points can be displayed at the same time as numbers and letters. A case where the number 6 is displayed together with the decimal point and a case where the number 9 is displayed are illustrated.

101 and 102 are flowcharts showing an example of initialization processing of the pachinko machine of this embodiment.

The initialization processing shown in FIGS. 101 and 102 is different from the initialization processing described above with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, except that the check code calculation processing (step S50) and the check code storage processing (step S52) are deleted. Therefore, the calculation of the check code in the base calculation area is executed in the base calculation process (step S8038) of the timer interrupt process. The same steps as those of the initialization process described above in FIGS. 21 and 22 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When the pachinko machine 1 is powered on, the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 executes the main control program to perform initialization processing. The main control MPU 1311 first sets the protection of the RAM 1312 incorporated in the main control MPU 1311 to write permission, thereby enabling writing to the RAM 1312 (step S10). Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 activates the built-in watchdog timer (step S12), and checks whether a predetermined wait time (time required for activation of the sub-board (peripheral control board 1510, etc.)) has elapsed. Determine (step S16). If the predetermined wait time has passed, it is determined whether the RAM clear switch has been operated (step S18). If the RAM clear switch is operated, the data in the area other than the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128) among the data backed up in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 is erased (step S30), and step S24. proceed to On the other hand, if the RAM clear switch has not been operated, the data backed up in the built-in RAM 1312 is not erased, and it is determined whether a power failure flag has been set (step S20).

As a result, if the power failure flag is not set, the data in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 may not be correct, so the data backed up in the work area (other than the base calculation area 13128) is deleted (step S30). , the process proceeds to step S24. On the other hand, if the power failure flag is set, the power failure flag is cleared, and the checksum calculated from the data backed up in the work area of the internal RAM 1312 using the checksum calculated at the time of the previous power failure and the checksum in step S48 The stored checksum is compared (verified) (step S22).

As a result, if the checksum calculated from the backup data does not match the checksum stored in step S48, the data in the work area of the internal RAM 1312 may not be correct. area other than the base calculation area 13128) is erased (step S30), and the process proceeds to step S24. On the other hand, if the checksum calculated from the backup data matches the checksum stored in step S48, the data in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 is correct. proceed to

Subsequently, it is determined whether the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128) is normal using the check code (step S24). If it is determined to be abnormal, the data in the base calculation work area may be incorrect, so the data stored in the base calculation work area is deleted (step S26).

In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, as a case where at least a part of the area of the RAM 1312 is initialized, the operation of the RAM clear switch (step S18) and the power failure flag abnormality in which the power failure flag is not set (step S20) , a RAM error (step S22) in which the checksums of the RAM do not match, and an error in the work for base calculation (step S24). Of these, as shown in the figure, when the operation of the RAM clear switch is detected when the power is turned on, and in the case of power failure flag abnormality and RAM abnormality, the game control area 13126 (game work area and game stack area ) are cleared, and the base calculation area 13128 (including the base calculation work area and the base calculation stack area) is not cleared. Moreover, in the case of base calculation work abnormality, the base calculation area 13128 (outside the game control area) is cleared, and the game control area 13126 is not cleared.

It should be noted that, unlike the illustrated one, in the case of power failure flag abnormality, RAM abnormality, base calculation work abnormality, since the validity of the data stored in the RAM 1312 is not guaranteed, the game control area 13126 and the base calculation area 13128 You may clear the entire RAM area including If the entire RAM area is cleared in the case of a work error for base calculation, the data indicating the game state will be lost and normal processing cannot be executed. should be initialized only. Also, when the operation of the RAM clear switch is detected when the power is turned on, the game control area 13126 (including the game work area and the game stack area) is cleared in the same manner as described above, and the base calculation area 13128 is cleared. No need to clear.

When one or more backup areas are provided in the base calculation area 13128, first, the main area is determined using a check code. , N, and the data in the backup area that is first determined to be normal should be copied to the main area. After that, the data in the backup area can be erased or left as is. If the main area is determined to be normal, the data in the backup area may be deleted or left as is.

Thus, in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the data backed up in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 are erased under different conditions for each type of data (game control area 13126 and base calculation area 13128). do. That is, by operating the RAM clear switch, the backed up game control area 13126 is erased, but the backed up base calculation area 13128 is not erased. If the base calculation area 13128 can be erased by operating the RAM clear switch, the base value calculated by the pachinko machine 1 can be erased at any timing. Therefore, by operating the RAM clear switch, the backed-up base calculation area 13128 is not erased, thereby preventing the base calculation area 13128 from being erased by the operation of the game hall attendant, thereby preventing the abnormal base value from being concealed. can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to reliably detect a gaming machine that has been remodeled to have a high base value or a low base value.

When the main control MPU 1311 executes power recovery setting of the RAM work area or RAM initialization processing, the main control MPU 1311 (CPU 13111) initializes various setting registers (step S28), peripheral control board A power-on command setting process (step S32) for transmission to 1510 is executed, and execution of interrupt processes including timer interrupt process is permitted (step S34). Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 acquires a power failure warning signal (step S36), and determines whether or not the power failure warning signal is ON (step S38). If the power failure warning signal is not ON (the result of step S38 is "No"), random number update processing is executed (step S40).

On the other hand, when the power failure warning signal is detected (the result of step S38 is "Yes"), the main control MPU 1311 executes power failure processing (power failure setting means). In the power-off processing, first, the execution of interrupt processing is prohibited (step S42), the output ports are cleared, and the operation of the device controlled by the output from each port is stopped (step S44). Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 calculates a checksum for determining whether or not the data stored in the work area to be backed up is normally retained (step S46), and checks the RAM 1312 for the checksum calculation result. Store in the thumb area (step S48).

Subsequently, the data in the main area of the base calculation work (base calculation area 13128) is copied to each backup area (step S54). At this time, the calculated check code is also duplicated. The backup may be executed as appropriate (for example, each time data is updated) in the base calculation process instead of the main board side power-off process. By storing the data used to calculate the base value in the backup area together with the calculated (or predetermined value) check code in this way, the data for base calculation and the calculated base value can be saved even when the power is shut off. can be stored and the base value for long-term operation can be calculated.

Note that the check code checked in step S24 is calculated in step S8038 (FIG. 106) of the base calculation process. Further, in a modified example described later, it is calculated in step S50 (FIG. 22) of the initialization process.

Furthermore, a value indicating normal backup is stored in the backup flag area as a power failure flag (step S56), and writing to the RAM 1312 is prohibited by outputting "01H" indicating write prohibition to the RAM protect register (step S58), it waits until recovery from the power failure (infinite loop).

FIG. 103 is a diagram showing the configuration of the base calculation area 13128 in which the character product ratio calculation area shown in FIG. 26A is replaced in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment.

The base calculation area 13128 is constituted by a partial area of the RAM 1312, and is provided separately from the game control area 13126 (outside the game control area) as described above.

The base calculation area 13128 includes storage areas for the base value A, the base value B, the section counter, the number of all out balls, the number of low probability/non-time-saving out balls, and the number of low-probability/non-time-saving prize balls.

The base value A storage area consists of 1 byte and stores the base value of the provisional section currently being measured. The storage area for the base value B consists of 1 byte and stores the base value measured in the section immediately before the provisional section. The storage area of the section counter consists of 1 byte and stores a value indicating the section in which the base value is currently being measured. The section counter is updated each time the section is switched, and is used to control different display contents depending on the section. It should be noted that the interval counter should be controlled to be any value of 0, 1, or 2, that is, not to exceed 2. Specifically, the section counter is 0 in the test section, the section counter is 1 in the first section, and the section counter is 2 in the second and subsequent sections. Also, the section counter may be controlled to have a value from 0 to 255 so as not to exceed 255, and the section counter will be 2 or more after the second section.

The storage area for the total number of out-balls consists of 2 bytes, and stores all the number of out-balls regardless of the gaming state (that is, a value indicating the operation of the gaming machine). Total out pitches are used to determine interval switching, which is the base unit of measure. In the pachinko machine of the present embodiment, the base value is measured for each section, with the operation of approximately one day as one section. Therefore, 2 bytes (65536) are allocated to the storage area for the number of all-out pitches. As described above, the total number of out balls is a storage area for counting all the number of out balls regardless of the game state for each section. total value from the start of operation of the pachinko machine 1).

The storage area for the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out-balls is composed of 2 bytes or more (preferably 4 bytes), and the number of out-balls for calculating the base value (the number of out-balls in the game state other than the special prize) Store. The storage area for the number of low-probability/non-time-saving prize balls is composed of 2 bytes or more (preferably 4 bytes), and the number of prize balls for calculating the base value (the number of prize balls in the game state other than the special prize) Store. In addition, the storage area for the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out balls and the storage area for the number of low-probability/non-time-saving prize balls may be an area of 2 bytes or more, but considering the calculation process of the base value, the same number of bytes It is preferable to

The storage capacity (number of bytes) of each storage area described above is merely an example, and may be determined according to the number of out balls in one section.

When providing the main area and the backup area of the base calculation area 13128 , storage areas having the same configuration are provided in the RAM 1312 .

FIG. 104 is a flow chart showing an example of timer interrupt processing of the pachinko machine of this embodiment.

The timer interrupt process shown in FIG. 104 is different from the timer interrupt process described above with reference to FIG. Object ratio calculation/display processing is deleted. The same steps as those of the timer interrupt processing described above in FIG.

When timer interrupt processing is started, the main control MPU 1311 first sets 1 to the RBS (register bank selection flag) of the program status word by executing the main control program, and switches the registers (step S70).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes switch input processing (step S74), timer update processing (step S76), random number update processing 1 (step S78), and prize ball control processing (step S80).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 refers to the current game state, adds the number of prize balls to be paid out as the game value to the area corresponding to the current game state, and adds the base calculation area 13128 ( 103) is updated, and the base value is calculated (step S801). The details of the base calculation process will be described later with reference to FIGS. 105 and 106. FIG. The base calculation process (step S801) may be executed in any order after the prize ball control process (step S80). .

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 performs frame command reception processing (step S82), fraud detection processing (step S84), special symbols and special electric auditors control processing (step S86), normal symbols and normal electric auditors control processing ( Step S88), output data setting processing (step S90), and peripheral control board command transmission processing (step S92) are executed.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 sets a predetermined value (18H) in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S96). Finally, the main control MPU 1311 switches (restores) the register bank. When the above processing is finished, the timer interrupt processing is finished and the processing before the interrupt is resumed.

As described above, in the pachinko machine of the present embodiment, the base value is measured by the timer interrupt process, so the base value during the game can be measured in real time.

105 and 106 are flowcharts showing an example of base calculation processing.

The base calculation process (step S801) is called from the timer interrupt process and executed by the main control MPU 1311.

The main control MPU 1311 first determines whether there is an error in the calculation of the base value by executing the base calculation program (step S8011). For example, as described above, the winning opening sensor (general winning opening sensor 3015, first starting opening sensor 2104, second starting opening sensor 2551, first large winning opening sensor 2114, second upper large winning opening sensor 2554, second When there is an abnormality in the ball sensor (board-side ball sensor 3060A, frame-side ball sensor 3060B), the base value is accurately calculated based on the abnormal signal output from the interface circuit 1331. It is judged that there is an error that cannot be done. In addition, even if it is determined that fraudulent activity has occurred (for example, the magnetic detection sensor detects magnetism, the vibration detection sensor detects vibration, or the radio wave detection sensor detects radio waves), the base value is accurately determines that there is an error that cannot be calculated. If it is determined that there is this error, the display on the base indicator 1317 may be extinguished. In step S8011, for an error that accompanies the game stop (eg, magnetism, vibration, radio wave error, etc.), it is determined to be an error (YES), and an error that does not accompany the game stop (eg, prize ball abnormality, door opening, etc.) It may be determined that there is no error (NO) for failures that are not directly related to the calculation of the base (out of supply, full-tank error, etc.). In other words, the base calculation process may be executed even if some of the multiple types of abnormal conditions exist, and the base calculation process may not be executed if there are other abnormalities.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the number of out balls (step S8014). As described above, the number of out balls is detected by the ball sensor 1020, the ball sensor 3060, etc. In the switch input process of step S74, the detection signals of these sensors are read, and if there is a sensor detection signal, an out ball is detected. Get the number of balls=1. When out-balls are detected by a plurality of ejected ball sensors 3060, the total value of the number detected by each sensor is obtained as the number of out-balls. That is, a plurality of out balls may be detected in one timer interrupt process.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the number of prize balls (step S8015). As for the number of prize balls, as described above, the number of prize balls calculated based on the input information in the prize ball control process of step S80 is acquired. The number of prize balls obtained in the base calculation process may be the number of prize balls determined to be paid out. Alternatively, the number of prize balls corresponding to the prepared payout command may be used. Alternatively, it may be the number of prize balls corresponding to the payout command that has already been sent. Moreover, the main control board 1310 may transmit the payout command to the payout control board 951 and may be the number of prize balls corresponding to the payout command for which the reception confirmation (ACK) is received from the payout control board 951 . Furthermore, the main control board 1310 may transmit a payout command to the payout control board 951 and may be the number of prize balls (the number of paid out prize balls) that receives a payout completion report from the payout control board 951 . This variation is as described with reference to FIGS. 41 to 44. FIG.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether an out ball is detected in step S8014 (step S8016). If an out ball has not been detected, the process advances to step S8022 without executing processing related to an out ball. On the other hand, if an out-ball is detected, the detected out-ball number is added to the total number of out-balls stored in the base calculation area 13128 (step S8017).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 refers to the section counter stored in the base calculation area 13128 and determines whether it is currently in the test section (step S8018). The test section is a section in which the number of out balls is a predetermined value of less than 500 from the first power-on of the pachinko machine (or initialization of the base calculation area 13128), and the value of the section counter is the initial value of 0. It's becoming Therefore, if the section counter value is 0, it can be determined to be a test section. If it is the test section, there is no need to calculate the base value, so the process proceeds to step S8028. On the other hand, if it is not the test section, it is determined whether or not the current game state is during the special prize (step S8019). Whether or not a special prize is being awarded can be determined in the same manner as in step S810 in FIG. 39 described above. When the game state is during the special prize, it means that the big prize openings 2005 and 2006 are open due to the big win, and it is during the time when the player can win many prize balls, but it includes the opening and ending time of the big win game. may When the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 are repeatedly opened and closed during one big win, the time (closing interval) from the closing of the big winning opening to the next opening may be included. That is, during the special prize in step S810 means that the condition device is in operation, for example, from the finalization of the jackpot symbol of the special symbol variation display game to the end of the ending. It may also include all the times during the instruction to hit to the right.

Furthermore, in the starting ports 2002 and 2004, during time saving, during variable probability (during ST), and during electric sapo may be included in the special prize. Furthermore, in a game state other than during time saving, during variable probability (during ST), and during power supply, a predetermined time after opening the starting port 2004 after closing (for example, until the ball that has won the starting port is detected as an out ball) seconds required) may be included in the prize. In addition, the so-called "hidden game state" that is in a high probability game state but does not become a time saving (during power supply) is not included in the special prize, and in the same game state as the normal state (low probability, non-time saving state) The base value may be calculated using the number of winning balls or the number of out balls. In this case, the base value may be calculated separately in each of the normal game state and the hidden game state, and the base value may be displayed so as to be identifiable as to which base is displayed.

The hidden game state is a game state in which even if the probability is high, the player does not recognize that it is a high probability state. In addition, the player may look at the base display 1317 and recognize that he is in a hidden game state (that is, a high probability). In other words, in the frame open state, the player can know the game state by whether the base display changes when the staff of the hall repairs the ball in the winning hole or throws the ball in the out hole. Such a problem can be avoided by calculating the base value without distinguishing between the normal game state and the hidden game state.

On the other hand, there are cases where it is necessary to manage the base value in a low-probability/non-time-saving state for the operation of the hall. . Such problems can be avoided by calculating the base value while excluding the latent gaming state. A similar problem can be avoided by calculating the base value separately for the normal game state and the hidden game state. In other words, since the normal game state and the hidden game state are different game states in the first place, depending on the business form of the hall, it may be desired to separately manage (inspect) the base value for each game state. .

In addition, when calculating the base value separately for the normal game state and the hidden game state, even if the base value is calculated using the dedicated calculation process for each game state, the base value is calculated using the common calculation process. You may By calculating the base value using common calculation processing, the processing load on the CPU can be reduced, and the program capacity can be reduced.

The electrically operated accessories provided in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment are classified into two types from the viewpoint of calculation of the base value. As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, during the special prize relating to the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 is during operation of the condition device (for example, from the finalization of the jackpot pattern of the special symbol variation display game to the end of the ending), Since the base value is calculated based on the number of winning balls and out balls other than those during the special prize, normal winnings (during the so-called big wins) to the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 are not used for calculating the base value. On the other hand, the starting port 2004 (so-called electric tulip) having an opening and closing member uses winning balls and winning balls other than during the special prize (low probability time and non-time saving time) to calculate the base value. In other words, some of the electrically operated accessories (big prize openings 2005 and 2006) use the number of winning balls and the number of prize balls to calculate the base value regardless of the game state (whether or not a special prize is being played). Not used, other accessories (starting port 2004) can be switched between using the number of winning balls and the number of winning balls for calculation of the base value or not depending on the game state (whether special prizes are in progress or not). It will be.

Also, the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 may be opened (as a so-called small win) even when the condition device does not operate. In general, small hits occur during a short period of time, and since the game balls are less likely to win due to the short opening, there is no influence on the calculation of the base value. However, it is also possible to generate a small hit during a time other than the special prize (normal time) and open only the time when the possibility of winning the game ball becomes high. In this case, winning balls and winning balls into the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 in small wins other than during the special prize may be used for calculation of the base value. By doing so, the expected value (design value) of the base value can be changed by controlling the probability of occurrence of a small win other than during the special prize. That is, it is possible to provide a pachinko machine that can flexibly comply with the standard of the base value, and improve the degree of freedom in design.

If the game state is during the special prize, the out-ball is not related to the calculation of the base value, so the process proceeds to step S8022 without updating the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out-balls. On the other hand, if the gaming state is not a special prize, the number of out-balls detected in step S8014 should be used for base calculation, so it is detected as the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out-balls stored in the base calculation area 13128. The number of out-balls given is added (step S8020). Then, the update flag is set to 1 (step S8021). The update flag is set to 1 each time the base calculation process (timer interrupt process) is executed, when an out ball or a prize ball other than during a special prize is detected, and indicates the timing at which the base value should be calculated (steps S8026 to S8027). reference).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether a prize ball is detected in step S8015 (step S8022). If the prize ball is not detected, the process proceeds to step S8026 without executing the process relating to the prize ball. On the other hand, if a prize ball has been detected, it is determined whether the current game state is a special prize (step S8023). The determination as to whether a special prize is being awarded may be the same as in step S8019.

If the game state is during the special prize, it is a prize ball that is not related to the calculation of the base value, so the process proceeds to step S8026 without updating the number of low-probability/non-time-saving prize balls. On the other hand, if the gaming state is not in the special prize, the number of prize balls detected in step S8015 should be used for base calculation, so it is detected as the number of low-probability/non-time-saving prize balls stored in the base calculation area 13128. The awarded number of balls is added (step S8024). Then, the update flag is set to 1 (step S8025).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the update flag is 1 (step S8026). When the update flag is 1, out balls or prize balls other than during the special prize are detected in the base calculation process (timer interrupt process), so the number of low probability/non-time-saving prize balls is low probability/non-time-saving out ball The base value is calculated by dividing by the number and stored in the base value A storage area of the base calculation area 13128 (step S8027).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 refers to the section counter and determines whether it is in the test section (step S8028). Then, if the section counter value is 0, indicating that it is a test section, it is determined whether it is time to end the test section (step S8029). The test section is a section in which the number of out balls is a predetermined value of less than 500 from the first power-on of the pachinko machine (including initialization of the base calculation area 13128), and the section counter indicates that it is a test section, If the number of all-out balls is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, it can be determined that it is time to end the test section.

As a result, if it is not the time to end the test section, the process proceeds to step S8034 without updating the base calculation area 13128 in order to continue the test section. On the other hand, if it is during the test section and the timing is for ending the test section, the process advances to step S8032 to shift from the test section to the first section. Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 adds 1 to the section counter (step S8032). The interval counter changes from 0 representing the test interval to 1 representing the first interval. Then, the total number of out balls, the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out-balls, and the number of low-probability/non-time-saving prize balls are initialized to 0 (step S8033). By this process, the test section is terminated and the process shifts to the first section.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S8028 that the section counter value is not 0 and that the game is not in the test section, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the number of all out balls is 52000 or more (step S8030). If the number of all out balls is less than 52000, the process proceeds to step S8034 to continue the current section.

On the other hand, if the number of all-out balls is 52000 or more, the section ends and processing for starting a new section (steps S8031 to S8033) is executed. Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 reads the base value A from the base value A storage area and writes it to the base value B storage area in the base calculation area 13128 (step S8031). After that, 1 is added to the section counter (step S8032). As described above, the interval counter is controlled to be any value of 0, 1, or 2, that is, not to exceed 2. Therefore, when the interval counter value is 2, adding 1 to the interval counter The interval counter value is not incremented and remains at 2. Then, the total number of out balls, the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out-balls, and the number of low-probability/non-time-saving prize balls are initialized to 0 (step S8033), and the process proceeds to the next section.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the update flag is 1 (step S8034). If the update flag is 1, data for displaying the newly calculated base value is generated (step S8035). Details of the base display data generation process will be described later with reference to FIG. After that, the main control MPU 1311 sets the update flag to 0 (step S8036).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 adds 1 to the display switching counter (step S8037). The display switching counter is used to switch between the provisional section display and the fixed section display described in FIG. 99 at predetermined time intervals (for example, 5 seconds). The predetermined time for switching between the provisional section display and the fixed section display is the period of blinking display (blinking display controlled in step S8051 in FIG. 107) when the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out balls in each section is less than 6000. It should be longer enough. This is because if the blinking and display switching are at the same period, the blinking display (that is, whether the number of low-probability, non-time-saving out balls is less than 6000) becomes difficult to understand. This is for making it easy to understand whether it is switching or not.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 calculates a check code (for example, checksum) from the data in the base calculation area 13128 (step S8038). The check code calculation method uses the same calculation method as the process of calculating the check code in step S50 of the initialization process (FIG. 22). If the check code is to be a fixed value without calculating it, it is preferable to use a multi-byte value in which adjacent bits of the check code do not have the same value (for example, if it is 2 bytes, it will be A55AH (1010010101011010B). to). Moreover, instead of setting a fixed value in a continuous area, the areas may be arranged separately. For example, the first fixed value is stored at the beginning of the base calculation area 13128, the second fixed value is stored in the middle, and the third fixed value is stored at the end. If the check code is a fixed value, it should be configured with a larger number of bytes than the check data obtained by calculating the checksum to improve the possibility of determining a RAM abnormality.

Thus, according to the base calculation process of this embodiment, the base value is calculated and displayed for each timer interrupt process, so the base value can be calculated without delay ( can be displayed in real time), and it can be judged without delay whether the base value is normal or abnormal. In addition, the capacity of the base calculation area 13128, which is a storage area used for base calculation, is extremely small compared to the capacity of the game control area 13126. Even if calculated, the effect on the processing load of the main control MPU 1311 is small.

Also, regarding the prize balls, if the base value is calculated and displayed using the number of prize balls to be paid out based on the winning signal generated, the timing of calculating and displaying the base value and the timing of the prize balls being paid out will differ. is different. In other words, when an abnormality occurs in the payout device and the prize balls are not paid out (out of supply, top tray is full, failure of the payout count sensor provided in the prize ball passage, failure of the payout device due to failure of the payout motor, etc.) stop, etc.), the base value is calculated and displayed.

In the base calculation process described above, the base value is calculated using the number of out balls detected in the timer interrupt process and the number of prize balls calculated each time the base calculation process is called from the timer interrupt process. The base value may be calculated each time the ball sensor 3060 detects an out ball and each time the various winning opening sensors detect a winning ball. That is, in one timer interrupt process, the base value calculation process is called multiple times, and the base value is calculated multiple times. In this way, even if the timing for switching the interval (the number of out balls is 52,000) arrives in one base calculation process, it is possible to distinguish which interval before and after is calculated as the base value. , can display accurate base values in real time.

In addition, as in steps S815 to S817 of the base calculation area updating process (FIG. 46) described above, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, and if there is an abnormality in the number of prize balls, an abnormality notification command is generated. , You may reset the timer for prize ball abnormality notification. Further, as in steps S824 to S825, it is determined whether or not the timer for abnormal prize notification has timed out, and when the timer for abnormal prize notification has timed up, a command for stopping the abnormal prize notification is generated, and the abnormal prize notification is performed. may be stopped.

FIG. 107 is a flowchart illustrating an example of base display data generation processing.

The base display data generation process is called from step S8035 of the base calculation process and executed.

The main control MPU 1311 first determines whether the display switching counter is smaller than 1250 by executing the base display data generation program (step S8041). Since the timer interrupt process described above is executed every 4 milliseconds, when the display switching counter reaches 1250, 5 seconds have passed since the display switching counter was initialized to 0. In step S8053, the display switching counter is initialized to 0 when it reaches 2499. Therefore, the processing of steps S8042 to S8045 is executed while the display switching counter is between 0 and 1249, and the processing of steps S8042 to S8045 is executed while the display switching counter is between 1250 and 2499. executes the processing of steps S8046 to S8049. Therefore, in the base display data generation process of this embodiment, the display data of the base display 1317 is switched every five seconds.

If the display switching counter is smaller than 1250, data for displaying "bA." After that, the main control MPU 1311 refers to the section counter stored in the base calculation area 13128 and determines whether it is currently in the test section (step S8043). Since the base value has not been calculated in the test section, data for displaying "--" in the last two digits is generated (step S8044). On the other hand, if it is not the test section, data for displaying the base value A currently being measured is generated in the provisional section (step S8045).

If it is determined in step S8041 that the display switching counter is equal to or greater than 1250, data for displaying "bb." After that, the main control MPU 1311 refers to the section counter stored in the base calculation area 13128 and determines whether the current section is the test section or the first section (step S8047). In the test section or the first section, since the base value has not been measured in the past definite section, data for displaying "--" in the last two digits is generated (step S8048). On the other hand, if it is neither the test section nor the first section, data for displaying the base value B measured in the latest defined section is generated (step S8049).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 refers to the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out balls stored in the base calculation area 13128, and determines whether the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out balls is smaller than 6000 (step S8050 ). And if the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out-balls is less than 6000, the number of operations (number of out-balls) after starting the measurement of the base value in the section is small, so the base value may not be stable. Control is performed so that the display on the base display 1317 blinks (step S8051). On the other hand, if the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out balls is 6000 or more, the display of the base indicator 1317 is controlled to light up without blinking (step S8052).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the display switching counter is 2499 or more (step S8053). If the display switching counter is smaller than 2499, the display switching counter is not initialized and the process proceeds to step S8055. On the other hand, if the display switching counter is equal to or greater than 2499, one repetition has been completed, so the display switching counter is initialized to 0 (step S8054).

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 generates a display pattern in which the generated display data and lighting mode (lighting or blinking) are specified (step S8055).

In this way, in the timer interrupt processing (base calculation processing) that is executed at predetermined time intervals, by switching the display content on the base display unit 1317 using the display switching counter that is periodically updated, the current The base value A being measured and the base value B measured in the past in the fixed interval can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner.

In addition, since the blinking display is performed in the range in which the base value is not stable in each section, whether the base value is in the stable range or not can be easily confirmed by the display of the base display 1317.例文帳に追加

FIG. 108 is a flowchart illustrating a modification of base calculation processing. The modified example shown in FIG. 108 is the same as the base calculation process shown in FIG. 105, except for the addition of base calculation work check processing (steps S8012 and S8013). In FIG. 108, the calculation of the base value A (step S8027) in the base calculation processing will be described, but the processing from steps S8028 to S8038 is the same as in FIG. 106 described above.

The main control MPU 1311 first determines whether there is an error in the calculation of the base value by executing the base calculation program (step S8011).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 uses the check code to determine whether the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128) is normal (step S8012). If it is determined to be abnormal, the data in the base calculation work area may be incorrect, so the data stored in the base calculation work area is deleted (step S8013).

When one or more backup areas are provided in the base calculation area 13128, first, the main area is determined using a check code. , N, and the data in the backup area that is first determined to be normal should be copied to the main area. After that, the data in the backup area can be erased or left as is. If the main area is determined to be normal, the data in the backup area may be deleted or left as is.

In the illustrated example, after determining whether there is an error in the calculation of the base value (step S8011), it is determined whether the base calculation area 13128 is normal (step S8012). After determining whether 13128 is normal (step S8012) and performing necessary processing based on the determination result, it may be determined whether there is an error in the calculation of the base value (step S8011).

The subsequent processing (from step S8014 onwards) is the same as in FIGS. 105 and 106 described above, so description thereof will be omitted.

In the base calculation process shown in FIG. 108, it is determined whether the data in the base calculation area 13128 is normal at each timer interrupt (that is, every 4 milliseconds). display of base values can be suppressed.

Next, a method for judging abnormality of the base calculation area 13128 in the pachinko machine of this embodiment will be described. The value used for calculating the base value and the calculated base value are stored in the base calculation area 13128 of the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 (the "character ratio calculation area 13128" shown in FIG. 26 is called the "base calculation area 13128"). read), and it is determined at a predetermined timing whether the data is normal. There are the following variations in which process (timing) the normality/abnormality determination step and the check code calculation step are performed.
101 and 106: The check code calculated in the base calculation process (timer interrupt process) is determined when the power is turned on.
21 and 22: The check code calculated when the power is turned off is determined when the power is turned on (initialization processing).
106 and 108: The check code calculated by the base calculation process (timer interrupt process) is judged by the base calculation process (timer interrupt process).

(Case where the check code is calculated for each timer interrupt and judged when the power is turned on)
101 and 106, the process of determining the check code calculated in the base calculation process (timer interrupt process) when the power is turned on will be described.

101 and 102, and the base calculation processing shown in FIGS. 105 and 106, in step S8038 of the base calculation processing (FIGS. 105 and 106), A check code (for example, a checksum) is calculated from the data.

Also, in step S24 of the initialization process (FIGS. 101 and 102), it is determined using a check code whether the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128) is normal. As a result, if it is determined that there is an abnormality, the data stored in the base calculation work area may be incorrect, so the data stored in the base calculation work area is deleted (step S26).

When the data in the base calculation area 13128 is erased, the state related to the calculation of the base value is initialized, so the calculated base value is cleared and the calculation of the base value starts from the test period.

When one or more backup areas are provided in the base calculation area 13128, first, the main area is determined using a check code. , N, and the data in the backup area that is first determined to be normal may be copied to the main area to restore the data in the base calculation area 13128 . After that, the data in the backup area can be erased or left as is. If the main area is determined to be normal, the data in the backup area may be deleted or left as is.

In this case, the frequency of check code determination is low, and the consumption of computational resources (main control MPU 1311) required for abnormality determination can be reduced.

(Case where the check code is calculated when the power is turned off and judged when the power is turned on)
21 and 22, the process of determining the check code calculated when the power is turned off when the power is turned on (initialization process) will be described.

Assuming that the initialization processing is shown in FIGS. 21 and 22 and the base calculation processing is shown in FIGS. A check code (eg, checksum) is calculated from the data in the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128).

Also, in step S24 of the initialization process (FIGS. 21 and 22), it is determined using a check code whether the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128) is normal. As a result, if it is determined that there is an abnormality, the data stored in the base calculation work area may be incorrect, so the data stored in the base calculation work area is deleted (step S26).

In this case, the calculation of the check code in step S8038 of the base calculation process may be omitted.

In this case, the frequency of check code calculation and determination is low, and the consumption of computational resources (main control MPU 1311) required for abnormality determination can be reduced.

(Case where the check code is calculated and judged by timer interrupt processing)
Next, with reference to FIGS. 106 and 108, the process of determining the check code calculated in the base calculation process (timer interrupt process) in the base calculation process (timer interrupt process) will be described.

108 and 106, a check code (for example, checksum) is calculated from the data in the base calculation area 13128 in step S8038 of the base calculation process (FIGS. 108 and 106).

Also, in step S8012 of the base calculation process (FIGS. 108 and 106), it is determined using a check code whether the work area for base calculation (base calculation area 13128) is normal. As a result, if it is determined to be abnormal, the data stored in the base calculation work area may be incorrect, so the data stored in the base calculation work area is deleted (step S8013).

In this case, the initialization process is shown in FIGS. 101 and 102, and the step of determining whether the base calculation work area is normal in steps S24 and S26 may be omitted.

In this case, abnormalities in the base calculation area 13128 can be detected more quickly than in the case described above.

If a fixed value is used instead of the checksum for the check code, the timing for setting and determining the check code may be the same as the timing for calculating and determining the checksum. Also, both the checksum and the fixed value may be used as the check code for determination.

FIG. 109 is a diagram showing calculation of the base value when the game state is switched.

One game ball wins while the starting port 2004 (electric tulip) is open, and after that, the variable display game of a predetermined number of times is finished, the time saving state is finished, and the normal state is restored. After that, in the normal state, it is assumed that a game ball has entered the starting port 2004 which is open.

In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, the second special symbol is variably displayed on the second special symbol display according to the winning to the starting port 2004. - 特許庁That is, a variable display game is performed in which the second special symbol is variably displayed in relation to any winning to the starting port 2004 as shown.

Also, in the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, since the out ball during the special prize is not used for the base calculation, the first winning ball to the start port 2004 is not added to the low probability / non-time saving out ball number, The second prize-winning ball is added to the number of low-probability, non-time-saving out balls.

In the above description, the end of the time saving state has been described, but the same applies to the end of the probability variation by ST.

A similar phenomenon occurs when a big hit occurs in the special symbol variation display game, in addition to the end of the time-saving state described above. In a normal state, it is assumed that one game ball wins while the starting port 2004 (electric tulip) is open, then a big hit state starts, and the game ball wins the starting port 2004 during opening.

Also in this case, a variable display game is performed in which the second special symbol is variable and displayed in relation to the winning of any starting port 2004 . On the other hand, since the out ball during the special prize is not used for the base calculation, the first winning ball to the starting port 2004 is added to the low probability/non-time-saving out ball number, but the second winning ball has a low probability.・It is not added to the number of non-time-saving out balls.

Furthermore, a similar phenomenon occurs when a specific error occurs. In the normal state, it is assumed that one game ball wins while opening the starting port 2004 (electric tulip), then a specific error occurs, and furthermore, the game ball wins the starting port 2004 during opening. . As described above, in the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, when a specific error occurs (when it is determined that there is an error that makes it impossible to accurately calculate the base value based on the abnormal signal output from the interface circuit 1331), the out Do not use spheres in base calculations.

Also in this case, a variable display game is performed in which the second special symbol is variable and displayed in relation to the winning of any starting port 2004 . On the other hand, since the out ball during a specific error occurrence is not used for base calculation, the first winning ball to the starting port 2004 is added to the number of low-probability, non-time-saving out balls, but the second winning ball is not added to the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out balls.

That is, in the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, a plurality of game balls that have won during the operation of the electric accessory under specific conditions (at the end of time saving, at the occurrence of a special symbol variation display game big hit, at the occurrence of a specific error, etc.) There are cases where it is used for calculation of the base value and cases where it is not used for calculation of the base value, and it is possible to start the fluctuation of the special figure in any winning prize.

In addition, in the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, regarding the prefetch effect of the pending special symbol variation display game, the first prize won in the time saving state to the start port 2004 is not subject to the prefetch effect, and in the normal state The second prize that has been won may be the target of the look-ahead effect. On the contrary, the first prize winning in the time saving state to the start port 2004 may be targeted for the look-ahead performance, and the second prize winning in the normal state may not be targeted for the look-ahead performance.

In addition, although the timing of changing from the time saving state to the normal state has been described, the same applies to the timing of changing from the variable probability state (ST) or the electric sapo state to the normal state.

[10. Memory switching in processing outside the game control area]
Next, switching of memory used by the CPU in processing outside the game control area (for example, base calculation processing) will be described.

FIG. 110 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the main control MPU 1311 regarding storage areas.

The main control MPU 1311 is configured as shown in FIG. 18 as a whole, and FIG. 110 shows the configuration regarding storage areas in detail.

In the main control MPU 1311, a RAM 1312, a ROM 1313, and an internal CPU auxiliary storage unit 13142 are provided as storage areas for storing data. The intra-CPU auxiliary storage unit 13142 only temporarily stores data when the CPU 13111 executes the program (for example, a flag indicating the state of the operation result, the execution state of the program, data input/output to/from the CPU 13111, etc.). The internal CPU auxiliary storage unit 13142 temporarily stores, for example, random values updated in the random number update process (step S40 in FIG. 22) and intermediate values in random value update calculations. Also, the address of the subroutine to be executed and the jump destination address are temporarily stored in the internal CPU auxiliary storage unit 13142 so that the processor core 13141 executes the process corresponding to the stored address. Furthermore, values input to ports from various switches connected to the main control board 1310 (for example, values in the process of creating edge information of signals input from the switches, detection results of edge information) are temporarily store in

In addition, when a random number is acquired and stored in the reserved storage area at the time of winning the starting opening, the random number is temporarily stored in the auxiliary storage unit 13142 in the CPU, and the temporarily stored random number is stored in the reserved storage area of the RAM 1312. memorize to In addition, when obtaining a random number at the time of starting entrance winning and performing look-ahead judgment (hitting judgment at the time of starting entrance winning) based on the value of the random number, the random number temporarily stored in the CPU internal auxiliary storage unit 13142 The prefetch determination may be performed based on the numerical value, or the random value stored in the reserved storage area may be read (again) to any storage area of the intra-CPU auxiliary storage unit 13142 to perform the prefetch determination.

The intra-CPU auxiliary storage unit 13142 is provided separately from a memory space configured by the RAM 1312 and the ROM 1313 and specified by an address, and is specified by the name of each storage area included in the intra-CPU auxiliary storage unit 13142 (for example, Area0). . The intra-CPU auxiliary storage unit 13142 includes a switching unit 13143, a switching register 13144, and a plurality of auxiliary storage areas 13145A to 13145C.

The auxiliary storage areas 13145A to 13145C are composed of a plurality of storage areas (Area 0 to 6) each having a predetermined number of bits (for example, 1 byte or 2 bytes). The access from the processor core 13141 is enabled for each group. That is, when the auxiliary storage area 13145A is selected, the processor core 13141 can access only the auxiliary storage area 13145A and cannot access the other auxiliary storage areas 13145B and C.

As will be described later, the selection of the auxiliary storage area 13145 can collectively switch a plurality of storage areas for each group with one CHANGE instruction. For example, the instruction CHANGE 0 selects the auxiliary storage area 13145A of group 0 and switches the auxiliary storage area accessible by the processor core 13141 to group 0.

The auxiliary storage area 13145 is composed of three groups in the illustrated example, but any number of groups of two or more may be used. That is, at least two auxiliary storage areas 13145 are provided with the same configuration.

The storage area (Area 0 to 5) of the auxiliary storage area 13145 is a storage area provided separately from the RAM 1312 for temporarily storing data during program execution, and one (1 byte = 8 bits) can be used. , and it can be used even if a plurality of them are set (for example, 2 bytes=16 bits as a set of Area0 and Area1). Therefore, 8-bit data and 16-bit data can be stored in the auxiliary storage area 13145 without causing excess capacity in the storage area. In addition, the storage area (Area6) is set as a storage area to be used with a capacity that is an integer multiple (for example, 2 bytes) of the other storage areas, and cannot be used by dividing it into 1-byte storage areas. In this way, the auxiliary storage area 13145 is configured with storage areas having a plurality of capacities, and storage areas that can be used in arbitrary combination are provided, so that storage areas are properly used according to the application (for example, data length) in arithmetic processing. be able to. For example, if the address space is represented by 16 bits, one (or a combined set) of storage areas can be addressed. Therefore, the number of arguments of the instruction can be reduced, and the instruction can be executed with a small number of clocks.

The switching unit 13143 switches groups of storage areas accessible by the processor core 13141 according to the values stored in the switching register 13144 .

The switching register 13144 is a storage area for storing data for determining the accessible auxiliary storage area 13145 , and is an area accessible by the processor core 13141 regardless of the selection of the auxiliary storage area 13145 . The switching register 13144 stores, for example, data for identifying the auxiliary storage area 13145 to be selected (for example, 2-bit data for switching between four areas), an error flag indicating that the switching was not performed normally, (If the error flag is set, the switching instruction will be executed again), and an unauthorized access flag that is set when an error occurs in which the value of the unselected auxiliary storage area 13145 changes is stored. good.

Also, the switching register 13144 may store flags (for example, carry flag, parity/overflow flag, zero flag, sign flag, etc.) representing the state of the operation result.

In addition to the switching register 13144, a storage area accessible by the processor core 13141 regardless of the selection of the auxiliary storage area 13145 may be provided. For example, a program counter indicating the address at which the program is being executed and a stack pointer indicating the start address of the stack area provided in the RAM 1312 may be provided.

FIG. 111 is a diagram showing an example of a program for timer interrupt processing and base calculation processing, and shows a specific example of a portion that calls base calculation processing from timer interrupt processing and returns from base calculation processing.

In the timer interrupt process (FIG. 104), the base calculation process is called in step S801, but interrupts are prohibited by the DI instruction before proceeding to the base calculation process. The base calculation process can be performed without interrupting the process from the DI instruction to the EI instruction.

Then, by the PUSH instruction, save the data of the switching register 13144 to the game control stack area 13137 (see FIG. 113). After that, the program is executed from the start address xxxx of the base calculation processing by the CALL instruction.

In the base calculation process, before starting the processes shown in FIGS. 105 to 108, the CHANGE instruction causes the auxiliary storage area 13145 to be used in the base calculation process of the callee from group 0 used in the timer interrupt process of the caller. Switch to Group 1. In this way, a single CHANGE instruction can switch a plurality of storage areas for each group, and a single instruction (that is, a small number of steps) can collectively switch a plurality of storage areas.

Also, the LD instruction writes the stack pointer value being used in timer interrupt processing to an arbitrary address (for example, zzzz) in the RAM 1312 to save the stack pointer value. After that, the LD instruction writes the address yyyy of the base calculation stack area 13138 to the stack pointer to change the stack area.

After the preparation for executing the base calculation process is completed, the process is executed from step S8011 in FIG. 105 or FIG. After the base calculation process ends (after step S8038 in FIG. 106), the stack pointer value used in the timer interrupt process is restored from the address zzzz of the RAM 1312 by the LD instruction. After that, the CHANGE instruction switches the auxiliary storage area 13145 from group 1 used in the callee's base calculation process to group 0 used in the caller's timer interrupt process. return. In general, an instruction to switch the auxiliary storage area 13145 and an instruction to restore data saved in the stack have different roles. By returning the data saved in the stack to the switching register 13144, the auxiliary storage area 13145 is switched. For this reason, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to switch the auxiliary storage area 13145 to group 0 by the CHANGE instruction after the base calculation process is completed, but the auxiliary storage area 13145 may be reliably switched by the CHANGE instruction.

In this way, the CHANGE instruction switches the auxiliary storage area 13145 by changing the argument (operand), but a different instruction may be provided for each auxiliary storage area 13145 .

After that, when returning from the base calculation process, the data of the switching register 13144 saved in the game control stack area 13137 is restored to the switching register 13144 by the POP command. The data of the switching register 13144 may be saved and restored using other instructions (for example, data transfer instruction LD, exchange instruction EX) instead of using the stack manipulation instructions PUSH and POP.

After that, after enabling the interrupt by the EI instruction, the timer interrupt processing is continued, the timer interrupt processing is terminated by RETI, and the main control side main processing (steps S36 to S40 in FIG. 21) is returned to.

It should be noted that interrupts may be inhibited by a DI instruction at the beginning of timer interrupt processing, and interrupts may be permitted by an EI instruction at the end of timer interrupt processing. Alternatively, by directly manipulating the interrupt enable flag without relying on the DI or EI instruction, interrupts may be prohibited when timer interrupt processing starts, and interrupts may be enabled at the timing of execution of the RETI instruction.

Further, timer interrupt processing is originally executed in a state in which interrupts are disabled, so there is no need to further disable or enable interrupts within timer interrupt processing. In the illustrated program example, the DI instruction disables interrupts in order to disable interrupts when interrupts are enabled for some reason. In this case, since the interrupt disabled state should be continued until the end of the timer interrupt processing, the EI instruction should be executed at the end of the timer interrupt processing, not immediately after the POP instruction.

In the above example, saving of the switching register 13144 is executed by the timer interrupt processing of the caller, and switching of the auxiliary storage area 13145 and switching of the stack area are executed by the base calculation processing of the callee. One process may be executed by either the caller or callee when the process moves outside the game control area and when the process returns to the game control area. An example of switching the auxiliary storage area 13145 in timer interrupt processing of the calling source will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 112 is a diagram showing another example of a program for timer interrupt processing and base calculation processing, and shows a specific example of a part that calls base calculation processing from timer interrupt processing and returns from base calculation processing.

In the timer interrupt process (FIG. 104), the base calculation process is called in step S801, but interrupts are prohibited by the DI instruction before proceeding to the base calculation process. By interrupting between the DI instruction and the EI instruction, the base calculation processing can be performed without interrupting the processing during that period.

Then, by the PUSH instruction, save the data of the switching register 13144 to the game control stack area 13137 (see FIG. 113). After that, the CHANGE instruction switches the auxiliary storage area 13145 from group 0 used for timer interrupt processing of the caller to group 1 used for base calculation processing of the callee. In this way, a single CHANGE instruction can switch a plurality of storage areas for each group, and a single instruction (that is, a small number of steps) can collectively switch a plurality of storage areas.

After that, the program is executed from the start address xxxx of the base calculation processing by the CALL instruction.

In the base calculation process, before starting the processes shown in FIGS. 105 to 108, the LD instruction writes the stack pointer value being used in the timer interrupt process to an arbitrary address (for example, zzzz) in the RAM 1312, and the stack pointer value evacuate. After that, the LD instruction writes the address yyyy of the base calculation stack area 13138 to the stack pointer to change the stack area.

After the preparation for executing the base calculation process is completed, the process is executed from step S8011 in FIG. 105 or FIG. After the base calculation process ends (after step S8038 in FIG. 106), the stack pointer value used in the timer interrupt process is restored from the address zzzz of the RAM 1312 by the LD instruction.

After that, when returning from the base calculation process, the CHANGE instruction switches the auxiliary storage area 13145 from the group 1 used in the called base calculation process to the group 0 used in the caller timer interrupt process, and the POP instruction causes the game The data of the switching register 13144 saved in the control stack area 13137 is restored to the switching register 13144 . The data of the switching register 13144 may be saved and restored using other instructions (for example, data transfer instruction LD, exchange instruction EX) instead of using the stack manipulation instructions PUSH and POP.

As described above, by restoring the switching register 13144, the auxiliary storage area 13145 returns to the state before the base calculation process is called. However, the auxiliary storage area 13145 may be reliably switched by the CHANGE instruction.

After that, after enabling the interrupt by the EI instruction, the timer interrupt processing is continued, the timer interrupt processing is terminated by RETI, and the main control side main processing (steps S36 to S40 in FIG. 21) is returned to.

In the same manner as described above, the DI instruction may be used to inhibit interrupts at the beginning of timer interrupt processing, and the EI instruction may be used to enable interrupts at the end of timer interrupt processing. Alternatively, by directly manipulating the interrupt enable flag without relying on the DI or EI instruction, interrupts may be prohibited when timer interrupt processing starts, and interrupts may be enabled at the timing of execution of the RETI instruction.

Further, timer interrupt processing is originally executed in a state in which interrupts are disabled, so there is no need to further disable or enable interrupts within timer interrupt processing. In the illustrated program example, the DI instruction disables interrupts in order to disable interrupts when interrupts are enabled for some reason. In this case, since the interrupt disabled state should be continued until the end of the timer interrupt processing, the EI instruction should be executed at the end of the timer interrupt processing, not immediately after the POP instruction.

In FIG. 111, an example of switching timer interrupt processing, base calculation processing, and auxiliary storage area 13145 has been described, but auxiliary storage area 13145 may also be switched in inspection processing executed by debugging (inspection function) code 13133 . In this case, it is preferable to switch the auxiliary storage area 13145 to the auxiliary storage area 13145 for inspection processing by the CHANGE instruction at the beginning of the debug (inspection function) code 13133 . In addition, initialization processing (steps S10 to S34 in FIG. 21), main control side main processing (steps S36 to S40 in FIG. 21), and power-off processing (steps S42 to S58 in FIG. 21). , timer interrupt processing (FIGS. 23, 75, 80, etc.), the auxiliary storage area 13145 may be switched to use different auxiliary storage areas 13145 for each process.

Furthermore, if only two auxiliary storage areas 13145 are provided, the processing executed within the game control area (eg, main control side main processing, timer interrupt processing, etc.) and outside the game control area (eg, debugging ( Inspection function) area, base calculation area, etc.) processing (e.g., debug processing, base calculation processing, etc.) to be executed by switching the auxiliary storage area 13145, and using different auxiliary storage areas 13145 inside and outside the game control area good too.

In this case, the same auxiliary storage area 13145 is used for the main control side main processing and the timer interrupt processing. At the start of processing (eg, at the beginning of timer interrupt processing) temporarily store the value of the auxiliary storage area 13145 in the game control stack area 13137, at the end of the timer interrupt processing (eg, at the end of the timer interrupt processing) It is preferable to return the value temporarily stored in the game control stack area 13137 to the auxiliary storage area 13145 .

For example, since the auxiliary storage area 13145 has a plurality of (byte) storage areas, saving to the stack area one unit (byte or word) at a time increases the number of instructions for saving. Similarly, the number of instructions for recovering data from the stack area increases. Also, in this case, if the order of processing for saving data to the stack area and restoring data from the stack area is incorrect, different data will be read from the stack area, and subsequent processing may not be performed correctly. . Therefore, by providing an instruction to collectively save the plurality of storage areas of the auxiliary storage area 13145 to the stack area and restore all of the plurality of storage areas of the auxiliary storage area 13145 from the stack area, It can solve the above problem.

Furthermore, if the entire storage area of the auxiliary storage area 13145 is saved to the stack area, the stack area may overflow and data outside the area reserved for the stack area (stack area for other purposes, etc.) may be rewritten. be. For this reason, in addition to the instruction to store all the storage areas of the auxiliary storage area 13145 to the stack area collectively, there is an instruction to collectively save a plurality of storage areas specified arbitrarily from the auxiliary storage area 13145 to the stack area. Alternatively, an instruction may be provided and executed to collectively restore data to a plurality of arbitrarily designated storage areas among the auxiliary storage areas 13145 saved in the stack area.

In this way, it switches to another auxiliary storage area 13145 when moving to the process outside the game control area, and switches to the original auxiliary storage area 13145 when moving to the process within the game control area, so stored in the auxiliary storage area 13145 The processing can proceed without saving the received data to the RAM 1312 (for example, stack area).

In addition, when moving to the process outside the game control area, save the switching register 13144 to RAM1312 (for example, stack area), and restore the switching register 13144 from the RAM1312 when moving to the process within the game control area, The auxiliary storage area 13145 can be switched when moving to the processing in the game control area, and the data in the auxiliary storage area 13145 can be recovered without recovering from the RAM 1312 .

Also, when moving to the process outside the game control area, switch to another stack area, and when moving to the process within the game control area, switch to the original stack area, so the stack area used in the process within the game control area , The processing inside and outside the game control area can be completely separated without being updated in the processing outside the game control area.

In addition, the value stored in the switching register 13144 when moving to the process outside the game control area is saved in the RAM 1312 (for example, the stack area), and the value saved when moving to the process within the game control area is used for switching. Since it restores to the register 13144, the value regarding the execution result of the program in the game control area can be completely separated from the process inside and outside the game control area without being updated in the process outside the game control area.

FIG. 113A is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of programs (codes) and data stored in the ROM 1313 and RAM 1312 incorporated in the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310. FIG. In the memory arrangement shown in FIG. 113, the stack area omitted in the memory arrangement described above with reference to FIG. 26 is shown in the RAM 1312, but the RAM 1312 shown in FIG.

The ROM 1313 contains game control code 13131, game control data 13132, debugging (inspection function) code 13133, debugging (inspection function) data 13134, base calculation/display code 13135, and base calculation/display data 13136. Contains storage space. The ROM 1313 of this embodiment includes a game control area (first storage area) for storing programs and data related to the pachinko machine 1 such as game control code 13131 and game control data 13132, and a debug (inspection function) code 13133. and debug (inspection function) area (second storage area) for storing programs and data used for the purpose of outputting signals necessary for debugging (inspection function) of the pachinko machine 1, such as debug (inspection function) data 13134 , and a base calculation area (third storage area) for storing programs used for calculating base values, such as base calculation/display code 13135 and base calculation/display data 13136 .

Between the end address of the game control data 13132 and the start address of the debug (inspection function) code 13133, there is a free area (unused space) of 16 bytes or more, and when displayed in dump list format In addition, the game control area and the debug (inspection function) area can be easily distinguished. Similarly, an empty area (unused space) of a predetermined length is provided between the final address of the debugging (inspection function) code 13133 and the leading address of the base calculation/display code 13135 . If the predetermined length is 16 bytes or more, the debug (inspection function) area and the base calculation area can be easily distinguished when displayed in dump list format, which is desirable, but the predetermined length may be shorter than 16 bytes. The value stored in the empty area should be the same fixed value, and may be set to a value different from or less frequently set to the value set in the game control area and debug area. Also, the value stored in the empty area may be an instruction such as a No Operation code that causes the CPU to do nothing. In this way, when displayed in dump list format, the game control area, debug (inspection function) area, and base calculation area can be easily distinguished.

Alternatively, the base calculation/display code 13135 and the base calculation/display data 13136 may be stored in a part of the debug area without dividing the debug (inspection function) area and the base calculation area. That is, it is sufficient if the game control area and other areas are clearly distinguished. In this way, by clearly distinguishing the game control area from other areas, the debug area (code for debugging (inspection function), data for debugging (inspection function)), which is processing that is not directly related to the control of the progress of the game, ) and the base calculation area (base calculation/display code 13135 and base calculation/display data 13136) are arranged separately from the game control area, so that defects (bugs, etc.) in the base calculation/display code 13135 can be prevented from affecting the game control. Avoiding the danger of impact.

The debug (inspection function) area stores programs and data for purposes not directly related to the game. A code 13133 for outputting an inspection signal is stored. These debug (inspection function) codes 13133 are programs for outputting debug (inspection function) signals. The base calculation area stores a program for calculating a base value that is not directly related to the progress of the game.

Also, the game control code 13131 is executed by the main control MPU 1311 . In addition, the game control code 13131 can be appropriately read and written to the RAM 1312, but the game control area 13126 used in the game control code 13131 can only be read from the debug (inspection function) code 13133. is configured to be executable, and is configured not to be able to write to this area. Thus, the game control area 13126 constitutes a game control area accessible only from the game control code 13131 . Processing based on the debug (inspection function) code can be unilaterally called and executed during execution of the game control code 13131, but the game control code 13131 can be executed from the debug (inspection function) code. It is configured so that it cannot be called and executed. As a result, the independence of the debugging (inspection function) code 13133 can be enhanced, so even if the game control code 13131 is changed, the modification of the debugging (inspection function) code 13133 can be minimized. .

Also, the base calculation/display code 13135 is called from the game control code 13131 (for example, step S89 of timer interrupt processing shown in FIG. 23) and executed by the main control MPU 1311 . The base value calculated by the base calculation/display code 13135 is stored in the base calculation area 13128 of the RAM 1312 . The base calculation area 13128 is provided separately from the game control area 13126 (outside the game control area) as shown. Thus, by designing the base calculation/display code 13135 separately from the game control code 13131 and storing it in a separate area, the inspection of the base calculation/display code 13135 and the inspection of the game control code 13131 can be performed. It can be performed separately, and the labor for inspection of the pachinko machine 1 can be reduced. In addition, the base calculation/display code 13135 can be used in common for a plurality of models without depending on the model.

The RAM 1312 is provided with a game control area 13126, a debug area, a base calculation area 13128, a game control stack area 13137, a debug stack area, and a base calculation stack area 13138.

The game control area 13126 is an area in which data used by the game control code 13131 is stored, and reading and writing from the game control area 13126 are possible. In addition, the game control area 13126 cannot write data from the debugging (inspection function) code 13133 and the base calculation/display code 13135, but read access is possible, and the debugging (inspection function) code 13133 and the base calculation · The display code 13135 can refer to the data stored in the game control area 13126 .

The debug area is an area in which data used by the debug (inspection function) code 13133 is stored. The debug area can be accessed from the game control code 13131 and the base calculation/display code 13135, but only data reading is permitted and data writing is prohibited. The base calculation area 13128 is an area for storing data used by the base calculation/display code 13135 . The base calculation area 13128 can be accessed from the game control code 13131 and the debug (inspection function) code 13133, but only data reading is permitted and data writing is prohibited.

The game control stack area 13137 is an area where the data used by the game control code 13131 is saved. The debug stack area is an area in which data used by the debug (inspection function) code 13133 is saved. The base calculation stack area 13138 is an area in which data used by the base calculation/display code 13135 is saved. Each stack area is exclusively used to temporarily save data stored in the intra-CPU auxiliary storage unit 13142 . Each stack area can be switched by changing the value of the stack pointer managed by the CPU 13111 . Note that the stack pointer is a storage area that specifies the start address of the stack area.

FIG. 113B is a diagram showing details of the base calculation area 13128. As shown in FIG. The base calculation area 13128 may include a main area for storing base calculation results, and a backup area 1 and a backup area 2 for storing a copy of the data stored in the main area. There may be one or more backup areas. A check code for detecting data errors is added to each area. The check code may be a checksum of data in each area or a predetermined value. The check code is set in the initialization process when the power of the pachinko machine 1 is turned on, set each time the data in the main area is updated in the base calculation/display process, or set when the power is turned off on the main control side (Fig. 22). It may be set in steps S50 to S54). In particular, when the check code is a fixed value, the check code is initialized when it is determined to be normal in the initialization process or when the data is erased, and the fixed value is set in the main control side power failure process (step S50 in FIG. 20). May be set. The check code may also be used as a power failure flag. That is, if a predetermined value is set in the check code of the main area, it may be determined that the power failure flag is set. Also, if the power failure flag is set to a predetermined value, it may be determined that the check code of each area has a correct value (that is, the data of each area is normal).

Incidentally, if it is determined that the main area is abnormal, it may be determined whether or not the backup area is normal, and the data in the backup area determined to be normal may be copied to the main area (step in FIG. 21). S24). Also, in the main control side power-off process, the values in the main area may be copied to each backup area (step S54 in FIG. 22). Further, in the base calculation/display process, the values in the main area may be copied to the backup area when the base calculation/display process ends. When at least part of the main area is updated, the entire main area or only the updated value area may be copied to the backup area (steps S168 and S170 in FIG. 25).

Unused space is provided between the main area and the backup area 1 and between the backup area 1 and the backup area 2 . By providing an unused space between each area, the addresses of each area can be separated, and each area can be distinguished by the high-order digits of the address.

[11. Recording game history]
Next, an embodiment of a pachinko machine that records and outputs game histories will be described.

[11-1. Basic configuration of gaming machine that records gaming history]
In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the peripheral control unit 1511 determines an effect suitable for the variation pattern command transmitted from the main control board 1310 from a plurality of prepared effects, and displays the determined effect on the main liquid crystal display. Display on device 1600 . At that time, when the peripheral control unit 1511 determines that a specific effect (for example, 2 types of specific effects out of 3 types of super reach) is to be displayed among a plurality of prepared effects, the switching of the game state is the starting point. The number of times the special symbol variation display game was played and the specific effect appeared (in other words, in what rotation the effect appeared) is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 along with the progress of the game. to display.

Specifically, according to the game history shown in FIG. 114, Super Reach 1 appears on the 34th rotation at 10:25, the result of the special symbol variation display game is lost, and on the 127th rotation at 10:54. Super reach 2 appeared, the result of the special symbol variation display game was a loss, and super reach 2 appeared on the 428th spin at 11:30, and the result of the special symbol variation display game was a hit. is displayed.

The display of the jackpot history (for example, the history of the jackpot on the 15th spin and the jackpot on the 50th spin) can be confirmed with a data display provided in the hall, but the specific performance that appears before the jackpot cannot be confirmed. Some players judge whether the pachinko machine 1 is good or bad based on the extent to which a specific effect appears (for example, if Super Ready-to-Win 2 appears within 50 spins after the end of the big win, it is considered that the big win will be won in a short time). In order to meet the player's expectations, the degree of appearance of the effect is visually displayed. In addition, since the game ball is not fired when the player is confirming the degree of appearance of the effect, if a display showing the degree of appearance of all of the prepared effects is displayed, the player can check the degree of appearance of the effect. It takes time to confirm the degree of appearance of the game machine, and there is a possibility that the operation of the game machine will decrease. Therefore, it is preferable to display only a specific ready-to-win effect (a ready-to-win effect with a high degree of expectation for a big win) out of the ready-to-win effects. Also, the history of appearance for each effect may be confirmed by operating a predetermined operation means (operation button 220C, etc.).

As a specific process, when the peripheral control unit 1511 receives a variation pattern command from the main control board 1310, it stores information on the number of variations and the effect that has appeared. Further, the peripheral control unit 1511 updates information on the number of times of variation and the effect that has appeared based on the received variation pattern command. Then, when a predetermined operation means (operation button 220C, etc.) is operated, the number of fluctuations required until a limited specific effect appears is added and displayed instead of all the effects that have appeared. Processing should be performed.

Also, when an error occurs in the pachinko machine 1 during business, error information is output from the pachinko machine 1 to notify the staff of the hall. 115(A) is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, or a detailed error screen shown in FIG. , output an alarm sound, and output an error signal shown in FIG. Typical errors in the pachinko machine 1 are shown in FIGS. 117, 118 and 119. FIG. An error that occurs in the pachinko machine 1 is notified outside the pachinko machine 1 so that an employee of the hall can know the cause. For example, a code determined for each type of error may be displayed on the status display LED included in the function display unit 1400 . Specifically, if the cable connection between the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 is defective, the state display LED included in the function display unit 1400 displays "0", and the LED in the right of the door lights up. Lights blue.

However, errors occur due to various causes, such as a minor failure of the pachinko machine 1 (for example, disconnection of a connector), a serious failure requiring part replacement, or fraudulent activity.

The pachinko machine 1 in which an error has occurred must find the cause of the error occurrence, recover from the error, and operate. Investigating the cause of the error requires time and cost, and stoppage of operation of the pachinko machine 1 due to the error leads to a decrease in sales. Therefore, if the hole can know the detailed information of the error that has occurred, the error can be resolved early, and the operation stop time of the pachinko machine 1 can be shortened.

More specifically, the hall uses the hall computer to determine the state of the pachinko machine 1 according to the signal output from the external terminal board 784 . However, in order to investigate the cause of the error, in addition to the signal output from the external terminal board 784, it is desirable to use "the number of winnings in the general winnings", "the number of winnings in the big winnings", "the number of passing through the gate", "normal symbol fluctuation Game history information such as "number" is required. If the pachinko machine 1 is out of order, it can be solved by repair or parts replacement, so there is no big problem. business, and eventually the hall may face financial difficulties.

When such game history information is output from the external terminal board 784, the number of connector terminals used in the external terminal board 784 increases, and the cost of the pachinko machine 1 increases. Furthermore, since events such as "winning a general winning slot", "winning a big winning slot", "passing through a gate", and "fluctuation of normal symbols" occur frequently, if all the data is output from the pachinko machine 1, the data A high-performance hall computer is required to analyze this, increasing the burden on the hall.

In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, in order to solve the above-described problems, data that is not output as a real-time signal from the external terminal board 748 is stored inside the pachinko machine 1 so that the stored data can be referred to later. This makes it possible to check the details of the process leading up to the occurrence of an error.

In addition, since the time of occurrence of events (number of winnings in general winnings, number of winnings in big winnings, number of gates passed, number of normal symbol fluctuations, etc.) that occurred in the course of the error occurrence is recorded, how long It is possible to know how many events have occurred in For example, an abnormality such as the number of prizes won in a general prize gate being 50 per minute can be detected.

If the date and time of occurrence are recorded for each event, the amount of data used to search for the cause of the error will increase, and it will take time to search for the cause of the error. Therefore, when a predetermined number or more of events occur within a predetermined time period (for example, one minute), the error information may be output and notified.

For example, since it is possible to win a prize in a general prize-winning slot in any game state, it is preferable to output and notify error information when a predetermined number or more of prizes are won in a predetermined period of time. Therefore, it is preferable to set a predetermined time from the start to the end of the jackpot game, and output and notify error information when a predetermined number or more of prizes are won in the big winning openings in the predetermined time.

In the pachinko machine described below, the peripheral control unit 1511 records the game history and outputs it as data in a predetermined format.

FIG. 120 is a flow chart showing an example of the power-on processing of the peripheral control unit according to the present embodiment. 120 is obtained by adding a game history recording process (step S1023) to the peripheral control unit power-on process described above with reference to FIG.

In the game history recording process, the peripheral control unit 1511 records the game history in the memory based on the analysis result of the command received from the main control board 1310 when the received command is a predetermined command. The game history is recorded as date and time of event occurrence in a format as shown in FIG. 122, for example. The memory in which the game history is recorded may be a DRAM, but it is preferable to record the game history in an SRAM that does not require a refresh operation and consumes low power in consideration of retaining the memory contents even when the power is turned off.

The game history recording process (step S1023) is preferably executed before the game control process (steps S1024 to S1032). By executing the game history recording process at an early stage of the steady process of the peripheral control part, the game history can be accurately recorded even if the process related to the game control is stopped on the way and part of the performance is not executed. That is, even if some effects are not executed (even if all effects are not executed), the result of the lottery already performed by the main control board 1310 does not change, and the benefits given to the player also change. Therefore, the game history is recorded with priority over the performance. In addition, since the game history recording process is not affected by the process related to the game control, the game history recording process can be shared by a plurality of pachinko machine models.

Next, a description will be given of the processing when the memory capacity of the game history to be recorded reaches the upper limit. When the data amount of the game history to be recorded reaches the upper limit of the capacity of the memory, the game history recording process is executed, but the game history recorded in the memory does not have to be updated. That is, the information recorded in memory does not change. In this way, by executing the game history recording process even if there is no free space in the memory for recording the game history, there is no need to check the free state of the memory for recording the game history. processing can be reduced.

Further, when the memory capacity of the game history to be recorded reaches the upper limit, the game history recording process may be executed to update the game history recorded in the memory. In this case, a ring buffer having a plurality of (for example, 10) storage areas may be provided in the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d to erase the oldest game history and record the latest game history. Even in this case, it is not necessary to check the free state of the memory for recording the game history, and the processing of the peripheral control unit 1511 every time can be reduced.

Also, when the game history to be recorded reaches the upper limit of the memory capacity, step S1023 may be skipped and the game history recording process may not be executed. By not executing the game history recording process when the recorded game history reaches the upper limit of the memory capacity, it is possible to prevent unnecessary processing from being executed. control, sound control) can be reliably executed, and at the same time, using the spare processing time, new processing (for example, processing that is executed over multiple times of peripheral control unit steady processing due to lack of processing time) Alternatively, a process (for example, a process of switching the selection table) that is executed once in a number of peripheral control unit steady processes because it is not necessary to be executed each time may be executed.

Note that the received command may be analyzed (step S1022) immediately after the interrupt timer activation process (step S1010), and the game history recording process (step S1023) may be executed.

FIG. 121 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a game history recording condition setting table.

The game history recording condition setting table registers the types of commands recorded as game history among the commands received by the peripheral control unit 1511 from the main control board 1310, that is, the events recorded as the game history.

For example, the following command types are registered in the game history recording condition setting table, and the conditions for generating the commands and the purpose of recording as game history are as follows.

For example, when starting gate 1 winning command and starting gate 2 winning command are detected, respectively, the winning of the game ball to the starting gate 2002 and the starting gate 2004 are transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511, and the peripheral The control unit 1511 can count the number of winning balls into each starting hole. In addition, the special symbol 1 symbol type command and the special symbol 2 symbol type command are respectively transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 at the start of the fluctuation of the special symbol, and the peripheral control unit 1511 controls the special symbols 1 and 2 The number of fluctuations can be counted.

Also, the power-on command is transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 when the power is turned on, and the peripheral control unit 1511 can acquire the RAM clear operation and the like. The state command at the start of fluctuation is transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 at the start of the fluctuation of the special symbol, and the peripheral control unit 1511 can acquire the state at the start of the fluctuation of the special symbol. The states that can be distinguished by the state command at the start of fluctuation are 4 states: low probability/time saving, low probability/non-time saving, high probability/non-time saving, high probability/non-time saving. You can count the number of changes that occur. Here, the low probability is a state in which the probability that a big win is derived in the jackpot lottery accompanying the special symbol variation display game is a normal probability, and the high probability is a jackpot lottery in the jackpot lottery accompanying the special symbol variation display game. is a state in which the probability of being derived is higher than usual. Time saving, the probability that the above-mentioned second starting door member 2549 is open (or expanded) state is higher than non-time saving, or the time from the start of the normal pattern to the determination It is a state in which the frequency that the second starting port door member 2549 is in an open (or expanded) state, such as shortening, is higher than in a non-time-saving state. Along with this, the probability of selecting an effect in which the duration of one special symbol variation display game is short increases.

A large winning opening 1 winning command (for each winning) and a large winning opening 2 winning command (for each winning) are transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 when the game ball enters the large winning opening 2005 and the large winning opening 2006 respectively. A command is transmitted, and the peripheral control unit 1511 can count the number of winning balls into each big winning hole.

For the big winning gate 1 winning command (regular winning or less) and the big winning winning gate 2 winning command (regular winning or less), only the number of game balls less than the regulated number won by the end of the round at the big winning gate 2005 and the big winning gate 2006, respectively. If not, a command is sent from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 after a predetermined period of time has passed since the closing of each big winning hole (for example, from 1 second before the next opening), and the peripheral control unit 1511 Winning status in one round to each big winning opening can be acquired. The big winning mouth 1 winning command (larger than the prescribed winning) and the big winning mouth 2 winning command (larger than the prescribed winning) are the rounds where the number of game balls exceeding the prescribed number wins in the big winning mouth 2005 and the big winning mouth 2006 respectively. is completed, a command is sent from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 after a predetermined time has passed since the closing of each big winning hole (for example, from 1 second before the next opening), and the peripheral control unit 1511 It is possible to obtain the status of winning in one round to each big winning slot. It should be noted that this command is transmitted after a predetermined time has elapsed since the closing of each of the big prize openings 2005 and 2006, when a specified number of prize balls (for example, 10) determined in one round is detected and the big prize openings are opened. This is because there is a possibility that undetected game balls exist in the big winning opening when the opening is closed, and the state of winning can be accurately grasped even in such an over winning.

The jackpot OP command is transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 when the jackpot occurs (that is, when the condition device is activated or when the role product continuous operation device is activated), and the peripheral control unit 1511 acquires a change to the jackpot state. You can count the number of hits. The transition destination command at the end of the jackpot operation is transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 when the jackpot state ends, and the peripheral control unit 1511 can acquire the end of the jackpot state and the situation after the jackpot.

In the small hit OP command, the opening of the big winning opening is relatively short (for example, the opening time of one time is 1.8 seconds, or the total opening time of multiple times is less than 1.8 seconds). A command is transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 when the accessory continuous operation device does not operate (so-called small win), and the peripheral control unit 1511 can count the number of small wins.

The normal symbol stop command is transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 when the normal symbol is stopped, and the peripheral control unit 1511 can acquire the normal symbol stop symbol and can count the normal symbol variation number. The normal figure gate passage command is transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 when the game ball passes through the gate unit 2003, and the peripheral control unit 1511 can acquire the number of game balls that have passed through the gate unit 2003.

Even if the lottery for special symbols or normal symbols is not performed even after winning the starting gate or passing the gate (overflow or no memory, etc.), the main control board 1310 instructs the peripheral control unit 1511 to start the starting gate 1 winning. Send the time command, start gate 2 winning time command and normal figure gate passing command. Therefore, the peripheral control unit 1511 can count the number of winning balls entering the starting hole and the number of balls passing through the gate.

The error display command is sent from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 when an error occurs, and the peripheral control unit 1511 can acquire the error occurrence timing and count the number of errors.

The general winning port 1 winning command, the general winning port 2 winning command, and the general winning port 3 winning command are respectively transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control unit 1511 when the game ball wins to each general winning port 2001, and the peripheral The control unit 1511 can count the number of winning balls into each general winning hole 2001 . It should be noted that the general winning opening winning command may be determined by the number of general winning openings 2001 provided in the game area 5a, and the case where three general winning openings 2001 are provided is exemplified above. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 16, the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment is provided with four general winning slots 2001, so four types of general winning slot winning commands from the general winning slot 1 winning command to the general winning slot 4 winning command are provided. Commands are defined.

FIG. 122 is a diagram showing a configuration example of game history recorded in the memory.

The game history includes a history number, event, and event occurrence date and time, and is preferably recorded in the memory in order of event occurrence time. As the event occurrence date and time, the time at which the peripheral control unit 1511 received the command from the main control board 1310 may be recorded as the event occurrence date and time. Then, the peripheral controller 1511 may record the event occurrence time notified from the main control board 1310 . In the illustrated game history, the date and time of event occurrence are recorded down to the minute, but may be recorded up to the second.

By analyzing the game history in the form shown in FIG. 122, it is possible to know the details of the events that have occurred in relation to the commands sent from the main control board 1310 (for example, changes in the game state, the result of the variable display game, etc.). . For example, the power-on command with history number 1 occurred at 15:30 on March 15, 2016, and from the content of the command, the RAM was cleared, and the game started in a low-probability, non-time-saving state. I understand. That is, the pachinko hall opened at 15:30, the pachinko machine 1 was turned on, and after a while (for example, after lighting a cigarette), the player started to beat, and won the general prize gate 2001. I understand. In addition, the special design 1 fluctuation start event of history number 4 occurred at 15:34 on March 15, 2016, and from the contents of the received special design 1 design type command (type of stop design), special design fluctuation You can see the result of the display game. The special symbol 1 variation start event of history number 6 occurred at 15:34 on March 15, 2016, and from the contents of the received special symbol 1 symbol type command (type of stop symbol), the special symbol variation display game I can see the result of Although the result of the special symbol variation display game is not shown in FIG. 122, each special symbol variation display game is determined by the numerical value indicating the result of the variation display game included in the symbol type command received at the start of the special symbol variation. The result of the variable display game (losing, normal per 4 rounds, high probability per 4 rounds, high probability per 16 rounds, etc.) may be recorded as a game history.

Next, a method of referring to the information (game history) recorded in the memory by the hole will be described.

First, a history output interface 1590 for outputting information recorded in the memory from the peripheral controller 1511 is provided. When the peripheral control unit 1511 receives a history reference command from the main control board 1310 , the game history recorded in the memory is output from the history output interface 1590 .

Also, a data collection terminal is connected to the pachinko machine 1 , and when the peripheral control unit 1511 receives a history reference command from the data collection terminal, the game history recorded in the memory is output from the history output interface 1590 . The history output interface 1590 may be composed of a history output terminal provided in the peripheral controller 1511 or may be provided separately from the peripheral controller 1511 . The data collection terminal is preferably owned by the hall for data management of the pachinko machine 1 .

The connection between the data collection terminal and the pachinko machine 1 may be a cable connection via the history output interface 1590 or a wireless connection via short-range radio (for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark)).

The command that triggers the output of the game history by the peripheral control unit 1511 is a command that is not transmitted when a normal game is being played after the pachinko machine 1 is powered on, even if it is a history reference command dedicated to the output of the game history (see FIG. 121). A command when a special condition (operation) is performed in a command that is not defined in the history reference command may be used as the history reference command. The special condition (operation) is, for example, operating the RAM clear button while the pachinko machine 1 is powered on. Also, a history reference command may be sent under the condition of an event that cannot (or is unlikely to occur) occur even in a command that is sent during a normal game. For example, it is the case that 50 prizes are won in the starting gate or the general prize gate in one minute. In addition, the game history may be output when the commands used for game control are received in a special order that is usually impossible.

An operation panel (keyboard) and a display (liquid crystal display device) may be provided on the back side of the pachinko machine 1 (where the player cannot see) to display the game history.

FIG. 123 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the peripheral control board and its periphery.

Peripheral control board 1510 performs effect control based on various commands from main control board 1310, and through frame peripheral relay terminal board 868, effect display drive board 4450 and control commands and various information (various data) A liquid crystal display that performs drawing control of the exchanged peripheral control unit 1511, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 and the door frame side effect display device 460, and controls sounds such as music and sound effects flowing from the lower speaker 921 and the upper speaker 573. It has a control unit 1512 and a real-time clock (hereinafter referred to as “RTC”) control unit 4165 that holds calendar information specifying the date and time information specifying the hour, minute, and second.

As shown in FIG. 123, the peripheral control unit 1511 that performs performance control controls the peripheral control MPU 1511a as a microprocessor and the power-on processing that is executed when the power is turned on. Peripheral control ROM 1511b for storing various control programs such as sub-control programs for controlling performance operations to be executed, various data, various control data and various schedule data, and V blank from VDP 1512a with built-in sound source of liquid crystal display control unit 1512 to be described later. Various information that continues across the peripheral control unit steady-state processing that is executed each time a signal is input (for example, schedule data that defines the screen to be drawn on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, and that defines the light emission mode of various LEDs, etc. peripheral control RAM 1511c for storing information for managing schedule data, etc.), and various information that continues over the course of the day (for example, information for managing the history of the occurrence of the jackpot game state and special effect flags). management information, etc.), and a peripheral control external watchdog timer 1511e (hereinafter referred to as "peripheral control external WDT 1511e") for monitoring whether the peripheral control MPU 1511a is operating normally. ) and

The peripheral control RAM 1511c loses its contents when the power is interrupted for a long time (when power failure occurs for a long time). (hereinafter referred to as "SRAM electrolytic capacitor") supplies a backup power supply, so that the stored contents can be retained for about 50 hours. Since an SRAM electrolytic capacitor is provided on the power supply board 931, when the game board 5 is removed from the pachinko machine 1, backup power is not supplied to the peripheral control SRAM 1511d. loses its contents as it becomes incapable of

Power is supplied to a part of the peripheral control SRAM 1511 d by a backup power supply 1513 different from the backup power supplied from the power supply board 931 . In the area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d to which power is supplied from the backup power supply 1513, the game history is recorded, and even if the pachinko machine 1 is powered off, the stored contents can be retained. The backup power supply 1513 is composed of a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, and preferably has a power supply capability capable of holding data in at least a part of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d for several weeks to one month.

FIG. 124 is a block diagram showing the peripheral configuration of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d.

The area for storing the game history in the peripheral control SRAM 1511d may be configured in a package separate from the peripheral control CPU including the peripheral control MPU, or may be configured in the package of the peripheral control CPU together with the peripheral control MPU.

FIG. 124(A) shows the peripheral configuration of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d which constitutes an area for storing the game history in a package separate from the peripheral control CPU. As shown, the performance control area to which power is not supplied from the backup power supply 1513 is provided outside the peripheral control CPU package, and the game history storage area to which power is supplied from the backup power supply 1513 is provided outside the peripheral control CPU package. be done.

When the RAM clear switch is operated to reset the pachinko machine 1, the data in the peripheral control SRAM (production control area) 1511d in the peripheral control CPU is cleared, but the peripheral control SRAM (game history storage) outside the peripheral control CPU is cleared. data area) 1511d is not cleared.

FIG. 124(B) shows the peripheral configuration of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d forming an area for storing the game history in the package of the peripheral control CPU. As illustrated, both the effect control area to which power is not supplied from the backup power supply 1513 and the game history storage area to which power is supplied from the backup power supply 1513 are provided in the peripheral control CPU package.

Even in the configuration shown in FIG. 124(B), when the RAM clear switch is operated to reset the pachinko machine 1, the data in the peripheral control SRAM (effect control area) 1511d in the peripheral control CPU is cleared, but the peripheral control Data in the peripheral control SRAM (game history storage area) 1511d outside the CPU is not cleared. Therefore, the performance control area and the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d are preferably physically separated.

Note that the area for storing the game history in the peripheral control SRAM 1511d may be composed of a flash memory instead of the SRAM. By storing the game history in the flash memory, the game history can be retained even in the pachinko machine 1 to which power is not supplied without providing a backup power source 1513.例文帳に追加

124A and 124B, the pachinko machine 1 has means for initializing data in the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d. The means for initializing the data in the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d may be any procedure different from the normal data initialization method of turning on the power of the pachinko machine 1 while operating the RAM clear switch. good. For example, a history clear switch is provided in addition to the RAM clear switch, and when the power of the pachinko machine 1 is turned on while operating the history clear switch, the stored game history is initialized. In this case, when the pachinko machine 1 is powered on while operating both the RAM clear switch and the history clear switch, both the stored game state information and the game history are initialized. A history clear switch may be directly connected to the peripheral control board 1510 .

In addition, when the power of the pachinko machine 1 is turned on while operating the RAM clear switch and the RAM clear switch is continuously operated for a predetermined time after the power is turned on, both the stored game state information and the game history are initialized. may be changed.

When initializing the game history stored in the peripheral control SRAM 1511d, the main control board 1310 transmits to the peripheral control board 1510 a command different from the normal power-on command.

Further, while the RAM clear switch is being operated, the main control board 1310 continues to transmit power-on commands to the peripheral control board 1510, and the peripheral control board 1510 receives power-on commands a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time. or when the power-on command is received continuously, the game history stored in the peripheral control SRAM (game history storage area) 1511d may be initialized. By providing means for initializing the data in the game history storage area in this way, the latest information can be accurately recorded and analyzed even if the gaming machine continues to operate in the hall for one year, for example.

The peripheral control external WDT 1511e is a timer for monitoring whether the system of the peripheral control MPU 1511a is running out of control. When this timer expires, it is reset by hardware. That is, the peripheral control MPU 1511a is reset when it does not output a clear signal for clearing the timer of the peripheral control external WDT 1511e to the peripheral control external WDT 1511e within a certain period (until the timer expires). When the peripheral control MPU 1511a outputs the clear signal to the peripheral control external WDT 1511e within a fixed period, it restarts the timer count of the peripheral control external WDT 1511e, so the reset is not applied.

The peripheral control MPU 1511a incorporates a plurality of parallel I/O ports, serial I/O ports, etc., and when various commands from the main control board 1310 are received, each decoration board of the game board 5 is controlled based on these various commands. The game board side light emission data for outputting lighting signals, blinking signals or gradation lighting signals to multiple LEDs etc. The game board side motor drive data for transmitting to the drive board 4170 and for outputting drive signals to electric drive sources such as motors and solenoids that operate various movable bodies provided on the game board 5 are sent to the motor drive board serial Door-side motor drive data for transmitting to the motor drive board 4180 from the I/O port via the peripheral control output circuit and for outputting drive signals to the electrical drive source provided on the door frame 3 is used for the frame decoration drive. Signals are transmitted from the amplifier board motor serial I/O port to the frame decoration driving amplifier board via the peripheral control output circuit and the frame peripheral relay terminal board 868, and to the plurality of LEDs provided on each decoration board of the door frame 3. Door-side light emission data for outputting a lighting signal, a blinking signal or a gradation lighting signal is transmitted from the serial I/O port for the frame decoration driving amplifier board LED through the peripheral control output circuit and the frame peripheral relay terminal plate 868 to drive the frame decoration. Transmit to the amplifier board.

Various commands from the main control board 1310 are input to the main control board serial I/O port of the peripheral control MPU 1511a via a peripheral control input circuit (not shown). In addition, the detection signal from the rotation detection switch for detecting the rotation (rotation direction) of the dial operation unit 401 provided in the effect operation unit 220 and the press detection switch for detecting the operation of the press operation unit 405 is serialized by a door-side serial transmission circuit (not shown) provided on the frame decoration drive amplifier board 194, and the serialized effect operation unit detection data is transmitted from the door-side serial transmission circuit to the peripheral door relay terminal plate 882. , the frame peripheral relay terminal plate 868, and via the peripheral control input circuit, are input to the serial I/O port for detecting the performance operation unit of the peripheral control MPU 1511a.

Detection signals from various detection switches (for example, photosensors, etc.) for detecting the original positions and movable positions of various movable bodies provided on the game board 5 are sent to the game board side (not shown) provided on the motor drive board 4180 . Serialized by the serial transmission circuit, this serialized movable object detection data is input from the game board side serial transmission circuit through the peripheral control input circuit to the serial I/O port for the motor drive board of the peripheral control MPU 1511a. there is The peripheral control MPU 1511a exchanges various data between the peripheral control board 1510 and the motor drive board 4180 by switching the input/output of the serial I/O port for the motor drive board.

As described above, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, according to commands transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510, events occurring during the game are recorded as the game history. The event can be analyzed later (for example, after the hall closes) to understand the performance and failure of the gaming machine. In addition, since the game history is stored in the non-volatile memory (SRAM with backup power input), the game history can be confirmed even after restarting the gaming machine.

In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 121, 122, etc., various information is recorded together with the time of occurrence. Also, for example, when winning the start gate 1, (1) the fact that the start gate 1 was won, (2) the time when the start gate 1 was won, (3) the event that occurred before the start gate 1 was won As shown in FIG. 116, more information than the information output from the external terminal board 748 shown in FIG. 116 is stored inside the pachinko machine 1 . In this case, the minimum necessary information (information indicating the fact that (1) the starter has won) is output from the external terminal board 784, such as when the starter wins. This is because the information stored inside the pachinko machine 1 can be checked when investigating the This is because outputting all of the internally stored information from the external terminal board 784 at the time of winning a prize at the starting hole increases the output amount of information related to the operation of the pachinko machine 1, which may become a burden on the pachinko hall. is. That is, when an event occurs, more information than the information output from the external terminal board 784 is recorded inside the pachinko machine 1, and part of the information recorded inside is transmitted through the external terminal board 784 to the pachinko machine. 1, and in a special case, the information stored inside the pachinko machine 1 can be confirmed.

[11-2. Compact plan 1]
Next, a modified example of a pachinko machine that records and outputs game history will be described. It should be noted that some of the modified examples described below change a part of the above-described embodiment and constitute a part of the embodiment.

In the above-described embodiment, among the commands transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510, for a predetermined command, the event (type of command) that occurred and the event occurrence date and time were recorded. However, the capacity of the SRAM 1511d for recording the game history is limited, and it is difficult to record all of the enormous amount of events that occur during the game over a long period of time. Therefore, in Modification 1 (Compact Proposal 1), changes in the state of the pachinko machine 1 and the number of counting events occurring in that state are recorded.

125 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a game history recording condition setting table of modification 1. FIG.

In the game history recording condition setting table of Modified Example 1, commands recorded as game history are defined as counting commands and commands that trigger state changes. There is also The column of information that can be counted and the column of state change that can be obtained are provided for convenience of explanation. .

When the peripheral control unit 1511 receives a command in which a counting attribute is set, the peripheral control unit 1511 counts the number of events that triggered command issuance as a result of command analysis. Further, when the peripheral control unit 1511 receives a command in which an attribute that triggers a state change is set, as a result of command analysis, the peripheral control unit 1511 updates the state of the game history recorded in the memory, and generates a record for counting the number of events. Add

For example, the power-on command, the state command at the start of fluctuation, the jackpot OP command, the transition destination command at the end of the jackpot operation, and the error display command are commands issued by state changes, respectively, power-on, special symbol fluctuation display start, It can be grasped as switching between the start of the jackpot state, the end of the jackpot state, and the occurrence of an error state.

Also, using the count command, the number of events that triggered the issuance of the count command is counted. Specifically, the number of winning balls to each starting port can be counted in the start port 1 winning command and the starting port 2 winning command. The special symbol 1 symbol type command and the special symbol 2 symbol type command can count the number of variations of each special symbol. The large winning opening 1 winning command (for each winning) and the large winning opening 2 winning command (for each winning) can count the number of winning balls to each large winning opening. The large winning mouth 1 winning command (regular winning or less) and the big winning mouth 2 winning command (regular winning or less) can count the number of rounds ended with the number of winnings equal to or less than the defined winning number. The large winning mouth 1 winning command (greater than the prescribed winning) and the big winning mouth 2 winning command (greater than the prescribed winning) can count the number of rounds ended in excess of the prescribed number of winnings (that is, over winning).

The small hit OP command can count the number of small hits. The normal design stop command can normally count the number of fluctuations in the design. Ordinary figure gate passage command can acquire the number of game balls that have passed through the gate section. The error display command can count the number of error occurrences. The general winning hole 1 winning command, the general winning hole 2 winning command, and the general winning hole 3 winning command can count the number of winning balls to each general winning hole.

126 is a diagram showing the game history recorded in the memory of Modification 1. FIG.

The game history of the modified example 1 includes the state change event that triggered the state change of the pachinko machine 1, the state after the state change event, the time when the state change event occurred, and the state from a predetermined starting point. and the cumulative number of counting events detected until the end of (until the next state change event). The number of counting events recorded as the game history may be the number of counting events detected during the state (from the previous state change event to the state change event). The predetermined starting point is the initialization time of the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d. The state in which the counting event is recorded separately is assumed to be 5 states: low probability/non-time saving state, low probability/time saving state, high probability/non-time saving state, high probability/time saving state, jackpot state. A state may be further subdivided.

Next, details of the game history recording process in Modification 1 will be described. In the game history shown in FIG. 126, as counting events, the number of starting gate 1 wins, the number of starting gate 2 winnings, the number of special symbol 1 variations, the number of special symbol 2 variations, the number of general winnings 1 winning, the number of general winnings 2 winning, The number of winnings in general winning opening 3, the number of winning in large winning opening 1, the number of winning in large winning opening 2, the number of gate passages, and the number of normal pattern variations are recorded. Note that the number of events other than those shown may be counted.

Two bytes are sufficient for storing the cumulative number of each counting event. In particular, data that is not derived very frequently and does not have a large cumulative number (for example, the number of general winnings) may be 1 byte, and other data may be 2 bytes. In this case, 1-byte data and 2-byte data should be arranged in the order of 2 bytes and 1 byte (or in the order of 1 byte and 2 bytes) without mixing 1-byte data and 2-byte data.

Also, when a state change event occurs, the type of state change event, the state after the occurrence of the event, and the date and time of occurrence of the event are recorded, and a new record is created in the game history. Then, the counting event after the state change is recorded in a new record.

The counting result of the counting event in the current state may be recorded in the work area of the peripheral control RAM 1511c, and stored in a new record created in the game history storage area of the SRAM 1511d after the state change. A new record in the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d is created when the state changes, but the new record may be created at the start of the period in which the counting event is counted. In this case, an initial value of 0 may be stored in the new record created while the count event is being counted, even though no data is stored in the new record. Also, a new record may be created at the end of the period during which counting events are counted. In this case, immediately after creating a new record, the counting result of counting events in the period is stored in the new record.

When the game state changes and the data recorded in the work area (peripheral control RAM 1511c) is stored in the game history storage area (peripheral control SRAM 1511d), the data is read out from the game history storage area and the data recorded in the work area is changed. The numerical value is added and stored in the game history storage area. On the other hand, when the number of counting events detected during the state (from the previous state change event to the state change event) is recorded as the game history, the count value of the counting event is stored in the peripheral control SRAM 1511d. Store in the history storage area.

That is, every time a state change event occurs, the count value in the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d is updated. Therefore, the count result in the current state recorded in the work area of the peripheral control RAM 1511c is recorded in the peripheral control RAM 1511c until the next state change event occurs, and the stored contents are backed up when a power failure occurs. , will be initialized by the normal RAM clear operation. Specifically, for example, in the low probability / non-time saving state, the game history information that 50 winning numbers to the starting port 1 are recorded in the work area (peripheral control RAM 1511c) is the pachinko machine of the first modification In 1, after the game state changes, it is recorded in the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d. In other words, if the game state does not change, the game history is not recorded in the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d. Therefore, if the power is cut off and the RAM clear operation is performed while the probability is low and the time is not shortened, the 50 winning prizes are initialized to 0.

Also, the counting result of the counting event in the current state may be written in the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d. That is, every time a count event occurs, the count value in the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d is updated. In this case, the count result in the current state recorded in the peripheral control SRAM 1511d is not initialized by the normal RAM clear operation, but is initialized by the game history initialization operation described above.

Also, even when the game history to be recorded reaches the upper limit of the capacity of the memory, it is preferable to execute the game history recording process. In this case, the game history is continuously recorded in the peripheral control RAM 1511c in the current state, and the cumulative number of counting events does not have to be stored from the peripheral control RAM 1511c to the peripheral control SRAM 1511d when the state changes. Alternatively, the game history (accumulated number of counting events) in the oldest state may be erased and the accumulated number of counting events in the immediately preceding state may be recorded. In this case, a ring buffer may be configured in the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d.

By executing the game history recording process even if there is no free space in the memory for recording the game history, there is no need to check the free state of the memory for recording the game history, and the processing of the peripheral control unit 1511 every time is reduced. can. Also, since the cumulative number of counting events in the current state is recorded in the peripheral control RAM 1511c, the most recent game history can be checked.

Also, when the game history to be recorded reaches the upper limit of the memory capacity, step S1023 may be skipped and the game history recording process may not be executed. By not executing the game history recording process when the game history to be recorded reaches the upper limit of the memory capacity, it is possible to prevent the execution of unnecessary processes and reduce the processing of the peripheral control unit 1511 .

As described above, in Modification 1, the switching of the state of the pachinko machine 1 is recorded, and the number of counting events (the number of wins, the number of fluctuations, etc.) in each state between the switching is recorded. A long game history can be recorded without increasing the capacity of the history storage area.

Further, as described above, the pachinko machine 1 of Modification 1 is characterized by internally recording more information than the information output from the external terminal board 784 .

Furthermore, as described above, in the pachinko machine 1 of Modification 1, the condition for creating a new record in the game history is a change in the game state. Information (game history) is not written. In other words, if fraud is committed in a state in which no new record is created in the game history storage area (during the same game state), it may be difficult to detect fraud. As described above, in order to analyze the information (game history) written in the memory, the hole can check the information written in the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d. As long as the game state does not change, information is not written in the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d, so even if information is read from the peripheral control SRAM 1511d, the current state information (game history) cannot be confirmed. Even in such a case, a check function may be provided to detect fraud at an early stage.

Specifically, the first record (latest record of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d) in which the game history of the most recent state is recorded and the second record (record of the peripheral control RAM 1511c) in which the game history of the current state is recorded. An error may be reported when the result of the comparison with .

For example, in a so-called right-handed pachinko machine 1 that shoots a game ball so as to roll on the right side of the game area 5a in a high-probability/time-saving state or a jackpot game state, transition from a high probability/time-saving state to a jackpot game state. In addition, when the state is changed to a high probability/time saving state after the end of the jackpot game state, even if the state is switched, the possibility of winning the general winning opening on the left side of the game area 5a is not extremely low. In this case, the number of winnings to the general winning opening may be compared between the jackpot gaming state and the subsequent high-probability/time-saving state, and if a difference is detected, an error may be reported. The permissible value of the difference in the number of winning balls entering the general winning opening between states is set to 1, and an error is reported when there is a difference of 2 or more. This is because when the shooting handle is released, the shooting force becomes uneven and the game ball may roll on the left side of the game area 5a.

A security signal may be transmitted from the external terminal board 784 shown in FIG. 116 instead of the error notification. The above-mentioned early fraud detection check function detects an error by predicting the game from the game state of the pachinko machine 1 (for example, it is a high probability / time saving state, so it will hit right), so that an inexperienced player can There is a possibility that an error will be detected when you hit unexpectedly. For this reason, the pachinko machine 1 may output only a security signal from the external terminal board 784 without announcing the error, and may not inform the player of the error. In this way, the hall clerk can confirm the possibility of an error from a place away from the pachinko machine 1 without being noticed by the player, and troubles with the player can be prevented.

As described above, since the error detection function of the pachinko machine 1 is not perfect, the cause of the error can be checked by analyzing the game history outside the pachinko machine 1. - 特許庁

[11-3. Compact plan 2]
In the above-described modification 1, among the commands transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510, the state change event of the pachinko machine 1 is recorded, and the number of counting events in each state during the change is counted. was recorded. However, the number of events in each changing state may not be important, and it may be sufficient to know the number of events for each type of recurring state. Therefore, in Modification 2 (Compact Proposal 2), the state of the pachinko machine 1 and the total number of counting events for each state are recorded.

In modification 2, the same game history recording condition setting table (FIG. 125) as in modification 1 is used to record the game history.

127 is a diagram showing the game history recorded in the memory of Modification 2. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 127, the game history of Modification 2 is composed of the history of state events and the total number of count events for each state. The state event history includes the state change event that triggered the state change of the pachinko machine 1, the state after the state change event, and the time when the state change event occurred. In the pachinko machine 1 of the modification 2, the cumulative number of counting events is recorded in five states of low probability/non-time saving state, low probability/time saving state, high probability/non-time saving state, high probability/time saving state, and jackpot state. be. The counting events (and the commands related to the event) recorded in Modification 2 are the number of start 1 wins (command when start 1 wins), the number of start 2 wins (command when start 2 wins), special Design 1 variation number (special design 1 design type command), special design 2 variation number (special design 2 design type command), general winning mouth 1 winning number (general winning mouth 1 winning command), general winning mouth 2 winning number (general Winning mouth 2 winning command), general winning mouth 3 winning number (general winning mouth 3 winning command), big winning mouth 1 winning number (big winning mouth 1 winning command), big winning mouth 2 winning number (big winning mouth 2 winning command ), gate passing number (general figure gate passing command), normal design fluctuation number (normal design stop command).

Note that the number of count events other than those described above may be counted, and the state in which the count events are separately recorded may be further subdivided.

Next, details of the game history recording process in Modification 2 will be described. In the game history shown in FIG. 127, when a state change event occurs, the type of state change event, the state after the occurrence of the event, and the date and time of occurrence of the event are recorded in the state event history. When a change in the state of the gaming machine is detected by a state change event, the cumulative number of counting events counted in the state before the change is recorded in the nonvolatile memory, and the above-described counting events are generated in correspondence with the state after the change. Start recording the cumulative number of

The counting result of the counting event in the current state is recorded in the work area of the peripheral control RAM 1511c. The recorded values may be added and stored in the game history storage area of the SRAM 1511d. That is, each time a state change event occurs, the accumulated value in the game history storage area of the SRAM 1511d is updated using the value before the state change recorded in the work area of the peripheral control RAM 1511c. For this reason, the count results in the current state recorded in the work area of the peripheral control RAM 1511c are backed up in the event of a power failure, but are initialized by a normal RAM clear operation.

Also, the counting result of the counting event in the current state may be written in the game history storage area of the SRAM 1511d. That is, every time a count event occurs, the accumulated value in the game history storage area of the SRAM 1511d is updated. In this case, the count result in the current state recorded in the SRAM 1511d is not initialized by the normal RAM clear operation, but is initialized by the game history initialization operation described above.

As described above, in Modification 2, changes in the state of the pachinko machine 1 are recorded, and counting events (the number of wins, the number of fluctuations, etc.) for each type of state are recorded. A long game history can be recorded without increasing the capacity of the .

[11-4. Compact plan 3]
In the modification 2 described above, among the commands transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510, the state change of the pachinko machine 1 is recorded by the state change event, and the cumulative number of counting events for each state is recorded. However, the timing of state switching may not be important, and it may be sufficient to know the number of events for each type of state. For this reason, in modification 3 (compact version 3), the change of the state of the pachinko machine 1 is not recorded, but the cumulative number of counting events for each state is recorded.

In modification 3, the same game history recording condition setting table (FIG. 125) as in modification 1 is used to record the game history.

In Modification 3, the same events as those recorded in Modification 1 are recorded using the game history recording condition setting table shown in FIG.

128 is a diagram showing the game history recorded in the memory of Modification 3. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 128, the game history of Modification 3 is composed of the cumulative number of counting events in each state. Furthermore, the game history of Modification 3 includes the cumulative time of each state. The reason why the accumulated time is included is that the hole can estimate the number of occurrences of the event (eg, the number of occurrences of the jackpot, etc.) from the accumulated time. The states in which counting events are recorded separately are 5 states: low probability/non-time-saving state, low probability/time-saving state, high probability/non-time-saving state, high probability/time-saving state, and jackpot state. Counting events may be recorded.

The counting events (and the commands related to the event) recorded in Modification 3 are the number of start 1 wins (command when start 1 wins), the number of start 2 wins (command when start 2 wins), special Design 1 variation number (special design 1 design type command), special design 2 variation number (special design 2 design type command), general winning mouth 1 winning number (general winning mouth 1 winning command), general winning mouth 2 winning number (general Winning mouth 2 winning command), general winning mouth 3 winning number (general winning mouth 3 winning command), big winning mouth 1 winning number (big winning mouth 1 winning command), big winning mouth 2 winning number (big winning mouth 2 winning command ), gate passing number (general figure gate passing command), normal design fluctuation number (normal design stop command). Note that the number of counting events other than those described above may be counted.

Next, details of the game history recording process in Modification 2 will be described. In the game history shown in FIG. 128, when a state change event occurs, the cumulative number of counting events described above is recorded corresponding to the state of the gaming machine changed by the state change event.

The counting result of the counting event in the current state is recorded in the work area of the peripheral control RAM 1511c. The recorded values may be added and stored in the game history storage area of the SRAM 1511d. That is, every time a state change event occurs, the accumulated value in the game history storage area of the SRAM 1511d is updated. For this reason, the count results in the current state recorded in the work area of the peripheral control RAM 1511c are backed up in the event of a power failure, but are initialized by a normal RAM clear operation.

Also, the counting result of the counting event in the current state may be written in the game history storage area of the SRAM 1511d. That is, every time a count event occurs, the accumulated value in the game history storage area of the SRAM 1511d is updated. In this case, the count result in the current state recorded in the SRAM 1511d is not initialized by the normal RAM clear operation, but is initialized by the game history initialization operation described above.

As described above, in Modification 2, changes in the state of the pachinko machine 1 are recorded, and counting events (the number of wins, the number of fluctuations, etc.) for each type of state are recorded. A long game history can be recorded without increasing the capacity of the .

As described above, in modifications 1 to 3, when an event occurs by the game history recording process, it is temporarily recorded in the work area (peripheral control RAM 1511c), and when the conditions for writing to the game history storage area of the peripheral control SRAM 1511d are met. Then, the data in the work area is written in the game history storage area of the SRAM 1511d. In a normal RAM clear operation, information written in the game history storage area of the SRAM 1511d is not erased (initialized), but information recorded in the work area (peripheral control RAM 1511c) is erased (initialized).

Here I will briefly touch on the hall business. In many cases, halls have set business hours, for example, opening at 10:00 and closing at 23:00. For this reason, it is sometimes difficult for staff to monitor whether players are playing illegal games during hours when there are many players, such as hours just after the store opens or in the evening. However, as the closing time approaches, the number of players decreases, and if there is a pachinko machine in a high-probability/short-time state just before closing time, the high-probability/short-time state pachinko machine is initialized for the next day's business, and the low-probability/ It may be in a non-working time state. In this case, since the number of players is small, it is possible to monitor pachinko machines in a high-probability/time-saving state, so it is possible to know whether or not the most recent game has been fraudulent. In other words, considering that some pachinko machines do not require the most recent game history, it is possible to provide an efficient gaming machine by enabling the store clerk to select whether or not to keep the most recent information.

Specifically, by initializing the pachinko machine 1 by a RAM clear operation, the game history stored in the work area regarding the event that occurred after the latest event is erased, and the game history is stored regarding the event that occurred before the latest event. The game history stored in the area remains. In other words, although the pachinko machine records information that is not output from the external terminal board 784, there are information recorded in the work area that is erased by the RAM clear operation and information recorded in the game history storage area that is not erased by the RAM clear operation. The game history is recorded separately. In this way, if you want to keep a record of all events recorded in the work area, the clerk only needs to cause a change in the state of the pachinko machine. The store clerk should just perform the ram clear operation. The RAM clear operation does not erase all game histories, but only erases the game histories stored in the work area related to events that occurred after the most recent event. This is because the store clerk has not seen the events that have occurred by then (since there are many players, they cannot see them).

As described above, in the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, not only is the information about winning the starting slot, but also the winning of the general winning slot unrelated to the lottery is once recorded in the work area. A pattern that starts to fluctuate by winning a prize in a starting slot, and even if the pattern indicating the lottery result of winning or losing with the stop mode of this pattern) does not fluctuate, the game is played while the game ball is launched in the game area 5a. It is characterized by collecting history. In other words, it can be said that the game history recording process is not a process that is executed when the lottery for win or loss is triggered, but a process that may be executed at all times while the power is supplied to the pachinko machine.

Moreover, if it is a low-probability and non-time-saving state, it shoots a game ball so that a game ball may win a prize to the starting opening 2002 like so-called left-handed hitting and choro-hitting. In such a case, it should be moderately awarded to the starting opening 2002 and the general winning opening 2001 . However, if there is no winning (or extremely few) to the general winning opening 2001, but many game balls have won the starting opening 2002, conversely there is no winning (or extremely few) to the starting opening 2002 ), but if many game balls have won in the general winning hole 2001, there is a possibility that fraud has been committed. Therefore, the first winning hole and the second winning hole in which the game ball wins at the same time are set as objects to be monitored, and the number of winning to the first winning hole is a predetermined ratio of the number of winning to the second winning hole. An error may be signaled when the

Also, a security signal may be transmitted from the external terminal board 784 instead of the error notification. The detection method described above may detect an error when an inexperienced player makes an unexpected stroke. For this reason, the pachinko machine 1 may output only a security signal from the external terminal board 784 without announcing the error, and may not inform the player of the error. In this way, the hall clerk can confirm the possibility of an error from a place away from the pachinko machine 1 without being noticed by the player, and troubles with the player can be prevented.

The pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment is also characterized by collecting information accumulated in a plurality of games as a game history. There is an upper limit to the amount of game history data that can be recorded. there is

[12. Game performance setting function]
Next, an embodiment of a pachinko machine having a setting function will be described. The pachinko machine of this embodiment has, as game performance, a setting function for changing, for example, the operating ratio of the condition device.

[12-1. Basic configuration of pachinko machine with setting function]
FIG. 129 is a block diagram schematically showing the control configuration of a pachinko machine having a setting section, FIG. 130 is a perspective view of the pachinko machine having a setting section with the door open, viewed from the rear side, and FIG. 130 is a perspective view of the pachinko machine shown in FIG. 130 with the door closed, viewed from the back side, and FIG. 132 is a diagram showing the setting section of the pachinko machine shown in FIG.

The pachinko machine shown in FIG. 129 has a setting board 970 for setting the game performance of the pachinko machine. The setting board 970 is connected to the payout control board 951 , and the payout control unit 952 acquires the operating state of each switch and controls the display of the setting display 974 .

As shown in the front view of FIG. 132(A), the setting board 970 has a setting key 971 for changing the operation mode of the pachinko machine 1 to a setting change mode or a setting confirmation mode, and a setting key 971 for changing the setting value. A change switch 972, a setting confirmation switch 973 for confirming and inputting a changed setting value, and a setting display 974 for displaying the set or selected setting value are provided. The setting board 970 functions as a setting change operation unit that receives a setting change operation.

In this embodiment, operation signals of the setting key 971 , the setting change switch 972 and the setting confirmation switch 973 on the setting board 970 are taken into the payout control section 952 . Also, the setting display 974 is controlled by the payout control section 952 . The determined settings are transmitted from the payout control unit 952 to the main control board 1310 . Note that the main control board 1310 may control components on the setting board 970, as will be described later.

The setting key 971 is used to change to a setting change mode or a setting confirmation mode by inserting a predetermined key into a keyhole (key insertion part) and turning the key to the setting position to maintain the shorted or open state of the contact. It is a switch that outputs a signal that triggers the Note that the setting key 971 may not be provided, and another switch may also be used. In this case, by operating (long pressing) the setting change switch 972 for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds), the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode is started, and the setting change switch 972 is operated during the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode. A long press may end the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode.

Also, the setting change mode may be started/finished by operating the RAM clear switch 954 . For example, the setting change mode is started by turning on the power while operating the RAM clear switch 954 and continuing to operate the RAM clear switch 954 for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) (long press). Also, the power is turned on while the RAM clear switch 954 is being operated, and if the continuous operation of the RAM clear switch 954 is less than a predetermined time, RAM clear processing is executed. Further, the setting change mode may be ended by pressing the RAM clear switch 954 for a long time during the setting change mode.

By doing so, even an employee who does not have a key for the setting key 971 can change the setting, so that the pachinko machine 1 can be easily handled in the hall. Further, since the operating time of the setting change switch 972 is detected, it is preferable to detect the operation when the setting change switch 972 falls.

The setting change switch 972 is composed of, for example, a push button switch, and is operated to sequentially switch and select setting values (1 to 6). In other words, when the setting change switch 972 is pushed once, the set value is increased by 1, and when the set value=6 and the setting change switch 972 is operated, the set value becomes 1. The setting value may be selected by operating the RAM clear switch 954 without providing the setting change switch 972 . It should be noted that the set value is not limited to 6 steps, and may be set in fewer steps (for example, 2 steps) or in more steps (for example, 8 steps).

Also, the setting change switch 972 may not be provided, and the setting key 971 may also serve as the setting change switch 972 . In this case, the setting key 971 can be operated in three steps, and the key can be inserted and removed at the neutral position (normal position). This is an operation for selecting a value (turning it to the right functions as a setting change switch 972). The setting key 971 performs an alternative operation capable of holding the left position and the neutral position, and performs a momentary operation in which the right position is not held (returns to the neutral position when the key is released).

In addition, the set value changes the operating ratio of the condition device (that is, the probability of winning the special symbol), and the set value = 1 has a low hit probability, and the set value = 6 has a high hit probability. In addition, depending on the setting value, the ratio of the probability variable jackpot, the ratio of the time saving (ST) after the jackpot, the number of times of saving time, the number of rounds and counts of the jackpot, the probability of the normal drawing, the general winning mouth, the starting mouth and the big winning mouth Various game-related parameters, such as the number of prize balls, may be changed to change the number of prize balls that a player can win.

The setting confirmation switch 973 is composed of, for example, a momentary type switch, and is a switch for confirming a setting value selected by operating the setting change switch 972 and inputting it to the pachinko machine 1 . The setting confirmation switch 973 may be a push button switch or a momentary toggle switch as long as it is a momentary switch. The setting change switch 972 and the setting confirmation switch 973 are preferably configured with switches having different operating methods (operating directions) and shapes so as not to operate both switches by mistake. For example, the setting change switch 972 may be configured by a push button switch, and the setting determination switch 973 may be configured by a momentary toggle switch.

Alternatively, the selected setting may be confirmed by returning the setting key 971 to the normal position without providing the setting confirmation switch 973 . Further, the set value selected with the operation of other switches or sensors provided in the pachinko machine 1 as a trigger may be determined. For example, operation of the handle lever 504 of the handle unit 500, contact detection by the contact detection sensor 509 by touching the handle lever 504, operation of the stop button of the handle unit 500, operation of the operation button 220C, operation of the ball lending button , the operation of the return button, the winning detection of the game ball to the starting ports 2002 and 2004, etc., may determine the selected setting. The operation unit substituting for the setting confirmation switch 973 may be a switch that can be operated by the player (used in the game) or a switch that cannot be operated by the player (provided on the back side of the pachinko machine).

That is, in the illustrated example, three switches (including setting keys) are provided on the setting board 970 in order to set the game performance of the pachinko machine 1, but the setting board 970 is provided with one or two switches. It is enough to set

Furthermore, setting change operation may be enabled only with the RAM clear switch 954 without providing any of the setting key 971, the setting change switch 972, and the setting confirmation switch 973. FIG. For example, the setting change mode is started by turning on the power while operating the RAM clear switch 954 and continuing to operate the RAM clear switch 954 for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) (long press). Also, the power is turned on while the RAM clear switch 954 is being operated, and if the continuous operation of the RAM clear switch 954 is less than a predetermined time, RAM clear processing is executed. Further, instead of the setting change switch 972, the setting value can be selected by operating the RAM clear switch 954 in the setting change mode for less than a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds), and instead of the setting confirmation switch 973, the RAM clear switch By operating (long pressing) 954 for a predetermined time or longer, the set value can be determined. Further, the setting change mode may be ended by long-pressing the RAM clear switch 954 after the setting is confirmed.

The setting display 974 is composed of, for example, a 7-segment LED, and displays the setting value selected by operating the setting change switch 972, and displays the current setting value by a predetermined operation (for example, operating the setting key 971). . It should be noted that the setting display 974 may be configured by LEDs for the number of values that can be set instead of the 7-segment LEDs. In this case, the LED corresponding to the set value lights up to display the set value.

In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the payout control board 951 is provided with an error type indicator by a 7-segment LED for displaying the type of payout error. The selected setting value and the current setting value may be displayed on the error type indicator. In this case, it is preferable to change the display mode so that the display of the error type and the display of the set value can be distinguished from each other. For example, dots may be turned off when displaying error types, and lit when displaying set values. Alternatively, the error type display may be lit (not blinking), and the setting value may be blinking.

In the illustrated example, the setting board 970 is connected to the payout control board 951 , but may be connected to a power board (not shown) in the power board box 930 . By providing the setting board 970 side by side with the power supply board (or inside the power supply board box 930), the setting key 971 and the power switch 932 operated when changing the settings are arranged close to each other, thereby improving the operability of the setting change. can be improved.

Also, as will be described later, the setting board 970 may be connected to the main control board 1310 .

As another form, the setting board 970 may be configured not as an independent board but as a part of the payout control board 951, the power supply board, or the main control board 1310. That is, either the payout control board 951, the power supply board or the main control board 1310 may be equipped with the setting key 971, the setting change switch 972, the setting confirmation switch 973 and the setting display 974.

As shown in FIG. 130, the setting board 970 is attached to the right side of the lower part of the main body frame 4 (that is, the frame side instead of the game board 5) that constitutes the pachinko machine 1, and as shown in FIG. When the body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2 , at least part of the setting board 970 faces the right frame member 40 of the outer frame 2 . When the main body frame 4 is housed in the outer frame 2, the space between the setting board 970 and the right frame member 40 is narrow, making it difficult to operate the keys and switches on the setting board 970 in this state. In this way, the right frame member 40 hides the setting key 971, prevents the key from being inserted into the keyhole of the setting key 971, and makes it difficult to operate the setting board 970 (setting change operation unit). act as a means. In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, the setting keys 971 as at least a part of the setting board 970 may face the right frame member 40 of the outer frame 2 with a narrow gap while the body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2. However, the entire setting board 970 may face the right frame member 40 of the outer frame 2 with a narrow gap. In this case, it is preferable to arrange the keys and switches vertically so that the width of the setting board 970 does not exceed the width of the right frame member 40 . In this way, when the entire setting board 970 faces the right frame member 40 of the outer frame 2 with a narrow gap, setting is made during operation of the pachinko machine 1 (that is, with the body frame 4 accommodated in the outer frame 2). By making it difficult to operate the substrate 970, it is possible to prevent a player from cheating by changing the settings of the pachinko machine 1.例文帳に追加

In the illustrated example, the member facing the setting board 970 (means for making setting change difficult) while the body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2 is the right frame member 40, but other members may be used. For example, a cover provided on the outer frame 2 may be arranged at a position facing the setting board 970 with a narrow gap when the body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2 . Further, a cover that moves in conjunction with the opening and closing of the body frame 4 may be provided, and when the body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2, the cover may be arranged at a position facing the setting board 970 with a narrow gap. .

The setting change making means configured by a member provided facing the setting board 970 may be a cover that covers the setting board 970 . In this case, it is preferable to cover the setting key 971 that triggers the start of the setting change mode with a double cover. For example, an inner cover that covers the setting board 970 and an outer cover that covers various control boards including the setting board 970 are provided. Also, an inner cover that covers the keyhole of the setting key 971 and an outer cover that covers the setting board 970 may be provided. More specifically, the setting board 970 is housed in a setting board case, and the setting board case has a first cover for preventing careless operation of the setting key 971 and the switches 972 and 973 (at least the setting key 971). A body (eg, a door-like lid that can be opened during operation) is provided. Further, the outer frame 2 is provided with a second cover body that covers various control boards including the setting board 970 and the main control board 1310 . The second cover body may be provided on the body frame 4 or the game board 5 to cover various control boards. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the setting change mode from being started by careless operation, and it is possible to suppress fraudulent acts of an illegal player changing the settings of the pachinko machine 1.例文帳に追加

The distance at which the setting board 970 faces members such as the right frame member 40 when the main body frame 4 is housed in the outer frame 2 is the head of the key inserted into the keyhole of the setting key 971 (the key head held during operation). ).

The setting board 970 is preferably arranged near the power switch 932 so that the setting key 971 operated when changing the settings and the power switch 932 are arranged near each other. By doing so, it is possible to improve the operability when starting the setting change mode.

Further, as shown in FIG. 131, the power supply board box 930 is provided with a power switch 932 for energizing the pachinko machine 1. A RAM clear switch 954 is provided for clearing. As described above, the pachinko machine 1 is provided with a plurality of switches that are not operated during a game and can be operated from the back side. It is provided at a position where it can be visually recognized and operated. On the other hand, the setting key 971 (preferably also the setting change switch 972 and the setting confirmation switch 973) are provided at a position where it is difficult to see and operate from the back side while the pachinko machine 1 is in operation. This is because the power switch 932 and the RAM clear switch 954 are frequently operated in the manufacturing process, so they are provided at positions where they can be operated from the back side while the pachinko machine 1 is in operation. On the other hand, the setting key 971 is hidden so as to be difficult to operate while the pachinko machine 1 is in operation, thereby suppressing fraudulent actions to change the settings of the pachinko machine 1 by operating the setting board 970 during the game. As described above, in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the switches are arranged on the back side of the pachinko machine 1 so as to achieve both convenience and suppression of fraud.

Similarly, the current set value of the pachinko machine 1 is important information for the player's machine selection, so it is desirable that the player does not know it. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 131, like the setting key 971, the setting indicator 974 should also face the right frame member 40 with a narrow gap so that the display cannot be seen. Normally, when the main body frame 4 is housed in the outer frame 2 or when the setting key 971 is not operated, the setting display 974 is turned off to prevent the player from knowing the setting value. is desirable. In this way, the right frame member 40 functions as visibility making means that hides the display content of the setting display 974 and makes the display content of the setting display 974 (setting state display section) difficult to see.

FIG. 132B is a top view of the setting board 970 with the body frame 4 housed in the outer frame 2 . In this state, since the setting board 970 faces the right frame member 40 with a narrow gap, the head of the key 975 inserted into the keyhole of the setting key 971 and the right frame member 40 interfere with each other. The key 975 cannot be inserted into the keyhole.

On the other hand, when the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 , the right frame member 40 is not positioned in front of the keyhole of the setting key 971 and the key 975 can be inserted into the keyhole of the setting key 971 .

The display surface of the setting display 974 faces the side of the pachinko machine 1 and faces the right frame member 40 when the body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2. It is difficult to confirm the current setting values of pachinko machines.

FIG. 133 is a diagram showing a modification of the setting board 970. As shown in FIG.

In this modified example, a setting board 970 is provided with a setting key 971, a setting change switch 972, a setting determination switch 973, and a setting display 974, as in the above-described example. However, in this modification, the setting key 971 is arranged horizontally on the setting board 970, and the key 975 is inserted from the side of the setting board.

For this reason, the setting board 970 of this modified example is installed not on the side surface side of the body frame 4 but on the back surface side so that the keyhole faces the side surface. As shown in FIG. 133(B), when the setting board 970 is viewed from above, the main body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2, and the side surface (that is, the keyhole) of the setting board 970 is the right frame member 40. , the head of the key 975 inserted into the keyhole of the setting key 971 interferes with the right frame member 40, and the key 975 cannot be inserted into the keyhole of the setting key 971.

In the modification shown in FIG. 133, the board of the pachinko machine 1 can be arranged in the same direction as the other boards, and even if the difficulty of board arrangement is reduced, the setting board 970 can be operated while the pachinko machine 1 is in operation. A fraudulent act of changing the setting of the pachinko machine 1 can be suppressed.

Next, a modified example of a pachinko machine having a setting section will be described. In this modified example, the setting board 970 is provided on the game board 5 instead of the main body frame 4 and is connected to the main control board 1310 .

FIG. 134 is a block diagram schematically showing the control configuration of the pachinko machine of this modified example, FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a pachinko machine mounted with a game board shown; FIG.

A setting board 970 is provided with a setting key 971 , a setting change switch 972 , a setting determination switch 973 and a setting display 974 . The setting board 970 may be the one shown in FIG. 132(A) or the one shown in FIG. 133(A).

In the pachinko machine 1 shown in FIG. 134, the setting board 970 for setting the game performance of the pachinko machine is connected to the main control board 1310, and the main control MPU 1311 acquires the operation state of each switch, controls the display of the settings indicator 974 .

The setting board 970 and the functions and configurations of the components on the setting board are the same as those of the above-described embodiments, and the common description will be omitted.

The main control board 1310 is provided with a base indicator 1317 composed of a 7-segment LED. Therefore, the base display 1317 and the setting display 974 may be used together, and the selected setting value and the current setting value may be displayed on the base display 1317 . The base display 1317 normally switches between the base value of the provisional section (the section currently being measured) and the base value of the fixed section (straight section) at predetermined time intervals. On the other hand, during the setting change mode, the selected (to be set next) setting value is displayed, and during setting confirmation (see FIG. 152), the current setting value is displayed.

In this case, it is preferable to change the display mode so that the display of the base value and the display of the set value can be distinguished from each other. For example, the base value may be displayed using four digits, but the setting value may be displayed using only one predetermined digit (for example, the rightmost digit) and displaying "-". Digits that are not used to display the set value may display other numbers, letters, or symbols instead of "-" as long as they are not used to display the base value. Also, when displaying the setting value, characters that are not used for displaying the base value may be displayed. For example, the set value is displayed in six stages of alphabetical characters A, b, C, d, E, and F.

Furthermore, in the setting change mode, it is preferable that the setting value is displayed blinking while the setting value is being selected, and the determined setting value is lit. In addition, the current set value should be indicated by lighting. Also, in the base display, the upper two digits represent the type of display data, and numbers are not displayed. Therefore, the most significant digit may be used to display the setting value. When the base display 1317 and the setting display 974 are used together, the setting value is preferentially displayed during the setting change mode and setting confirmation, so the base value is displayed even though the base value is being calculated. not. After that, when the setting change mode and the confirmation of the set values are completed, the base display 1317 resumes displaying the base values.

Also, when the base display 1317 and the setting display 974 are used together, the process of outputting the display content to the setting display 974 is executed by the game control code 13131 in the game control area, and the display content to the base display 1317 is executed. The process of outputting is executed by base calculation/display code 13135 outside the game control area. However, part of the base calculation/display code 13135 (for example, processing for outputting display data to the driver circuit) may be provided within the game control area. By sharing the processing, the capacity of the program can be reduced and the memory can be saved.

On the other hand, the process of outputting the display contents to the setting display 974 is executed by the game control code 13131 in the game control area, and the process of outputting the display contents to the base display 1317 is for base calculation/display outside the game control area. When executed with code 13135, processing inside and outside the game control area can be completely separated, and security can be improved.

In addition, the process of setting change and setting confirmation may be executed outside the game control area.

That is, whether the setting display 974 is provided separately from the base display 1317 or is shared with the base display 1317 is included in the scope of the invention described herein. In this way, by displaying a plurality of displays provided in the main control board box 1320 so as not to be confused during the setting change mode and setting value confirmation, it is possible to prevent erroneous operation and setting value misunderstanding when changing settings.

Also, even if the base display 1317 and the setting display 974 are not used together, the display of the base display 1317 may be turned off or all of them may be turned on while the setting display 974 is displaying the set values. Even in this case, the base display 1317 resumes displaying the base value when the setting change mode and the confirmation of the set value are completed. By not displaying a plurality of displays in the main control board box 1320 during the setting change mode and setting value confirmation, it is possible to prevent erroneous operation and setting value misrecognition at the time of setting change.

In the illustrated example, the setting board 970 is connected to the main control board 1310, but the setting board 970 may be formed as a part of the main control board 1310 instead of being an independent board. That is, the main control board 1310 may be equipped with a setting key 971 , a setting change switch 972 , a setting confirmation switch 973 and a setting display 974 .

The configuration board 970 may be enclosed in the main control board box 1320 along with the main control board 1310 . When the setting board 970 is enclosed in the main control board box 1320, the main control board box 1320 has holes or cutouts for operating the setting keys 971, setting change switches 972, and setting confirmation switches 973 on the setting board 970. is provided.

When the setting board 970 is enclosed in the main control board box 1320 , the structure of the main control board box 1320 , that is, the opening/closing direction differs depending on the direction of the keyhole of the setting key 971 on the setting board 970 . Specifically, when the key 975 is vertically inserted into the board from the front side of the board, the main control board box 1320 is vertically separated from the setting board 970 on the front side and the back side of the setting board 970 or the front side box body ( (or cover) and the box on the back side may be configured to be openable and closable with one side as a hinge. On the other hand, when the key 975 is inserted from the side in the direction in which the board extends, the main control board box 1320 is configured so that the front side box (or cover) and the back side box of the setting board 970 extend in the direction in which the setting board 970 extends. It is preferable to have a structure in which they are separated by sliding in (the direction in which the key 975 is inserted).

In this modification, operation signals of setting keys 971 , setting change switches 972 and setting confirmation switches 973 on the setting board 970 are taken into the main control MPU 1311 . Also, the setting display 974 is controlled by the main control MPU 1311 .

As shown in FIG. 135, the setting board 970 is attached to the right side (the left side in FIG. 135) of the game board 5 that constitutes the pachinko machine 1. As shown in FIG. When the body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2 , at least part of the setting board 970 faces the right frame member 40 of the outer frame 2 . When the body frame 4 is housed in the outer frame 2, the space between the setting board 970 and the right frame member 40 is narrow. Switch operation is difficult. In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, the setting keys 971 as at least a part of the setting board 970 may face the right frame member 40 of the outer frame 2 with a narrow gap while the body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2. However, the entire setting board 970 may face the right frame member 40 of the outer frame 2 with a narrow gap. In this case, it is preferable to arrange the keys and switches vertically so that the width of the setting board 970 does not exceed the width of the right frame member 40 . In this way, when the entire setting board 970 faces the right frame member 40 of the outer frame 2 with a narrow gap, setting is made during operation of the pachinko machine 1 (that is, with the body frame 4 accommodated in the outer frame 2). A fraudulent act of changing the settings of the pachinko machine 1 by operating the board 970 can be suppressed.

In the illustrated example, the member facing the setting board 970 (means for making setting change difficult) while the body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2 is the right frame member 40, but other members may be used. For example, a cover provided on the outer frame 2 may be arranged at a position facing the setting board 970 with a narrow gap when the body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2 . Further, a cover that moves in conjunction with the opening and closing of the body frame 4 may be provided, and when the body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2, the cover may be arranged at a position facing the setting board 970 with a narrow gap. .

The distance at which the setting board 970 faces members such as the right frame member 40 when the main body frame 4 is housed in the outer frame 2 is the head of the key inserted into the keyhole of the setting key 971 (the key head held during operation). ).

136, the power supply board box 930 is provided with a power switch 932 for energizing the pachinko machine 1, and the payout control board unit 950 has the main control RAM 1312 of the pachinko machine 1 initialized. A RAM clear switch 954 is provided for clearing. As described above, the pachinko machine 1 is provided with a plurality of switches that are not operated during a game and can be operated from the back side. It is provided at a position where it can be visually recognized and operated. On the other hand, the setting key 971 (preferably also the setting change switch 972 and the setting confirmation switch 973) are provided at a position where it is difficult to see and operate from the back side while the pachinko machine 1 is in operation. This is because the power switch 932 and the RAM clear switch 954 are frequently operated in the manufacturing process, so they are provided at positions where they can be operated from the back side while the pachinko machine 1 is in operation. On the other hand, the setting key 971 is hidden so as to be difficult to operate while the pachinko machine 1 is in operation, thereby suppressing fraudulent actions to change the settings of the pachinko machine 1 by operating the setting board 970 during the game. As described above, in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the switches are arranged on the back side of the pachinko machine 1 so as to achieve both convenience and suppression of fraud.

Similarly, the current set value of the pachinko machine 1 is important information for the player's machine selection, so it is desirable that the player does not know it. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 136, like the setting key 971, the setting indicator 974 should also face the right frame member 40 with a narrow gap so that the display cannot be seen. Normally, when the main body frame 4 is housed in the outer frame 2 or when the setting key 971 is not operated, the setting display 974 is turned off to prevent the player from knowing the setting value. is desirable. In this way, the right frame member 40 functions as visibility making means that hides the display content of the setting display 974 and makes the display content of the setting display 974 (setting state display section) difficult to see.

In the pachinko machine 1 shown in FIG. 134, the top view of the setting board 970 with the body frame 4 housed in the outer frame 2 is as shown in FIGS. 132(B) and 133(B). . In this state, the keyholes of the setting board 970 and the setting key 971 face the right frame member 40 with a narrow gap, so that the head of the key 975 inserted into the keyhole of the setting key 971 and the right frame member 40 interfere with each other. However, the key 975 cannot be inserted into the keyhole of the setting key 971 .

The display surface of the setting display 974 faces the side of the pachinko machine 1 and faces the right frame member 40 when the body frame 4 is accommodated in the outer frame 2. It is no longer possible to check the current settings of the pachinko machine.

Next, processing related to setting change will be described.

FIG. 137 is a flowchart illustrating an example of initialization processing. The initialization process shown in FIG. 137 is different from the initialization process described above in FIG. The difference is that the setting change processing is performed in S28). The same steps as in the initialization process described above in FIG. 21 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When the pachinko machine 1 is powered on, the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 executes the main control program to perform initialization processing. The main control MPU 1311 first sets the protection of the RAM 1312 incorporated in the main control MPU 1311 to write permission, thereby enabling writing to the RAM 1312 (step S10). Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 activates the built-in watchdog timer (step S12), and checks whether a predetermined wait time (time required for activation of the sub-board (peripheral control board 1510, etc.)) has elapsed. Determine (step S16). If the predetermined wait time has elapsed, it is determined whether the setting key 971 has been operated and its output is on (step S17). When the setting key 971 is operated, among the data backed up in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312, the data of the set value and the game state (for example, the probability variable state, the time saving state, the special design and the normal design reservation storage, the prize ball information) is left, and other data are erased (step S30), and the process proceeds to step S24.

On the other hand, if the setting key 971 has not been operated, it is determined whether the RAM clear switch has been operated (step S18). If the RAM clear switch is operated, the data in the area other than the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128) among the data backed up in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 is erased (step S30), and step S24. proceed to On the other hand, if the RAM clear switch has not been operated, the data backed up in the built-in RAM 1312 is not erased, and it is determined whether a power failure flag has been set (step S20).

As a result, if the power failure flag is not set, the data in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 may not be correct, so the data backed up in the work area (other than the base calculation area 13128) is deleted (step S30). , the process proceeds to step S24. On the other hand, if the power failure flag is set, the power failure flag is cleared, and the checksum calculated from the data backed up in the work area of the internal RAM 1312 using the checksum calculated at the time of the previous power failure and the checksum in step S48 The stored checksum is compared (verified) (step S22).

As a result, if the checksum calculated from the backup data does not match the checksum stored in step S48, the data in the work area of the internal RAM 1312 may not be correct. area other than the base calculation area 13128) is erased (step S30), and the process proceeds to step S24. On the other hand, if the checksum calculated from the backup data matches the checksum stored in step S48, the data in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 is correct. proceed to

Subsequently, it is determined whether the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128) is normal using the check code (step S24). If it is determined to be abnormal, the data in the base calculation work area may be incorrect, so the data stored in the base calculation work area is deleted (step S26).

In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, as a case where at least a part of the area of the RAM 1312 is initialized, the operation of the setting key 971 (step S17), the operation of the RAM clear switch (step S18), and the power failure flag are set. There is a power failure flag failure (step S20), a RAM failure (step S22) in which the RAM checksum does not match, and a base calculation workpiece failure (step S24). Of these, as shown in the figure, when the operation of the setting key 971 is detected when the power is turned on, the game control area 13126 (including the game work area and the game stack area), the set value and the game Leave the data of (for example, probability variable state, time saving state, reserved storage of special symbols and normal symbols, information on prize balls), clear other data, and do not clear the base calculation area 13128 (outside the game control area) . When operation of the RAM clear switch is detected when the power is turned on, and in the case of power failure flag abnormality, RAM abnormality, game control area 13126 (including game work area and game stack area) is cleared, for base calculation Area 13128 (including base calculation work area and base calculation stack area) is not cleared. Moreover, in the case of base calculation work abnormality, the base calculation area 13128 (outside the game control area) is cleared, and the game control area 13126 is not cleared.

It should be noted that, unlike the illustrated one, in the case of power failure flag abnormality, RAM abnormality, base calculation work abnormality, since the validity of the data stored in the RAM 1312 is not guaranteed, the game control area 13126 and the base calculation area 13128 You may clear the entire RAM area including If the entire RAM area is cleared in the case of a work error for base calculation, the data indicating the game state will be lost and normal processing cannot be executed. should be initialized only. Also, when the operation of the RAM clear switch is detected when the power is turned on, the game control area 13126 (including the game work area and the game stack area) is cleared in the same manner as described above, and the base calculation area 13128 is cleared. No need to clear.

Thus, in the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, the data backed up in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 are stored for each type of data (game control area 13126 (setting value, game state data), base calculation Area 13128) Erase under different conditions. That is, by operating the RAM clear switch, the backed up game control area 13126 other than the set value is erased, and the set value and the base calculation area 13128 are not erased. This is because if the set values are erased by operating the RAM clear switch, the set values need to be reset for each RAM clear operation, which complicates the maintenance of the pachinko machine 1 in the hall. Therefore, the set values are not erased by operating the RAM clear switch.

Either FIG. 22 or FIG. 102 may be employed for the processing after step S28 as required. The difference between FIG. 22 and FIG. 102 is the presence or absence of processing (steps S50 and S52) for calculating and storing a check code from the data in the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128) when the power is turned off.

138 and 139 are flowcharts showing an example of setting change processing and setting display processing, and FIG. 139 shows the processing when the setting board 970 is connected to the main control board 1310 (or is configured integrally with the main control board 1310).

First, the setting change processing in which the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 shown in FIG. 138(A) cooperate will be described.

When the pachinko machine 1 is powered on, (1) the payout control unit 952 determines whether the setting key 971 is turned on and whether the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 . Whether or not the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 can be determined by a detection signal from the body frame release switch. Considering the arrangement position of the setting key 971, the body frame 4 is opened from the outer frame 2 in order to operate the setting key 971, so the determination of whether the body frame 4 is opened may be omitted. .

If the setting key 971 is turned on and the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2, the payout control section 952 starts the setting change mode. In this way, the payout control unit 952 functions as setting change permission state generation means. Conditions for starting the setting change mode other than those described above include operation of the handle lever 504 of the handle unit 500, detection by the contact detection sensor 509 of touching the handle lever 504, insertion of a prepaid card in the CR unit (prepaid If there is a balance on the card) or there is a balance in the cash sand, it is not necessary to start the setting change mode. Moreover, it is better not to start the setting change mode even when the pachinko machine 1 detects the possibility of some kind of fraudulent activity (for example, a magnetic error). These conditions may be determined after the main control MPU 1311 instead of the payout control unit 952 receives the setting change start command. In such a case, it is presumed that the pachinko machine 1 is not being maintained by the hall, and there is a possibility that an illegal player is about to change the settings, so it is better not to shift to the setting change mode. .

(2) When the setting change mode starts, the payout control unit 952 transmits a setting change start command to the main control board 1310 .

(3) When the main control MPU 1311 receives a setting change start command from the payout control unit 952, it executes RAM clear processing before setting change. RAM clear processing before this setting change, game control area 13126 (including game work area and game stack area), game state (for example, probability variable state, time saving state, special design and normal design pending storage , information about prize balls) are left, other data are cleared, and the area for base calculation 13128 (outside the game control area) is not cleared. Note that the setting value is set to the initial value later in procedure (6), so it is not necessary to clear it in this step.

(4) After that, the main control MPU 1311 transmits a setting change start command to the peripheral control unit 1511 .

(5) When the peripheral control unit 1511 receives a setting change start command from the main control MPU 1311, it notifies that the setting change mode is in progress. The notification during the setting change mode is to perform the initial operation of the character or to perform a predetermined display on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 . Note that the peripheral control unit 1511 does not have to perform the initial action of the role object. For example, in the case of displaying the setting change procedure or state on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, if the initial action of the character is performed during the setting change, the display of the main liquid crystal display device 1600 will be partially hidden. This is because it interferes with the change work.

In addition, the main control MPU 1311 may also notify the setting change mode in accordance with the notification of the setting change mode by the peripheral control unit 1511 . For example, the display of the function display unit 1400 may be displayed in a special mode that does not appear during the normal game (for example, all LEDs for special symbol display are turned off or turned on) to stop the progress of the game. . Further, the main control MPU 1311 may notify the setting change mode by stopping the detection of winning balls and out balls and stopping the progress of the game. As a result, the base value is not calculated in the setting change mode. In addition, the main control MPU 1311 stops outputting the firing permission signal, stops firing the game ball controlled by the firing control device, and functions as firing disabling means, thereby notifying the setting change mode. good too. When stopping the shooting of game balls during the setting change mode, the shooting of game balls during the shooting stop period may be treated as an error, and the error may be detected when the handle lever 504 of the handle unit 500 is operated during this period. .

(6) Next, the main control MPU 1311 resets the set value to zero. As described above, the setting value can be selected from 1 to 6, the setting value = 0 is a state in which no setting has been made, and the setting change mode cannot be ended with the setting value = 0, and the game (game ball firing, floating display games, etc.) does not start.

(7) Thereafter, each time the player operates the setting change switch 972, the payout control unit 952 displays the selected set value on the setting display 974.

(8) The payout control section 952 determines whether the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 . Although the procedure (1) described above also determines whether the body frame 4 is open, it may be determined at least once before determining whether the setting confirmation switch 973 has been operated. In this way, the payout control unit 952 functions as setting change allowable state generation means for determining whether the setting change conditions are met before the setting change is finalized.

(9) Furthermore, the payout control unit 952 determines whether the setting confirmation switch 973 is operated.

(10) If the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 and the setting confirmation switch 973 is operated, the payout control unit 952 confirms the selected setting value, and confirms the setting value. is displayed on the setting display 974 . The setting value confirmation display may display a value (for example, 8) that cannot be selected as the setting value, or may blink the fixed setting value for a predetermined time.

(11) After that, the payout control unit 952 determines whether the setting key 971 is turned off.

(12) If the setting key 971 is turned off, the setting change mode is terminated, so the payout control unit 952 transmits a setting change end command to the main control board 1310 . By this setting change end command, the main control MPU 1311 is notified of the determined set values.

(13) When the main control MPU 1311 receives the setting change end command from the payout control unit 952 , it transmits the setting change end command to the peripheral control unit 1511 .

(14) When the peripheral control unit 1511 receives a setting change end command from the main control MPU 1311, it ends the notification that the setting is being changed. Along with this, if the main control MPU 1311 is informing that the setting is being changed, this is also terminated.

The notification (including game stop and firing stop) may be canceled immediately after the setting change mode ends, or may be canceled after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. If the notification performed in step (5) is considered merely to be a notification to the outside (players, hall employees), the notification should be canceled immediately after the setting change mode ends. However, if the notification performed in step (5) is taken from the viewpoint of discovery of fraudulent activity, it is preferable to cancel the notification after a predetermined time has elapsed after the setting change mode is terminated. This is because when the setting is changed, a predetermined display is performed for a predetermined period of time or the game is stopped, so that it is easy to discover that an unauthorized player has changed the setting during business hours. be.

When the shooting of game balls is stopped during a predetermined period after the end of the setting change mode, shooting of game balls during the shooting suspension period is treated as an error, and an error is detected when the handle lever 504 of the handle unit 500 is operated during the period. You may

(15) After that, the main control MPU 1311 executes RAM clear processing after the setting change. RAM clear processing after this setting change, among game control area 13126 (including work area for game and stack area for game), set value and game state Reservation storage, information about prize balls) data is left, other data is cleared, and the base calculation area 13128 (outside the game control area) is not cleared. In other words, in the RAM clear processing after setting change, the set values are not initialized, unlike the RAM clear processing before setting change.

Then, the setting change mode is terminated.

Thus, when the setting board 970 is connected to the payout control board 951 and functions as a child board of the payout control board 951 (or the setting board 970 is configured integrally with the payout control board 951) , the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 cooperate to execute the setting change process.

In the processing described above, the payout control unit 952 determines whether the setting key 971 is operated, but the main control MPU 1311 may determine. In this case, the signal related to the operation of the setting key 971 from the payout control unit 952 to the main control board 1310 can be transmitted by serial communication, by transmitting a predetermined pulse signal (a pulse with a predetermined frequency for a predetermined number of times), or by transmitting a power supply voltage. However, an intermediate potential signal that is not the ground voltage may be output. In order to prevent a fraudulent act of activating the setting change mode by short-circuiting the terminals of the setting key 971, a signal related to the operation of the setting key 971 is sent from the payout control unit 952 by a signal that cannot be caused by a short-circuit of the terminals. This is because it is preferable to transmit to the substrate 1310 .

Next, the setting display processing in which the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 shown in FIG. 138(B) cooperate will be described.

When the setting key 971 is turned on while the pachinko machine 1 is in operation (energized), the payout control unit 952 detects the operation of the setting key 971 and starts the setting display mode.

(1) In the setting display mode, the payout control section 952 determines whether the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 . Considering the arrangement position of the setting key 971, the body frame 4 is opened from the outer frame 2 in order to operate the setting key 971, so the determination of whether the body frame 4 is opened may be omitted. .

(2) The payout controller 952 sends a set value request command to the main control board 1310 when it is determined that the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 .

(3) When the main control MPU 1311 receives a set value request command from the payout control unit 952, it reads the set value stored in the main control RAM 1312 and transmits a set value notification command to the payout control unit 952.

(4) The payout control unit 952 displays on the setting display 974 the setting value notified by the setting value notification command from the main control MPU 1311 .

In the above description, the setting values stored in the main control board 1310 (main control RAM 1312) are displayed on the setting display 974. The set value may be displayed on the setting indicator 974 .

Next, setting change processing by the main control board 1310 shown in FIG. 139(A) will be described.

When the pachinko machine 1 is powered on, (1) the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the setting key 971 is turned on and whether the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 . In this way, the main control MPU 1311 functions as setting change allowable state generating means. Whether or not the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 can be determined by a detection signal from the body frame release switch. A detection signal of the body frame open switch is transmitted to the main control board 1310 via the payout control board 951 . The payout control board 951 may transmit a body frame open detection command to the main control board 1310 based on the received detection signal of the body frame open detection switch. Also, the payout control board 951 may output the received detection signal of the body frame open detection switch to the main control board 1310 as it is. Considering the arrangement position of the setting key 971, the body frame 4 is opened from the outer frame 2 in order to operate the setting key 971, so the determination of whether the body frame 4 is opened may be omitted. .

If the setting key 971 is turned on and the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2, the main control MPU 1311 starts the setting change mode. Conditions for starting the setting change mode other than those described above include operation of the handle lever 504 of the handle unit 500, detection by the contact detection sensor 509 of touching the handle lever 504, insertion of a prepaid card in the CR unit (prepaid If there is a balance on the card) or there is a balance in the cash sand, it is not necessary to start the setting change mode. Moreover, it is better not to start the setting change mode even when the pachinko machine 1 detects the possibility of some kind of fraudulent activity (for example, a magnetic error). In such a case, it is presumed that the pachinko machine 1 is not being maintained by the hall, and there is a possibility that an illegal player is about to change the settings, so it is better not to shift to the setting change mode. .

(3) When the setting change mode starts, the main control MPU 1311 receives a setting change start command from the payout control unit 952, and executes RAM clear processing before setting change. RAM clear processing before this setting change, game control area 13126 (including game work area and game stack area), game state (for example, probability variable state, time saving state, special design and normal design pending storage , information about prize balls) are left, other data are cleared, and the area for base calculation 13128 (outside the game control area) is not cleared. Note that the setting value is set to the initial value later in procedure (6), so it is not necessary to clear it in this step.

(4) After that, the main control MPU 1311 transmits a setting change start command to the peripheral control unit 1511 .

(5) When the peripheral control unit 1511 receives a setting change start command from the main control MPU 1311, it notifies that the setting change mode is in progress. The notification during the setting change mode is to perform the initial operation of the character or to perform a predetermined display on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 . Note that the peripheral control unit 1511 does not have to perform the initial action of the role object. For example, in the case of displaying the setting change procedure or state on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, if the initial action of the character is performed during the setting change, the display of the main liquid crystal display device 1600 will be partially hidden. This is because it interferes with the change work.

In addition, the main control MPU 1311 may also notify the setting change mode in accordance with the notification of the setting change mode by the peripheral control unit 1511 . For example, the display of the function display unit 1400 may be displayed in a special mode that does not appear during a normal game (for example, all LEDs for special symbol display are turned off or turned on) to stop the progress of the game. . Further, the main control MPU 1311 may notify the setting change mode by stopping the detection of winning balls and out balls and stopping the progress of the game. As a result, the base value is not calculated in the setting change mode. In addition, the main control MPU 1311 stops outputting the firing permission signal, stops firing the game ball controlled by the firing control device, and functions as firing disabling means, thereby notifying the setting change mode. good too. When stopping the shooting of game balls during the setting change mode, the shooting of game balls during the shooting stop period may be regarded as an error, and the error may be detected when the handle lever 504 of the handle unit 500 is operated during this period. .

(6) Next, the main control MPU 1311 resets the set value to zero. As described above, the setting value can be selected from 1 to 6, the setting value = 0 is a state in which no setting has been made, and the setting change mode cannot be ended with the setting value = 0, and the game (game ball firing, floating display games, etc.) does not start.

(7) After that, the main control MPU 1311 displays the selected setting value on the setting display 974 each time the player operates the setting change switch 972 .

(8) The main control MPU 1311 determines whether the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 . Although the procedure (1) described above also determines whether the body frame 4 is open, it may be determined at least once before determining whether the setting confirmation switch 973 has been operated. In this way, the payout control unit 952 determines whether the conditions for the setting change are met before the setting change is confirmed (especially whether the main body frame opening switch detection signal is input from the payout control board 951). It functions as an allowable state generating means.

(9) Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the setting confirmation switch 973 is operated.

(10) If the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 and the setting confirmation switch 973 is operated, the main control MPU 1311 confirms the selected setting value and notifies that the setting value is confirmed. Displayed on the setting display 974 . The setting value confirmation display may display a value (for example, 8) that cannot be selected as the setting value, or may blink the fixed setting value for a predetermined time.

(11) After that, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the setting key 971 is turned off.

(13) If the setting key 971 is turned off, the setting change mode is terminated, so the main control MPU 1311 transmits a setting change end command to the peripheral control unit 1511 .

(14) When the peripheral control unit 1511 receives a setting change end command from the main control MPU 1311, it ends the notification that the setting is being changed. Along with this, if the main control MPU 1311 is informing that the setting is being changed, this is also terminated.

The notification (including game stop and firing stop) may be canceled immediately after the setting change mode ends, or may be canceled after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. If the notification performed in step (5) is considered merely to be a notification to the outside (players, hall employees), the notification should be canceled immediately after the setting change mode ends. However, if the notification performed in step (5) is taken from the viewpoint of discovery of fraudulent activity, it is preferable to cancel the notification after a predetermined time has elapsed after the setting change mode is terminated. This is because when the setting is changed, a predetermined display is performed for a predetermined period of time or the game is stopped, so that it is easy to discover that an unauthorized player has changed the setting during business hours. be.

When the shooting of game balls is stopped during a predetermined period after the end of the setting change mode, shooting of game balls during the shooting suspension period is treated as an error, and an error is detected when the handle lever 504 of the handle unit 500 is operated during the period. You may

(15) After that, the main control MPU 1311 executes RAM clear processing after the setting change. RAM clear processing after this setting change, among game control area 13126 (including work area for game and stack area for game), set value and game state Reservation storage, information about prize balls) data is left, other data is cleared, and the base calculation area 13128 (outside the game control area) is not cleared. In other words, in the RAM clear processing after setting change, the set values are not initialized, unlike the RAM clear processing before setting change.

Then, the setting change mode is terminated.

In this way, the setting board 970 is connected to the main control board 1310 and functions as a slave board of the main control board 1310 (or the setting board 970 is integrated with the main control board 1310). Since the main control board 1310 acquires the detection signal of the body frame opening switch from the payout control board 951, the main control board 1310 alone cannot execute the setting change process, and the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 cooperate. is executing the setting change process.

Next, the setting display processing in which the setting board 970 and the payout control board 951 shown in FIG. 139(B) cooperate will be described.

When the setting key 971 is turned on while the pachinko machine 1 is in operation (energized), the main control MPU 1311 detects the operation of the setting key 971 and starts the setting display mode.

In the setting display mode, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 . Considering the arrangement position of the setting key 971, the body frame 4 is opened from the outer frame 2 in order to operate the setting key 971, so the determination of whether the body frame 4 is opened may be omitted. .

When the main control MPU 1311 determines that the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 , it reads the setting values stored in the main control RAM 1312 and displays them on the setting display 974 .

138(A) and 139(A), when the pachinko machine 1 detects an error during the setting change mode, the setting change mode is invalidated and the setting change mode is temporarily stopped. Then, by turning off the power of the pachinko machine 1 and turning on the power again, the stopped setting change mode is resumed. The setting change mode may be restarted from the stage where it was stopped due to error detection, or from the beginning of the setting change mode (set value=0 when no set value is selected).

It is preferable to record a history of changes in set values for a predetermined number of times. Specifically, the date and time when the setting was confirmed and the confirmed setting value are stored in the main control RAM 1312 or the RAM of the peripheral control unit 1511 . When the history of setting values is stored in the peripheral control unit 1511, it is preferable to store it in the RAM in the RTC provided in the peripheral control unit 1511 because the stored contents are backed up even when the pachinko machine 1 is powered off. Furthermore, a history of changes in recorded set values can be output. For example, a history of changes in recorded setting values may be displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 by a predetermined operation.

The interval for measuring the base value may be changed when the set value is changed. That is, when the set value is changed, even if the total number of out-balls in the section in which the base value is currently being measured is less than 52000, the section is ended and the next section is started. Since the game performance of the game machine changes depending on the setting value, by changing the interval by changing the setting value, it is possible to calculate the base value that does not mix different game performance, and it is possible to grasp the transition of the base value due to the change of the setting value. .

Also, when the setting value is changed, the interval in which the base value is currently being measured may be continued without changing the interval for measuring the base value. Since the set value changes the operating ratio of the conditional device, it is possible to design the base value not to change greatly by changing the set value. This is because, in such a case, it is not necessary to change the calculation interval of the base value by changing the set value.

Also, if both the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 and the ON operation of the setting key 971 are detected when the power is turned on, the setting change mode may be activated. Considering the method of operation and the layout of the operation means, the possibility of erroneously operating the setting key 971 is lower than the ON operation of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971. Therefore, the setting change mode is activated. is considered to be the intention of the operator. In addition, in the setting change mode, since the contents stored in the main control RAM 1312 other than the game state and the base value are cleared, it is considered sufficient to activate the setting change mode even if the user wishes to clear the RAM. .

On the other hand, if both the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 and the ON operation of the setting key 971 are detected when the power is turned on, the RAM may be cleared without activating the setting change mode. This is because it is assumed that the operator wants at least a RAM clear when both are being operated. Also, when both the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 and the ON operation of the setting key 971 are detected when the power is turned on, it is not necessary to start the setting change mode and clear the RAM. This is because, from the viewpoint of file safety against erroneous operations, it is preferable not to accept operations for which the intention of the operator is not clear.

In the RAM clearing of the procedures (3) and (15) described above, the game state data is maintained, but the reserved memory of the special symbols may be erased. The setting value changes the operating ratio of the condition device, and the random number determination result of the special symbol lottery may change. For this reason, it is preferable to erase the reserved memory of the special symbols and make a new lottery.

On the other hand, the lottery for special symbols (extraction of winning random numbers) is performed when the game ball enters the starting hole, but the lottery result is determined at the start of the variable display game. It suffices to determine the reserved and stored random value. Therefore, the reserved memory of the special symbol may be maintained.

Further, in the RAM clearing of the procedures (3) and (15) described above, the main control RAM 1312 may be initialized in the same area as the area erased due to the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 . That is, in the RAM clearing process in the setting change mode, the backed-up game control area 13126 other than the set values is erased (game state data is also erased), and the set values and the base calculation area 13128 are not erased. Normally, setting changes are made between the closing of the hall and the opening of the next day. This is because there is no need to maintain without

[12-2. Effect in pachinko machine with setting function]
[12-2-1. Special pattern and special electric accessories control process]
Details of the processing by the main control MPU 1311 will be described below. First, the special symbol and special electric accessary product control processing will be described. FIG. 140 is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure of the special symbol and special electric accessory control process. The special symbol and special electric accessary product control process is executed in the process of step S86 in the main control side timer interrupt process. Hereinafter, the first starting port 2002 and the second starting port 2004 are also collectively referred to as starting ports. Also, the first big prize opening 2005 and the second big prize opening 2006 are collectively referred to simply as the big prize opening. Moreover, the first special design and the second special design are generically called simply a special design.

In the special symbol and special electric accessory control process, the acceptance of the game ball into the starting port, that is, triggered by the starting winning prize (satisfaction of the starting condition), a big hit for each starting memory information (starting information) that satisfies this starting condition A determination random number is acquired, and it is determined whether or not the big hit determination random number matches a big hit determination value preliminarily stored in a main control built-in ROM (lottery means). Then, it is determined whether or not to generate a big win game state based on the lottery result. A game state is shifted to a jackpot game state. Hereinafter, the procedure of special symbol and special electric accessary product control processing will be described along the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the special symbol and special electric role product control process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first determines whether or not the game ball B has won the big winning hole (step S100). When the game ball B wins the big winning hole (the result of step S100 is "yes"), a big winning hole winning designation command is set (step S102).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not a game ball has entered the starting hole (step S112). Then, whether or not the game ball has won the starting hole is determined by the presence or absence of a detection signal from the first starting hole sensor 3002 or the second starting hole sensor 2511 in the switch input process (step S74) in the main control side timer interrupt process. This is performed based on the input information read and stored in the input information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

The main control MPU 1311, when the game ball has won the starting hole (the result of step S114 is "yes"), executes the starting hole winning process (step S116). In the start-up win-time process, a start-up win-win command to be transmitted when a game ball newly wins in the start-up win is set, a random number for judging a big hit is extracted and stored in a predetermined area, and a special pattern is set. It also executes processing and the like for executing the look-ahead effect.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes corresponding processing based on the special symbol/electric accessary product operation number, which is a game progress state variable in which the type of branch processing executed according to the progress of the game is specified (step S124). The game progress state variables are stored in the game progress state storage area of the main control built-in RAM, and are updated in each branch process executed according to the progress of the game. In the process of step S124, the process proceeds to a branching process designated based on the value of the game progressing state variable stored in the game progressing state storage area. End the process. Since the values of the game progress state variables and the like stored in the game progress state storage area are game information, they are backed up in the main control side power failure process.

In the processing of step S130, based on the value of the game progress state variable, the branch processing includes special symbol variation waiting processing (step S130), special symbol variation in-process (step S132), special symbol big hit determination processing (step S134), Special symbol deviation stop processing (step S136), special symbol jackpot stop processing (step S138), interval processing before large winning opening opening (step S140), large winning opening opening processing (step S142), large winning opening closing process (step S144) or a special winning opening end interval process (step S146) is executed.

In the special symbol variation waiting process (step S130), when the game ball B enters the starting hole, the special symbol display device starts to display the variation of the special symbol.

In the special symbol fluctuation process (step S132), a process for controlling the variable display of the special symbol and the like are performed. In the special symbol big hit determination process (step S134), it is determined whether or not the fixed and stopped special symbol generates a big win game state based on the entry of the game ball into the starting hole.

In the special symbol deviation stop process (step S136), when the big hit game state is not generated, the process of stopping the variable display of the special symbol and notifying the fact is performed. In the special symbol jackpot stop processing (step S138), when a jackpot game state is to be generated, a process of stopping the variable display of the special symbols and notifying that effect is performed.

In the interval process before opening the big winning opening (step S140), a process for generating a big win game state and informing that a big win operation is started is performed. In the big winning opening opening process (step S142), a process related to a big winning operation for making it easier for a game ball to enter each big winning opening is performed by opening the big winning opening.

In the big winning opening closing process (step S144), by closing the big winning opening from the open state, a process related to the big winning operation to make it difficult for the game ball to enter each big winning opening is performed. In the winning opening opening end interval process (step S146), when the jackpot operation is over, a process of notifying that effect is performed.

[12-2-2. Special symbol variation waiting process]
Subsequently, the details of the special symbol variation waiting process (step S130) in the special symbol and special electric accessary product control process will be described. FIG. 141 is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure of the special symbol variation waiting process. The special symbol variation waiting process is executed in a state where the special symbol variation display is not performed, and when the variation display is suspended, preparations are made to start the special symbol variation display.

The main control MPU 1311 first determines whether or not the special symbol variation is suspended (step S420). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the number of special symbol operation pending balls is not zero. In addition, the number of special symbol operation pending balls is stored for each starting port when a plurality of starting ports are provided. When the variation of the special symbol is not suspended (the result of step S420 is "no"), the variation display of the special symbol is not started, so this processing is terminated.

On the other hand, when the variable display of the special symbols is suspended (the result of step S420 is "yes"), the main control MPU 1311 sets a pending ball number designation command as command data (step S438).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes a special symbol/flag setting process (step S442). In the special symbol/flag setting process, a special lottery is executed based on the random number for judging the big hit acquired at the time of winning the starting game.

Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 executes a special symbol variation pattern setting process (step S444). In the special symbol variation pattern setting process, a variation pattern is set based on the result of the special lottery. Details of the special symbol variation pattern setting process will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 creates a variation pattern command for transmission to the peripheral control board 1510 . Specifically, first, as the command value, the upper byte of the special figure variation pattern reference command corresponding to the special symbol identification flag is set (step S452). Further, the variation pattern value stored in the variation pattern area is set as lower command data (step S458). Furthermore, the variation type classification value is acquired from the variation type classification area (step S460), and the upper byte of the variation pattern command corresponding to the variation type is obtained by adding the variation type classification value to the command value set in step S452. is calculated (step S462). The command data of the variation pattern command thus created is stored in a predetermined area.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 sets a symbol type command to be transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 (step S466). Further, the change state designation command is set in the command buffer (step S474).

Each command created by the above processing is set in the command buffer. The reserved ball number designation command set in the command buffer is transmitted by the peripheral control board command transmission processing (step S92) in the main control side timer interrupt processing.

[12-2-3. Special symbol variation pattern setting process]
Subsequently, the details of the special symbol variation pattern setting process (step S444) in the special symbol variation waiting process will be described. The special symbol variation pattern setting process is a process for setting the variation pattern in the special symbol variation display. FIG. 142 is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure of the special symbol variation pattern setting process.

The main control MPU 1311 first acquires the number of special symbol operation pending balls (step S530). The number of special symbol operation pending balls is stored in the special symbol operation pending ball number buffer. Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 sets a jackpot flag from the jackpot flag area (step S538).

Then, the main control MPU 1311 executes a variation pattern selection determination process for selecting a special symbol variation pattern based on the number of special symbol operation pending balls and the big hit flag (step S542). Details of the variation pattern selection determination process will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the variation pattern value extracted by the variation pattern selection determination process (step S544). Then, data (variation time value) corresponding to the variation pattern value is retrieved from the special symbol variation time data (step S546).

Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 executes variation type determination processing for selecting the variation type defined in the variation pattern in the variation display of the special symbols (step S548). The variation type classification value acquired by the variation type determination process is set (step S550).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 searches the variable time addition value corresponding to the variation type type value from the variation time addition value data (step S552). The variation time addition value is the addition time corresponding to the variation type, and corresponds to, for example, the addition time according to the number of times of pseudo consecutive. Then, the main control MPU 1311 adds the variable time added value retrieved in the process of step S552 to the standard variable time value retrieved in the process of step S546 to obtain the final variable time (step S554). . Finally, the final variation time is stored in the special symbol/electric accessory operation timer area (step S556), and the special symbol variation pattern setting process is terminated.

[12-2-4. Fluctuation pattern selection judgment processing]
Subsequently, the details of the variation pattern selection determination process (step S542) will be described. FIG. 143 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of variation pattern selection determination processing. The variation pattern selection determination process is a process for selecting a variation pattern in the variation display of special symbols.

The main control MPU 1311 first acquires the variation information source table based on the variation table number (step S340). The variation table number is a value for selecting (obtaining) a variation information source table from the variation information source address table. The variation information source table includes hit (hit variation selection information state table), loss (loss variation selection information state table), reach (reach variation selection information state table), reach probability (special symbol reach probability table) and variation type (variation type determination data table) are stored in table information.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 acquires a hit determination value for deriving the result of the special lottery (step S346). It is determined whether or not the jackpot has been won by determining whether or not the hit determination value matches the jackpot value (step S350). When a big win is won (the result of step S350 is "yes"), a big win flag and a big win symbol type are obtained (step S354).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes variation information number search processing based on the jackpot flag and jackpot symbol type (step S358). In the variation information number search process, the variation information number for determining the hit time variation pattern selection value data table is acquired from the jackpot variation selection information type table. The main control MPU 1311 acquires the variation pattern random number 1 from the big hit variation selection information type table based on the acquired variation information number (step S360).

On the other hand, when the main control MPU 1311 has not won a big win or a small win (the result of step S350 is "no"), it determines whether or not to generate a reach in the variable display corresponding to the start winning (step S372).

The main control MPU 1311 acquires the variation pattern random number 1 from the lost variation selection information retention table based on the number of retained balls when the reach is not generated in the variation display (step S372 result is "no") (step S376).

On the other hand, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the random number 1 for the fluctuation pattern from the reach fluctuation selection information state table based on the state flag when the reach is generated in the fluctuation display (result of step S372 is "yes") (Step S382).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes variation information number search processing based on the variation pattern random number 1 acquired in the processing of step S360, step S378 or step S382 (step S388). Then, the variation pattern selection value data table is acquired by the variation information number search process, and the variation pattern random number 2 is acquired from the variation pattern selection value data table (step S392). Furthermore, based on the variation pattern random number 2 and the variation pattern selection value data table, variation information number search processing is executed (step S394). A variation pattern is selected based on the result of the variation information number search process (step S396), and this process ends.

In the present embodiment, a variation pattern is selected in two steps by two types of random numbers, variation pattern random number 1 (steps S360, S372, S378) and variation pattern random number 2 (step S392). First, the type of variation pattern (variation pattern group such as ○○ system reach) is selected based on the random number 1 for variation pattern. Further, a variation pattern (a value set in a variation pattern command) to be finally displayed in a variation pattern is selected from the variation pattern group selected by the variation pattern random number 1 based on the variation pattern random number 2 . It should be noted that the method is not limited to the method of drawing lots in two stages, and a method of drawing lots in three or more stages may be used, or a variation pattern may be directly selected using one variation pattern random number.

[12-3. Explanation of production in pachinko machine with setting function]
The effect of the pachinko machine 1 having the setting function will be described below. Specifically, a setting suggestion rendering that suggests the current settings will be described. In the pachinko machine 1 having a setting function, for example, the higher the setting, the greater the number of game balls to be paid out with respect to the number of special lotteries. Specifically, for example, the higher the setting, the higher the probability of winning a big hit in the non-variable state (for example, setting 1: 1/300, setting 2: 1/290, setting 3: 1/280, setting 4: 1/270 , setting 5: 1/250, setting 6: 1/230, etc.). Therefore, since the player wants to play the game with the pachinko machine 1 with the highest possible settings, the player's willingness to play is enhanced by installing the setting suggesting effect.

Hereinafter, in this chapter, for convenience of explanation, the main control MPU 1311 selects a variation pattern directly with one variation pattern random number in the variation pattern selection determination process of step S542. Specifically, in this chapter, the main control MPU 1311 executes the following processing in step S542.

In step S542, the main control MPU 1311 determines the current game state (whether it is a time-saving state (state in which time-saving control is being executed) or a normal state other than the time-saving state), and the result of the special lottery (won the jackpot It selects a variation pattern table according to whether it is positive or negative). If the result of the special lottery is a big hit, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the random number for the variation pattern, and based on the acquired random number for the variation pattern and the distribution of each variation pattern in the selected variation pattern table, A variation pattern shall be selected from the selected variation pattern table. In addition, if the result of the special lottery is out, it is further determined whether or not reach occurs, the random number for the variation pattern is obtained, and the obtained random number for the variation pattern and the distribution of each variation pattern in the selected variation pattern table, Based on, the variation pattern shall be selected from the selected variation pattern table.

FIG. 144(A) is an example of a variation pattern table selected when the gaming state is the normal state and the result of the special lottery is lost. FIG. 144(B) is an example of a variation pattern table selected when the gaming state is the normal state and the result of the special lottery is a big win.

The variation pattern table is stored in the ROM 1313 of the main control board 1310, for example. The variation pattern table includes, for example, a variation pattern type column, a variation time column, a corresponding effect content column, and a variation pattern determination random number distribution column. The variation pattern type column stores information specifying the type for identifying the variation pattern in the table. The fluctuation time column stores information specifying the fluctuation time in the corresponding fluctuation pattern type. The corresponding effect content column stores information specifying the effect content to be executed in the corresponding variation pattern.

The distribution random number column for determining the variation pattern stores the distribution for selecting the corresponding variation pattern for each setting. In addition, the random number column for determining the variation pattern of the variation pattern table selected when the special lottery result is out (that is, the variation pattern table in FIG. 144 (A) and FIG. 149 (A) described later) is when reach occurs. And for each of reach non-occurrence time, the distribution in which the corresponding variation pattern is selected is stored for each setting.

[12-4. Setting Suggestion Effect Executed After Temporary Display of Special Lottery Result]
First, the setting suggestion effect in the deviation variation pattern stored in the variation pattern table of FIG. 144(A) will be described. First, the effect executed in the deviation fluctuation patterns 24 to 29 will be described with reference to FIG. 144 as well.

FIG. 144 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an effect executed in the deviation variation patterns 20 and 24 to 29 in the variation pattern table of FIG. 144(A). In the variation of the lost variation pattern 20, after SP reach 1 is executed, a temporary display indicating that the special lottery result is likely to be lost is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, and then the special lottery result is lost. A confirmation display indicating that is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 . On the other hand, in the fluctuations of the lost fluctuation patterns 25 to 29, after displaying a temporary display on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 indicating that the special lottery result is likely to be lost after the SP reach 1 is executed, A setting suggesting effect is executed, and then a confirmation display indicating that the special lottery result is lost is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600.例文帳に追加

In this way, in the variation patterns 25 to 29, after the provisional display indicating that the special lottery result is likely to be lost is performed, the setting suggestion effect is performed, so that even if the provisional display is performed The player can expect the generation of the setting suggesting effect after that and maintain the sense of anticipation. In addition, when the setting suggesting performance is generated in the loss fluctuation, even if the special lottery result is a loss, the disappointment of the player due to the result of the special lottery can be suppressed, and the feeling of exhilaration can be enhanced.

In addition, in the variation of the lost variation pattern 24, after the special lottery result is likely to be lost after SP reach 1 is executed, a provisional display indicating that the result is likely to be lost is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, and then the setting suggestion effect is displayed. Although the guess performance suggesting the execution is executed, the setting suggestion performance itself is not performed, and a confirmation display indicating that the special lottery result is a loss is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600.例文帳に追加

The SP reach is a ready-to-win effect that is highly selected when the special lottery result is a big hit and is less likely to be selected when the special lottery result is a loss. That is, the degree of expectation for a big hit of variation in which SP reach is executed is high.

Below, the effects executed in the deviation variation patterns 20 and 24 to 29 will be specifically described. In addition to the contents described below, in each production, sound output from various speakers, light emission from various lamps, operation of various movable bodies, and/or display on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, etc. are executed at the same time. may

In the deviation fluctuation patterns 20 and 24 to 29, first, the ready-to-win effect is executed. In the pre-reach effect, all decorative patterns change on the main liquid crystal display device 1600. - 特許庁Subsequently, in the deviation fluctuation patterns 20 and 24 to 29, it develops into a normal reach effect. In the normal ready-to-win effect, the decorative pattern is in the ready-to-win state on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 . Specifically, for example, among three decorative patterns (for example, a left pattern, a middle pattern, and a right pattern), the left pattern and the right pattern stop at the same pattern, and the middle pattern is fluctuating.

Subsequently, in the deviation fluctuation patterns 20 and 24 to 29, it develops to SP reach 1, and the first half production of SP reach 1 is executed. In SP reach 1, for example, one main character and one enemy character are displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, and a rock-paper-scissors game is played. In the first half production of the SP reach 1 in the deviation fluctuation patterns 20 and 24 to 29, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 executes a production in which the main character loses to the enemy character in a rock-paper-scissors game. During the SP reach, the decorative pattern may be displayed smaller and closer to the periphery of the main liquid crystal display device 1600 than during the pre-reach performance and the normal reach performance, for example.

Subsequently, in the deviation fluctuation patterns 20 and 24 to 29, it develops into the second half performance of SP reach 1. In the second half production of the SP reach 1 in the deviation fluctuation patterns 20 and 24 to 29, for example, a so-called resurrection production is executed, for example, at the start of the second half production, the main character's voice such as "still more!" On the liquid crystal display device 1600, an effect is executed in which a rock-paper-scissors game is played again between the main character and the enemy character. In the second half effect of SP reach 1 in the deviation fluctuation patterns 24 to 29, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 executes the effect that the main character loses again to the enemy character in a rock-paper-scissors game.

Subsequently, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 displays a provisional display indicating that the special lottery results are out. Specifically, for example, in the main liquid crystal display device 1600, one combination of the decorative symbols in the detached state (for example, the left and right decorative symbols are the same symbols as the stopped symbols in the reach state, and the middle symbol is A pattern that is different from the same pattern) is displayed in a manner of swaying in a small width.

Subsequently, in the loss variation pattern 20, after the provisional display, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 displays a confirmation display indicating that the special lottery result is a loss without any other effect. In the loss fluctuation pattern 24, the setting suggestion false effect is executed after the provisional display, and then the confirmation display indicating that the special lottery result is a loss is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600. - 特許庁On the other hand, in the loss fluctuation patterns 25 to 29, the setting suggestion effect is executed after the provisional display, and then the confirmation display indicating that the special lottery result is a loss is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600. In the final display, for example, on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the same combination of decorative symbols displayed in the temporary display is displayed in a completely stopped manner. In the temporary display and final display, the decorative pattern is displayed, for example, in the center of the main liquid crystal display device 1600 in the same size as during the pre-reach effect and the normal reach effect.

In the set-suggestion fake effect in the deviation variation pattern 24, for example, an effect is executed in which one main character finds two enemy characters on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 and chases the enemy characters but cannot catch them. Like the distribution of the deviation variation pattern 24 in FIG. 144(A), it is desirable that the distribution of the variation patterns for which the setting-suggestion fake effect is executed is uniform or approximately uniform in all settings. This is because, if the distribution is not even, the setting suggestion fake effect suggests the setting.

In addition, it is desirable that the proportion of the distribution of the deviation fluctuation pattern 24 in the total distribution of the fluctuations in which the SP reach 1 is executed is low (for example, 20% or less). This is because if the distribution is high, the setting suggestion fake effect will occur frequently when the SP reach 1 develops, and there is a possibility that the player's expectation for the occurrence of the setting suggestion effect will be reduced.

In the setting-suggestion effects in the outlier variation patterns 25 to 29, for example, on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, one main character finds two enemy characters, chases and catches the enemy characters, and then three people play rock-paper-scissors. A production is executed.

In the setting-suggestion effect in the deviation variation pattern 25, an effect is executed in which the three players play rock-paper-scissors, and the three players goo and become in love. Also, in FIG. 144(A), the deviation fluctuation pattern 25 is determined to be sorted only in the low settings (settings 1, 2, and 3). That is, the setting suggestion effect in the deviation fluctuation pattern 25 is the effect that the low setting is confirmed.

In addition, in the example of FIG. 144 (A), the distribution of the deviation fluctuation pattern 25 is the same value as the distribution of the deviation fluctuation pattern 26 etc. in the high setting (settings 4, 5, and 6), but the low setting confirmation effect is If it occurs, the player may stop the game early, so the distribution of the deviation variation pattern 25 may be set lower than the distribution of other set fixed effects in other settings, or the deviation variation pattern 25 itself may not exist.

In the set-suggestion effect in the outlier variation pattern 26, an effect is executed in which all three players pull out scissors in a rock-paper-scissors game with three players and become in love with each other. Also, in FIG. 144(A), the deviation fluctuation pattern 26 is determined to be distributed only at high settings (settings 4, 5, and 6). That is, the setting suggestion effect in the deviation fluctuation pattern 26 is a effect in which the high setting is confirmed.

In the setting-suggestion effect in the loss variation pattern 27, an effect is executed in which all three players get a par in a rock-paper-scissors game with three players. Also, in FIG. 144(A), the deviation fluctuation pattern 27 is determined to be distributed only in the even number settings (settings 2, 4, and 6). That is, the setting suggestion effect in the deviation fluctuation pattern 27 is the effect that the even setting is confirmed.

In the set-suggestion effect in the outlier variation pattern 28, an effect is executed in which the three players put out different moves in a rock-paper-scissors game, and become in love with each other. Also, in FIG. 144(A), the deviation fluctuation pattern 28 is determined to be distributed only in odd number settings (settings 1, 3, and 5). That is, the setting suggestion effect in the deviation fluctuation pattern 28 is the effect that the odd setting is confirmed.

In addition, for example, when the odd number setting and the even number setting have different characteristics, the player's interest in the effect can be attracted by installing the odd number setting confirmed effect or the even number set confirmed effect as described above. .

Specifically, for example, in order of setting 6, 4, 2, 5, 3, 1, the probability of winning the jackpot in the normal state is high (6 is the highest, 1 is the lowest), setting 5, 3, 1, 6, 4, In order of 2, the ratio of probability variable jackpots among jackpot winnings is high (5 is the highest, 2 is the lowest), and the first start port 2002 and the second start port 2004 are set in the order of 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. It is assumed that the jackpot winning probability and probability variation rate in each setting are determined so that the ratio of the total number of game balls put out to the winning number of game balls to the game ball is high (6 is the highest, 1 is the lowest).

In this case, compared to the odd number setting, the even number setting has a higher jackpot winning probability in the normal state, but a lower probability variable ratio, that is, the number of game balls required to win the so-called first hit tends to be smaller. The total amount of game balls that can be obtained in one consecutive game from the beginning tends to be small. On the other hand, compared to the even number setting, the odd number setting has a low jackpot winning probability in the normal state, but a high probability variation ratio, that is, the number of game balls required to win the first win tends to be large, but the first win The total amount of game balls that can be obtained from a single consecutive residence tends to be large. In such a case, there is a possibility that one player prefers an even-numbered ball payout tendency and another player prefers an odd-numbered ball payout tendency. The player's interest in the performance increases. Also, compared to the odd number setting, the even number setting may have a feature such as a higher jackpot winning probability in the normal state, but a larger jackpot with a smaller number of rounds being more likely to be selected.

In the outlier variation patterns 25 to 29 described above, the effect until the setting suggestion effect starts is the same, but the content of the setting suggestion effect is different (the results of the rock-paper-scissors game among three players are different). Incidentally, it is desirable that the three-person rock-paper-scissors game effect be used only in the lost variation patterns 25-29. As a result, when the three-person rock-paper-scissors game performance starts, the player can recognize that the setting suggesting performance has started, and the feeling of exhilaration is heightened.

It should be noted that, for example, the deviation variation pattern 25 is a variation pattern in which an effect in which the high setting is confirmed is executed, but it may be a variation pattern in which an effect suggesting that the possibility of the high setting is high is executed. Specifically, for example, if there is a distribution of the fluctuation pattern 25 even in the low setting, and the distribution is lower than the distribution of the fluctuation pattern 25 in the high setting (for example, 50% or less), the production in the outlier fluctuation pattern 25 is not a production that confirms the high setting, but a production that suggests that the possibility of high setting is high.

In addition to the variation pattern in which the effect that the high setting is confirmed is performed, a variation pattern in which the effect suggesting that the possibility of the high setting as described above is performed may be determined. What has been described above is the same for the low setting confirmation effect, the odd setting confirmation effect, the even setting confirmation effect, the highest setting confirmation effect, and the like.

According to the variation pattern table of FIG. 144 (B) (variation pattern table at normal time and jackpot winning), when the special lottery result is a jackpot in the normal state, the winning variation pattern other than 34 in which the highest setting is fixed The setting suggestion effect of is not executed. In addition, the distribution of variation patterns in which the setting suggestion effect is not executed is high compared to the case where the special lottery result is a loss. As a result, the setting suggestion performance becomes a performance mainly executed when the special lottery result is a win, and the player can get a sense of expectation even when the special lottery result is a win.

[12-5. Setting Suggestion Production Using Shortened Variation]
The deviation fluctuation pattern 30 will be described below with reference to FIG. 146 as well. FIG. 146 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an effect executed in the deviation variation patterns 1, 2, and 30 in the variation pattern table of FIG. 144(A).

For outlier variation patterns 1, 2, and 30, shortening variation is performed. A shortened variation is, for example, a variation with a shorter variation time compared to other variation patterns, and after starting variation of decorative patterns on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, all decorations are completed without developing into a ready-to-win state. It is a variation in which the symbol stops. In the normal variation, the decorative symbols on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 stop in the order of left, right, and middle, for example.

Subsequently, in loss fluctuation patterns 1, 2, and 30, after provisional display indicating that the special lottery result is highly likely to be a loss is performed, final display is performed to indicate that the special lottery result is a loss. Descriptions of temporary display and final display are omitted because they are the same as those described above.

The outlier variation pattern 30 has a variation time that is different from the variation times of all other variation patterns such as the outlier variation patterns 1 and 2 for which shortening variation is performed. In the example of FIG. 144(A), the variation time of the deviation variation pattern 1 is 2 seconds, the variation time of the deviation variation pattern 2 is 5 seconds, and the variation time of the deviation variation pattern 30 is 3.5 seconds. . Also, in FIG. 144(A), the deviation fluctuation pattern 30 is determined to be sorted only at the highest setting (setting 6). That is, when the deviation fluctuation pattern 30 is executed, the maximum setting is determined.

In addition, the distribution of the deviating fluctuation pattern 30, which is a fluctuation pattern in which shortening fluctuation is executed and suggests setting, is extremely low compared to the distribution of other fluctuation patterns in which shortening fluctuation is executed (for example, the other fluctuation pattern is less than 10% of the minimum allocation of ). Moreover, in each variation pattern in which shortened variation is performed, it is desirable that the execution time of temporary display and final display be the same, and that only the time of shortened variation is different. Also, it is desirable that the difference between the variation time of the outlier variation pattern 30 and the variation time of the variation pattern in which other shortened variation is executed is recognizable by the player (for example, 1.5 seconds or more). .

As a result, when the shortened variation is executed, the player assumes a variation time such as the often-distributed outlier variation patterns 1 and 2, but when the outlier variation pattern 30 is executed, the variation time does not match the assumed variation time. You can recognize the difference and enjoy the production that the highest setting is fixed. In particular, in the example of FIG. 144(A), the variation pattern including the shortened variation is selected only when there is no reach, so the player's expectations are reduced when the shortened variation is executed, and the interest in the shortened variation is reduced. I can't have it. However, by executing the setting suggestion effect using the shortened variation in this way, the player can have expectations for the shortened variation that is selected only when the reach is out of reach, and suppresses the decline in interest. can do.

Also, in the deviation fluctuation patterns 1, 2, and 30, although the contents displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 are the same, only the shortening fluctuation time is different. As a result, the player can concentrate on the performance so as not to miss the highest setting fixed performance.

Note that the deviation fluctuation pattern 30 is a fluctuation pattern in which the maximum setting is confirmed and the shortened fluctuation is executed. Patterns may exist. In this case, for example, it is desirable that the variation time of each of the variation patterns is different from the variation time of other deviating variation patterns for which shortening variation is performed.

[12-6. Setting Suggestion Effect Executed Before Temporary Display of Special Lottery Result]
The loss variation pattern 31 and the hit variation pattern 34 will be described below with reference to FIG. 147 as well. FIG. 147 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an effect executed in the losing variation pattern 31 and the hit variation pattern 34 in the variation pattern table of FIG. 144(A). In FIG. 144, the loss variation pattern 31 and the winning variation pattern 34 are determined to be distributed only at the highest setting (setting 6). That is, when the loss variation pattern 31 and the hit variation pattern 34 are executed, the maximum setting is determined.

In the loss variation pattern 31 and the hit variation pattern 34, for example, a special movie 1 is played on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 at the same time as the variation starts. The special movie 1 is an effect that occurs only in the losing variation pattern 31 and the hit variation pattern 34, that is, an effect in which the highest setting is determined.

In the loss variation pattern 31, after the end of the special movie 1, provisional display indicating that the special lottery result is highly likely to be lost is performed, and then final display indicating that the special lottery result is a loss is performed. In the winning variation pattern 34, after the special movie 1 ends, temporary display indicating that the special lottery result is winning is performed, and then final display indicating that the special lottery result is winning is performed.

Unlike the loss variation patterns 25 to 30 and the like, the loss variation pattern 31 and the hit variation pattern 34 start the setting suggesting effect before the provisional display (specifically, for example, at the same time as the variation starts). As a result, the player can get an exhilarating feeling waiting for the notification of the result of the jackpot lottery while the maximum setting is fixed. In addition, when the display time of the special movie 1 is particularly long (for example, 30 seconds or more), it is possible to appeal to other players that the setting of the pachinko machine 1 is the highest setting, and thus the player can The player can feel a sense of superiority over the other player, and the hole can easily appeal to the other player that the highest setting is used.

[12-7. Setting suggestion production that confirms jackpot winning or high setting]
The loss variation pattern 32 and the hit variation pattern 35 will be described below with reference to FIG. 148 as well. FIG. 148 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an effect executed in the losing variation pattern 32 and the winning variation pattern 35 in the variation pattern table of FIG. 144(A). In FIG. 144(A), the deviation fluctuation pattern 32 is determined to be sorted only at high settings (settings 4, 5, and 6). That is, when the deviation fluctuation pattern 32 is executed, the maximum setting is determined.

In the loss variation pattern 32 and the hit variation pattern 35, for example, a special movie 2 is played on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 at the same time as the variation starts. The special movie 2 is an effect that occurs only with the loss variation pattern 31 and the hit variation pattern 34.

In the loss variation pattern 32, after the special movie 2 is finished, a temporary display indicating that the special lottery result is highly likely to be lost is performed, and then a definite display indicating that the special lottery result is a loss is performed. In the winning variation pattern 35, after the special movie 2 ends, temporary display indicating that the special lottery result is winning is performed, and then final display indicating that the special lottery result is winning is performed.

Therefore, when the special movie 2 occurs, either the high setting or the big hit in the variation is decided. In other words, if the special lottery result is lost after the special movie 2 occurs, the high setting is confirmed, so the player can suppress the disappointment that the special lottery result has been lost, and thus the high setting is achieved. A feeling of elation can be obtained by confirming

In addition, when the display time of the special movie 2 is particularly long (for example, 30 seconds or more), the player can feel a sense of superiority over the other players. When the special lottery result is a loser, the hole can easily appeal to other players that the high setting is being used.

[12-8. Setting suggestion production in time saving state]
Hereinafter, the variation pattern selected in the game state time saving state will be described. FIG. 149(A) is an example of a variation pattern table that is selected when the gaming state is the time saving state and the result of the special lottery is out. FIG. 149(B) is an example of a variation pattern table selected when the gaming state is the time saving state and the result of the special lottery is a big hit.

In the example of FIG. 149(A), the higher the setting, the larger the allocation of the loss variation pattern 3 and the smaller the allocation of the loss variation pattern 2 at the time of loss without reach. Also, the variation time of the error variation pattern 2 is shorter than the variation time of the error variation pattern 3 . For example, if the higher the setting, the higher the probability of winning a big hit, and if the distribution of each variation pattern is the same for all settings, the higher the setting, the easier it is to win a big win in a short time. There is a risk that the number of game balls to be paid out will increase, leading to a burden on the hole.

However, as in the example of FIG. 149(A), the higher the setting, the more variation patterns with longer variation times are distributed, so that the number of game balls paid out by the big hit per unit time in each setting can be equalized. can. In addition, the higher the setting, the higher the selection rate of the deviating variation pattern 3, which has a longer variation time, among the variation patterns including the shortening variation. Therefore, the deviating variation pattern 3 also functions as a variation pattern that suggests a high setting. can be done.

Similarly, when the reach is not reached, the higher the setting, the larger the allocation of the deviation fluctuation pattern 11 with a long fluctuation time, and the smaller the allocation of the deviation fluctuation pattern 12 with a short fluctuation time. Likewise, when the big win is won, the higher the setting, the larger the allocation of the winning variation pattern 2 with the longer variation time and the smaller the allocation of the winning variation pattern 3 with the shorter variation time.

As described above, for example, if the higher the setting, the higher the probability of winning a big hit, and if the distribution of each variation pattern is the same for all settings, the higher the setting, the easier it is to win a big win in a short time. In other words, the lower the setting, the longer it takes to win the big win, and the more game balls are shot until the big win is won. For example, the lower the setting, the greater the distribution of variation patterns with a long variation time, and the lower the selection rate of variation patterns with a short variation time. It is possible to equalize the number of shots of game balls per unit time in the setting.

It should be noted that a predetermined sound effect may be output or a predetermined light emission effect may be executed at the timing when the setting is suggested in the various setting suggestion effects described in this chapter. Note that the predetermined sound effect and the predetermined light emission effect may be dedicated ones that are executed only during the setting suggestion effect. In addition, especially in the setting suggestion effect in which the high setting and the maximum setting are confirmed, it is preferable that a predetermined sound effect output and a predetermined light emission effect, which are executed only in the setting suggestion effect, are executed.

In addition, it is desirable that the allocation of the variation pattern in which the high setting or the highest setting is decided or the effect suggesting a high possibility is executed is extremely low compared to the allocation of the other variation patterns. When the distribution of the variation pattern is high, the player loses his sense of expectation and ends up playing the game early if the high setting suggesting effect or the highest setting suggesting effect is not executed even though he has played only a short game time. This is because there is a risk of discontinuation.

In addition, it is desirable that the distribution of variation patterns in which an effect suggesting that the low setting or the lowest setting is confirmed or executed with a high possibility is extremely low compared to the distribution of other variation patterns. This is because, if the distribution of the variation pattern is high, the low setting suggesting performance and the minimum setting suggesting performance are frequently executed, so that the player loses his sense of anticipation and eventually stops playing the game at an early stage.

Also, the setting suggestion effect that suggests a setting group such as high setting, low setting, maximum setting, odd setting, and even setting has been described, but the setting group in the setting suggesting effect is not limited to these. A setting suggestion effect may be executed for any group consisting of one or more settings. For example, settings 1 and 2 may be grouped as low settings, settings 3 and 4 as medium settings, and settings 5 and 6 as high settings.

[12-9. Other form of pachinko machine with setting function]
FIG. 150 is a diagram showing a mounting example of the main control board 1310. As shown in FIG. In this figure, the configuration of the main control board box 1320 is indicated by a solid line, and the configuration inside the main control board box 1320 is indicated by a dotted line.

In the above description, the setting board 970 is connected to the payout control board 951, and the payout control unit 952 acquires the operation state of each switch and controls the display of the setting display 974. , the setting board 970 is connected to the main control board 1310 , and the main control MPU 1311 acquires the operation state of each switch and controls the display of the setting display 974 .

FIG. 150(A) shows the main control board box 1320 of this implementation example. The main control board box 1320 is made of a transparent resin that accommodates the main control board 1310 in a sealable manner with a structure that cannot be opened without being destroyed once closed. The main control board box 1320 is provided with a hole 1318A for operating the display switch 1318, a hole 954A for operating the RAM clear switch 954, and a hole 971A for operating the setting key 971.

FIG. 150(B) shows a state in which the main control board 1310 and the setting board 970 are housed in the main control board box 1320 shown in (A). In the example shown in FIG. 150B, on the main control board 1310, a main control MPU 1311, a driver circuit (not shown), a base display 1317, a display switch 1318 and a RAM clear switch 954 are mounted. In addition, the RAM clear switch 954 may be mounted on another control board (for example, the payout control board 951 or the power supply board) without being mounted on the main control board 1310 . In this case, main control board box 1320 is not provided with hole 954A.

In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, two operation units (RAM clear switch 954 and setting key 971) are provided in the main control board box 1320 to trigger RAM clear. As will be described later, the storage area of the main control RAM 1312 where data is erased differs between when only the RAM clear switch 954 is operated and when the setting key 971 is operated.

The setting board 970 is provided close to the main control board 1310, and the setting board 970 and the main control board 1310 are electrically connected so that signals can be transmitted. The connection between the setting board 970 and the main control board 1310 may be made by connecting the boards directly with a connector or by using an electric wire. A setting key 971 for changing the operation mode of the pachinko machine 1 to a setting change mode or a setting confirmation mode, and a setting display 974 for displaying set or selected setting values are mounted on the setting board 970 . A setting change switch 972 for changing the setting value and a setting confirmation switch 973 for confirming and inputting the changed setting value may be mounted on the setting board 970 .

Outputs of various switches 971 , 972 , and 973 provided on the setting board 970 are sent to the main control board 1310 and input to ports of the main control MPU 1311 .

Also, the main control board 1310 and the setting board 970 may perform serial communication, and the driver circuit of the setting display 974 may be mounted on the setting board 970 .

Since the main control board box 1320 is arranged on the back side of the pachinko machine 1 , the setting display 974 on the setting board 970 is mounted at a position that can be seen from the back side of the pachinko machine 1 .

The main control board 1310 may authenticate the setting board 970 in the initialization process (FIGS. 21 and 22). For example, an authentication code for each pachinko machine manufacturer is set in the setting board 970, and the main control board 1310 reads the authentication code set in the setting board 970 and checks it. If the setting board 970 cannot be authenticated, the pachinko machine 1 is prevented from starting a game. In other words, the game ball can be shot toward the game area 5a, but the prize ball is not paid out even if it enters the winning hole, and the variable display game is not executed. The authentication code may be set for each pachinko machine model, or may be set for each pachinko machine serial number. The method of setting the authentication code includes, for example, setting the authentication code with a DIP switch, jumper wire, jumper pin, pattern short circuit, etc. provided on the setting board 970, or setting the authentication code in a logic circuit (for example, A small-capacity FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array)) may be mounted on the setting board 970 .

Also, the main control board 1310 (main control MPU 1311) may be able to identify whether the board mounted in the main control board box 1320 is the setting board 970 or the dummy board 979. FIG. For example, by outputting different signals from the setting board 970 and the dummy board 979 to the main control board 1310, the main control MPU 1311 recognizes whether the connected board is the setting board 970 or the dummy board 979. do. Specifically, the setting board 970 outputs +5V, and the dummy board 979 outputs 0V (ground level). Signals from the setting board 970 and the dummy board 979 are input to specific ports of the interface circuit 1331 circuit of the main control board 1310 . The main control MPU 1311 determines the connected board by the input signal to the port.

In this way, by changing the code of the setting board 970 for each manufacturer (for each model), it is possible to prevent the wrong setting board 970 from being mounted on the main control board box 1320 . By setting the authentication code in the logic circuit on the setting board 970, unauthorized replacement of the setting board 970 can be prevented.

FIG. 150(C) shows a state in which the main control board 1310 and the dummy board 979 are housed in the main control board box 1320 shown in (A).

As described above, in recent years, some pachinko machines 1 have a game performance setting function. This setting function can change the performance of the pachinko machine 1 related to prize balls won by the player, such as the probability of a big hit in the special symbol variation display game, and the setting function can change the performance of the pachinko machine 1 in accordance with the hall business policy. On the other hand, there are halls where conventional pachinko machines without setting functions are sufficient and the setting functions are unnecessary. For this reason, pachinko machine manufacturers must design and produce both pachinko machines without setting functions and pachinko machines with setting functions. There is a demand for efficient design and production of pachinko machines.

For this reason, in the pachinko machine 1 that does not have the setting function, the dummy board 979 is mounted in the mounting space of the setting board 970 so that the pachinko machine 1 can be produced in the same manner as when the setting board 970 is mounted. to Further, the main control board 1310 can be shared between a pachinko machine without a setting function and a pachinko machine with a setting function.

The dummy board 979 does not have the devices mounted on the setting board 970, such as the setting keys 971 and the setting display 974, but may have patterns for mounting these devices. That is, a pattern for mounting a device is provided on the dummy substrate 979, but no device is mounted on the pattern.

The dummy board 979 may be a member (for example, a unit made up of a resin case) that can be attached to the main control board box 1320 at the same position as the setting board 970 without being made up of a printed board.

Also, since the driver circuit of the setting indicator 974 is mounted on the main control board 1310, the output of the driver circuit of the setting indicator 974 is neither open nor grounded on the dummy board 979, and is terminated by a dummy resistor. Good. This can prevent damage to the driver circuit due to overcurrent. Also, when the main control board 1310 and the setting board 970 perform serial communication, the dummy board 979 may terminate the serial communication with the main control board 1310 .

When the dummy board 979 is mounted, the main control board box 1320 is not provided with the hole 971A. A setting function is provided by providing a small door in the main control board box 1320 which can be moved to close the hole 971A so as to be operable from the inside of the main control board box 1320 and not operable from the outside. The main control board box 1320 may be made common for a pachinko machine that does not have a setting function and a pachinko machine that has a setting function.

An authentication code for authentication by the main control board 1310 may also be set in the dummy board 979 to be described later. Also, the dummy board 979 does not require authentication by the main control board 1310 and does not need to be set with an authentication code. The main control board 1310 and the dummy board 979 may perform serial communication, and the main control board 1310 may authenticate the dummy board.

The variations of the operating means mounted on the setting board 970 described above are summarized as follows.

(1) With a setting change switch 972 and with a setting confirmation switch 973. In this case, insert the key 975 into the setting key 971 and turn it to the setting position (while pressing the RAM clear switch 954), the pachinko machine will start. Operate the power switch 1 to turn on the power. Then, after operating the setting change switch 972 to select the setting value to be set, the setting determination switch 973 is operated.

(2) With the setting change switch 972 and without the setting confirmation switch 973. In this case, the key 975 is inserted into the setting key 971 and turned to the setting position (while the RAM clear switch 954 is pressed), and the pachinko machine is operated. Operate the power switch 1 to turn on the power. Then, after operating the setting change switch 972 to select the setting value to be set, the setting key 971 is returned to the normal position.

(3) Without setting change switch 972 and with setting confirmation switch 973 In this case, the key 975 is inserted into the setting key 971 and turned to the setting position (while the RAM clear switch 954 is pressed), and the pachinko machine is operated. Operate the power switch 1 to turn on the power. Then, after operating the RAM clear switch 954 to select the setting value to be set, the setting determination switch 973 is operated. Instead of operating the RAM clear switch 954, the set value to be set may be selected by turning the setting key 971 to the right.

(4) Without setting change switch 972 and without setting confirmation switch 973 In this case, the key 975 is inserted into the setting key 971 and turned to the setting position (while the RAM clear switch 954 is pressed), and the pachinko machine is operated. Operate the power switch 1 to turn on the power. After selecting the set value to be set by operating the RAM clear switch 954, the setting key 971 is returned to the normal position. Instead of operating the RAM clear switch 954, the set value to be set may be selected by turning the setting key 971 to the right.

151 and 152 are diagrams showing another mounting example of the main control board 1310. FIG. In this figure, the configuration of the main control board box 1320 is indicated by a solid line, and the configuration inside the main control board box 1320 is indicated by a dotted line.

The mounting example shown in FIGS. 151 and 152 differs from the mounting example shown in FIG. 150 in that a main control board box 1320 is provided with a small door 1321 .

FIG. 151(A) shows the main control board box 1320 of this mounting example. As described above, the main control board box 1320 is made of a transparent resin that accommodates the main control board 1310 in a sealable manner with a structure that cannot be opened once closed without breaking. The main control board box 1320 has a hole 1318A for operating the display switch 1318, a hole 954A for operating the RAM clear switch 954, and a setting mode switch for changing the operation mode of the pachinko machine 1 to the setting change mode. A hole 976A for manipulating 976 is provided.

The hole 976A is normally covered with a small door 1321. A key unit 1322 is provided on the small door 1321. By inserting a key 975 into the key hole of the key unit 1322 and operating it, the small door 1321 is opened from the main control board box 1320, the hole 976A is exposed, and the setting is performed. The mode switch 976 becomes operable.

As shown in FIG. 152(A), in a normal state in which the key 975 can be inserted and removed, the bar 1323 is at the maximum protruding position from the key unit 1322, and the bar 1323 is inserted into the receiving seat 1324. are engaged to fix the small door 1321 in the closed position. On the other hand, when the key 975 is inserted into the keyhole and rotated as shown in FIG. , the hinge 1325 as an axis, the small door 1321 can be opened. When the small door 1321 is open (FIG. 152(B)), the hole 976A is exposed and the setting mode switch 976 can be operated.

FIG. 153 is a diagram showing yet another mounting example of the main control board 1310. As shown in FIG. In the mounting example shown in FIG. 153, a key unit 1322 is provided on the back cover 980 that covers the back side of the pachinko machine 1. In the example shown in FIG. That is, by inserting the key 975 into the keyhole of the key unit 1322 and operating it, the back cover 980 is opened from the main body frame base 600, and the main control board box 1320 (the setting mode switch 976 provided on the setting board 970) is operated. It becomes possible.

That is, in a normal state in which the key 975 can be inserted and removed, the back cover 980 is fixed by closing the back side of the main body frame base 600 , and the main control board box 1320 is housed in the back cover 980 . On the other hand, when the key 975 is inserted into the keyhole and rotated, the rear cover 980 can be opened from the main body frame base 600, and the main control board box 1320 housed inside the rear cover 980 is exposed to the rear side. The setting mode switch 976 becomes operable.

When the key unit 1322 is provided on the back cover 980, the main control board box 1320 (main control board 1310) may have the configuration shown in FIG. 151(C). Specifically, the main control board box 1320 is made of a transparent resin that accommodates the main control board 1310 in a sealable manner with a structure that cannot be opened without being destroyed once closed. The main control board box 1320 has a hole 1318A for operating the display switch 1318, a hole 954A for operating the RAM clear switch 954, and a setting mode switch 976 for changing the operation mode of the pachinko machine 1 to the setting change mode. A hole 976A is provided for manipulating the . The main control board box 1320 accommodates the main control board 1310 and the setting board 970 . On the main control board 1310, a base display 1317, a display switch 1318 and a RAM clear switch 954 are mounted in addition to the main control MPU and driver circuit (not shown). In addition, the RAM clear switch 954 may be mounted on another control board (for example, the payout control board 951 or the power supply board) without being mounted on the main control board 1310 . In this case, main control board box 1320 is not provided with hole 954A.

The setting board 970 is provided close to the main control board 1310, and the setting board 970 and the main control board 1310 are electrically connected so that signals can be transmitted. The connection between the setting board 970 and the main control board 1310 may be made by connecting the boards directly with a connector or by using an electric wire. On the setting board 970, a setting mode switch 976 for changing the operation mode of the pachinko machine 1 to a setting change mode, and a setting display 974 for displaying set or selected setting values are mounted. A setting change switch 972 for changing the setting value and a setting confirmation switch 973 for confirming and inputting the changed setting value may be mounted on the setting board 970 .

[12-10. Details of setting change processing]
FIG. 154 is a flowchart illustrating an example of initialization processing. The initialization process shown in FIG. 154 differs from the initialization process described above with reference to FIG. 101 in that RAM clear processing is performed (steps S17 and S30) when the setting key 971 is operated. 21 and 101, the same steps as those of the initialization process described above are given the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When the pachinko machine 1 is powered on, the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 executes the main control program to perform initialization processing. The main control MPU 1311 first sets the protection of the RAM 1312 incorporated in the main control MPU 1311 to write permission, thereby enabling writing to the RAM 1312 (step S10). Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 activates the built-in watchdog timer (step S12), and checks whether a predetermined wait time (time required for activation of the sub-board (peripheral control board 1510, etc.)) has elapsed. Determine (step S16). If the predetermined wait time has passed, it is determined whether the RAM clear switch 954 has been operated (step S18).

It should be noted that the RAM clear switch 954 may be detected immediately after power-on (for example, before step S12), the detection result may be stored in a predetermined register, and the stored value may be determined in step S18. By detecting the RAM clear switch 954 immediately after power-on, the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 can be reliably detected even if the RAM clear switch 954 is operated only for a short time after power-on.

If the RAM clear switch 954 has been operated, it is determined whether the setting key 971 has been operated and its output is ON (step S17). If the setting key 971 has not been operated, it is a normal RAM clearing operation, so the process advances to step S30 to initialize a predetermined area of the built-in RAM 1312 . On the other hand, if the setting key 971 is operated, that is, if the power is turned on while both the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are operated, the setting change mode is entered. That is, since it is necessary to operate two switches and to operate the power switch to start the setting change mode, it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation of starting the setting change mode.

In the setting change mode, first, the setting values are displayed (step S60). Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 reads the current setting value from the main control RAM 1312 and generates data for displaying on the setting display 974 . Then, a security signal is output (step S61). Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 generates data for outputting a security signal. The security signal is a signal that is output from the external terminal board 784 when the pachinko machine 1 detects an abnormality. Therefore, the hall computer should be notified when the setting change mode is entered during business hours.

Whether the security signal is output for a predetermined period from the start of the setting change mode, or is output from the start to the end of the setting change mode, or is output from the start of the setting change mode to the predetermined period after the end of the setting change mode. may be output. By outputting the security signal for a predetermined period after the end of the setting change mode, the period during which an abnormality can be detected becomes longer, and the security can be further enhanced.

After that, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the setting change operation has been performed depending on whether or not the setting change switch 972 has been operated (step S62), changes the setting value according to the operation of the setting change switch 972, and writes it to the main control RAM 1312. (Step S63). For example, when the setting change switch 972 is configured by a push button switch, when the setting change switch 972 is pushed once, the set value is changed by one step. When the setting key 971 also serves as the setting change switch 972, when the setting key 971 is turned right once, the setting value is changed by one step. Then, the main control MPU 1311 generates data for displaying the changed setting value on the setting display 974 (step S64).

After that, it is determined whether or not to end the setting change mode and fix the setting value (step S65). Specifically, when the main control MPU 1311 detects the operation of the setting confirmation switch 973, the setting change mode is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S30. Alternatively, the setting change mode may be ended by an operation of returning the setting key 971 to the normal position. Also, the setting change mode may be ended with the operation of other switches or sensors provided in the pachinko machine 1 as a trigger.

In the above-described process, after the setting change mode ends, or when it is determined in step S17 that the setting key is not on, the process proceeds to step S30, but the process may proceed to step S20. In this case, after the setting change mode ends, it is determined whether the power failure flag is set (step S20), whether the checksum matches (step S22), whether the power failure flag is not set, and the check If the sums do not match, a predetermined area of the built-in RAM 1312 is initialized. If it is determined in step S17 that the setting key is not on, the process proceeds to step S30.

After the setting change mode ends, in step S30, among the data backed up in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312, the set value data, base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128), and game state (for example, variable probability state, Time saving state, reserved storage of special symbols and normal symbols, information on prize balls) are left, other data are erased, and the process proceeds to step S24. It should be noted that the game state data may be erased without being left. In this case, the memory area erased by the RAM area erased after the setting change operation and the memory area erased by the RAM clear operation are the same.

On the other hand, if an operation to end the setting change mode is not detected, the process returns to step S62 and further detects a setting change operation.

In step S17, if the operation of the setting key 971 is not detected, in step S30, among the data backed up in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312, the set value data and the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128) ) are left, and other data are erased, and the process proceeds to step S24.

Also, in step S18, if the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 is not detected, the main control MPU 1311 does not erase the data backed up in the built-in RAM 1312, and determines whether a power failure flag is set (step S20). .

As a result, if the power failure flag is not set, the data in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 may be incorrect. (step S30) and proceed to step S24. On the other hand, if the power failure flag is set, the main control MPU 1311 clears the power failure flag and checks the data backed up in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 using the checksum calculated at the time of the previous power shutdown. The sum is compared (verified) with the checksum stored in step S48 (step S22).

As a result, if the checksum calculated from the backup data does not match the checksum stored in step S48, the data in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 may not be correct. The stored data (other than the base calculation area 13128) is erased (step S30), and the process proceeds to step S24. On the other hand, if the checksum calculated from the backup data matches the checksum stored in step S48, the data in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 is correct. proceed to

In step S24, the main control MPU 1311 uses the check code to determine whether the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128) is normal. If it is determined to be abnormal, the data in the base calculation work area may not be correct, so the main control MPU 1311 erases the data stored in the base calculation work area (step S26).

In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, as a case where at least a part of the area of the RAM 1312 is initialized, the operation of the setting key 971 (step S17), the operation of only the RAM clear switch (step S18), and the power failure flag There are a blackout flag error (step S20) that is not set, a RAM error (step S22) in which the RAM checksum does not match, and an error in the work for base calculation (step S24). Of these, as shown in the figure, when the operation of the setting key 971 is detected when the power is turned on, the game control area 13126 (including the game work area and the game stack area), the set value and the game Leave the data of (for example, probability variable state, time saving state, reserved storage of special symbols and normal symbols, information on prize balls), clear other data, and do not clear the base calculation area 13128 (outside the game control area) . When the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 is detected when the power is turned on, but the operation of the setting key 971 is not detected, and in the case of power failure flag abnormality and RAM abnormality, the game control area 13126 (game work area and game stack area) is cleared, and the base calculation area 13128 (including the work area for base calculation and the stack area for base calculation) is not cleared. Moreover, in the case of base calculation work abnormality, the base calculation area 13128 (outside the game control area) is cleared, and the game control area 13126 is not cleared.

It should be noted that, unlike the illustrated one, in the case of power failure flag abnormality, RAM abnormality, base calculation work abnormality, since the validity of the data stored in the RAM 1312 is not guaranteed, the game control area 13126 and the base calculation area 13128 You may clear the entire RAM area including If the entire RAM area is cleared in the case of a work error for base calculation, the data indicating the game state will be lost and normal processing cannot be executed. should be initialized only. Also, when the operation of the RAM clear switch is detected when the power is turned on, the game control area 13126 (including the game work area and the game stack area) is cleared in the same manner as described above, and the base calculation area 13128 is cleared. No need to clear.

Thus, in the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, the data backed up in the work area of the built-in RAM 1312 are stored for each type of data (game control area 13126 (setting value, game state data), base calculation Area 13128) Erase under different conditions. That is, by operating the RAM clear switch, the backed up game control area 13126 other than the set value is erased, and the set value and the base calculation area 13128 are not erased. This is because if the set values are erased by operating the RAM clear switch, the set values need to be reset for each RAM clear operation, which complicates the maintenance of the pachinko machine 1 in the hall. Therefore, the set values are not erased by operating the RAM clear switch.

Either FIG. 22 or FIG. 102 may be employed for the processing after step S28 as required. The difference between FIG. 22 and FIG. 102 is the presence or absence of processing (steps S50 and S52) for calculating and storing a check code from the data in the base calculation work area (base calculation area 13128) when the power is turned off.

In the initialization process described above, the setting confirmation process is not executed, and is executed in the setting confirmation process called from the timer interrupt process (see FIGS. 155 and 156). may be executed. By executing the setting confirmation process in the initialization process, the setting confirmation can be permitted only when the power is turned on, and the confirmation of the setting value by careless operation during operation of the pachinko machine 1 can be prevented.

In this case, an operation unit (for example, a push button switch) for setting confirmation is provided separately from the setting key 971 (the setting change switch 972 may have the function of the operation unit for setting confirmation), and when the power is turned on, When the operation unit for confirming the setting is operated, the current setting value is read from the main control RAM 1312 to generate data for displaying on the setting display 974, and the setting value is displayed on the setting display 974. do it. Also in this case, it is preferable to output the security signal along with the display of the setting value.

The main control board 1310 of the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment may not immediately execute the RAM clear processing even if the RAM clear switch 954 is operated. Specifically, when the power is turned on by operating the RAM clear switch 954 while the setting key 971 is turned on, the main control RAM is cleared after the setting change mode is completed (step S30). That is, the main control MPU 1311 suspends the RAM clearing process and executes the RAM clearing process after a predetermined condition is satisfied (end of the setting change mode). During the setting change mode, it can be said that the main control MPU 1311 controls to store the execution of the RAM clear processing. On the other hand, if the power is turned on by operating the RAM clear switch 954 without operating the setting key 971, the main control RAM is cleared without starting the setting change mode (step S30).

The clearing (initialization) of the main control RAM 1312 has been described in detail above. Next, the clearing of the RAM of the payout control unit 952 mounted on the payout control board 951 will be described.

After the setting change mode, the main control RAM 1312 is cleared in step S30, but the RAM of the payout control section may be cleared together with this. Moreover, it is not necessary to clear the RAM of the payout control unit 952 . Further, it may be switched whether to clear the RAM of the payout control unit by an operation. For example, when the power is turned on while operating the RAM clear switch 954 with the setting key 971 turned on, the main control RAM 1312 and the RAM of the payout control unit 952 are cleared, and with the setting key 971 turned on, When the power is turned on without operating the RAM clear switch 954, the main control RAM 1312 is cleared and the RAM of the payout control unit 952 is not cleared. Thus, by changing the operation method, it is possible to clear a partial area of the main control RAM 1312 and execute a process in which the RAM of the payout control unit 952 is not cleared.

Also, when clearing the RAM of the main control RAM 1312 and the payout control unit 952, depending on whether or not the setting key 971 is operated, there is a difference between the timing of clearing the main control RAM 1312 and the timing of clearing the RAM of the payout control unit 952. can occur. That is, when the power is turned on by operating the RAM clear switch 954 while the setting key 971 is turned on, the main control RAM 1312 is cleared after the setting change mode ends (step S30). On the other hand, when the payout control unit 952 detects the operation of the RAM clear switch 954, it immediately clears the RAM. Therefore, depending on the conditions (operations), the RAM of the payout control unit 952 may be cleared, but the main control RAM 1312 may not be cleared.

In addition, not only when the RAM clear switch 954 is provided on the main control board 1310, but also in the pachinko machine 1 provided on the payout control board 951 and the power supply board 931, when changing the setting value, while operating the RAM clear switch 954 It is preferable that the RAM of the payout control unit 952 is cleared when the power is turned on. That is, instead of the payout control unit 952 clearing the RAM by the RAM clear command from the main control board 1310, the payout control unit 952 detects the level of the signal of the RAM clear switch 954 when the power is turned on, and the RAM clear switch 954 It is determined whether or not it is operated, and whether or not to clear the RAM of the payout control unit 952 is determined. If the payout control board 951 is provided with a RAM clear switch, there is an effect that various models can be supported without changing the control program on the frame side.

[12-11. Details of setting confirmation process]
FIG. 155 is a flowchart showing an example of timer interrupt processing of the pachinko machine of this embodiment.

The timer interrupt process shown in FIG. 155 is different from the timer interrupt process described above in FIG. Object ratio calculation/display processing is deleted. In addition, a setting confirmation process (step S802) for displaying a set value indicating the game performance of the pachinko machine 1 (for example, the operating ratio of the condition device) is added. The same steps as those of the timer interrupt process described above in FIGS. 23 and 104 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When timer interrupt processing is started, the main control MPU 1311 first sets 1 to the RBS (register bank selection flag) of the program status word by executing the main control program, and switches the registers (step S70).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes switch input processing (step S74), timer update processing (step S76), random number update processing 1 (step S78), and prize ball control processing (step S80).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 refers to the current game state, adds the number of prize balls to be paid out as the game value to the area corresponding to the current game state, and adds the base calculation area 13128 ( 103) to calculate the base value (step S801, see FIGS. 105 and 106 for details of the base calculation process). The base calculation process (step S801) may be executed in any order after the prize ball control process (step S80). .

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 performs frame command reception processing (step S82), fraud detection processing (step S84), special symbols and special electric auditors control processing (step S86), normal symbols and normal electric auditors control processing ( Step S88) is executed.

After that, a setting confirmation process (step S802) for displaying the setting value indicating the game performance of the pachinko machine 1 is executed. In the setting confirmation process, the current setting value is displayed on the setting display 974 by the hall employee performing a predetermined operation. Details of the setting confirmation process will be described later with reference to FIG.

Subsequently, output data setting processing (step S90) and peripheral control board command transmission processing (step S92) are executed.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 sets a predetermined value (18H) in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S96). Finally, the main control MPU 1311 switches (restores) the register bank. When the above processing is finished, the timer interrupt processing is finished and the processing before the interrupt is resumed.

FIG. 156 is a flow chart showing an example of the pachinko machine setting confirmation process of the present embodiment. The setting confirmation process is called from step S802 of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 155) and executed.

In the setting confirmation process, first, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether a setting confirmation operation is in progress (step S8061). Specifically, it is determined whether the setting key 971 is operated. If the setting key 971 is operated when the power is turned on, it triggers a transition to the setting change mode (step S17 in FIG. 154), and if it is operated during operation, it becomes a setting confirmation operation, and the current settings can be displayed.

If no operation of the setting key 971 is detected, the setting key 971 is returned to the normal position, so data for not displaying the setting value is generated and the setting value is hidden (step S8065).

On the other hand, when the operation of the setting key 971 is detected, it is determined whether the setting display condition is satisfied (step S8062).

As a setting display condition, it is determined whether or not the body frame 4 is released from the outer frame 2 by the output of the frame release switch. Since the setting key 971 is installed on the back side of the pachinko machine 1, the setting key 971 cannot be operated unless the outer frame 2 is open. However, if the operation of the setting key 971 is detected while the outer frame 2 is closed, it is presumed that the pachinko machine 1 has some kind of abnormality (malfunction or fraudulent act). should not be displayed. Further, since the setting display 974 is installed on the back side of the pachinko machine 1, the setting display 974 cannot be seen unless the outer frame 2 is open, and there is no need to display the setting.

The setting value may be displayed at any time during operation of the pachinko machine 1. - 特許庁Also, a set display condition may be provided to enable display at a specific time. For example, the set position may be displayed for a predetermined period of time (for example, 10 seconds) after the power is turned on. In this case, it is preferable to operate a timer that measures the elapsed time from power-on (or CPU initial setting in step S28), and to display the set value until the timer expires.

Also, a setting display condition may be provided to enable the setting value to be displayed in a specific game state. For example, the set display conditions cannot be displayed during variable display of special symbols or during a jackpot game. That is, a setting display condition is provided to enable the setting value to be displayed during a period other than during the special symbol fluctuation and during the jackpot. It should be noted that the display of the setting value may be disabled in game states other than those described above. In this case, when the setting key is operated during the special symbol variation game or the jackpot game, the set value may be displayed at the timing when the special symbol variation game or the jackpot game ends.

If it is determined that the set display condition is satisfied, a security signal is output (step S8063). Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 generates data for outputting a security signal. The security signal is a signal that is output from the external terminal board 784 when the pachinko machine 1 detects an abnormality, but it is rare for the pachinko machine 1 to check the settings during a game, and it is a sign of fraud. This is because the hall computer should be notified when the setting confirmation operation is performed during business hours.

The security signal may be output for a specified period of time from the start of setting value display, from the start of setting value display to the end of setting value display, or from the start of setting value display to a predetermined period after the end of setting value display. good. By outputting the security signal for a predetermined period after the setting value is displayed, the period during which an abnormality can be detected becomes longer, and security can be further enhanced.

In the illustrated setting confirmation process, the security signal is transmitted when the setting display condition is satisfied. good.

After that, the setting value is displayed (step S8064). Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 reads the current setting value from the main control RAM 1312 and generates data for displaying on the setting display 974 .

If the set display conditions are not met, the conditions are checked until the set display conditions are met. The confirmation process may end. For example, after it is determined that the set value is not displayed because of the special symbol variation display, when the special symbol variation display ends within a predetermined time, the set display condition is set with the termination of the special symbol variation display as an opportunity. and displays the set value. Also, if the setting condition is not satisfied, the setting confirmation process may be terminated immediately without repeating confirmation of the setting condition.

At this time, the fact that the set value is not being displayed may be included in the special symbol variation display start condition. In this way, a new special symbol variation display is not started while the set value is being displayed, and a new special symbol variation display is started after the set value is hidden.

As described above, in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the set values can be confirmed at a predetermined timing, so that the set values can be confirmed without interfering with other displays. In particular, when the base display 1317 and the setting display 974 are used together, the setting value is preferentially displayed during setting confirmation, so the base value is not displayed even though the base value is being calculated. In a game state in which a large number of prize balls are paid out in a short period of time, it may be desired to confirm a change in the base value. Therefore, the set value can be displayed without interfering with the real-time display of the base value.

[12-12. Security signal output accompanying setting change and setting confirmation]
FIG. 157 is a timing chart of security signals output with setting change and setting confirmation.

As described above, a security signal is output during the setting change mode and setting confirmation (S61 in FIG. 154, S8063 in FIG. 156).

In the setting change mode, as shown in FIG. 157A, a security signal is output from the external terminal board 784 for a predetermined period of time from the start of the setting change mode. The predetermined time (T seconds) during which the security signal is output may be longer than the time at which the hall computer can recognize the security signal, and may be one second or less or several tens of seconds long.

Also, the security signal may be output for a period from the start to the end of the setting change mode instead of the predetermined time from the start of the setting change mode.

Further, in the setting change mode, as shown in FIG. 157B, the security signal may be output for a predetermined time (T seconds) at the timing of the RAM clearing process executed in conjunction with the setting change mode.

At the time of setting confirmation, as shown in FIG. 157(C), a security signal is output from the external terminal board 784 for a predetermined period of time from the start of setting confirmation. The predetermined time (T seconds) during which the security signal is output may be longer than the time at which the hall computer can recognize the security signal, and may be one second or less or several tens of seconds long.

Also, the security signal may be output for a period from the start to the end of the setting confirmation (the period during which the setting value is displayed) instead of the predetermined time from the start of the setting confirmation.

When the pachinko machine 1 detects an error, as shown in FIG. 157(D), a security signal is output from the external terminal board 784 for a predetermined time (T seconds) after the error is detected. When the pachinko machine 1 detects an error while checking the settings, as shown in FIG. 157(E), a security signal is output for a predetermined time after the error is detected. That is, the security signal resulting from setting confirmation and the security signal resulting from error detection are continuously output over a predetermined time (T seconds) (predetermined time after error detection). Even if an error is detected during setting confirmation, the output time of the security signal may not be extended. That is, even if an error is detected during security signal output, the security signal resulting from the error detection is not output and is absorbed by the security signal being output.

Since the pachinko machine 1 does not detect an error during the setting change mode, the security signal resulting from setting confirmation and the security signal resulting from error detection do not overlap. That is, the output time of the security signal is not extended even if an error occurs during the setting change mode, but the output time of the security signal is extended if an error occurs during setting confirmation.

[12-13. Another example of setting confirmation processing]
Another example of the setting confirmation process will be described below. In the above description, an example in which setting confirmation processing is performed in the timer interrupt processing in the peripheral control unit steady-state processing has been mainly described. example.

Specifically, for example, when the setting key is on when the pachinko machine 1 is powered on, the process proceeds to the setting confirmation process. Details of the processing will be described below. Note that the timer interrupt processing executed by the peripheral control MPU in this chapter is assumed to be the timer interrupt processing in FIG. 23 (that is, the timer interrupt processing that does not include the setting confirmation processing in step S802).

FIG. 158 is a flowchart showing another example of initialization processing. Differences from FIG. 154 will be described. If the main control MPU 1311 determines in step S18 that the RAM clear switch 954 has not been operated (step S18: No), it determines whether the setting key 971 has been operated and its output is on (step S29).

When the main control MPU 1311 determines that the output of the setting key 971 is ON (step S29: Yes), the main control MPU 1311 shifts to setting confirmation processing in step S807, and then shifts to step S20. The setting confirmation processing in step S807 will be described later. When the main control MPU 1311 determines that the output of the setting key 971 is OFF (step S29: No), the process proceeds to step S20.

FIG. 159 is a flowchart showing another example of setting confirmation processing (setting confirmation processing in step S807). Differences from FIG. 156 will be described. The main control MPU 1311 determines whether the setting display condition is satisfied without performing the processing of step S8061 (step S8062). When the main control MPU 1311 determines that the setting display condition is satisfied (step S8062: Yes), it outputs a security signal (step S8063) and displays the setting value (step S8064). When the main control MPU 1311 determines that the set display condition is not satisfied (step S8062: No), it executes the process of step S8062 again.

Following the processing of step S8064, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the setting key 971 has been operated and its output is off (step S8071). When the main control MPU 1311 determines that the output of the setting key 971 is ON (step S8071: No), for example, after a predetermined time has passed, the determination of step S8071 is performed again. When the main control MPU 1311 determines that the output of the setting key 971 is off (step S8071: Yes), it hides the setting value (step S8075) and ends the setting confirmation process. That is, when the setting key 971 is turned on and the power is turned on without pressing the RAM clear button, the setting confirmation state is entered.

In addition, when the power of the pachinko machine 1 is turned off during the special symbol variation, the number of pending memories managed by the main control board 1310, the remaining variation time in the special symbol, etc. are stored as they are. After that, when the setting confirmation process is performed when the power is turned on next time (when the power is turned on with the setting key 971 turned on), after the setting confirmation process is completed (setting is performed without turning off the power) After returning the key 971 to the initial position), the special symbol variation resumes. At this time, for example, the production that has been executed along with the special design variation (production using a display device, production using a lamp, sound production using a speaker, and production using a movable body, etc.) is the special design Nothing is done after the resumption of the fluctuation.

Further, when the pachinko machine 1 is turned off during the special symbol variation and the setting confirmation process is performed when the power is turned on next time, when the special symbol variation is resumed after the completion of the setting confirmation process, the special symbol variation You may restart the production that was being executed with. For example, the production using the display device, the lamp, and the speaker, which has been interrupted, is resumed. In addition, regarding the production using the movable body, for example, after the special symbol variation is restarted or after the movable body is returned to the initial position when the power is turned on, it is determined to operate the movable body in the production pattern of the production. If so, move the movable body according to the effect pattern.

In other words, if the movable body is not in the initial position and has shifted to the setting confirmation state, it is returned to the initial position once when the power is turned on or the setting confirmation process is completed, and then based on the fluctuation pattern of the special symbol fluctuation If the determined effects include an effect of moving (moving) the movable body, the movable body may be moved (moved). If the setting confirmation state is entered while the movable body is moving (moving), the action pattern for that movement (moving) may not be executed, or the movable body may be returned to its initial position. The movable body may be operated as long as it is a pattern that allows it to operate even if it is empty.

Further, when the pachinko machine 1 is turned off during the special symbol variation and the setting confirmation process is performed when the power is turned on next time, when the special symbol variation is resumed after the completion of the setting confirmation process, the special symbol variation Among the productions that were being executed with the display device, the production using the lamp, and the sound production using the speaker are resumed, and after the special pattern variation is restarted or when the power is turned on, the movable body is returned to the initial position. It is not necessary to perform the effect using the return and the movable body.

In addition, when the pachinko machine 1 is turned off during the special symbol variation and the setting confirmation process is performed when the power is turned on next time, when the special symbol variation is restarted after the setting confirmation process is completed, the main liquid crystal display device The variation of the decorative pattern displayed in 1600 may be restarted (resume the production originally scheduled to be performed), or until the design is confirmed in the variation of the decorative pattern (or until the shake fluctuation just before the design is confirmed) ) The decorative pattern may be made transparent for high-speed variation, or the decorative pattern may not be displayed until the design is fixed (or until the shake fluctuation immediately before the design is fixed). Also, at the time of finalizing the pattern, for example, the combination of decorative patterns scheduled before the power is turned off is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 . Also, in this case, at the end of the special pattern fluctuation after the restart, a combination of predetermined decorative patterns, a combination of decorative patterns displayed at the time of initial power-on, or a special decorative pattern that is not displayed during normal special pattern fluctuation A combination (for example, “xxx”, etc.) may be displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 .

It should be noted that the power of the pachinko machine 1 is turned off during the special pattern variation, and the setting confirmation process is performed when the power is turned on next time. When the power is turned on (that is, when the power is normally turned on), the same initial operation (for example, a predetermined operation of the movable body, an operation such as confirmation of predetermined light emission of the LED, etc.) may be performed. (After this initial action is performed, the above-described effect or the like may be restarted).

Also, when the power of the pachinko machine 1 is turned off while the look-ahead effect is being performed during the special symbol fluctuation, and the setting confirmation process is performed at the next power-on, for example, the special When the symbol variation is restarted, the pre-reading effect and the pre-reading effect for the special symbol variation that was suspended immediately before turning off the power are not executed (specifically, for example, the power is turned off before the A special zone that was displayed during the fluctuation of the special pattern that was used (for example, a special stage that shows the player that the expectation of a big hit is high across multiple fluctuations, from the rival horse production to the horse racing production described later) Developing zone (horse racing production is a special zone that is set with high expectations (for example, expectations are relatively higher than the dialogue production described later))) Waiting display and the special The display effect in the zone is erased, and if the state of the pending display is blue instead of the normal white, the normal white is restored). However, for the special symbol variation corresponding to the winning after the setting confirmation process is completed, the prefetch effect may be executed.

Also, when the power of the pachinko machine 1 is turned off while the look-ahead effect is being performed during the special symbol fluctuation, and the setting confirmation process is performed at the next power-on, for example, the special When the pattern change resumes, the look-ahead effect during the special pattern change is canceled (specifically, for example, the special zone that was displayed during the special pattern change that was performed before the power was turned off) The standby display and the display effect in the special zone are erased, and if the pending display mode is blue instead of the normal white, for example, it is returned to normal white), but the following The look-ahead effect may be resumed from the special pattern variation (or restore the erased display, or if the pattern is a pattern that promotes the look-ahead effect at the start of the variation, restore it in the display mode after the promotion. can also be used). In this case, the look-ahead effect executed from the next special symbol variation is restarted assuming that, for example, the look-ahead effect during the special symbol variation was not stopped. That is, before turning off the power of the pachinko machine 1, the look-ahead performance scheduled to be executed after the next special symbol variation is executed. Moreover, a pattern of a new look-ahead effect may be set, and the effect of the new look-ahead pattern may be executed from the next special symbol variation.

[12-14. Another example of setting suggestion effect]
An example of processing for restricting execution of the setting suggestion effect will be described below. In the following description, the probability of setting 1 to setting 6 in normal times is 1/240, 1/230, 1/220, 1/210, 1/200, 1/190, respectively. Assume that the jackpot probabilities of setting 1 to setting 6 at time are 1/48, 1/46, 1/44, 1/42, 1/40, and 1/38, respectively. In addition, it is assumed that the probability variation rate at the time of winning the jackpot is 50%.

[12-14-1. Fluctuation pattern table]
FIG. 160 is another example of the variation pattern table. The variation pattern table is stored in the ROM 1313 of the main control board 1310, for example. In the description of FIG. 142 and the like, an example in which a variation pattern table exists for each winning/losing type of the special lottery result has been described, but in the example of FIG. is defined. Also, in the example of FIG. 160, it is assumed that a common variation pattern table is used for all settings.

The variation pattern table in FIG. 160 shows the correspondence between the winning/losing type of the special lottery result, the identifier of the variation pattern, the outline of the effect of the variation pattern, and the selection rate. As described above, in the example of FIG. 160, the information on the variation pattern of each special lottery result is stored in one variation pattern table. Therefore, the main control MPU 1311 selects the variation pattern corresponding to the winning/losing type corresponding to the winning according to the selection rate indicated by the variation pattern table. In addition, as in the example of FIG. 144, the variation time of each variation pattern may be defined in the variation pattern table.

In addition, the movie reach described in the summary column is a reach effect that has a high percentage of selection when the result of the special lottery is a big hit, and an extremely low percentage of selection when the result of the special lottery is a loss. is. In other words, the expectation of a big hit is high for variations in which Movie Reach is executed. Also, a predetermined movie is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 when a movie reach occurs.

In addition, the "+1 pattern" when the winning type is "lost", which is described in the summary column, means that after the decorative pattern stops in the reach state, the decorative pattern that is fluctuating until the end is in the reach state. Indicates to stop past one decorative symbol. Specifically, for example, after reaching the ready-to-win state with the decorative pattern "7", the decorative pattern that has been fluctuating until the end stops at "8". "+1 pattern" when the win/lose type is "jackpot" means that after the decorative pattern stops in the ready-to-win state, the decorative pattern that is fluctuating to the end passes one decorative pattern in the ready-to-reach state and temporarily stops. After making it look like this, the decorative pattern stops as the same pattern as the decorative pattern in the ready-to-win state. Specifically, for example, after reaching the ready-to-win state at the decorative pattern "7", the decorative pattern that has fluctuated until the end is made to appear to stop temporarily at "8", and then the decorative pattern stops at "7". and announce the jackpot.

In addition, in the overview column in the example of FIG. 161, "+1 pattern" is selected only when the hit type is "jackpot (non-variable)" among the big hits, but in the case of "jackpot (variable probability)" It may be selected only, or may be selected in the case of "jackpot (non-probability variation)" and "jackpot (probability variation)". In addition, "+1 symbol" may be selected only when the winning/losing type is "lost".

Also, "+pseudo 1" and "+pseudo 2" described in the summary column indicate that a double pseudo-continuous effect and a triplex pseudo-continuous effect are executed, respectively. Pseudo-continuous production is a production that performs the operation of changing the decorative pattern and ending the fluctuation of the decorative pattern multiple times during one fluctuation of the first special pattern display device or the second special pattern display device. . ``Finishing the variation of the decorative symbols'' means, for example, a manner in which part or all of the decorative symbols are stopped and displayed, a manner in which the player recognizes that the variation in the decorative symbols has ended, and In some cases, pseudo-run symbols (symbols in which a pseudo-run is confirmed when this symbol stops) are stopped. A pseudo-continuous production in which the operation is performed N times (N is a natural number of 1 or more) is called an N-run pseudo-continuous production. The following natural number) is called the M-th pseudo-continuous effect. In addition, while suggesting to the player that there is a possibility that the action may be executed again during one fluctuation of the first special symbol display device or the second special symbol display device, the action is actually executed again. A production that does not perform is called a “pseudo fake production”. In addition, hereinafter, the pseudo-continuous effect is simply referred to as "pseudo-continuous effect".

Pseudo continuous effect occurs or continues, that is, the operation of changing the decorative pattern and ending the decorative pattern change is executed again during one time fluctuation of the first special symbol display device or the second special symbol display device. When it is decided to do so, the peripheral control MPU may stop the pseudo-continuous design in at least one of the left decorative design, the middle decorative design, and the right decorative design. In the following example, the peripheral control MPU causes a character such as "Continue!" It should be noted that, for example, a combination of specific decorative symbols (for example, all of the left, middle, and right decorative symbols are odd-numbered or even-numbered and reach-free) may be pseudo-continuous symbols. It should be noted that the pseudo fake effect can be executed, for example, when the outline of the effect is "normal variation" or the like. Also, for example, even if the variation pattern is to execute "+pseudo 1", a pseudo-gise effect suggesting the occurrence of the third pseudo-run in "+pseudo-2" may be executed.

[12-14-2. Final reserved color table]
FIG. 161 is an example of the final reserved color table. The final reserved color table is stored, for example, in the peripheral main control ROM. The final pending color table is, for example, the display color of the pending display at the end of the variation for each variation pattern (special lottery result winning/losing type, variation pattern identifier, and outline of the variation pattern production) (hereinafter referred to as the final pending color ) and the selectivity.

In addition, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 includes a reserved display area showing the numbers of the reserved first special random numbers and second special random numbers. In the start-up winning process of step S116 in FIG. The peripheral control MPU displays the number of reservations indicated by the number-of-holds specification command in the reservation display area.

Specifically, when the game ball wins the first start port 2002 or the second start port 2004 (starting conditions are established), the number of reservations specified from the number of reservations designation command (the number of reservations stored) is increased. , to display one additional reserved display in the reserved display area. On the other hand, when starting the variable display of decorative patterns (variable display of special patterns) based on the reserved display (start condition is satisfied), the number of reservations (the number of reservations stored) specified by the number of reservations designation command is reduced. , delete the relevant pending display in the pending display area.

It should be noted that the hold display may have a plurality of display modes. For example, as the plurality of display modes, there is a display mode of holding display in a plurality of colors (white, blue, green, red, rainbow). Hereafter, it is assumed that the degree of expectation for a big hit in the special lottery result corresponding to the reserved display increases in the order of white, blue, green, red, and rainbow as the colors of the reserved display. In particular, in the example of FIG. 161, the rainbow-colored pending display is selected only when the result of the special lottery is a big win.

That is, the peripheral control MPU selects the final reserved color corresponding to the selected variation pattern according to the selection rate indicated by the final reserved color table. Further, the peripheral control MPU responds to the pending display by, for example, changing the display mode of the pending display during the display period from when the pending display is displayed in the pending display area to when the pending display is erased. It is possible to execute a holding advance notice performance suggesting the degree of expectation for a big hit with respect to the variable display of decorative patterns (variable display of special patterns).

Further, in the present embodiment, during the display period of the pending display, a pending change effect suggesting the possibility that the display mode of the pending display may change can be executed. In addition, the suspension change effect and the suspension notice effect during the display period of the suspension display and before the start of the fluctuation corresponding to the suspension are also called a suspension look-ahead effect.

For example, the peripheral control ROM holds a hold notice table (not shown) that defines the change timing of the display mode of the hold display. Specifically, for example, the pending notice table defines, for each final pending color, the change timing of the display mode of the pending display and the display mode (display color) of the pending display at the time of winning and at each change timing. The start time, during the change, and the end time of the special symbol variation after the winning and before the special symbol variation corresponding to the winning are examples of the change timing.

In addition, it is desirable that the display mode of the pending display at each change timing is a reserved color having a jackpot expectation less than or equal to the jackpot expectation of the final reserved color. Also, it is desirable that the degree of expectation for a big win indicated by the pending display does not drop at each change timing (for example, it is desirable that the blue pending display does not change to the white pending display). It should be noted that there may be a different pending notice table for each pending memory number at the time of winning.

It should be noted that, for example, the start of the special symbol variation suspended before the suspension display is an example of the change timing of the display mode of the suspension display described above. Also, for example, during the special symbol variation corresponding to the suspension display , a change timing of the display mode of the pending display may be provided.

It should be noted that the look-ahead effect including the pending look-ahead effect is executed based on the pre-determination command transmitted from the main control MPU 1311 to the peripheral control board 1510 in the pre-determination process performed in the starting entrance winning process of step S116 in FIG. be.

Hereinafter, the prior determination processing in the start opening winning processing for the first special symbol will be described. In addition, since the same applies to the preliminary determination process in the starting opening winning process for the second special symbol, only the first special symbol will be described here. In the pre-determination process, the main control MPU 1311 compares a pre-determination table (not shown) with a special random number, a symbol random number, a reach random number, and a variable random number to determine whether or not a big hit will occur. The type of the big win, and when the big win is not achieved, whether the ready-to-win effect is executed as the game effect executed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 or the mode type of the game effect to be executed is specified.

Then, the specified advance determination information (whether or not it will be a big hit, if it will be a big hit, the type of the big win, if it will not be a big hit, whether to execute a ready-to-win effect as a game effect executed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, Mode type of game production to be executed, etc.), type of special random number acquired (first special random number), and pending memory number (value of pending number counter) stored corresponding to the acquired special random number set the pre-determined command. For example, in the production pre-determination process for the first special symbol, the first special symbol pre-determination command is set according to the specified pre-determination information, the acquisition of the first special random number, and the first pending memory number. .

Then, by transmitting a pre-determination command from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510, in addition to the number of pending memories stored corresponding to the starting opening where the starting winning has occurred, a special symbol based on the starting winning has occurred. Whether or not the display result of the fluctuation display is a big win, if it is a big win, the type of the big win, if it is not a big win, whether or not to execute a ready-to-win effect as a game effect executed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 The peripheral control IC 1510a mounted on the peripheral control board 1510 can grasp the preliminary determination information such as the mode type of the game effect to be performed before starting the variable display according to the start winning.

FIG. 162 shows the appearance rate of each final reserved color for each variation pattern of Setting 1 when the variation pattern is determined by the variation pattern table of FIG. 160 and the final retained color is determined by the final retained color table of FIG. is an example of a table showing FIG. 163 is an example of a table showing the appearance rate of each final reserved color for each variation pattern of Setting 3 in a similar case. FIG. 164 is an example of a table showing the appearance rate of each final reserved color for each variation pattern of setting 5 in a similar case. According to FIGS. 162 to 164, the higher the setting, the higher the appearance rate of the display mode of the pending display of the higher jackpot expectation degree. In addition, the higher the setting, the higher the expectation of a big hit for each color. It should be noted that these appearance rates and expectations are calculated based on the jackpot probability of each setting described above, and for the final reserved color table, the final reserved color table of FIG. 161 is used for all settings. It is assumed that there is

Note that the peripheral control ROM may hold a different final reserved color table for each setting. In this case, for example, the selection rate of the final reserved color table of the final reserved color is set such that the higher the setting, the higher the expectation of the big win in the same display mode of the reserved display. As a result, for example, when a big win is won in the special symbol variation corresponding to the red pending display, the degree of expectation for the high setting is further increased, so that the player can get an exhilarating feeling.

Further, for example, in the display mode of the pending display other than white, which is most frequently selected, the final pending color of the final pending color table is changed so that the lower the setting, the higher the expectation of the big hit, for the same pending display display mode. A selection rate may be set (specifically, for example, the jackpot expectation when the pending display mode is red is 50% for setting 1, which is a low setting, and 30% for setting 6, which is a high setting. %). As a result, for example, even if a big hit is not won in the special symbol variation corresponding to the red pending display, the degree of expectation for the high setting is high, so that the disappointment of the player is suppressed and the game is continued. can be promoted.

Further, for example, in the display mode of the pending display other than white, which is most frequently selected, for the display mode of the same pending display, the final pending color of the final pending color table so that the jackpot expectation is substantially common in all settings may be set. As a result, for example, it becomes difficult to estimate the setting from the combination of the final reserved color and the special lottery result, and the player can concentrate only on the expectation for the special lottery result from the display mode of the reserved display. Also, for example, when a big win is not won in the special symbol variation corresponding to the display mode of red, the possibility of low setting can be prevented from occurring.

[12-14-3. Notice production table]
FIG. 165 is an example of a notice effect table. The advance notice effect table is stored, for example, in the peripheral control ROM. The advance notice effect table holds, for example, the selection rate of the advance notice effect for each variation pattern (specified by the winning/losing type of the special lottery result, the identifier of the variation pattern, and the outline of the effect of the variation pattern).

In the example of FIG. 165, the notice effects include dialogue effects, weather change effects, and rival horse effects. The dialogue effect is, for example, an effect in which a predetermined character is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 and says a line in the variation. The weather change effect is, for example, a effect in which the weather in the background of the decorative pattern displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 changes during the change. The rival horse presentation is a presentation in which a rival horse of the horse raised by the main character appears on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 in the variation.

It should be noted that it is possible to execute setting suggestive effects using advance notice effects, and the advance notice effect table stores the selection rate of each advance notice effect depending on whether or not the setting suggestive effects are executed. "No set" in the example of FIG. 165 indicates that the setting suggesting effect is not executed, and "with set" indicates that the setting suggesting effect is executed. The peripheral control MPU determines the announcement effect to be executed based on the variation pattern and the selection rate of the announcement effect table.

In each of the advance notice effects in each variation pattern of the notice effect table, it is desirable that the selection rate without the setting suggestion effect is sufficiently higher than the selection rate with the setting suggestion effect. If the selection rate of the presence of the setting suggestion effect is high, the setting suggestion effect occurs frequently. This is because, in this state, if the occurrence frequency of the setting suggestion effect suggesting the high setting is low, there is a high possibility that the player will stop playing the game in a short period of time. In other words, the operating rate of the pachinko machine 1, which is set at a low level, is significantly lowered, which may impose an excessive burden on the pachinko parlor. Conversely, for example, when the frequency of occurrence of setting suggestion performances suggesting high settings is high, the number of players who guess that other pachinko machines 1 in the hall are set low increases, and the other pachinko machines 1 operate. There is a risk that the rate will drop and impose an excessive burden on the hole.

In addition, the selection rate of the variation pattern in the variation pattern table is determined so that the expectation of the jackpot increases as the number of pseudo-runs increases. , the selection rate of execution/non-execution of the setting suggestion effect in the advance notice effect table is determined. That is, for example, for the variation patterns whose outlines are "SP reach", "SP reach + pseudo 1", and "SP reach + pseudo 2", pseudo setting suggestion effects are set so that the appearance rate of setting suggestion effects is substantially the same. is determined. As a result, although the degree of expectation for a big hit is low for a variation pattern with a small number of pseudo-runs, the occurrence rate of the setting suggestion effect is not low compared to the variation pattern with a large number of pseudo-runs, so the player is encouraged to increase the number of pseudo-runs. We can also be interested in the fluctuations of small fluctuation patterns.

Further, the selection rate of whether or not to execute the setting suggesting effect in the advance notice effect table may be determined so that the appearance rate of the setting suggesting effect increases as the number of pseudo repeats increases. The selection rate of execution/non-execution of the setting-suggestion effect in the advance notice effect table may be determined so that the appearance rate of the setting-suggestion effect is high. Note that if the appearance rate of setting-suggestion effects is increased as the number of pseudo-runs decreases, the above-described problem may occur. It is desirable to set the numbers to approximately the same values (specifically, for example, if the dialogue effect is set when variation pattern 5 is selected at the time of failure, it is 15/256, and if the dialogue effect is set when variation pattern 6 is selected, 16/256, etc.).

In addition, a variation pattern with a high degree of expectation for a big hit (or a variation pattern with a high degree of expectation for a big hit, but a performance with a relatively high degree of expectation for the produced performance (for example, a performance where the expectation for a big win is a predetermined value or more) ), the selection rate of execution/non-execution of the setting suggestion effect in the advance notice effect table may be determined so that the appearance rate of the setting suggestion effect increases. Specifically, for example, in the order of "normal fluctuation", fluctuation including "normal reach", fluctuation including "SP reach", and fluctuation including "movie reach", so that the appearance rate of the setting suggestion effect increases, A selection rate of execution/non-execution of the setting suggestion effect in the advance notice effect table may be determined.

In addition, in the example of FIG. 165, there is a possibility that the setting suggesting effect will occur in all of the advance notice effects (dialogue effect, weather change effect, and rival horse effect). may exist.

Also, if the outline of the variation pattern is the same, the special lottery result is a big hit without a probability change than the case where the special lottery result is a big hit with a probability change. A selection rate of execution/non-execution of the setting suggestion effect in the advance notice effect table may be determined. As a result, the appearance rate of the setting suggesting performance is increased in the case of winning a jackpot with no probability variation, and the disappointment of the player due to the fact that the probability variation is not granted can be reduced. In the above example, the three types of advance notice effects, namely, the dialogue effect, the weather change effect, and the rival horse effect, have been described, but it goes without saying that the number of types is not limited to three.

[12-14-4. Dialogue production]
In the following, the details of the dialogue effect will be described among the advance notice effects. When the dialogue effect without setting suggestion effect is selected as the advance notice effect, the peripheral control MPU causes the character A to appear on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 after a predetermined time (for example, two seconds) has passed since the start of the change. , "What day is it today?" is displayed as the dialogue of character A. Then, the peripheral control MPU, for example, causes character B to appear on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 after a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds) after character A's dialogue is displayed, and character B's dialogue is "Come on...". is displayed. It should be noted that, for example, the lines of character A and character B may suggest the degree of expectation for a big hit of the variation.

On the other hand, the peripheral control MPU selects the dialogue of the character B (the dialogue suggesting the setting) from a dialogue production table, which will be described later, when the dialogue effect with the setting suggestion effect is selected as the advance notice effect. For example, the peripheral control MPU displays the main liquid crystal display device 1600 after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the variation (for example, two seconds later, that is, at the same timing as the character A appears when there is no setting suggestion effect described above). Character A is made to appear, and "What day is it today?" is displayed as the line of character A. The peripheral control MPU, for example, causes character B to appear on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 after a predetermined time (for example, three seconds) after character A's dialogue is displayed, and displays the selected character B's dialogue. The dialogue of character A may be, for example, a dialogue that directly expresses a set value, such as "Do you know the settings for this table today?"

FIG. 166 is an example of a dialogue effect table. The dialogue effect table is stored, for example, in the peripheral control ROM. The dialogue effect table holds the effect type of the dialogue effect and the selection rate of the content of the dialogue of the character B for each setting. Note that the production types include "patterns that are the same until the end" and "patterns that suddenly diverge", and for each of the two patterns, there are "Kamone" lines and "deterministic" lines. .

Each line belonging to the "partially same pattern" contains the same line halfway, and then branches to a different line. In the example of FIG. 166, all of the lines belonging to the "partially same pattern" start with "Come on..." and then branch into different lines. On the other hand, the lines belonging to the "suddenly branching pattern" branch into different lines from the beginning. It is desirable that the selection rate of the lines belonging to the "partially same pattern" is higher than the selection rate of the lines belonging to the "suddenly branching pattern". This is to create a sense of anticipation.

Lines belonging to the "Kamone system" are lines that suggest the current setting but do not definitely announce the setting. For example, "But I feel like it was an even-numbered day..." is a "Kamone-type" line suggesting an even-numbered setting. "But I feel like it was an even number day..." is a "maybe" type of line, so the selection rate is determined so that it may appear even in odd number settings. However, it is assumed that the selection rate of the line in the odd number setting is sufficiently lower than the selection rate of the line in the even number setting. Similarly, with regard to other "Kamone-type" lines, the selection rate of the line in the setting suggested by the line is sufficiently higher than the selection rate of the line in other settings.

On the other hand, the lines belonging to the "deterministic type" are lines that definitely announce the setting. For example, "Oh! I remember! It's an even number day!" Therefore, the selection rate of the line is 0 in the odd setting, and the selection rate exceeds 0 only in the even setting.

In addition, it is desirable that the selection rate of the lines belonging to the "Kamane type" is higher than the selection rate of the lines belonging to the "deterministic type". Assuming that the selection rate of lines belonging to the "deterministic type" is high, there is a good possibility that the player will be notified of the high setting deterministically in a short period of time after the start of the game. This is because there is a certain number of players who presume that the setting of the pachinko machine 1 is not good, so there is a risk of lowering the operation of other game machines.

In addition, in the dialogue production when executing a specific reach production such as SP reach or movie reach, or in the dialogue production when performing a pseudo-continuation, the dialogue suggesting the setting of character B is written in red Dialogue in normal production may be displayed in white letters). This makes it easier for the player to distinguish between the lines of the expected suggestive effect and the lines of the set suggested effect, so that the two types of effects (the set suggested effect and the expected suggested effect) coexist without making the player feel unnatural. can be made In addition, the expected suggestion production is a production that indicates that the degree of expectation for the big hit in the special symbol fluctuation is a predetermined value. Includes a look-ahead effect that suggests expectations for a big win across fluctuations in

It should be noted that the peripheral control MPU may also determine setting suggesting effects for the weather change effect and the rival horse effect using a lottery table similar to the dialogue effect table, although not shown. For example, in a setting suggestion effect in a weather change effect, thunderclouds are displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, and numbers such as "246?" In the setting suggestion effect in the rival horse effect, the combined horse effect of the horse being trained by the main character and the rival horse is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600, and for example, a number such as "135?" ("Kamone system" production that suggests an odd number setting).

In the above example, character A's line in the line production is "What day is it today?" Character B is ``66 points! A plurality of variations may be provided for the production (for example, dialogue production). In that case, it is preferable that the B effect (for example, asking for a test score) is more credible than the A effect (for example, asking for a date). Specifically, for example, when A production says, “I feel like it was a day with 6 (maybe)”, the expectation level, which is set to 6, remains at 30%, but B production says “ I feel like I scored 66 points... (maybe)", the expectation level, which is set at 6, should be set to 50%.

[12-14-5. Another example of the notice effect table]
FIG. 167 is another example of the notice effect table. In the example of FIG. 167, the notice effect table 173 holds the selection rate of the notice effect for each variation pattern. Unlike the example in FIG. 165, the advance notice effect table in FIG. 167 does not hold information on whether or not the setting suggestion effect is executed. In other words, the peripheral control MPU selects only the type of notice effect according to the selection rate corresponding to the variation pattern of the notice effect table of FIG.

Then, the peripheral control MPU determines whether or not to execute the setting suggestion effect based on the variation pattern and the type of the selected advance notice effect. FIG. 168(A) is an example of a setting suggestion effect table showing the sorting of setting suggestion effect execution presence/absence when the outline of the variation pattern is "normal variation" and "dialogue effect" is selected as the notice effect. be. FIG. 168(B) is an example of a setting suggestion effect table showing whether or not to execute a setting suggestion effect when the outline of the variation pattern is "normal reach + 1 pattern" and "dialogue effect" is selected as the advance notice effect. is. A setting suggestion effect table for all combinations of variation patterns and advance notice effects such as shown in FIG. 168 is stored in advance in the peripheral control ROM.

In the above example, the peripheral control MPU determines whether or not to execute the setting suggestion effect after determining the content of the advance notice effect. You may By using such a method, although the amount of data is larger than that of the table shown in FIG. 165, it is possible to set the appearance rate and reliability of effects in detail. Also, the table shown in FIG. 165 and the processing shown in this example may be combined.

[12-14-6. Concrete example of setting suggestion effect]
FIG. 169 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an outline of setting suggestion effect. 169A, 169B, and 169C are shown in the order of the dialogue production, and are suggested settings when "It's a day with 4, 5, or 6!" is selected as the dialogue of character B. This is an overview of the production.

In FIG. 169(A), the special symbol variation starts. In FIG. 169(B), after the start of the special symbol variation, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 displays character B's line "It's a day with 4, 5 or 6!". In FIG. 169(C), the lines are displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 until the end of the special symbol variation.

169A, 169D, and 169E are outlines of setting suggestion effects when "It's a day with 6!" be. 169 (A), (D), (E) in the order of production, while setting suggestion production is started from the start of the special symbol variation, the setting suggested in the setting suggestion production is during the end of the special symbol variation has been changed. Specifically, in FIG. 169(D), after the start of the special symbol variation, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 displays the lines of Character B, "It's a day with 4, 5, or 6!" In FIG. 169(E), at the end of the special symbol variation, character B's line "It's a day with 6!" is displayed. In other words, the setting suggested by the dialogue of character B is promoted.

Specifically, for example, for each line in the line production table (line to be finally displayed), one or more scenarios indicating the timing of line change and the line at each timing, and the selection rate of each scenario are set. may be defined for each The peripheral control MPU displays the dialogue at the timing of the dialogue change according to the selected scenario.

In this case, it is desirable that the dialogue rendering table does not hold a scenario in which suggested settings may be demoted. Specifically, for example, the dialogue production table may not hold a scenario in which the dialogue "It's a day with 4, 5 or 6!" desirable.

In addition, in the example of FIG. 169, only the setting suggestion effect is performed in the special symbol variation, but other effects (for example, effect suggesting the degree of expectation for a big hit, etc.) may be performed in parallel. Although the example in which the speech of character B is promoted at the end of the special symbol variation has been shown, this is not limiting and the promotion may be performed before the end of the special symbol variation. Character A appears before character B's dialogue, and an effect is performed in which character A speaks to character B, but this is omitted in the drawing.

FIG. 170 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an overview of the setting suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect. In FIG. 170(A), the game ball B has won the first starting port 2002 during the special symbol variation in the state where the special symbol variation is not suspended. Subsequently, in FIG. 170(B), immediately after game ball B enters the first start hole 2002, character B's line "It's a day with 4, 5, or 6!" be done. In this case, since the remaining time of the special symbols that have already changed is indeterminate, character B may be displayed immediately without displaying character A, or character B may be displayed after a predetermined time has passed since the prize was won. Alternatively, the character B may be displayed after the character A is displayed. Also, in FIG. 170(B), the number of reservations indicated by the display in the reservation display area is increased by one.

Subsequently, in FIG. 170(C), all decorative symbols are stopped, and the special symbol variation ends. In addition, the main liquid crystal display device 1600 continues to display the lines of character B, "It's a day with 4, 5, or 6!" Subsequently, in FIG. 170(D), the special symbol variation corresponding to the winning starts. Also, at the same time when the special symbol variation starts, the dialogue of character B displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 changes to "It's a day with 5 or 6!". In other words, the setting indicated by the dialogue of character B is promoted.

Subsequently, in FIG. 170(E), all decorative symbols are stopped, and the special symbol variation corresponding to the winning is terminated. At the end of the special symbol variation corresponding to the winning, the line of character B displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 changes to "It's a day with 6!". In other words, the setting indicated by the dialogue of character B is promoted.

It should be noted that, for example, the peripheral control ROM holds a dialogue look-ahead effect table (not shown) that defines the dialogue of character B and the timing at which the dialogue changes. Specifically, for example, the dialogue look-ahead effect table defines the change timings of character B's dialogue and the dialogue of character B at the time of winning and at each change timing. The start time, during the change, and the end time of the special symbol variation after the winning and before the special symbol variation corresponding to the winning are examples of the change timing. It is desirable that the settings suggested by the dialogue are not downgraded at each change timing. It should be noted that there may be a different speech prefetch effect table for each number of pending memories at the time of winning. When the peripheral control MPU determines to execute the look-ahead effect based on the advance determination command, for example, at a predetermined rate, it executes the look-ahead effect with reference to the look-ahead effect table. In addition, in the case of promotion, promotion is performed one step at a time in FIG. !”) may be promoted in multiple stages at once. Specifically, for example, in FIG. 170, the dialogue (E) may be displayed without displaying the dialogue (D).

Note that the setting suggestion effect may be executed under specific circumstances other than those described above. For example, when the condition of the pending series is satisfied, the setting suggesting effect may be executed. The reserved series means that the next big hit is realized by the special random numbers reserved until the end of the big win game. In this case, for example, after the suspension is performed and before the big win game ends, the setting suggestion effect is executed. Further, for example, when a specific variation pattern continues for a predetermined number of times, the setting suggestion effect may be executed in the special symbol variation for the predetermined number of times.

[12-15. Restrictions on setting suggestion effects]
Restrictions on setting suggestion effects under specific conditions will be described below.

[12-15-1. Restriction of setting suggestion production after special state]
First, the limitation of the setting suggestion effect after the special state will be described. Below, both the setting confirmation mode and the occurrence of an error are examples of special states. Note that the setting confirmation mode is a mode for displaying setting values that is started when it is determined in the setting confirmation process that the setting display condition is satisfied (step S8062: Yes).

FIG. 171(A) is an example of an effect limit table for the setting confirmation mode. FIG. 171(B) is an example of an effect limit table when an error occurs. The effect limit table at the time of setting confirmation mode and the effect limit table at the time of error occurrence are stored, for example, in the peripheral control ROM.

[12-15-1-1. Restriction of setting suggestion effect after setting confirmation mode]
First, the setting confirmation mode effect limit table will be described. The effect restriction table during setting confirmation mode is a table for the variation determined to execute the setting suggestion effect (hereinafter referred to as setting suggestion variation in this chapter), when the setting confirmation mode starts during execution or pending. Stores a restriction flag indicating whether or not to restrict setting suggestion rendering.

The setting confirmation mode effect limit table is set in the setting confirmation mode before the start of the setting suggestion effect (that is, when the effect related to the setting suggestion is not executed (displayed) even though it is determined to perform the setting suggestion effect) A record 1701 that stores a limit flag when is started, and after the start of the setting suggestion effect in the setting suggestion change (that is, when it is determined that the setting suggestion effect is performed and the effect related to the setting suggestion is executed (displayed)) and a record 1702 that stores a restriction flag when the setting confirmation mode is started.

When the setting confirmation process shown in FIG. 159 is performed, the game is stopped at the start of the setting confirmation mode, and when the setting confirmation process shown in FIG. 156 is performed, the game progresses even during the setting confirmation mode. . Therefore, the effect restriction table in the setting confirmation mode stores a column 1703 for storing a restriction flag when the game is stopped at the start of the setting confirmation mode and a restriction flag when the game is progressing even during the setting confirmation mode. column 1704;

In addition, when the game progresses even during the setting confirmation mode, there is a possibility that a new setting suggestion variation may be suspended by winning a game ball in the starting hole during the setting confirmation mode. Accordingly, column 1704 includes column 1705 that stores limit flags in the new setting suggestion variation corresponding to winning the starting port during the setting confirmation mode. In addition, each restriction flag in the effect restriction table in the setting confirmation mode is, for example, an operation medium installed in the pachinko machine 1 at the time of manufacturing the pachinko machine 1 or in a hall or the like (even an operation medium that the player cannot operate). It can be set by an operation medium that can be operated). It should be noted that, during the setting confirmation mode, when a game ball enters the starting hole, the acquisition of the lottery information and the winning ball may not be performed for the entered ball. However, even in such a case, the already reserved special symbol variation is executed during the setting confirmation mode or after the setting change mode is finished.

When the game stops at the start of the setting confirmation mode, the value of one of the fields 1706 and 1707 is 1 and the value of the other is 0, the values of the fields 1708 to 1711 are 0, and the fields 1712 and 1713 One value is 1 and the other is 0, and the values of fields 1714-1717 are 0.

In addition, when the game progresses even during the setting confirmation mode, the values of the fields 1706 and 1707 are 0, the value of one of the fields 1708 and 1709 is 1 and the value of the other is 0, and the value of the field 1710 is 0. and field 1711 has a value of 1 and the other has a value of 0, fields 1712 and 1713 have a value of 0, fields 1714 and 1715 have a value of 1 and the other has a value of 0, and The value of one of fields 1716 or 1717 is 1 and the other is 0.

A peripheral control MPU executes a setting suggestion effect limit pattern according to a limit flag in each state defined in the effect limit table at the time of setting confirmation mode start and the effect limit table at the time of error occurrence. These restriction patterns are described below.

(1) Regarding the case where the setting confirmation mode starts before the setting suggestion effect starts and the game stops when the setting confirmation mode starts.

(1-1) After restarting the game, the setting suggestion effect is executed (the value of the field 1706 is 1 and the value of the field 1707 is 0). By executing the setting suggesting effect, the player can be informed that the setting confirmation mode is executed instead of the setting change mode in which the setting change process is executed, and the game results are not affected. can give.

(1-2) The setting suggestion effect is not executed after the game is restarted (the value of the field 1706 is 0 and the value of the field 1707 is 1). For example, in the setting confirmation mode, when a sound or image indicating that the setting is being confirmed is output to various speakers and the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the setting suggestion effect is not executed in this way, so that the setting confirmation mode is in progress. It is possible to provide the player with a sense of expectation that the setting may have been changed to a high setting even though the setting is high.

(2) Regarding the setting suggestion effect of the setting suggestion variation when the setting confirmation mode is started before the setting suggestion effect is started and the game progresses even during the setting confirmation mode.

(2-1) Execute setting suggestion rendering (the value of field 1708 is 1 and the value of field 1709 is 0). Since the game progresses even during the setting confirmation mode, the operation is not slowed down. In addition, when the sound and image indicating that the setting confirmation mode is in progress are output to various speakers and the main liquid crystal display device 1600, these sounds and images are prioritized over the sound and image in the setting suggestion effect. Output. At this time, in order not to make the player feel uncomfortable, an image indicating that the setting confirmation mode is in progress is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 so that part or all of the setting suggestion effect is displayed. . In addition, in order to provide the player with a sense of expectation such as "When was the setting suggesting effect displayed?" An image indicating the setting confirmation mode may be displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 so as to be hidden.

(2-2) Do not execute setting suggestion rendering (the value of field 1708 is 0 and the value of field 1709 is 1). For example, when the player confirms the setting value, if the setting suggestion by the setting suggestion effect and the actual setting are different If a suggestive effect occurs), the player may have a sense of distrust toward the gaming machine, and by not executing the setting suggestive effect, such a situation can be avoided.

(2′) New setting suggestion variation corresponding to winning in the starting hole during the setting confirmation mode when the setting confirmation mode starts before the setting suggestion effect starts and the game progresses even during the setting confirmation mode. About the setting suggestion production.

(2'-1) Execute setting suggestion effect (the value of field 1710 is 1 and the value of field 1711 is 0). By executing the setting suggesting performance, the player can be notified that the setting confirmation mode is executed instead of the setting change mode, and can give a sense of security that the result of the game will not be affected.

(2'-2) The setting suggestion effect is not executed (the value of field 1710 is 0 and the value of field 1711 is 1). For example, if Hall is in doubt about a setpoint and has moved to setpoint confirmation mode, he may change the setpoint later. In such a case, when the setting suggestion effect is executed, the setting suggestion effect and the actual setting are different (for example, while the even number setting is confirmed in the setting suggestion effect, the setting is changed to a different setting There is a possibility that an odd number setting will be confirmed in the setting suggestion effect later), so trouble may occur between the hole and the player. The occurrence of such a situation can be avoided by not executing the setting suggestion effect.

It is desirable that the image, sound, light, etc., indicating the setting confirmation state described above should appear regardless of the field values described above. Also, when the game is stopped after shifting to the setting confirmation state, it is assumed that a new winning prize may be validated.

(3) The setting confirmation mode starts during the setting suggestion change and after the setting suggestion effect is started (when the setting suggestion effect is displayed, and after the setting suggestion effect is displayed and the setting suggestion effect is finished displaying). And about the case where the game stops when the setting confirmation mode starts.

(3-1) After restarting the game, the setting suggestion effect is restarted (the value of the field 1712 is 1 and the value of the field 1713 is 0). If the setting suggestion effect that has already started is canceled, the player may have a sense of distrust that the setting has been changed. It is possible to avoid the occurrence of a situation.

(3-2) Do not restart the setting suggestion effect after restarting the game (the value of the field 1712 is 0 and the value of the field 1713 is 1). For example, in the setting confirmation mode, when a sound or image indicating that the setting is being confirmed is output to various speakers and the main liquid crystal display device 1600, the setting suggestion effect is not executed in this way, so that the setting confirmation mode is in progress. It is possible to provide the player with a sense of expectation that the setting may have been changed to a high setting even though the setting is high.

(4) The setting confirmation mode starts during the setting suggestion change and after the setting suggestion effect is started (when the setting suggestion effect is displayed, and after the setting suggestion effect is displayed and the setting suggestion effect is finished displaying). And regarding the setting suggestion effect of the setting suggestion change when the game progresses even during the setting confirmation mode.

(4-1) Continue setting suggestion rendering (the value of field 1714 is 1 and the value of field 1715 is 0). Since the game progresses even during the setting confirmation mode, the operation is not slowed down. In addition, when the sound and image indicating that the setting confirmation mode is in progress are output to various speakers and the main liquid crystal display device 1600, these sounds and images are prioritized over the sound and image in the setting suggestion effect. Output. At this time, in order not to make the player feel uncomfortable, an image indicating that the setting confirmation mode is in progress is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 so that part or all of the setting suggestion effect is displayed. (Display so that the image related to the setting suggestion effect and the image indicating the setting confirmation mode do not overlap, or the image related to the setting suggestion effect and the characters indicating the setting confirmation mode such as "in setting confirmation mode" do not overlap ). It should be noted that this display and the like can be processed in the same way even when an error occurs, which will be described later. It should be noted that the term "non-overlapping" as used herein indicates that the appearance from the player's point of view does not overlap, not the image data actually set in the RAM.

In addition, in order to provide the player with a sense of expectation such as "When was the setting suggesting effect displayed?" An image indicating the setting confirmation mode may be displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 so as to be hidden.

(4-2) Stop the setting suggestion effect (the value of field 1714 is 0 and the value of field 1715 is 1). For example, when the player confirms the setting value, if the setting suggestion by the setting suggestion effect and the actual setting are different If a suggestive effect occurs), the player may have a sense of distrust toward the gaming machine, and by not executing the setting suggestive effect, such a situation can be avoided.

(4') A new game corresponding to winning at the starting port during the setting confirmation mode when the setting confirmation mode is started after the setting suggestion change is started and the setting confirmation mode is started, and the game is progressing even during the setting confirmation mode. About setting suggestion production of setting suggestion change.

(4'-1) Execute setting suggestion effect (the value of field 1716 is 1 and the value of field 1717 is 0). By executing the setting suggesting performance, the player can be notified that the setting confirmation mode is executed instead of the setting change mode, and can give a sense of security that the result of the game will not be affected.

(4'-2) The setting suggestion effect is not executed (the value of field 1716 is 0 and the value of field 1717 is 1). For example, if Hall is in doubt about a setpoint and has moved to setpoint confirmation mode, he may change the setpoint later. In such a case, when the setting suggestion effect is executed, the setting suggestion effect and the actual setting are different (for example, while the even number setting is confirmed in the setting suggestion effect, the setting is changed to a different setting In the subsequent setting suggestion effect, a display confirming the odd number setting is displayed), so trouble may occur between the hole and the player. The occurrence of such a situation can be avoided by not executing the setting suggestion effect.

In addition, when the game progresses even in the setting confirmation mode, if the setting confirmation mode straddles a plurality of fluctuations, for example, the peripheral control MPU, for example, based on the notification from the main control MPU 1311, after starting the setting confirmation mode When the first pattern is determined or when the next variation starts, it is determined whether or not it is in the setting confirmation mode. When the peripheral control MPU determines that the mode is the setting confirmation mode, if the newly won hold is the setting suggestion variation, the setting suggestion effect is performed along with the variation corresponding to the hold. By executing the setting suggesting effect, the player can be informed that the setting confirmation mode is executed instead of the setting change mode in which the setting change process is executed, and the game results are not affected. can give.

Also, the peripheral control MPU may not execute the setting suggestion effect in this case. When the player confirms the setting value, if the setting suggestion by the setting suggestion effect and the actual setting are different (for example, when the setting value is 1, a high setting such as "Maybe high setting?" If the effect occurs), the player may have a sense of distrust toward the gaming machine, and such a situation can be avoided by not executing the setting suggesting effect.

In this way, both when the setting suggestion effect is performed and when the setting suggestion effect is not performed, the effect is exhibited in both cases. It is possible to provide amusement machines that meet the needs of each business style.

[12-15-1-2. Restriction of setting suggestion effect when error occurs]
Next, with reference to FIG. 171(B), the effect restriction table at the time of error occurrence will be described. The effect limit table at the time of error occurrence is a setting suggestion effect of the variation when an error occurs during the execution or suspension of the variation determined to execute the setting suggestion effect (hereinafter referred to as setting suggestion change in this chapter) stores a restriction flag indicating whether or not to restrict

The effect limit table at the time of error occurrence includes a record 1801 that stores a limit flag when an error occurs before the setting suggestion effect is started, and an error occurs during the change of the setting suggestion change and after the setting suggestion effect is started in the setting suggestion change. and a record 1802 that stores a restriction flag in the case where

Errors include a strong error that is reported after the game is stopped and a weak error that is reported while the game is in progress. An error that detects illegal magnetism in the launch ball sensor 1020 and the game area 5a is an example of a strong error. A full tank error (an error indicating that the game balls stored in the foul cover unit 520 are full based on a detection signal from the full tank detection sensor 535) is an example of a weak error.

Therefore, a column 1803 for storing a limit flag corresponding to an error notified when the game is stopped, and a column 1804 for storing a limit flag corresponding to an error notified while the game is in progress. ,including.

In addition, if the game progresses even during the occurrence of an error, there is a possibility that new setting suggestion fluctuations will be put on hold by winning a game ball in the starting hole during the occurrence of the error. Therefore, column 1804 includes a column 1805 that stores restriction flags in the new suggested setting variation corresponding to winning the starting port during error occurrence.

In addition, the restriction flag in the effect restriction table at the time of error occurrence can be set, for example, at the time of manufacture of the pachinko machine 1 or in a hall, etc., by operating the operation medium provided in the pachinko machine 1 (even an operation medium which the player cannot operate can be operated by the player). It can be set by an operation medium).

In the effect restriction table when an error occurs, the value of one of the fields 1806 and 1807 is 1 and the value of the other is 0, the value of one of the fields 1808 and 1809 is 1 and the value of the other is 0, One of fields 1810 and 1811 has a value of 1 and the other has a value of 0, one of fields 1812 and 1813 has a value of 1 and the other has a value of 0, and one of fields 1814 and 1815 has a value of The value of one and the other is zero, and the value of one of fields 1816 and 1817 is one and the value of the other is zero.

The peripheral control MPU executes the restriction pattern of setting suggestion rendering according to the restriction flag of each case defined in the rendering restriction table at the time of error occurrence. These restriction patterns are described below.

(1) Regarding the case where an error starts before the setting suggestion effect starts and the game stops when the error occurs (strong error).

(1-1) After restarting the game, a setting suggestion effect is executed (the value of the field 1806 is 1 and the value of the field 1807 is 0). By executing the setting suggesting effect, it is possible to inform the player that the setting has not been changed when the error is canceled by the hall clerk, and to give the player a sense of security that the result of the game will not be affected. can.

(1-2) The setting suggestion effect is not executed after the game is restarted (the value of the field 1806 is 0 and the value of the field 1807 is 1). As a result, when an error occurs, the setting-suggestion effect may not be executed, which is disadvantageous to the player. can proceed smoothly and reduce the burden on the hall.

(2) Regarding the setting suggestion effect of the setting suggestion change when an error occurs before the setting suggestion effect starts and the game progresses even after the error occurrence (weak error).

(2-1) Execute setting suggestion rendering (the value of field 1808 is 1 and the value of field 1809 is 0). As a result, the game progresses even when an error occurs, so the operation of the gaming machine is not interrupted. In addition, since the setting suggestion effect occurs even when an error occurs, it is possible to improve the interest of the player. In addition, when the sound and image indicating that an error is occurring are output to various speakers and the main liquid crystal display device 1600, these sounds and images are output with priority over the sound and image in the setting suggestion effect. do. At this time, an image indicating that an error is occurring is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 so that part or all of the setting suggestion effect is displayed so as not to make the player feel uncomfortable. In addition, in order to provide the player with a sense of expectation such as "When was the setting suggesting effect displayed?" An image indicating that an error is occurring may be displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 so as to be hidden.

(2-2) Do not execute setting suggestion rendering (the value of field 1808 is 0 and the value of field 1809 is 1). As a result, when an error occurs, the setting-suggestion effect may not be executed, which is disadvantageous to the player. can proceed smoothly and reduce the burden on the hall.

(2′) In the case where an error occurs before the setting suggestion effect starts and the game progresses even during the occurrence of the error (weak error), a new setting suggestion corresponding to the winning of the starting hole during the error occurrence. About setting suggestion production of variation.

(2'-1) Execute setting suggestion effect (the value of field 1810 is 1 and the value of field 1811 is 0). As a result, the game progresses even when an error occurs, so the operation of the gaming machine is not interrupted. In addition, since the setting suggestion effect occurs even when an error occurs, it is possible to improve the interest of the player.

(2'-2) The setting suggestion effect is not executed (the value of field 1810 is 0 and the value of field 1811 is 1). As a result, the setting-suggestion effect is not executed for the winning during the error occurrence, so that the player stops launching the game ball and cancels the error at an early stage.

(3) Regarding the case where an error occurs during the setting suggestion change and after the setting suggestion effect is started, and the game stops when the error occurs (strong error).

(3-1) After restarting the game, the setting suggestion effect is restarted (the value of the field 1812 is 1 and the value of the field 1813 is 0). If the setting suggestion effect that has already started is canceled, the player may have a sense of distrust that the setting has been changed. It is possible to avoid the occurrence of a situation.

(3-2) Do not restart the setting suggestion effect after restarting the game (the value of the field 1812 is 0 and the value of the field 1813 is 1). As a result, when an error occurs, the setting-suggestion effect is canceled, which is disadvantageous to the player. can proceed smoothly and reduce the burden on the hall.

(4) Regarding the setting suggestion effect of the setting suggestion change when an error occurs during the setting suggestion change and after the setting suggestion effect is started, and the game progresses even during the occurrence of the error (weak error).

(4-1) Continue setting suggestion rendering (the value of field 1814 is 1 and the value of field 1815 is 0). As a result, the game progresses even when an error occurs, so the operation of the gaming machine is not interrupted. In addition, since the setting suggestion effect occurs even when an error occurs, it is possible to improve the interest of the player. In addition, when the sound and image indicating that an error is occurring are output to various speakers and the main liquid crystal display device 1600, these sounds and images are output with priority over the sound and image in the setting suggestion effect. do. At this time, an image indicating that an error is occurring is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 so that part or all of the setting suggestion effect is displayed so as not to make the player feel uncomfortable. In addition, in order to provide the player with a sense of expectation such as "When was the setting suggestion effect displayed?" Then, an image indicating that an error is occurring may be displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 .

(4-2) Stop the setting suggestion effect (the value of the field 1814 is 0 and the value of the field 1815 is 1). As a result, when an error occurs, the setting-suggestion effect is canceled, which is disadvantageous to the player. It can progress smoothly and reduce the burden on the hall.

(4') In the case where an error occurs during the setting suggestion change and after the setting suggestion effect is started, and the game progresses even during the occurrence of the error (weak error), a new prize corresponding to the winning at the starting port during the error occurrence About setting suggestion production of setting suggestion change.

(4'-1) Execute setting suggestion effect (the value of field 1816 is 1 and the value of field 1817 is 0). As a result, the game progresses even when an error occurs, so the operation of the gaming machine is not interrupted. In addition, since the setting suggestion effect occurs even when an error occurs, it is possible to improve the interest of the player.

(4'-2) The setting suggestion effect is not executed (the value of field 1816 is 0 and the value of field 1817 is 1). As a result, the setting-suggestion effect is not executed for the winning during the error occurrence, so that the player stops launching the game ball and cancels the error at an early stage.

In this way, both when the setting suggestion effect is performed and when the setting suggestion effect is not performed, the effect is exhibited in both cases. It is possible to provide amusement machines that meet the needs of each business style.

[12-15-2. Restrictions on production in new start winning prizes]
Hereinafter, the limitation of the effect in the variation corresponding to the new start winning prize during the special symbol variation and in the state where the new variation can be reserved will be described. FIG. 172 is an example of a new start prize effect limit table. The new start prize effect limit table is stored in, for example, the peripheral control ROM.

The new start prize effect limit table includes, for example, a condition column, a reference processing table column, and a flag column. The conditions in the condition column are defined by the assumptions about the performance of the previous variation and the restrictions on the performances in the new starting winnings under the assumptions. It should be noted that the previous change in this chapter is the change immediately before the change corresponding to the new start winning. As a condition for the performance of the previous variation, there are a case where only an expectation suggesting performance is performed as to whether or not the special lottery result corresponding to the variation is a big hit, and a case where both the expectation suggesting performance and the set suggesting performance are performed.

In addition, as a production restriction for the pre-reading production in the new start prize, only the setting suggestion production in the pre-reading production is restricted (that is, the setting suggestion production is not executed), and both the setting suggestion production and the expected suggestion production in the pre-reading production are restricted (that is, the setting neither the suggestive effect nor the expected suggestive effect are executed), and neither the set suggestive effect nor the expected suggestive effect in the look-ahead effect are restricted (that is, the set suggestive effect and the look-ahead effect are executed).

The reference process table column stores the identifier of the process table to be referred to when executing the look-ahead effect restriction in the new start winning, which is included in the corresponding condition. The flag column stores flags indicating which conditions are to be executed and which processing table is used to determine the processing for the look-ahead effect in the new start winning.

1 is stored in the flag column corresponding to one of the processing tables 1-3, and 0 is stored in the flag column corresponding to the other two of the processing tables 1-3. Also, 1 is stored in the flag column corresponding to one of the processing tables 4-6, and 0 is stored in the flag column corresponding to the other two of the processing tables 4-6. The flags in the new startup prize effect restriction table are, for example, the operation media installed in the pachinko machine 1 at the time of manufacturing the pachinko machine 1 or in a hall, etc. It does not matter).

When the peripheral control MPU determines that there is a new start winning during the special symbol variation and in a state where the new variation can be suspended, and that only the expected suggestive performance is executed in the previous variation, the new start winning performance restriction table The condition indicated by the condition column corresponding to the flag column storing 1 as the value is executed. Further, the peripheral control MPU refers to the processing table corresponding to the flag column, and determines the content of the look-ahead effect in the variation corresponding to the new start winning.

Similarly, the peripheral control MPU, when there is a new start winning during the special symbol variation and in a state where the new variation can be suspended, and when the expected suggestive effect and the set suggestive effect are executed in the previous change, the new start win By referring to the processing table corresponding to the flag column in which the value of the "previous variation effect" column of the effect restriction table corresponds to "expectation suggestion + setting suggestion" and which stores 1 as a value, a new Determine the contents of the look-ahead effect in the variation corresponding to the start winning prize.

Each condition indicated by the condition column will be described below. The first condition (the condition for selecting the processing table 1) is that when only the expected suggestive effect is executed in the previous change, only the setting suggestive effect is restricted as the prefetch effect restriction of the change corresponding to the new start winning. It is to be done. In the first condition, the expectation-suggesting effect is performed in the previous variation, so the player has a heightened sense of exhilaration due to the expectation of the big win. In such a state, when the setting suggestion effect is executed as a variable prefetch effect corresponding to the new start winning, the player's consciousness is also directed to the setting suggestion effect, so that the previous variation effect There is a risk that the feeling of exaltation will decrease. In addition, the player may confuse the setting suggestive effect with the expected suggestive effect, which may make the player feel uneasy. Therefore, the occurrence of these situations can be suppressed by executing the first condition.

In addition, in the first condition, the expected suggestive effect is performed in the previous variation, but in this state, if the set suggested effect is performed as the prefetch effect of the variation corresponding to the new start winning, the player , even if it is assumed that the previous fluctuation will be off, since the fluctuation corresponding to the new start prize can still be expected, it is possible to provide the player with a sense of security.

For example, when an effect is selected from the advance notice effect table of FIG. 165, the peripheral control MPU decides the effect from the table, and then determines whether the flag in the condition column indicating that the setting suggestion effect is restricted is 1 or not. (whether or not to restrict), and if it is 1 (restrict), even if set is selected, the setting suggestion effect is restricted by performing processing to rewrite and display without set. do. That is, the peripheral control MPU can limit the setting suggestion effect using the advance notice effect table shown in FIG. 165 by executing the determination process after determining the effect. That is, since the pachinko machine 1 does not need to hold an effect table for each restriction type of effect, the amount of data can be reduced. Similarly, in the expected suggestive effect described later, even if a color other than white is selected for the look-ahead pending display using the final pending color table in FIG. Rewrites the selected hold display to white and displays it.

The second condition (the condition for selecting the processing table 2) is that when only the expected suggestion effect is executed in the previous variation, the setting suggestion effect and the expected suggestion are set as the prefetch effect restriction of the change corresponding to the new start winning. It is to limit both sides of the production. In the second condition, the expectation-suggesting effect is performed in the previous variation, so that the player has a heightened sense of exhilaration due to the expectation of the big win. In such a state, when the setting suggesting effect and the attitude suggesting effect are executed as the variable anticipatory effect corresponding to the new start winning, the player's attention is directed to these effects as well. There is a possibility that the exhilaration in the presentation of the previous variation may be reduced. Therefore, the occurrence of these situations can be suppressed by executing the second condition.

The third condition (the condition for selecting the processing table 3) is that when only the expected suggestive effect is executed in the previous change, the setting suggested effect and the expected suggested effect are set as the prefetch effect restriction of the change corresponding to the new start winning. Do not limit any of the renditions. In the third condition, since the expectation-suggesting effect is performed in the previous variation, the player has an increased sense of exhilaration due to the expectation of the big win. In such a state, the setting suggestion effect is executed as a variable look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning, so that in addition to the uplifting feeling for the big hit, the feeling of exhilaration for the setting suggesting effect (especially, the high setting fixed suggesting effect Or when a high setting confirmation effect etc. is executed) can be given to the player.

The fourth condition (the condition for selecting the processing table 4) is that when the expected suggestive effect and the set suggestive effect are executed in the previous change, the set suggestive effect is set as the prefetch effect limit of the change corresponding to the new start winning. The only limitation is In the fourth condition, since the expected suggestive effect and the setting suggestive effect are performed in the previous fluctuation, the player has an exhilarating feeling that he may win a big hit in the previous fluctuation (especially high setting suggestive effect or high setting fixed effect is executed), and feel a sense of exhilaration due to setting suggestions. In such a state, if the setting suggestion effect is executed as the look-ahead effect of the variation corresponding to the new start winning, there is a possibility that the excitement of the expectation for the big win in the suspension of the previous variation may be lowered. .

Specifically, for example, when setting 4 or more is confirmed in the setting suggestion effect of the previous change, and setting 5 or more is confirmed in the setting suggestion effect as the prefetch effect of the change corresponding to the new start winning, in the previous change The setting suggesting effect contains a lot of inaccurate information (although originally the setting is 5 or higher, it also suggests the possibility of setting 4). In such a case, the player presumes that not only the setting suggestion effect in the previous fluctuation but also the expected suggestion effect contains a lot of inaccurate information (specifically, for example, the display mode is red There is a possibility that the degree of expectation for a big hit is not high for the reservation that is ), and there is a possibility that the feeling of exhilaration for the expected suggestive performance will decrease. By executing the fourth condition, the occurrence of such a situation can be suppressed.

The fifth condition (the condition for selecting the processing table 5) is that when the expected suggestion effect and the set suggestion effect are executed in the previous variation, the set suggestion effect is set as the prefetch effect restriction of the variation corresponding to the new start winning prize. and the expected suggestive performance. In the fifth condition, since the expected suggesting effect and the setting suggesting effect are performed in the previous change, when the setting suggesting effect is performed in the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning, the setting suggesting effect is performed multiple times in a short period of time. There is a risk that the player will guess the setting value with high accuracy (for example, if the odd number setting suggesting effect and the high setting suggesting effect are performed, there is a high possibility that the setting is 5). In such a state, if the player determines that the setting is low, there is a risk of stopping the game with the pachinko machine 1, and if it is determined that the setting is high, other pachinko machines in the hall may There is a possibility that the operation of the machine 1 will decrease. By executing the fifth condition, the occurrence of such a situation can be suppressed.

In particular, if the expected suggestive effect and setting suggestive effect are performed in the previous change, and the expected suggestive effect and setting suggestive effect are performed as the prefetch effect even in the change corresponding to the new start winning, many effects occur in a short period of time. This may confuse the player. By executing the fifth condition, the occurrence of such a situation can be suppressed.

The sixth condition (the condition for selecting the processing table 6) is that when the expected suggestion effect and the set suggestion effect are executed in the previous variation, the set suggestion effect is set as the prefetch effect restriction of the variation corresponding to the new start winning prize. and expected suggestive renditions. In the sixth condition, since the expected suggestive effect and the setting suggestive effect are performed in the previous variation, the player assumes the degree of expectation of the expected suggestive effect in the settings suggested by the set suggestive effect. In this state, the setting suggestion effect and the expected suggestion effect are performed in the variation corresponding to the new start winning, and there is a possibility that the degree of expectation is raised by these two expected suggestion effects.

Specifically, for example, when a setting suggestion effect suggesting a setting of 4 or more is executed in the previous variation, and a setting suggestion effect suggesting a setting of 5 or more is executed as a look-ahead effect in the new start winning, the player Expectations are assumed at a setting of 4 or higher for the expected suggestive performance in the previous fluctuation. However, after that, the setting suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect in the new start prize suggests a setting of 5 or more, so that the expectation level of the expected suggestion effect comes to assume an expectation level of 5 or more, and the player The feeling of exhilaration increases.

In this way, since the effect is exhibited for each of the prefetching effect restriction contents corresponding to the new start winning, the hall etc. can set such prefetching effect restriction contents, so that the needs of the sales style of the hall etc. It is possible to provide a game machine that meets the needs.

Each processing table and the look-ahead effect executed with reference to each processing table will be described below. Each processing table is stored, for example, in a peripheral control ROM.

173 is an example of the processing table 1. FIG. First, contents common to each processing table will be described. Each processing table stores the type of winning in the special lottery result of the previous change, the processing content related to the new start winning corresponding to the type of winning, and the processing number as the identifier of the processing content.

It should be noted that the processing content held by each processing table defines the processing content for the look-ahead effect that is not subject to restriction. Specifically, for example, the processing contents of the processing table 1, which is a table to be referred to when restricting only the setting suggestive effect as a variable look-ahead effect restriction corresponding to a new start winning, includes the expected suggestive effect. Processing content is defined. Similarly, the processing contents of the processing table 3, which is a table referred to when restricting both the expected suggestive effect and the set suggested effect, as the variable prefetch effect restriction corresponding to the new start winning, include the expected suggestive effect and the set suggestive effect. The processing content for the setting suggestion effect is defined.

Therefore, the peripheral control MPU determines the pre-reading effect to be restricted in the new start winning effect and the processing table to be referred to based on the flag of the new start winning effect restriction table, and based on the processing table, determines that the effect is not restricted. Determines the processing for the look-ahead effect.

Note that the processing table 3 and the processing table 6, which will be described later, store flags for selecting the processing content related to the new starting prize from a plurality of processing content. It should be noted that the flags in the processing table may be operation media provided in the pachinko machine 1 at the time of manufacturing the pachinko machine 1 or in a hall or the like (either an operation medium that the player cannot operate or an operation medium that the player can operate). ) can be set.

Hereinafter, the processing contents related to the new start prize defined by the processing table 1 will be described. A processing table 1 is a table referred to when only the expected suggesting performance is executed in the previous variation and only the set suggesting performance is restricted as the pre-reading performance restriction of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. Hereinafter, an example in which pending prefetching is performed as a prefetching effect for suggesting expectations will be described.

The process of process number 1 is a process related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is a jackpot with short working hours. In the process of process number 1, the peripheral control MPU, if the state of the pending display of the new start winning is a specific state with a high expectation of a big hit (for example, a pending display state of blue, green, red, etc.), for example , At the start of the opening screen of the jackpot won in the previous variation, the mode of pending display of the new start winning prize is returned to the default (display mode of white in the final pending color table in FIG. 161). However, when the suspension is not displayed in the suspension display area at the start of the opening screen of the big win, the suspension display of the specific mode is erased like the other suspension displays. In addition, the peripheral control MPU does not return the state of the pending display of the new start winning prize to the specific display state (that is, leaves the default display as it is) at the time of time saving shift after the end of the big win. In addition, even if the suspension of the new winning prize has not been completed at the end of the time saving, the peripheral control MPU does not return the suspension display mode of the new start winning prize to the specific display mode (i.e. leave the default view).

The process of process number 2 is a process related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is a jackpot without time saving. In the process of process number 2, when the state of the pending display of the new start winning prize is a specific state in which the expectation of the big win is high, for example, at the start of the opening screen of the big win won in the previous variation, the peripheral control MPU: Restore default display mode for new start wins. However, when the suspension is not displayed in the suspension display area at the start of the opening screen of the big win, the suspension display of the specific mode is erased like the other suspension displays. In addition, even at the time of transition to the normal state controlled after the end of the big win game, the state of the pending display of the new starting prize is not returned to the specific display state (that is, the default display is left as it is).

The process of process number 3 is a process related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is a small win. In the process of process number 3, the peripheral control MPU does not change the mode of the pending display of the new start winning (that is, continues the pending display, specifically, for example, if the pending display mode is blue, continue to display the pending display mode). Further, the peripheral control MPU may return the state of the pending display of the new start winning prize to the default at the start of the opening screen of the small win won in the previous variation. However, when the suspension is not displayed in the suspension display area at the start of the opening screen of the small prize, the suspension display of the specific mode is erased like the other suspension displays.

The process of process number 4 is a process related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is lost. In the processing of process number 4, the peripheral control MPU does not change the mode of the pending display of the new start winning (that is, continues the pending display, specifically, for example, if the pending display mode is blue, continue to display the pending display mode).

174 is an example of the processing table 2. FIG. The processing table 2 is a table that is referred to when only the expected suggesting effect is executed in the previous variation and both the set suggesting effect and the expected suggesting effect are restricted as the pre-reading effect restriction of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. be. Since the processing table 2 is a table to be referred to when restricting both the setting suggesting effect and the expected suggesting effect as the fluctuation predictive effect restriction corresponding to the new start winning, regardless of the big hit type of the previous change, It is defined that no special processing is executed for the look-ahead effect in the variation corresponding to the new start winning.

175 is an example of the processing table 3. FIG. The processing table 3 is a table referred to when only the expected suggestive effect is executed in the previous variation and neither the set suggestive effect nor the expected suggestive effect is limited as the prefetch effect restriction of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. be.

The processing of processing numbers 5 and 6 is processing related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is a jackpot with short working hours. One of the processes of process numbers 5 and 6 can be selected by a flag. In the processes of process numbers 5 and 6, the process of the expected suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning is the same as the process of process number 1.

In the process of process number 5, the peripheral control MPU executes a setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. Before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning, specifically, for example, during the variation of the previous variation, during the jackpot game won in the previous variation, or during the time reduction accompanying the big win won in the previous variation It is in the process of digesting the second special symbol pending. By the processing of processing number 5, when the player recognizes that the setting suggesting effect has started before the start of the previous variation, etc., the player can be reminded that the setting suggesting effect will be performed. can.

In the process of process number 6, the peripheral control MPU executes the setting suggestion effect during the fluctuation corresponding to the new start winning. In addition, since the big hit with time saving has been won in the previous fluctuation, there is a high possibility that the change corresponding to the new winning will start after the end of the time saving (during the time saving, the game ball will (Because when the winning is high frequency and there is a hold of the first special symbol variation and the second special symbol variation, the second special symbol variation is executed with priority over the first special symbol variation). Therefore, by the processing of processing number 6, the setting suggesting effect is executed after the end of the time saving, so that the disappointment of the player due to the end of the time saving can be reduced.

The processing of processing numbers 7 and 8 is processing related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is a jackpot without time saving. One of the processes of process numbers 7-8 can be selected by a flag. In the processes of process numbers 7 and 8, the process of the expected suggestive effect as the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning is the same as the process of process number 2.

In the process of process number 7, the peripheral control MPU executes a setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. Specifically, before the start of the variation corresponding to the new starting prize is, for example, during the variation of the previous variation, during the jackpot game winning in the previous variation, and the like. Although the player feels disappointed that he did not win in a short period of time even though he won the jackpot, if the processing of processing number 7 starts at the latest during the jackpot game, the disappointment is felt. A big hit game can be enjoyed in a reduced state.

In the process of process number 8, the peripheral control MPU executes the setting suggestion effect during the fluctuation corresponding to the new start winning. By the processing of the processing number 8, the setting suggesting effect is started immediately after the big win is finished, so that the player's disappointment due to the fact that the reduction of working hours was not provided can be alleviated.

The processing of processing numbers 9 to 10 is processing related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is a small hit. One of the processes of process numbers 9 to 10 can be selected by a flag. In the processes of process numbers 9 to 10, the process of the expected suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning is the same as the process of process number 3.

In the process of process number 9, the peripheral control MPU executes a setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. Specifically, before the start of the variation corresponding to the new starting prize is, for example, during the variation of the previous variation, during the opening of the small win won in the previous variation, or during the small win. In the small win, only a small privilege is given to the player, so the player may be disappointed, but the process of process number 9 causes the player to be disappointed by starting the setting suggestion effect at an early timing. can be reduced.

In the process of process number 10, the peripheral control MPU executes the setting suggestion effect during the fluctuation corresponding to the new start winning. Since the series of digestion times related to small wins is shorter than the series of digestion times related to big wins, when the player recognizes that the setting suggestion effect has started before the start of the previous fluctuation, the setting suggestion effect is not executed, the player may feel distrust. The process of process number 10 can prevent the player from feeling such distrust.

The processes of process numbers 11 to 13 are processes related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is lost. One of the processes with process numbers 11 to 13 can be selected by a flag. In the processes of process numbers 11 to 13, the process of the expected suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning is the same as the process of process number 4.

In the process of process number 11, the peripheral control MPU executes the setting suggestion effect during the fluctuation corresponding to the new start winning.

In the process of process number 12, the peripheral control MPU, only when the form of the pending display in the pending look-ahead effect of the previous variation is a specific mode (for example, green or red) with a high expectation of a big hit, the new start During the variation corresponding to the winning, the setting suggesting effect is executed as the look-ahead effect in the new starting winning. The execution timing of the setting suggestion effect is not changed, that is, no special processing is performed, but the execution timing of the setting suggestion effect is controlled to be different (for example, a line suggesting the setting by Character B appears. The timing may be delayed by a predetermined number of seconds (eg, 2 seconds) or advanced by a predetermined number of seconds (eg, 2 seconds). By the processing of the processing number 12, it is possible to reduce the disappointment of the player who feels disappointment at the fact that the state of the hold display with high expectation for the big hit has appeared in the previous variation but the game has not come off. can. In addition, in FIG. 175 and FIG. 178 to be described later, the old suspension is suspension corresponding to the previous variation, and the new suspension is suspension corresponding to the new start winning.

In the process of process number 13, if the mode of the pending display is a specific mode (for example, green or red) with a high expectation of a big win, the peripheral control MPU suggests setting as a look-ahead effect for the new start winning. Do not perform the performance. Due to the processing of process number 13, even though the state of the pending display with high expectation for the big hit appears in the previous variation, it is lost, and furthermore, even in the variation corresponding to the new start winning, the setting suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect does not appear. , it is possible to suppress the player's addiction to the game.

176 is an example of the processing table 4. FIG. The processing table 4 is a table referred to when the expected suggesting effect and the setting suggesting effect are executed in the previous variation and only the setting suggesting effect is limited as the prefetch effect restriction of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. .

The process of process number 14 is a process related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is a jackpot with time saving. In the process of process number 14, the process of the expected suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning is the same as the process of process number 1.

The process of process number 15 is a process related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is a jackpot without time saving. In the process of process number 15, the process of the expected suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning is the same as the process of process number 2.

The process of process number 16 is a process related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is a small win. In the process of process number 16, the process of the expected suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning is the same as the process of process number 3.

The process of process number 17 is a process related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is lost. In the process of process number 16, the process of the expected suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning is the same as the process of process number 4.

In addition, since the processing table 4 is a table that is referred to when limiting only the setting suggestion effect as the variable prefetch effect restriction corresponding to the new start winning, regardless of the big hit type of the previous change, the new start It is defined that special processing is not executed for setting suggestion effects in variations corresponding to winning.

177 is an example of the processing table 5. FIG. The processing table 5 is referred to when both the expected suggesting effect and the set suggesting effect are executed in the previous variation, and both the set suggesting effect and the expected suggesting effect are restricted as the pre-reading effect restriction of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. It is a table where Since the processing table 5 is a table that is referred to when limiting both the set suggesting effect and the expected suggesting effect as the variable prefetch effect restriction corresponding to the new start winning, regardless of the type of the previous variation jackpot, It is defined that no special processing is executed for the look-ahead effect in the variation corresponding to the new start winning.

178 is an example of the processing table 6. FIG. The processing table 6 is referred to when the expected suggesting effect and the set suggesting effect are executed in the previous variation and neither the set suggesting effect nor the expected suggesting effect are restricted as the prefetch effect restriction of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. table.

The processing of processing numbers 18 to 21 is processing related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is a jackpot with short working hours. One of the processes of process numbers 18-21 can be selected by a flag. In the processes of process numbers 18 to 21, the process of the expected suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning is the same as the process of process number 1.

In the process of process number 18, the peripheral control MPU executes a setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. Before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning, specifically, for example, during the variation of the previous variation, during the jackpot game won in the previous variation, or during the time reduction accompanying the big win won in the previous variation It is in the process of digesting the second special symbol pending. By the processing of processing number 18, when the player recognizes that the setting suggesting effect has started before the start of the previous variation, etc., it is possible for the player not to forget that the setting suggesting effect will be performed. can.

In the processing of process number 19, the peripheral control MPU selects the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning, rather than the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect of the previous variation. If it is better (specifically, for example, it is notified that the setting 4 or more is confirmed in the setting suggestion effect of the previous change, and before the start of the change corresponding to the new start winning, the setting as a look-ahead effect Only when it is notified that the setting of 5 or more is fixed in the suggestion performance, the setting suggestion performance as the look-ahead performance is executed before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning prize. Before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning, specifically, for example, during the variation of the previous variation, during the jackpot game won in the previous variation, or during the time reduction accompanying the big win won in the previous variation It is in the process of digesting the second special symbol pending.

By the processing of the processing number 19, the player can see the high setting suggestive performance at the latest during the time-saving jackpot, so that the player can get double exhilaration by the time-saving jackpot and the high setting suggestion. Also, for example, it is notified that a setting of 5 or more is confirmed in the setting suggestion effect of the previous change, and a setting of 4 or more is confirmed in the setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the change corresponding to the new start winning. is notified, the setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the change corresponding to the new start winning is a useless effect that does not provide new information to the player, and the process By the processing of number 19, such a useless effect can be omitted. Conversely, for example, when it is notified that setting 4 or more is confirmed in the setting suggestion effect of the previous variation, setting 5 in the setting suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning Since there is a high possibility that the player will continue playing the game even if the above is not notified, the setting suggesting effect is highly likely to be a useless effect. You can omit the performance.

In the process of process number 20, the peripheral control MPU executes the setting suggestion effect during the fluctuation corresponding to the new start winning. By the processing of processing number 20, the setting suggestion effect is often started immediately after the end of time saving, so that the player's disappointment at the end of the time saving state can be reduced.

In the processing of process number 21, the peripheral control MPU selects the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning rather than the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect of the previous variation. Only when is better, the setting suggestion performance is executed during the variation corresponding to the new start winning. The process of process number 21 can omit the useless setting suggestion effect as described in the process of process number 19, or reduce the player's disappointment with the end of the time saving state.

The processing of processing numbers 22 to 25 is processing related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is a jackpot without time saving. One of the processes with process numbers 22 to 25 can be selected by a flag. In the processes of process numbers 22 to 25, the process of the expected suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning is the same as the process of process number 2.

In the process of process number 22, the peripheral control MPU executes a setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. Specifically, before the start of the variation corresponding to the new starting prize is, for example, during the variation of the previous variation, during the jackpot game winning in the previous variation, and the like. Although the player feels disappointed that he did not win in a short period of time even though he won the jackpot, he feels disappointed when the setting suggesting performance starts during the jackpot game at the latest by the processing of processing number 22.例文帳に追加A big hit game can be enjoyed in a reduced state.

In the processing of process number 23, the peripheral control MPU selects the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning, rather than the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect of the previous variation. Only when is better, the setting suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect is executed before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. Specifically, before the start of the variation corresponding to the new starting prize is, for example, during the variation of the previous variation, during the jackpot game winning in the previous variation, and the like. By the processing of the processing number 23, when the setting suggestion performance is started during the big win game at the latest, the big win game can be enjoyed with the disappointment reduced.

In the process of process number 24, the peripheral control MPU executes the setting suggestion effect during the fluctuation corresponding to the new start winning. By the processing of processing number 24, the setting suggestion performance is started immediately after the end of the big win, so that the disappointment of the player due to the fact that the game did not start in a short time can be reduced.

In the processing of process number 25, the peripheral control MPU selects the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning, rather than the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect of the previous variation. Only when is better, the setting suggestion performance is executed during the variation corresponding to the new start winning. The process of process number 21 can omit the useless setting suggestion effect as described in the process of process number 19, and reduce the disappointment of the player for not rushing into the time saving. Also, if the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect before the start of the change corresponding to the new start winning is not better than the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect of the previous change, If the setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect is executed before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning, the player who is disappointed that the game does not start in a short time will be shown a further useless setting suggestion effect. There is a risk of stroking the person in the opposite direction.

Processing of processing numbers 26 to 29 is processing related to a new start winning when the winning type of the previous variation is a small hit. One of the processes of process numbers 26-29 can be selected by a flag. In the processes of process numbers 26 to 29, the process of the expected suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning is the same as the process of process number 3.

In the process of process number 26, the peripheral control MPU executes a setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. Specifically, before the start of the variation corresponding to the new starting prize is, for example, during the variation of the previous variation, during the opening of the small win won in the previous variation, or during the small win. In the small win, only a small privilege is given to the player, so the player may be disappointed, but by the processing of the processing number 26, the setting suggesting effect is started at an early timing and the player is disappointed. can be reduced.

In the processing of process number 27, the peripheral control MPU selects the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning, rather than the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect of the previous variation. Only when is better, the setting suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect is executed before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning. Specifically, before the start of the variation corresponding to the new starting prize is, for example, during the variation of the previous variation, during the opening of the small win won in the previous variation, or during the small win. The processing of processing number 27 can omit useless setting suggestion performance as explained in the processing of processing number 19, and can reduce the player's disappointment due to only a small merit given in the small win.

In the process of process number 28, the peripheral control MPU executes the setting suggestion effect during the fluctuation corresponding to the new start winning. Since the series of digestion times related to small wins is shorter than the series of digestion times related to big wins, when the player recognizes that the setting suggestion effect has started before the start of the previous fluctuation, the setting suggestion effect is not executed, the player may feel distrust. By the processing of processing number 28, it is possible to prevent such distrust from being given to the player.

In the process of process number 29, the peripheral control MPU selects the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start winning, rather than the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect of the previous variation. Only when is better, the setting suggestion performance is executed during the variation corresponding to the new start winning. The processing of processing number 29 can omit useless setting suggestion performance as explained in the processing of processing number 19, and can reduce the disappointment of the player that only a small merit is given in the small win. Also, if the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect as the look-ahead effect before the start of the change corresponding to the new start winning is not better than the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect of the previous change, If the setting suggesting effect as a look-ahead effect is executed before the start of the variation corresponding to the new start prize, the player who is discouraged that only a small merit is given in the small win is given a further useless setting suggesting effect. This may cause the player to be stroked in the wrong direction.

The processes of process numbers 30 to 34 are processes related to a new starting prize when the winning type of the previous variation is lost. One of the processes with process numbers 30 to 34 can be selected by a flag. In the processes of process numbers 30 to 34, the process of the expected suggestive effect as the look-ahead effect corresponding to the new start winning is the same as the process of process number 4.

In the process of process number 30, the peripheral control MPU executes the setting suggestion effect during the fluctuation corresponding to the new start winning. The processing of processing number 30 can reduce the disappointment of the player due to the deviation of the previous variation.

In the process of process number 31, the peripheral control MPU, only when the form of the pending display in the pending look-ahead effect of the previous fluctuation is a specific mode (for example, green or red) with a high expectation of a big hit, the new start During the variation corresponding to the winning, the setting suggesting effect is executed as the look-ahead effect in the new starting winning. The execution timing of the setting suggestion effect is not changed, that is, no special processing is performed, but the execution timing of the setting suggestion effect is controlled to be different (for example, a line suggesting the setting by Character B appears. The timing may be delayed by a predetermined number of seconds (eg, 2 seconds) or advanced by a predetermined number of seconds (eg, 2 seconds). By the processing of processing number 31, it is possible to reduce such disappointment for the player who feels disappointment at the fact that the state of the hold display with a high degree of expectation for a big hit has appeared in the previous variation but the game has not come off. can.

In the process of process number 32, the peripheral control MPU sets the pre-variation when the mode of the pending display in the pre-variation pending look-ahead effect is a specific mode (for example, green or red) with a high degree of expectation for a big win. Only when the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the change corresponding to the new start prize is better than the setting suggested in the suggestion effect, the new start prize During the fluctuation corresponding to , a setting suggestion effect is executed as a look-ahead effect in the new start winning. By the processing of processing number 32, it is possible to reduce the disappointment of the player that the previous variation, which was in the mode of holding display with a high degree of expectation for a big hit, being a failure, can be reduced by the setting suggesting effect.

In the processing of process number 33, the peripheral control MPU only when the state of the pending display in the pending look-ahead effect of the previous variation is not a specific state (for example, green or red) with a high degree of expectation for a big win, the new start winning During the fluctuation corresponding to , a setting suggestion effect is executed as a look-ahead effect in the new start winning. By the processing of the processing number 33, the disappointment of the player who has continued to be disappointed because the degree of expectation for the big win cannot be obtained in the pending look-ahead performance of the previous variation can be alleviated by the setting suggestion performance.

In the processing of process number 34, the peripheral control MPU determines the settings suggested in the setting suggestion presentation of the previous variation when the mode of the pending display is not a specific mode (e.g., green or red) with a high expectation of a big win. Therefore, only if the setting suggested in the setting suggestion effect as a look-ahead effect before the start of the change corresponding to the new start winning is better, during the change corresponding to the new start winning, A setting suggestion effect is executed as a look-ahead effect in the new start winning. By the processing of processing number 34, the state of pending display of the previous variation suggests a low setting in the setting suggestion effect in the variation corresponding to the low expectation and the new start winning, which amplifies the player's frustration. can be suppressed.

It should be noted that, in the above-described processing, even under circumstances where setting suggestion effects are not limited as changes in anticipation effects corresponding to new start winnings, in the following cases, the peripheral control MPU will not limit the setting suggestions. You don't have to perform the performance. For example, when the new start winning is performed during the big win, the peripheral control MPU does not need to execute the setting suggestion effect. This is because there is a high possibility that the player will continue the game immediately after the jackpot game without giving an incentive by the setting suggestion effect.

As in the examples of the processing table 3 and the processing table 6, each processing related to the new starting prize determined by each processing number is effective, so that the processing related to the new starting winning can be set by the hall or the like. This enables us to provide gaming machines that meet the needs of halls and other business styles.

Also, for example, the new start winning prize is just before the end of the ST state (a probability variable state that continues until the jackpot is won or a predetermined number of special symbol variations are executed) (specifically, for example, a special until the end of the ST state The state in which the number of remaining variations in the symbol is 4 or less, which is the maximum number of reserved special symbols, or the state in which the number of remaining variations in the special symbol until the end of the ST state is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600). If so, the peripheral control MPU does not need to execute the setting suggestion effect. Immediately before the end of the ST state, the player's greatest concern is whether or not the player wins the jackpot in the relevant ST. In such a state, when the setting suggesting effect is started as a look-ahead effect related to the new start winning, the player immediately misunderstands the setting suggesting effect as a performance with a high expectation of a big hit, and a situation occurs in which the player is overjoyed. There is a risk of Occurrence of such a situation can be suppressed by the above-described processing.

Also, for example, after the ST state ends and shifts to the normal state, a predetermined number of special symbol variations (specifically, for example, 4 special symbol variations, which is the maximum number of special symbols reserved, or from the ST state Immediately after the transition to the normal state, the second starting port 2004 may be open, and in consideration of that, the new new When the starting prize is won, the peripheral control MPU does not need to execute the setting suggestion effect. Immediately after the end of the ST state, the player's greatest concern is whether or not he or she will soon win the jackpot. In particular, immediately after the end of the ST state, there is a high possibility that the variation corresponding to the holding of the second special symbol, which is likely to win the jackpot of a type with great merit for the player, will be executed. In such a state, when the setting suggesting effect is started as a look-ahead effect related to the new start winning, the player immediately misunderstands the setting suggesting effect as a performance with a high expectation of a big hit, and a situation occurs in which the player is overjoyed. There is a risk of Occurrence of such a situation can be suppressed by the above-described processing.

In addition, in a plurality of holds, when it is determined that a setting suggestion effect that is completed independently is executed, so that one setting suggestion effect is executed across the fluctuations corresponding to the plurality of holds, In the previous fluctuation You may change setting suggestion production.

[12-16. Another example of setting change/confirmation process 1]
Another embodiment of a pachinko machine having a setting change function will be described below. In the embodiment described below, the setting value can be selected by operating the RAM clear switch 954 without providing the setting change switch 972. In order to distinguish it from the setting change function, the operation for changing the setting value may be described as the setting change switch 972 .

179 and 180 are flowcharts of power-on processing executed by the main control MPU 1311 when power is turned on. The power-on process shown in FIGS. 179 and 180 is another example of steps S10 in FIG. 21 to step S34 in FIG.

First, the main control MPU 1311 fetches the level of the signal of the RAM clear switch 954 and the level of the signal of the setting key 971 from the input port, and stores the fetched level data in the register (step S201). It should be noted that determination of whether or not the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 are operated is made by the main control MPU 1311 in steps S212 and S214 after the peripheral control board 1510 is reliably activated. Therefore, if the hall employee accidentally interrupts the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 or the setting key 971 while waiting for the peripheral control board 1510 to start up, the RAM will be cleared in an unintended state by the hall employee. Switch 954 and setting key 971 are determined. For this reason, the input states (levels) of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 are stored in a temporary storage means such as a register at an early stage after the start of power-on processing, and after the peripheral control board 1510 is in the standby state, the input state (level) is stored. By judging the states of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 stored in a temporary storage means such as a register, even if the hall employee erroneously interrupts the key operation at an early stage after the power is turned on, the power will not be turned on. To reliably detect operation of a RAM clear switch 954 or a setting key 971 at the time of input operation.

The ON level of the RAM clear switch 954 and the ON level of the setting key 971 may be different. For example, the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 may be switched to have a positive/negative logic so that the RAM clear switch 954 is ON at High level and the setting key 971 is ON at Low level. Also, the voltage for determining ON may be changed between the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 . By doing so, it is possible to make it difficult to cheat by changing the signal level by irradiating the pachinko machine 1 with radio waves and activating the setting change mode. Also, as will be described later, it is not necessary to monitor the signal level of the fraud detection sensor in the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode.

Then, it is determined whether the set value is within a predetermined range (step S202). For example, in a pachinko machine 1 in which settings can be selected in stages from 1 to 6, the values of works in which the setting values are stored correspond to 0 to 5 (when setting 1 = 0, when setting 6 = In the case of 5), if a value of 5 or less is stored, it is determined to be within the predetermined range.

If the setting value is not within the predetermined range, a value (08H) indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, and initialization by the reset signal of the pachinko machine 1 is waited for (step S203). Since the settings are not in the range where the checksum is calculated and are not erased by the RAM clear operation, erroneous settings are not corrected. For this reason, when the power is turned on, it is determined whether or not there is an abnormality in the set value, and if there is an abnormality, the processing related to the normal game such as a special figure or a normal figure is not executed.

In addition, the set value is determined not only when the power is turned on, but also when winning a prize at the start gate, starting a variable display game, and when the game state changes (normal state to big hit state, low probability state to high probability state). , from a non-time-saving state to a time-saving state, etc.) is also determined when a predetermined condition is satisfied. This prevents the lottery from being performed based on the erroneous set value even if the set value is erroneously abnormal.

If the set value is determined to be abnormal, the game is stopped and the set value abnormality (RAM abnormality) state is maintained until the power is turned on again or the setting value is changed. . If the set value is determined to be abnormal, a predetermined value may be set. As the predetermined value, a value corresponding to setting 6 indicating the highest setting or a value corresponding to setting 1 indicating the lowest setting may be used to update the setting value storage area.

In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the RAM abnormality can be resolved only through the setting change mode, and the RAM abnormality cannot be resolved only by turning on the power again. This is because RAM anomalies can be caused not only by defects but also by fraud, and if RAM anomalies caused by fraud can be resolved by turning on the power again, RAM anomalies can be easily resolved. On the other hand, if the RAM abnormality cannot be resolved without going through the setting change mode, the RAM abnormality cannot be resolved unless the power switch 932, the setting key 971, and the RAM clear switch 954 are operated. Since operation of the setting key 971, which can only be operated by the hall employee who has the key, is included, security performance against fraud can be enhanced.

In addition, in order to cope with fraudulent acts of changing the set value to an indeterminate value, if the set value is determined to be abnormal, updating it to the value corresponding to setting 1, which indicates the lowest setting, will prevent the security of the game machine. It is effective because it can improve performance.

The setting state management area, as shown in FIG. 201(B), is a storage area in which the operation mode of the pachinko machine 1 is recorded. , the abnormality of the main control RAM 1312 is recorded.

On the other hand, if the set value is within the predetermined range, it waits for the activation of the peripheral control board 1510 (step S204).

Then, the checksum calculated from the data backed up in the main control RAM 1312 at the previous power shutdown is compared (verified) with the checksum calculated at the previous power shutdown and stored in step S48. A fixed value check code may be used instead of the checksum. Furthermore, it is determined whether the value of the backup flag area is normal. If the power failure flag value indicating normal backup is stored in the backup flag area, the data in the RAM is normally backed up when the power failure occurs (step S205).

As a result of the determination, if either the checksum or the value of the backup flag area is abnormal, a value (08H) indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area (step S206), and all areas of the main control RAM 1312 (setting (including areas where values are stored) are initialized (step S207), and the process proceeds to step S216. Erasure of data stored in the entire area or a predetermined area of the main control RAM 1312 is called "initialization", but "RAM clear" is also used in the same sense.

On the other hand, if the checksum and backup flag area values are normal, the setting change operation (the RAM clear switch 954 is turned ON and the setting key 971 is turned ON) is performed based on the value (content) of the setting key stored in the register. determine whether If it is not a setting change operation (both or one of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 is OFF), it is set in the setting state management area in order to determine whether the state is in the process of changing the setting before the power is turned on. It is determined whether or not a value (02H) indicating that it is being changed is recorded (step S208).

As a result, if it is stored in the register that a setting change operation has been performed, it means that the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 have been operated to enter the setting change mode when the power is turned on, and the setting change operation should be started. state can be determined. Further, if a value (02H) indicating that the setting is being changed is recorded in the setting state management area, it can be determined that the power is turned on after a power failure during the setting change operation. When it is determined to shift to the setting change mode based on the value stored in the register or the value stored in the setting state management area, a value (02H) indicating the setting change state is recorded in the setting state management area (step S209), initializes the clear area of the main control RAM 1312 to be initialized when the RAM is normal (step S210), and proceeds to step S216.

In step S208, when shifting to the setting change mode based on the value stored in the setting state management area, the value indicating the setting change state (02H) is recorded in the setting state management area in step S209. In this case, since it is not necessary to set the same value (setting change state (02H)) again, when it is determined to shift to the setting change mode based on the value stored in the setting state management area, the setting change is performed in the setting state management area. The value (02H) indicating the state may not be recorded.

On the other hand, if the setting change operation is not set in the register and the value (02H) indicating that the setting is being changed is not recorded in the setting state management area, the setting change operation should not be started. In order to determine whether the state of is during RAM abnormality, it is determined whether a value (08H) indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area (step S211).

As a result, if a value indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, it is determined that the state before power-on is RAM abnormality (main control RAM 1312 is abnormal), and the process proceeds to step S216. On the other hand, if no value indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, the state before power-on is not RAM abnormality (main control RAM 1312 is abnormal), so the ON level of RAM clear switch 954 is stored in the register. It is determined whether or not it is set (step S212).

As a result, if the ON level of the RAM clear switch 954 is stored in the register, since the RAM clear switch 954 is operated to ON when the power is turned on, the RAM in the game control area excluding the setting value and setting state management area In order to initialize the area (clear area when RAM is normal), the process proceeds to step S210.

On the other hand, if the ON operation level of the RAM clear switch 954 is not stored in the register, the RAM clear switch 954 was not operated when the power was turned on, so the power-on status buffer is set (step S213). The contents set in the power-on state buffer are transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510 as a power-on state command for notifying the game state managed by the main control MPU 1311 when the power is restored.

After that, it is determined whether or not the ON level of the setting key 971 is stored in the register (step S214). As a result, if the ON level of the setting key 971 is stored in the register, the setting key 971 is operated when the power is turned on and the setting confirmation operation should be started. Therefore, the setting confirmation mode is indicated in the setting state management area. A value (01H) is recorded (step S215).

After that, the device built in the main control MPU 1311 is initialized (step S216), and a power-on operation command for notifying the operation of each part when the power is turned on is sent to the peripheral control board 1510 (step S217). The power-on operation command is one of the power-on commands described in step S32 of FIG. Then, the main control RAM 1312 is initialized to the state when the power is turned on (step S218).

After that, it is determined whether or not a value (00H) indicating a game-startable state is recorded in the setting state management area (step S219). If a value indicating a game-startable state is recorded in the setting state management area, the normal game can be started, so the process proceeds to step S220 to continue initial setting. On the other hand, if the setting state management area does not record a value indicating a game-startable state, the normal game cannot be started, so the initial setting is terminated and the process proceeds to step S224.

In step S220, the initial setting at the time of game start or the initial setting at the time of power failure recovery is performed. After that, a power-on state command for notifying the state of each unit when the power is turned on is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 (step S221). Then, it stores in the buffer in order to transmit to the peripheral control board 1510 a power-on recovery destination command for notifying the state of the special symbol at the time of power failure recovery (step S222). The power-on state command and the power-on recovery destination command are one of the power-on commands described in step S32 of FIG. Various commands stored in the buffer are transmitted in timer interrupt processing.

Further, a set value command for notifying the set value is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 (step S223), interrupts are permitted (step S224), and the routine proceeds to a normal main loop (eg, step S36 in FIG. 22).

181 and 182 are flowcharts of timer interrupt processing executed by the main control MPU 1311. FIG. The timer interrupt processing shown in FIGS. 181 and 182 differs from the timer interrupt processing shown in FIGS. 24, 75, 80, 104, and 155 in that setting change processing is executed within the timer interrupt processing.

First, the main control MPU 1311 updates the LED common counter (LED_CT) (step S230). The LED common counter is a counter that determines which common terminal of the base indicator 1317 is to be turned on, that is, which digit to display. In this embodiment, an example in which the base display 1317 and the setting display 974 are used together will be described, but the base display 1317 and the setting display 974 may be provided separately. In this case, as many LED common counters as the number of indicators should be provided.

Thereafter, switch input processing is executed (step S231). The switch input process is the same as step S74 in FIG.

Next, it is determined whether or not an initial value (a value indicating a game-startable state) is recorded in the setting state management area (step S232). If the initial value (the value indicating the game-startable state) is recorded in the setting state management area, there is no need to execute the setting change/confirmation processing (after step S234) in the timer interrupt processing, so normal timer interrupt processing is performed. (for example, after step S76 in FIG. 23) are executed (step S233). In normal timer interrupt processing in step S233, performance display processing (FIG. 183), which will be described later, is executed. On the other hand, if the initial value (the value indicating the game-startable state) is not recorded in the setting state management area, the normal game processing is not executed in the timer interrupt processing, and the setting change/confirmation processing is executed.

In the setting change/confirmation process, first, OFF is output from the LED common port, the security signal is output from the external terminal board 784, and the game interruption signal is set to ON (step S234). By turning off the LED common signal at an early stage of the timer interrupt processing, the time until the LED common signal turns on, that is, the LED extinguishing time is secured, and the ghost phenomenon in which the display before and after the LED display switching appears mixed. to prevent flickering of the LED.

Thereafter, it is determined whether a value (08H) indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area (step S235). If a value indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, the process proceeds to step S245 without executing the process of changing/confirming the setting value. On the other hand, if a value indicating RAM abnormality is not recorded in the setting state management area, it is determined whether an operation to change/confirm the setting value has been performed (steps S236 and S237). Specifically, it is determined whether a value (02H) indicating a setting change is recorded in the setting state management area (step S236).

Then, if the setting change switch 972 has been operated, the set value is incremented by 1 (step S238), and the process proceeds to step S245. If the result of adding the set value exceeds the upper limit, the value is returned to the initial value. On the other hand, if a value indicating a setting change is not recorded in the setting state management area (a value indicating setting confirmation is recorded in the setting state management area), or if the setting change switch 972 is not operated, the setting key It is determined whether the OFF edge of the output level of 971 is detected (step S239). When the OFF edge of the output level of the setting key 971 is detected, since the setting key 971 has been operated to the normal position, the setting change/confirmation mode end processing is executed (steps S240 to S244). On the other hand, if the OFF edge of the output level of the setting key 971 is not detected, the setting change/confirmation mode is not ended, and the process proceeds to step S245.

In the setting change/confirmation mode ending process, as shown in FIG. (step S241), to send a power-on state command to the peripheral control board 1510 to notify the state of each part at the time of power-on (low probability / high probability, time saving / non-time saving game state, etc.) is stored in the buffer (step S242). Then, it stores in the buffer in order to transmit to the peripheral control board 1510 a power-on recovery destination command for notifying the state of the special symbol at the time of recovery after the power failure (step S243). Specifically, a counter value indicating the processing state of the special symbol/special electric accessory (the state of each process (waiting, fluctuating, judging, jackpot, etc.) regarding the special symbol/special electric accessory is transmitted as a command. . As a result, the peripheral control board 1510 can determine the game state related to the special symbols and the operation state of the special electric accessory when the power is restored. Then, a setting value command for notifying the setting value is stored in the buffer for transmission to the peripheral control board 1510 (step S244), and the process proceeds to step S245.

It should be noted that the command for notifying the setting value may be sent not only at the time of power-on, but also at the start of fluctuation or when the game state is switched. At that time, the setting value command transmitted when the power is turned on and the command transmitted during the normal game such as when the fluctuation starts may be the same command or different commands (for example, different upper byte values).

When the set value command is different between when the power is turned on and when the normal game is played, the peripheral control board 1510 sends a series of commands (variation pattern command, symbol command, etc.) including the set value at the start of the special symbol variation display game. When received, determine if the command is missing. By changing the content of the command depending on the timing at which the command is sent (when the power is turned on, during a normal game, etc.), the peripheral control board 1510 can determine whether the set value is correctly received when the power is turned on, or when the variation starts. It can be determined whether the variation pattern command or the design command is missing.

In step S245, it is determined whether a value (08H) indicating RAM abnormality is stored in the setting state management area. If a value indicating a RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, settings are made to display an error on the base indicator 1317 (or the setting indicator 974 in the case of a separate unit) (step S246). On the other hand, if no value indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, settings are made to display the current setting value on the base display 1317 (setting display 974 in the case of a separate unit) (step S247).

After that, ON is output to the common terminal of the LED of the base display 1317, and the base display 1317 is lit by the segment signal output according to the setting in step S246 or S247 (step S248). In this way, after the start of the timer interrupt processing, the set value change operation is determined (step S237), and thereafter, ON is output to the common terminal of the LED for each timer interrupt to display the set value (display of set value). ). The setting value is displayed without using the setting operation as a trigger. Specifically, instead of performing processing related to setting change/confirmation as processing when the power is turned on, by performing it in the same timer interrupt processing as when a normal game is started, setting change/confirmation processing is executed. Even if power is restored after a power failure occurs and the setting key 971 is returned to its original state, the settings at the time of the power failure can be restored even if the setting key 971 and the setting change switch 972 are not operated to the same positions as when the power failure occurred. It is made possible to return to the state of change/confirmation processing. Furthermore, in the setting change/confirmation processing, processing that is also executed in normal game processing, such as command transmission processing and control of dynamic lighting of LEDs, can be made common.

Then, the command is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 (step S249), and the timer interrupt processing ends. That is, in step S249, the commands stored in the buffer in steps S242, S243, S244, etc. are actually output from the main control board 1310 as serial data.

In the timer interrupt processing described above, the processing is branched depending on whether the normal game is executed or the setting change mode (or setting confirmation mode) is executed (step S232 in FIG. 181). may be provided, and different timer interrupt processes may be activated in the normal game state and the setting change mode and/or setting change mode. The plurality of timer interrupt processes may include some common processes (for example, a common subroutine may be called in each timer interrupt process), or all may consist of different routines. That is, timer interrupt processing 1 (for setting change/confirmation) is called in the setting change mode and setting confirmation mode, and timer interrupt 2 (for normal game) is called in the normal game state, and these two timer interrupt processing are common It has a process (module) that is executed and a dedicated process (module) that is executed only in one timer interrupt process. Commonly executed processes include, for example, a switch input process for capturing outputs from various detection switches such as a winning hole sensor, a peripheral board command process for transmitting a command to the peripheral control board 1510, and the like.

Further, the processing executed in the normal game and the processing executed in the setting change mode may share a register bank. When bank 0 is used in the main processing on the main control side, bank 1 is used in both timer interrupt processing. Since two timer interrupt processes do not start at the same time, they can share one register bank. That is, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, the main control MPU 1311 has two or more registers that can be switched depending on the bank. 1 (during normal game) and timer interrupt processing 2 (setting change mode) which is periodically executed, and at least two of the main control side main processing and timer interrupt processing 1 and timer interrupt processing 2 are common. bank of registers.

The timer interrupt processing executed in the normal game and the timer interrupt processing executed in the setting change mode may have the same execution cycle, but may be executed in different cycles. Since only the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 are sampled for the switches in the timer interrupt processing executed in the setting change mode, the execution period of the timer interrupt processing in the normal game state is 4 ms, but it is executed in the setting change mode. The execution cycle of timer interrupt processing may be early (eg 2 ms) or late (eg 8 ms). It should be noted that if the execution cycle of the timer interrupt process executed in the setting change mode is delayed, the cycle of the dynamic lighting control of the LEDs that display the set values will be delayed, and the display mode of the set values will differ from the base display during the normal game. become. When there are eight common LEDs, if the execution cycle of timer interrupt processing is 8 ms, the display cycle is 64 ms (display ON is 8 ms, OFF is 56 ms). The cycle is 32 ms (display ON is 4 ms, OFF is 20 ms), the OFF time is lengthened in proportion to the execution cycle of the timer interrupt process, and the lighting flicker of the LED is increased, so that the base display during the normal game is displayed. can be recognized differently.

Also, when starting the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode at the time of power activation, the timer interrupt processing 1 for setting change/confirmation is permitted, and the timer interrupt processing 2 for normal game is prohibited. On the other hand, when starting in the normal game state (does not shift to setting change/confirmation mode) when power is turned on, timer interrupt process 1 for setting change/confirmation is prohibited and timer interrupt process 2 for normal game is permitted. At the end of the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode, the timer interrupt process 1 for setting change/confirmation is prohibited, and the timer interrupt process 2 for normal game is permitted.

FIG. 183 is a flowchart of performance display processing executed by the main control MPU 1311. FIG. In the performance display process, the performance (for example, base value) of the pachinko machine 1 is displayed on the base display 1317 .

The performance display process is executed in the above-described normal game state timer interrupt. Specifically, it is executed in the normal interrupt processing in step S233 of the timer interrupt processing shown in FIG. 181 and the base display unit output processing in step S2087 of the timer interrupt processing shown in FIG.

First, the main control MPU 1311 saves the stack address in the game control area, sets the stack address outside the game control area (step S260), saves the register used in the game control area in the register saving buffer (step S261). In step S261, the save destination of the register used in the game control area may be a work area outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312. It should be noted that the save destination of the register used in the game control area may be a stack area outside the game control area of the main control RAM1312.

After that, it is determined whether the initial power-on flag is normal (step S262). The first power-on flag is a flag indicating whether the area outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 is initialized (that is, whether it is the first power-on), and when the area outside the game control area is initialized, 5AH is set. be done. That is, if the value of the initial power-on flag is 5AH, it can be determined that the main control RAM 1312 at the time of the first power-on is initialized (that is, the area outside the game control area is also initialized).

Then, it is determined whether the value of the parameter used for displaying the base value is within a predetermined range (step S263). For example, if the value of the LED common counter for switching the display digits of the base indicator 1317 is other than 0 to 3, it is determined that the parameter value is abnormal, and the main control RAM 1312 outside the game control area in step S264 initialize.

If the power failure flag is not normal, or the value of each parameter is not within a predetermined range, the main control RAM 1312 outside the game control area is initialized, the power failure flag is set to 5AH (step S264), and the process proceeds to step S265. On the other hand, if the power failure flag is normal and the value of each parameter is within a predetermined range, the various winning hole sensors 3015, 2114, 2554, 2557 and the discharge ball sensor 3060 are detected, and the base value is calculated ( step S265).

Then, it is determined whether or not it is the switching time of the section for base value calculation (step S266), and if the switching time has come, the display mode is switched (step S267). Display data is created according to the display mode and stored in the buffer (step S268). Then, the display is controlled for each section. For example, the display control for each section includes display of test sections with less than 500 out-balls, and flashing display when the number of low-probability/non-time-saving out-balls is less than a predetermined number (e.g., 6000) ( step S269).

After that, restore the value of the register from the register saving buffer (step S270), restore the stack address in the game control area (step S271), and end the performance display process.

Next, with reference to FIG. 184, the notification mode of the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment will be described. As described above, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, if there is an abnormality in the main control RAM 1312 when the power is turned on, or during the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode, it is notified to the pachinko machine staff. Clearly communicate the status.

Note that the notification mode (for example, the display mode of the function display unit 1400) described below is output in the mode selected in the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode. These notifications are controlled by selecting a notification pattern together with display settings on the base display 1317 in steps S246 and S247 of timer interrupt processing (FIG. 181). Specifically, it is executed in the setting display process of step S2069 of the timer interrupt process shown in FIG. A dedicated module for displaying the operation mode of the pachinko machine 1 may be provided to perform the processing.

First, if the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal, it is controlled by a command sent to the peripheral control board 1510 in step S249 of timer interrupt processing (FIG. 181). It should be noted that the abnormality of the main control RAM 1312 is reported with priority over the notification of other abnormalities and states.
Function display unit 1400 All lights off, or all LEDs blink at high speed at the same cycle Main liquid crystal display device 1600 Displays the characters "RAM error" with sound (sound effect) Outputs RAM abnormality notification sound (RAM abnormality notification sound changes settings) It may be the same as the notification sound other than mode and setting confirmation mode)
Sound (Voice) Output volume for the voice “RAM error” Maximum volume that does not depend on the volume of the peripheral control board box 1520 or the volume setting by the player Frame decoration LED A predetermined frame lamp provided on the door frame 3 (top lamp (including ball out and stock notification LED) blinking in red Display panel decoration LED All off External output (security signal) Output test signal (gaming machine error signal) Cancellation conditions for output re-notification RAM is cleared or power is cycled to peripheral control board 1510

Next, setting change notification when the main control RAM 1312 is activated in the setting change mode will be described. The setting change notification is controlled by a command sent to the peripheral control board 1510 in step S249 of timer interrupt processing (FIG. 181).
Function display unit 1400 All lighting, or all LEDs blinking at medium speed at the same cycle Main liquid crystal display device 1600 Displaying the characters "setting change in progress" Sound (sound effect) Output sound for setting change mode notification sound (voice) The setting is being changed" output volume a predetermined number of times (for example, 16 times) Maximum volume independent of the volume of the peripheral control board box 1520 and the volume setting by the player Frame decoration LED Predetermined frame lamp provided on the door frame 3 ( (including the top lamp, but excluding the out-of-ball and stock notification LEDs) flashing in white Panel decorative LEDs All extinguished External output (security signal) Output test signal (gaming machine error signal) Output re-notification release condition Peripheral control board 1510 Received "A001H" as a power-on operation command

Next, setting confirmation notification when the main control RAM 1312 is activated in the setting confirmation mode will be described. The setting confirmation notification is controlled by a command sent to the peripheral control board 1510 in step S249 of timer interrupt processing (FIG. 181).
Function display unit 1400 All lighting, or all LEDs blinking at low speed at the same cycle Main liquid crystal display device 1600 Displaying the characters "setting confirmation" Sound (sound effect) Output notification sound of setting confirmation mode (notification of setting confirmation mode The sound may be the same as the notification sound in the setting change mode)
Sound (Voice) Outputs the voice “Settings are being checked” a predetermined number of times (for example, 16 times). Predetermined frame lamps (including top lamps, excluding out-of-ball and stock notification LEDs) blinking in white Display panel decorative LEDs All off External output (security signal) Output test signal (gaming machine error signal) Output re-notification Cancellation conditions A predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed since the peripheral control board 1510 received "A001H" as the power-on operation command.

As for the above-mentioned three states, it is preferable that the abnormality of the main control RAM 1312 is notified with the highest priority, and that the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode are given priority in this order. More specifically, the priority should be determined in the order shown in FIG. Note that priority 1 has a high notification priority, and priority 9 has a low notification priority. That is, when a plurality of notifications should be made, a notification with a higher priority (smaller number) is made. In addition, if the conditions for multiple notifications with the same priority are met and the notifications compete, even if the competing notifications are switched and notified, the notification that was met first is performed, and after the notification is canceled If a competing notification satisfies the conditions, the competing notification may be performed. Specifically, in priority 3, the RAM clear notification and the setting confirmation notification do not occur at the same time, so the notifications do not conflict with each other. At priority 4, the ball excess abnormality notification and the normal electric accessory winning abnormality notification occur at the same time, and the two notifications may conflict.
Priority 1: RAM error notification when a RAM abnormality is detected Priority 2: Setting change notification priority in the setting change mode 3: RAM clear when the main control RAM is initialized by operating the RAM clear switch 954 Notification (excluding RAM clear due to setting change)
Priority 3: Setting confirmation notification in setting confirmation mode Priority 4: Prize ball excess abnormality notification when more than a predetermined number of prize balls are paid out When a prize is detected, or when more than a predetermined number of prizes are detected during a single operation of a normal electric accessory, the normal electric accessory winning abnormality notification priority 5: the difference between the number of prizes won and the number of discharges at the big winning opening is equal to or greater than a predetermined number 6: Vibration sensor abnormality notification priority when vibration is detected 7: Door open abnormality notification priority when opening of door frame 3 or body frame 4 is detected 8: Magnetic sensor abnormality notification priority when the magnetic sensor detects magnetism 9: When a predetermined number or more of winnings are detected continuously when the big winning opening is not in operation, or when winning more than a predetermined number at the time of a single jackpot Big winning mouth prize anomaly notification when detected

Next, the details of the above-described power-on process (FIGS. 179 and 180) will be described. 186 and 187 are flowcharts of power-on processing executed by the main control MPU 1311 when power is turned on.

First, the main control MPU 1311 starts processing from address 8000, which is the start address of the program code, when the reset signal is released by turning on the power. The protection invalidity and prohibited area invalidation of the main control RAM 1312 are set in the RAM protection register (step S2000). The main control MPU 1311 has a function of designating a use area of the main control RAM 1312 and determining that an abnormality has occurred and resetting when a prohibited area other than the designated area is accessed. In order to cancel the reset function by accessing the prohibited area of the main control RAM 1312, the prohibited area is set to be invalid to enable access to the entire area of the main control RAM 1312. FIG. It should be noted that even if an unused area of the main control RAM 1312 is designated as a prohibited area, the prohibited area is enabled, and access to the designated prohibited area is detected, the main control MPU 1311 is reset. good.

Next, a simple clear mode timer of a predetermined time is set in the watchdog timer (step S2001), and the watchdog timer is cleared (step S2002). After that, the power failure clear signal is set to ON (step S2003), and the power failure clear signal is set to OFF (step S2004). By once setting the power failure clear signal to ON and then setting it to OFF, the power failure signal stored in the latch can be set to a normal value.

Next, the signal levels of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are read from the PF port and stored in the register (step S2005). Since the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 have been operated after the peripheral control board 1510 has certainly started up, the hall If the employee of the hall erroneously interrupts the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971, the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 are determined in a state unintended by the hall employee. Therefore, the input states (levels) of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 are stored in a register or the like as temporary storage means at an early stage after the start of power-on processing, and the standby state of the peripheral control board 1510 is terminated. By judging the states of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 stored later in a register or the like, which is a temporary storage means, even if the hall employee erroneously interrupts the key operation at an early stage after the power is turned on. , the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 or the setting key 971 when the power is turned on is reliably detected.

After that, it is determined whether or not the power failure warning signal indicates power failure (step S2006). If the power failure warning signal has been detected, the power supply voltage of the pachinko machine is not normal, so the system waits until the power supply voltage stabilizes in step S2006.

After that, it is determined whether the set value is within a predetermined range (step S2007). For example, in a pachinko machine 1 in which settings can be selected in stages from 1 to 6, the values of works in which the setting values are stored correspond to 0 to 5 (when setting 1 = 0, when setting 6 = In the case of 5), if a value of 5 or less is stored, it is determined to be within the predetermined range.

If the setting value is not within the predetermined range, the setting value is initialized to 0 (step S2023), a value (08H) indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2024), and a reset signal for the pachinko machine 1 is generated. Wait for initialization by Since the setpoint is not the range over which the checksum is calculated and is not erased by the RAM clear operation, even if the setpoint is an abnormal value it will not be corrected. For this reason, when the power is turned on, it is determined whether or not there is an abnormality in the set value, and if there is an abnormality, the normal game is not started. In a hall where a pachinko machine is installed, you want to initialize the game state while maintaining the set value (for example, you want to clear the latent probability change (high probability non-working hours) and return to the normal state with a low probability of working hours) In some cases, a RAM clear operation may be performed. If the set values are initialized by the RAM clearing operation during business, the power is cut off to continue the business by resetting the set values, the setting change mode is started, and the original set values are set again. There is a need. In order to avoid such trouble, the setting values are maintained without being cleared by the RAM clearing operation.

On the other hand, if the set value is within a predetermined range, a sub-activation wait timer (for example, about 2 seconds) is started, and the watchdog timer is continuously cleared until the timer expires. is activated (step S2008). Waiting for activation of the peripheral control board 1510 may be any period from when the power is turned on until the first command is sent to the peripheral control board 1510, even if it is not after the setting value is determined.

After that, it is determined again whether the power failure warning signal indicates power failure (step S2009). If the power failure warning signal is detected, the power supply voltage of the pachinko machine 1 is abnormal, so the system waits in step S2009.

Also, it determines whether there is an abnormality in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, and stores the determination result in the register (step S2010). Specifically, the checksum calculated and stored from the data used as the game control area (excluding the data saved in the stack) among the areas backed up in the built-in RAM 1312 at the time of the previous power shutdown, The checksum calculated using the same area is compared, and if the two are different, it is determined that the main control RAM 1312 has an abnormality. Also, if the value of the power failure flag indicating that the backup has been performed normally (the power failure processing has been performed normally) is not stored in the backup flag area, the data in the main control RAM 1312 is normally backed up when the power failure occurs. It is determined that the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal (power-off processing is not normally executed).

Then, if there is an abnormality in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, the information in the setting state management area is saved (step S2011), and the value indicating the RAM abnormality (08H) is temporarily recorded in the setting state management area (step S2012). .

Then, the bits of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are masked out of the register values in which the values of the PF ports are recorded (step S2013). Thereafter, it is determined using the values stored in the register whether the setting key 971 is turned ON and the RAM clear switch 954 is turned ON when the power is turned on (step S2014). If the setting key 971 is turned ON and the RAM clear switch 954 is turned ON, it is determined that a setting change operation has been performed, and the process proceeds to step S2030 in FIG.

On the other hand, if the setting key 971 has not been operated and the RAM clear switch 954 has not been operated, it is determined whether the setting change mode was in effect when the power failure occurred (step S2015). For example, when the value of the setting state management area saved in S2011 is the setting change mode (02H), it is determined that a power failure occurred during the setting change mode.

Then, when it is determined that a power failure has occurred during the setting change mode, the process proceeds to step S2030 in FIG.

On the other hand, when it is determined that a power failure has not occurred during the setting change mode, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2016). Specifically, determination can be made using the determination result stored in the register in step S2010 described above. As a result, if there is an abnormality in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, the process proceeds to step S2031 in FIG.

On the other hand, if there is no abnormality in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, it is determined whether a power failure occurred during RAM abnormality processing (step S2017). For example, when the value of the saved setting state management area is a value (08H) indicating RAM abnormality, it is determined that a power failure occurred during RAM abnormality processing.

Then, when it is determined that a power failure has occurred during the RAM abnormality processing, the process proceeds to step S2036 in FIG. On the other hand, when it is determined that a power failure has not occurred during the RAM abnormality processing, the value (00H) indicating the normal game state is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2018). By recording 00H in the setting state management area in step S2018, the value (08H) temporarily recorded in the setting state management area in step S2012 indicating a RAM abnormality is returned to a normal state. By recording 00H in the setting state management area in step S2018, the values in the setting state management area differ when jumping from steps S2016 and S2019 to step S2031. size can be reduced.

Thereafter, it is determined using the value stored in the register whether or not the RAM clear switch 954 was turned ON when the power was turned on (step S2019). Then, if the RAM clear switch 954 is turned ON, it is determined that the RAM clear operation has been performed, and the process proceeds to step S2031 in FIG.

In the pachinko machine of this embodiment, processing is distributed based on the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 and the values recorded in the setting state management area. For example, when it is determined that the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal, 08H is recorded in the setting state management area, and 08H is maintained until the power is turned off, so normal game processing cannot be executed. At this time, the RAM abnormality can be canceled by turning off the power supply, changing the settings, and turning on the power supply. That is, if it is determined in step S2014 that both the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 have been operated (setting change operation), the setting status management area changes from the value indicating RAM abnormality (08H) to the value indicating setting change. It is updated to (02H) (step S2030), and the RAM abnormal state ends. In this way, the recovery from the RAM abnormality is supposed to go through the setting change without fail. In other words, since it is determined whether a setting change operation has been performed before it is determined whether the state at the time of power failure is RAM abnormality, RAM abnormality can be eliminated only by changing the set value.

On the other hand, if the RAM clear switch 954 has not been operated, in order to restore the state before the power failure occurred, the game state information at the time of the power failure is stored in the power-on state buffer (step S2020).

After that, it is determined using the value stored in the register whether or not the setting key 971 was turned ON when the power was turned on (step S2021). If the setting key 971 is turned ON, it is determined that the setting confirmation operation has been performed, and the value (01H) indicating the setting confirmation mode is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2022). The process proceeds to step S2036. That is, regardless of whether the state at the time of power failure is during setting confirmation, if only the setting key 971 is operated (if the RAM clear switch 954 is not operated), the setting confirmation mode is entered.

Steps S2018 to S2022 are processes executed when at least one of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 is not operated. (step S2021) may be performed first. That is, as shown in the figure, the operation of the setting key 971 may be determined (step S2021) after the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 is determined (step S2019), or the operation of the setting key 971 may be determined (step S2021). Operation of the RAM clear switch 954 may be determined (step S2019).

Next, FIG. 187, which is a continuation of the power-on processing (FIG. 186), will be described.

If YES is determined in step S2014 or step S2015, a value (02H) indicating the setting change mode is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2030). Then, the area other than the setting value and setting state management area in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 and the stack area in the game control area are initialized (step S2031). After that, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2032). Specifically, since the determination result in step S2010 described above is stored in the register, determination can be made based on the determination result stored in the register in step S2032.

When it is determined that there is an abnormality in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, the flag register is saved in the stack area within the game control area (step S2033), and by the RAM abnormality initialization process, the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 The RAM (work area and stack area) used outside is initialized (step S2034). The details of the RAM abnormality initialization process will be described later with reference to FIG. Then, the flag register saved in the stack area within the game control area is restored (step S2035).

After that, the function of the device (CTC, SIO, etc.) built in the main control MPU 1311 is initialized (step S2036), and the hardware random number (for example, win-lose random number) built in the main control MPU 1311 is activated (step S2037). Then, power-on setting processing is executed (step S2038). The details of the power-on setting process will be described later with reference to FIG.

Finally, the timer interrupt is enabled (step S2039), and the process proceeds to main control side main processing (FIG. 188).

FIG. 188 is a flow chart of main control side main processing executed by the main control MPU 1311. FIG. The main control side main process is executed after step S2039 of the power-on process (FIG. 187).

First, the main control MPU 1311 acquires a power failure warning signal and determines whether a power failure has occurred based on whether the power failure warning signal is ON (step S2040). If the power failure warning signal is not ON, the power is normally supplied, so random number update processing 2 is executed (step 2041). The details of the random number update process 2 will be described later with reference to FIG. In random number update processing 2, random numbers other than random numbers for judging wins are mainly updated in special lotteries and ordinary lotteries.

On the other hand, when the power failure warning signal is detected, power failure processing (steps S2042 to S2046) is executed. In the power failure process, a process of backing up data for returning to the state before the power failure occurred is executed. Specifically, first, the interrupt is prohibited (step S2042). As a result, timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is not performed, prohibits writing data to the main control built-in RAM 1312, and protects game information from being rewritten. Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 clears the output ports and stops the operation of the devices controlled by the outputs from each port (step S2043). Specifically, the power failure clear signal OFF bit data is output to the solenoid/power failure clear/ACK output port. It should be noted that not all output ports need to be cleared. For example, output ports for controlling solenoids and motors that consume a large amount of power may be cleared. By clearing these output ports, it is possible to reduce the power consumption until the main-board-side power-off process is completed, and to ensure that the main-board-side power-off process is completed.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 calculates a checksum for determining whether or not the data stored in the work area to be backed up is normally held, and stores it in a predetermined checksum storage area of the main control RAM 1312. (Step S2044). This checksum is used to determine whether the data backed up in the work area is normal. In addition, the target area for which the checksum is calculated is the setting state management (set value and the value of the setting status management area), the backup flag, and the value of the checksum area.

Further, a value (5AH) indicating that the power failure processing has been normally executed is stored in the backup flag area as a power failure flag (step S2045). This completes the storage of the game backup information. Finally, write RAM protection valid (write prohibited) and prohibited area invalid to the RAM protect register, prohibit writing to a predetermined area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2046), and wait until recovery from the power failure. (infinite loop). The main control MPU 1311 has a function of designating a use area of the main control RAM 1312 and determining that an abnormality has occurred and resetting when a prohibited area other than the designated area is accessed. In order to cancel the reset function by accessing the prohibited area of the main control RAM 1312, the prohibited area is set to be invalid, thereby enabling access to the entire area of the main control RAM 1312. FIG. It should be noted that even if an unused area of the main control RAM 1312 is designated as a prohibited area, the prohibited area is enabled, and access to the designated prohibited area is detected, the main control MPU 1311 is reset. good.

FIG. 189 is a flow chart of RAM abnormality initialization processing executed by the main control MPU 1311 . The RAM abnormality initialization process is executed in step S2034 of the power-on process (FIG. 187).

First, the main control MPU1311 stores the value of the stack pointer in the SP saving buffer outside the game control area (step S2050), sets the stack pointer value outside the game control area to the stack pointer (step S2051), all registers The value is stored in the register saving buffer outside the game control area (step S2052).

After that, it is determined whether the initialization is performed when the power is turned on for the first time, based on the value of the first power-on flag when the power is turned on (step S2053). When the power is turned on for the first time means when the power is first turned on as a pachinko machine, and when the power is turned on after the backup power supply is interrupted and the data backed up in the main control RAM 1312 is erased. For example, if the connection line between the main control board 1310 and the backup power supply (for example, installed in the main body frame 4) is disconnected, the backup power supply to the main control RAM 1312 is cut off and data in the main control RAM 1312 cannot be retained.

If it is initialization at the time of the first power-on, the process proceeds to step S2056. On the other hand, if the initialization is not performed when the power is turned on for the first time, it is determined whether or not the discharge ball for base calculation is outside the predetermined range (step S2054). If the discharged ball for base calculation is out of the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S2056. On the other hand, if the discharged ball for base calculation is within the predetermined range, it is determined whether the display parameters of the performance display monitor are within the normal range (step S2055). Then, if the display parameters of the performance display monitor are within the normal range, the RAM abnormality initialization process is terminated, and the caller process is returned to.

On the other hand, if the display mode of the performance display monitor is out of the normal range, 00H is written to all work areas outside the use area of the main control RAM 1312 for initialization (step S2056), and 00H is written to all stack areas outside the use area. is written to initialize (step S2057), a predetermined value (for example, 5AH) is set in the initialization flag at power-on (step S2058), and the processing returns to the calling source.

190 and 191 are flowcharts of timer interrupt processing executed by the main control MPU 1311. FIG.

First, the main control MPU 1311 sets the register bank selection flag to 1 and switches the register bank (step S2060). The main control MPU 1311 has two register groups used for calculation, one of which is used as a bank 0 register group, and the other can be used as a bank 1 register group, and bank switching is performed. Both banks of registers cannot be used without Register bank 0 is used in main control side main processing, and register bank 1 is used in timer interrupt processing. Therefore, an instruction to switch the bank to 1 is executed at the start of timer interrupt processing, but it is not necessary to execute an instruction to switch the bank to 0 at the end of timer interrupt processing. This is because the main control MPU 1311 stores the state of the bank in a flag register (for example, a register in which the Z flag and the C flag are set), and the flag register is saved in the stack area when an interrupt is started, and the RET It returns from the stack area by executing an instruction. Therefore, by executing the RET instruction, the bank flag of the register stored in the flag register is restored. If a configuration is adopted in which the state of the bank is not stored in the flag register, the bank switching instruction is executed at the end of the timer interrupt process to restore bank 0. FIG.

Since the flag register also stores a flag for controlling whether or not to enable interrupts, it is not necessary to execute the RET instruction after enabling interrupts. Note that the flag that controls whether or not an interrupt is enabled is set to an interrupt disabled state after the flag register is stacked at the start of timer interrupt processing. Therefore, unless an interrupt is permitted (EI instruction, etc.) or a RETI instruction is executed during timer interrupt processing, the interrupt enabled state is not entered.

Next, the LED common counter is updated by +1. If the LED common counter value exceeds the upper limit, it is set to 0 (step S2061).

Next, switch input processing 1 is executed (step S2062). In switch input processing 1, various signals input to input terminals of various input ports of the main control MPU 1311 are read, ON edges are created, and stored in the input information storage area of the main control RAM 1312 as input information.

Note that switch input processing 1 in step S2062 is processing related to a winning signal, and switch input processing 2 in step S2080 to be described later is processing related to input from fraud detection sensors (magnet sensor, radio wave sensor, vibration sensor, etc.). Therefore, in the timer interrupt process executed in the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode, NO is determined in step S2604, so winning is detected, but fraud is not detected. Note that even if winning is detected, prize ball payout, variable display, etc. are not executed. This is because the setting change operation and the setting confirmation operation are performed by hall employees, and it is considered desirable that fraud is not performed in the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode, and that fraud is not detected.

Note that even in the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode, some fraud detection sensors (for example, radio wave sensors) may detect in the switch input process 1 and monitor specific types of fraud. In this way, it is possible to detect fraud in which a person (goto master) who tries to commit a fraudulent act forcibly activates the setting change mode by emitting radio waves or the like.

Subsequently, random number update processing 1 is executed (step S2063). In the random number update process 1, the random number for judging a big hit, the random number for a big hit design, and the random number for a small hit design are updated. In addition to these random numbers, for changing the initial value of the random number for determining the jackpot symbol and the random number for determining the minor symbol to be updated in the random number update process 2 of the main control side main process shown in FIG. Update the random number for initial value determination.

After that, it is determined whether a value (00H) indicating the start of the game is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2064). If a value indicating game start is recorded in the setting state management area, the process proceeds to step S2080 in FIG. On the other hand, if the value indicating the start of the game is not recorded in the setting state management area, the LED common port is turned off (step S2065). By turning off the LED common signal at an early stage of the timer interrupt processing, the time until the LED common signal turns on, that is, the LED extinguishing time is secured, and the ghost phenomenon in which the display before and after the LED display switching appears mixed. to prevent flickering of the LED.

Thereafter, a security signal is output from the external terminal board 784 (step S2066), and a test signal is output (step S2067). At step S2067, only the game state error signal is turned ON, and other signals are turned OFF.

Then, setting processing is executed (step S2068). Details of the setting process will be described later with reference to FIG.

Thereafter, setting display processing is executed (step S2069). Details of the setting display processing will be described later with reference to FIG.

Further, peripheral board command transmission processing for outputting the value of the transmission information storage area to the serial communication circuit is executed (step S2070). The transmission information storage area is a storage area that temporarily stores the generated transmission command. The value (command) stored in the transmission information storage area is read at step 2070 and stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit (SIO). The serial communication circuit has a transmission information storage area which is a transmission buffer in the FIFO format of multiple bytes, and sequentially transmits the values stored in the transmission information storage area to the peripheral control board 1510 .

Thereafter, a predetermined value (18H) is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL to clear the watchdog timer (step S2071). Since the watchdog timer uses the simple clear mode, the watchdog timer is cleared by setting one word. Thereafter, a return instruction (for example, RETI) switches the bank of the register (step S2072), and returns to the processing before the interrupt.

Next, FIG. 191 will be explained. When it is determined in step S2064 in FIG. 190 that a value indicating the start of a game is recorded in the setting state management area, the main control MPU 1311 performs switch input processing 2 for detecting the state of a sensor (switch) for fraud detection. (step S2080). Specifically, when a detection signal from the magnetism detection switch 3024 for detecting fraudulent activity using a magnet is read, and a predetermined level (ON level or OFF level) continues for a predetermined period of time, Remember. Based on the detection state of each fraud detection sensor generated in switch input processing 2, it is determined whether or not fraud has been detected in the fraud detection processing of step S2084. In addition, in the fraud detection process (step S2084), in addition to the fraud detection by the fraud detection sensor, a winning abnormality such as a large winning opening or an excessive winning of ordinary electric accessories is also determined.

Thereafter, timer update processing is executed (step S2081). In the timer update process, for example, the time during which the special symbol indicator 1185 lights up according to the variation display pattern determined by the special symbol and special electric auditors control process, the normal symbol fluctuation determined by the normal symbol and normal electric auditors control process In addition to the time during which the normal symbol display 1189 lights up according to the display pattern, a payout control board 951 normally receives various commands sent by the main control board 1310 (main control MPU 1311). Time management such as ACK signal input judgment time set as a judgment condition when judging whether or not there is an input is performed. Specifically, when the variation time of the variation display pattern or the normal symbol variation display pattern is 5 seconds, the timer interrupt cycle is set to 4 ms, so each time this timer subtraction process is performed, the variation time is subtracted by 4 ms. When the subtraction result becomes 0, the fluctuation time of the fluctuation display pattern or the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern is accurately measured.

Subsequently, prize ball control processing is executed (step S2082). In the prize ball control process, input information is read from the input information storage area, the number of game balls (prize balls) to be paid out is calculated based on the read input information, and the calculated number is written in the main control RAM 1312 . In addition, based on the calculation result of the number of prize balls, a prize ball command for paying out game balls is created, and a self-check for confirming the connection state between the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 is performed. create commands. The main control MPU 1311 transmits the created prize ball command and self-check command to the payout control board 951 as main payment serial data.

Subsequently, frame command reception processing is executed (step S2083). The payout control board 951 transmits various 1-byte (8-bit) commands (for example, frame state 1 command, error cancellation navigation command, and frame state 2 command) classified into state displays by the payout control program. On the other hand, as will be described later, the payout control program outputs an error generation command when an error occurs in the payout operation, or outputs an error cancellation notification command based on the detection signal of the operation switch. In the frame command reception process, when various commands are normally received as payer serial data, information to notify the payout control board 951 is stored in the output information storage area of the main control built-in RAM 1312 . In addition, the main control MPU 1311 formats the command normally received as the payer serial data into a 2-byte (16-bit) command (for example, frame status display command, error cancellation notification command, etc.), memorize to Specifically, in the frame command reception process, in order to perform notification corresponding to the command received from the payout control board 951, the command received from the payout control board 951 is adapted to the command system for transmitting to the peripheral control board 1510. and stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit (SIO) like other generated commands. Also, when the command from the payout control board 951 is normally received, it generates a signal for controlling the output of the main ACK signal. The main ACK signal is output directly from the output port to the payout control board 951 instead of the serial communication circuit.

Subsequently, fraud detection processing is executed (step S2084). In the fraudulent activity detection process, an abnormal state (magnetism, vibration, winning anomaly, etc.) related to fraud is confirmed. For example, when the input information is read out from the above-described input information storage area, and when it is detected that the game ball is entering the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 by the count switch when it is not in the jackpot game state, the main control program generates a prize-winning abnormal display command classified as a notification display as an abnormal state, and stores it as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

Subsequently, a switch-passing command output process is executed to create a command corresponding to the detection of the passage of various switches relating to the winning switch and the starting switch and set it in the transmission information storage area (step S2085).

Then, the flag register is saved in the stack area within the game control area (step S2086), and the base display output process is executed (step S2087). The base display output process is a process executed using the second area outside the game control area, unlike other processes, and is a common process that is not affected by the specifications of the pachinko machine 1 . Therefore, in order to ensure the independence of the base display output process, before and after the execution of the base display output process, save the predetermined data such as the flag register to the stack area in the game control area, the base display It is set so that it is not updated in the output process. After that, the flag register saved in the stack area within the game control area is restored (step S2088).

Subsequently, a special symbol and special electric accessary product control process is executed (step S2089). In the special symbol and special electric accessory control processing, it is determined whether or not the big hit random number value matches the hit determination value pre-stored in the main control built-in ROM, and the probability fluctuation state is established based on the big hit symbol random number value. Determine whether to migrate. Then, when the big win random number value matches the hit determination value, it is determined whether or not to open and close the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 . When the large winning openings 2005 and 2006 are opened and closed by this determination, the large winning openings 2005 and 2006 are opened (or expanded), and the gaming state is such that game balls can be received in the large winning openings 2005 and 2006. Then, the game state is shifted to an advantageous game state for the player. Further, when the variable probability transition condition is established, the state is shifted to the probability variable state after that, and when the variable probability transition condition is not established, the state is shifted to a game state other than the probability variable state. Here, the "variable probability state" refers to a state (high probability state) in which the odds of winning the special lottery are set relatively high compared to the normal game state (low probability state).

Subsequently, normal symbol and normal electric accessary product control processing is executed (step S2090). In the normal symbol and normal electric accessory control process, the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area, and it is determined whether or not the detection signal from the gate switch 2352 is input to the input terminal. When the detection signal is input to the input terminal, the random number for normal symbol per determination is extracted, and it is determined whether or not it matches the normal per symbol determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM (" “General Lottery”). Then, it is determined whether or not to open and close the second starting port door member 2549 according to the lottery result of the ordinary lottery. When the opening and closing operation is performed by this determination, the second starting port door member 2549 is opened (or expanded), so that the game ball can be received in the starting port 2004. A game advantageous to the player. transition to state.

Subsequently, output data setting processing is executed (step S2091). In the output data setting process, various signals are output from output terminals of various output ports of the main control MPU 1311 . For example, from the output terminal of the predetermined output port of the main control MPU 1311 based on the output information, when normally receiving various commands from the payout control board 951 output the main payout ACK signal to the payout control board 951, or jackpot game When in the state, output a drive signal to the attacker solenoid (first attacker solenoid 2113, second upper attacker solenoid 2553, second lower attacker solenoid 2556) that performs opening and closing operation of the opening and closing member 2107 of the large winning opening 2005, 2006, In addition to outputting a drive signal to the starting opening solenoid 2550 that performs the opening and closing operation of the starting opening (second starting opening door member 2549), as output information to the hall computer, information output signal during probability fluctuation, special pattern display information Various information (game information) signals related to games such as an output signal, a normal symbol display information output signal, a time saving medium information output information, a start winning prize information output signal, and a security signal are output to the external terminal board 784 .

Also, in the output data setting process, a signal corresponding to the number of out balls counted in the switch input process 2 (step S2080) is output from the external terminal plate 784. FIG. For example, a pulse signal of a predetermined length may be output from the external terminal plate 784 every predetermined number of out balls (10, etc.).

Also, in the output data setting process, a test signal to be output to the inspection device connected to the pachinko machine 1 is set. The test signal includes, for example, a signal indicating a game state, a signal indicating a normal symbol, and a signal indicating a stop symbol of a special symbol.

After that, the process proceeds to step S2070 in FIG.

FIG. 192 is a flowchart of setting processing. The setting process is executed in step S2068 of the timer interrupt process when the setting state management area does not indicate the normal game state (00H), and mainly executes the process of changing the set value.

First, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether a value (08H) indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2100). If a value indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, the process returns to the caller without executing the setting process.

When it is determined that the RAM is abnormal, the setting process is repeatedly executed, so that the process related to the special design and the normal design is not executed, and the game cannot be played at all. This RAM abnormality can be corrected by turning off the power once, executing power failure processing, and then, when turning on the power again, by operating the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 to activate the setting change mode. Then, the RAM abnormality is resolved. Then, by returning the setting key 971 to its original state, the setting change mode is terminated and the normal game can be started.

When the power is turned on again, if an operation other than starting the setting change mode is performed with the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954, the value (08H) indicating RAM abnormality in the setting state management area is maintained. The RAM abnormal state continues and the normal game cannot be started. In other words, in order to eliminate the RAM abnormality and return to the normal game state, it is necessary to go through the setting change mode.

On the other hand, if no value indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, it is determined whether the setting key 971 has returned to the OFF position (step S2101). Specifically, it detects the edge of the setting key 971 from ON to OFF, or whether a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the ON to OFF change.

When it is determined that the setting key 971 has returned to the OFF position, the output time is set to the security signal output timer (step S2102), the setting state management area is initialized (step S2103), and the power-on setting processing is executed. (Step S2104), the processing returns to the calling source.

When an operation to terminate the setting change mode (turning off the setting key 971) is performed, by setting an output time value in the security signal output timer, the delay time until the security signal is turned off after the setting change mode is terminated can be set. establish. Therefore, even if the setting change mode or setting confirmation mode ends in a short time (for example, within one timer interrupt process), the shortest output signal of the security signal is set to the security signal output timer as the output time value. This ensures that the hall computer can reliably detect the security signal.

Further, when fraud is detected during the delay time until the security signal is turned off, it is preferable to output the security signal for a period or time corresponding to the newly detected fraud while maintaining the security signal.

In addition, if a power failure occurs during the delay time until the security signal turns OFF, when the hot start is performed in the normal game state when the power is restored, the security signal for the remaining time is output, and when the RAM is cleared by operating the RAM clear switch Alternatively, when the RAM is cleared due to a RAM abnormality, the security signal for the remaining time is not output. This is because the initialization of the main control RAM 1312 resets the security signal output timer value and stops the output of the security signal.

When the power is turned on after a power failure occurs while the security signal is being output, one of five patterns of hot start, RAM clear, setting change mode, setting confirmation mode, and RAM abnormal state continuation occurs.

When shifting to the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode, the activated mode ends and the security signal is output until the delay time elapses. If the RAM abnormality continues, a security signal is output due to the continued RAM abnormality because the setting change operation has not been performed even after the power is restored. In the case of hot start, the security signal is output for the remaining time.

Even if the security signal is continuously output, the output of the security signal is stopped by the power-on reset signal when the power is turned on, and after a predetermined time (for example, during the startup wait time of the peripheral control board 1510), the timer interrupt process starts. After the transition, output of the security signal resumes. That is, in the following cases, even when the security signal is continuously output after a power failure occurs while the security signal is being output, there is provided a period during which the output of the security signal is stopped for a predetermined period after the power is restored.
・When the power is restored by hot start after a power failure occurs while security signals are being output due to fraud detection, etc. ・After a power failure occurs while security signals are being output due to a RAM error, the power is restored and the RAM error continues. - After a power failure occurs while security signals are being output in setting change mode, the power is restored and the setting change mode continues. In this way, even if the security signal continues to be output after a power failure occurs while the security signal is being output, the output of the security signal should be stopped for a predetermined period after the power is restored. , it is possible to determine whether there is an abnormality in the security signal on the hall computer side or whether the state accompanying the output of the security signal has been canceled.

In the setting confirmation mode in which only the setting key 971 is operated, the security signal is output until the setting confirmation mode ends regardless of the remaining time for which the security signal is output. Stop outputting the security signal after the elapse. Also, in the setting change mode in which the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are operated, it is preferable to perform the same processing as in the setting confirmation mode.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the setting key 971 has not returned to the OFF position, it is determined whether a value (02H) indicating a setting change is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2105), and the setting change switch 972 is operated. It is determined whether or not it has been done (step S2106). Note that the setting change switch 972 may be configured to be used also as the RAM clear switch 954 . As a result, if it is determined that a value indicating a setting change is recorded in the setting state management area and that the setting change switch 972 has been operated, the setting value is updated by +1. If the set value exceeds the upper limit of 6, it is set to 1 (step S2107). After that, it returns to the calling process.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the value indicating the setting change is not recorded in the setting state management area (that is, the setting confirmation mode is set) or the setting change switch 972 is not operated, the setting value is updated. return to the calling process.

When determining whether the setting change switch 972 has been operated (immediately before or after), it may be determined whether the setting key 971 has been turned ON. In this way, if the operation of the setting key 971 is determined when the setting change switch 972 is operated, even if the setting change mode is in effect at the time of power failure and the setting key 971 is not turned ON at the time of recovery from the power failure, the setting change switch 972 is turned on. It is possible to prevent the setting from being changed by an operation.

FIG. 193 is a flowchart of setting display processing. The setting display process is executed in step S2069 of the timer interrupt process.

First, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether a value (08H) indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2110). If no value indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, the output of the segment terminal of the LED is set so that the current setting value is displayed on the base display 1317 (step S2111). On the other hand, if a value indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, the output of the segment terminal of the LED is set so that the error is displayed on the base display 1317 (step S2112).

After that, an LED common signal corresponding to the LED common counter is output (step S2113), and the driver is driven to output display data (segment signal) corresponding to the set value or error display to the base display 1317 (step S2114). , return to the calling process.

FIG. 194 is a flowchart of power-on setting processing. The power-on setting process is a subroutine, and is called and executed in step S2038 of the power-on process (FIG. 187) and S2104 of the setting process.

First, the main control MPU 1311 creates a power-on operation command and sets the created command in the transmission information storage area (step S2120). The power-on operation command, as shown in FIG. 202A, is a command for notifying the contents recorded in the setting state management area.

Next, the bit corresponding to the setting key 971 and the bit corresponding to the setting change switch 972 in the input level data 2 area are set to 1, which is the initial value. Note that other bits should be set to 0 (step S2121). The reason why the bit corresponding to the setting key 971 and the bit corresponding to the setting change switch 972 in the input level data 2 area is set to 1 is that the bit of the switch is detected as 1 at the time of the next timer interrupt, and the ON edge is incorrect. This is to prevent it from being made

After that, it is determined whether or not a value (00H) indicating a game-startable state is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2122). If no value indicating a game-startable state is recorded in the setting state management area, it is either the setting change mode, the setting confirmation mode, or the RAM is abnormal. Return to processing.

On the other hand, if a value (00H) indicating a game-startable state is recorded in the setting state management area, it is a state in which a normal game can be started. The area is initialized (step S2123).

Thereafter, a power-on state command is created, and the created command is stored in the transmission information storage area (step S2124). As shown in FIG. 202(B), the power-on status command is a command for notifying whether or not the normal game can be started based on the contents recorded in the setting status management area.

Then, a power-on recovery destination command is created, and the created command is set in the transmission information storage area (step S2125). The return destination command at power-on is, as shown in FIG.

Further, a set value command is created, and the created command is set in the transmission information storage area (step S2126). The setting value command is a command for notifying a setting value, as shown in FIG. 202(D).

In addition to the power-on state command, the power-on return destination command, and the setting value command, a special symbol reserve number command indicating the number of reservations of the special symbol variation display game is transmitted, and the function display unit 1400 and the main liquid crystal display device 1600 , the display of the pending number may be restored to the state before the power failure occurred. In addition, the order of transmission of the special symbol hold number command is the state command at power on, the return destination command at power on, and the setting value command. may

After that, it returns to the calling process.

The power-on setting process is executed when the setting change mode is not in the setting confirmation mode when the power failure is restored, or when the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode ends. , power-on status command, power-on recovery destination command, and set value command) are sent at the time of recovery from a power failure in neither the setting change mode nor the setting confirmation mode, at the end of the setting change mode, or at the end of the setting confirmation mode.

195 is a flowchart of random number update processing 2. FIG. Random number update process 2 is executed in step S2041 of the main process (FIG. 188), and mainly updates random numbers other than random numbers for judging winning in special lotteries and ordinary lotteries.

First, the main control MPU 1311 sets interrupt prohibition (step S2131), updates the initial value random number (step S2132), and sets interrupt permission (step S2133). Since the initial value random number is also updated in random number update processing 1 in step S2063 of the timer interrupt processing, interrupts are prohibited before the initial value random number update processing so that the initial value random number update processing is not interrupted by the timer interrupt processing. Interrupts are allowed after initial value random number update processing. The initial value random number is a random number for judging the jackpot to draw the jackpot of the special pattern, the random number to draw the hit of the normal pattern, the type of pattern at the time of the special pattern jackpot (low probability / high probability / short time / non-short time etc.) ) is a random number for changing the initial value for each cycle.

After that, the random numbers (excluding the initial value random numbers) other than the winning random numbers are updated (step S2134), and the process returns to the calling source.

FIG. 196 is a flowchart of another example of timer interrupt processing executed by the main control MPU 1311. FIG. 181 and 182, the same processing steps as those of the timer interrupt processing described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In another example 1 described below, it is preferable that the main control RAM 1312 is initialized in the setting confirmation mode as well as in the setting change mode. In this example 1, when the operation of the setting key 971 is detected when the power is restored, the main control RAM 1312 is initialized in both the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode. It does not switch the confirmation mode, but only has a function as an operation for changing the set value.

First, the main control MPU 1311 sets the register bank selection flag to 1, switches the register bank (step S2060), and executes the switch input process 3 (step S2141). Details of the switch input process 3 will be described later with reference to FIG. do. In step S2141, instead of switch input process 3 described in FIG. 197, switch input process 1 of S2062 may be applied.

Then, random number update processing 1 is executed (step S2063), and setting change/confirmation processing is executed (step S2142). Details of the setting change/confirmation process will be described later with reference to FIG.

Subsequently, switch input processing 2 is executed (step S2080), timer update processing is executed (step S2081), and prize ball control processing is executed (step S2082). Subsequently, frame command reception processing is executed (step S2083), fraud detection processing is executed (step S2084), and switch passage command output processing is executed (step S2085).

Then, the flag register is saved in the stack area in the game control area (step S2086), the base display output process is executed (step S2087), and the flag register saved in the stack area in the game control area is restored (step S2088). Subsequently, a special symbol and special electric auditors product control process is executed (step S2089), a normal symbol and normal electric auditors product control process is executed (step S2090), and an output data setting process is executed (step S2091). Further, peripheral board command transmission processing is executed (step S2070), the watchdog timer is cleared (step S2071), the bank of the register is switched by a return instruction (for example, RETI) (step S2072), and the processing before the interrupt is restored. do.

197 is a flowchart of switch input processing 3. FIG. The switch input process 3 is executed in step S2141 of the timer interrupt process, reads various signals input to the input terminals of various input ports of the main control MPU 1311, creates an ON edge, and inputs the main control RAM 1312 as input information. Store in the information storage area.

First, the main control MPU 1311 sets the top address of the switch winning information data (step S2160), and acquires the number of repetitions of the process from the switching winning information data (step S2161). The number of repetitions of the process is the number n of blocks in the switch winning prize information data table. Then, the input port address specified by the switch winning information data is obtained (step S2162), and the input level data area address specified by the switching winning information data is obtained (step S2163). Further, input information is read from the obtained input port address (step S2164), and the read input information is corrected using the logical correction value specified by the switch winning prize information data (step S2165).

Thereafter, referring to the value recorded in the setting state management area, it is determined whether the mode is the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode (step S2166). Then, if it is not the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode, the correction value is masked with the mask value during the normal game specified in the switch winning information data (step S2167). With this mask, you can get the bits of the input port that are used during normal play.

On the other hand, if it is the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode, the correction value is masked with the mask value during setting change/confirmation specified in the switch winning prize information data (step S2168). With this mask, only the bits used in the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode can be obtained from the input ports.

After that, the input level data is generated from the bits acquired by the mask processing, and the input level data area specified by the switch winning prize information data is updated (step S2169).

Then, the edge data of the change from OFF to ON is generated from the input level data, and the input edge data area specified by the switch winning information data is updated (step S2170).

After that, it is set in the next block as switch winning prize information data (step S2171), and it is determined whether the processing of all switch input ports is completed (step S2172). When it is determined that the processing of all switch input ports has not been completed, the process returns to step S2162 to process the next input port. On the other hand, when it is determined that the processing of all switch input ports is finished, the switch input processing 3 is finished and the processing before the interruption is returned to.

FIG. 198(A) is a diagram showing a configuration example of a switch winning prize information data table.

The switch winning prize information data table shown in FIG. 198(A) is divided into n blocks (where n is the number of repetitions of processing), and each block contains an input port address, a logic correction value, and a normal game mask. value, mask value during setting change/confirmation, and address of the input level data area.

FIG. 198B is a diagram showing a configuration example of the switch input level/edge data area.

The switch input level/edge data area includes n pairs of the address of the input level data area and the address of the input edge data area.

Since the address of the input edge data area is set to the next address of the input level data area, it is not designated as the switch winning information data. If the input level data area and the input edge data area are not arranged continuously, the address of the input edge data area is set in the same table together with the input level data area. Although the addresses of the input level data area and the input edge data area are 16-bit (2-byte) values, they are set as the addresses of the input level data area and the input edge data area set in the switch winning information data table. The value may be the lower 8-bit (1 byte) value. That is, since the upper byte of the address is a fixed value that does not change with the values of the input level data area and the input edge data area, the upper byte is the upper byte of the address in the RAM area, and only the lower byte needs to be set. can be reduced.

Fig. 199 shows another configuration example of the switch winning information data table, Fig. 199(A) shows a configuration example of the switching winning information data table used in the normal game state, and Fig. 199(B). shows a configuration example of a switch winning information data table used in the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode.

The switch winning prize information data table shown in FIG. 199 is divided into n blocks (where n is the number of repetitions of processing), and each block contains an input port address, a logical correction value, a mask value, and the address of the input level data area. The switch winning information data table used in the normal game state and the switching winning information data table used in the setting change mode and setting confirmation mode include ports with different logic correction values and mask values. That is, in the switch winning prize information data table shown in FIG. 198(A), the mask values are different between the setting change mode (and setting confirmation mode) and the normal game state, but the switch winning prize information data table shown in FIG. uses different switch winning information data tables in the setting change mode (and setting confirmation mode) and in the normal game state, making it possible to acquire different switch winning information data.

In order to accommodate such a configuration, switch input processing 3 (FIG. 197) is changed as follows. For example, in step S2160, it is determined whether it is the setting change mode (or setting confirmation mode) or the normal game state, and the start address of the switch winning information data is set according to the determination result. Then, in step S2166, the correction value is masked with the mask value specified in the switch winning information data without determining whether it is the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode in step S2167.

FIG. 200 is a flowchart of setting change/confirmation processing. The setting change/confirmation process is executed in step S2142 of the timer interrupt process. In the setting change/confirmation process shown in FIG. 200, the same processing steps as those in the timer interrupt process described above with reference to FIGS.

First, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether a value (00H) indicating game start is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2064). If a value indicating the start of the game is recorded in the setting state management area, the setting change/confirmation process is terminated, and the process before the interruption is returned to. On the other hand, if the value indicating the start of the game is not recorded in the setting state management area, the LED common port is turned OFF (step S2065), the security signal is output from the external terminal board 784 (step S2066), and the test signal is output. (Step S2067). Then, the setting process (FIG. 192) is executed (step S2068), and the setting display process (FIG. 193) is executed (step S2069).

FIG. 201A is a diagram showing a configuration example of the switch input port 2. FIG.

A switch input port 2 is one of a group of ports to which outputs of various switches and sensors are input, and is composed of 8 bits. In the illustrated example, bit 7 detects an acknowledgment signal (ACK) from payout control board 951 at level 1 . At bit 6, at level 0, a power failure warning signal from the power failure monitoring circuit is detected. At bit 5, the signal level becomes 1 when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated. Bit 4 has a signal level of 0 when the setting key 971 is turned on. At bit 3, the signal level becomes 1 when the door open sensor detects that the door frame 3 is open. In bit 2, the level becomes 0 when the magnetism detection switch (magnetism detection sensor) detects magnetism. Bits 1 and 0 are not used.

FIG. 201B is a diagram showing a configuration example of the setting state management area.

The setting state management area, as shown in FIG. 201(B), is a 1-byte storage area in which the operation mode of the pachinko machine 1 is recorded. not Specifically, 00H is recorded in the normal game state, 01H in the setting confirmation mode, 02H in the setting change mode, and 08H if there is an abnormality in the main control RAM 1312 .

The setting state management area is not updated to 00H by the RAM clearing process by operating only the RAM clear switch 954, and the current value is maintained. Further, when the setting confirmation mode ends, the value is updated from 01H to 00H, and when the setting change mode ends, the value is updated from 02H to 00H. Furthermore, when the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal, the setting change mode is entered by the setting change operation at the next power-on, the setting change mode is updated from 08H to 02H, and the setting change mode is terminated from 02H to 00H.

FIG. 202A is a diagram showing a configuration example of a power-on operation command. The power-on operation command is a command for notifying the contents recorded in the setting state management area. For example, the power-on operation command consists of 2 bytes, the upper byte being A0H, and the lower byte indicating the content recorded in the setting state management area. The value of the lower byte stores the value obtained by adding 1 to the value of the setting state management area. This is because the value of the setting state management area is 00H during a normal game, and therefore if the value sent as a command is 00H, it cannot be distinguished from a hardware error in which the output is 0. is set to 1.

Note that the power-on operation command is generated at least once in the power-on processing. Specifically, it is generated once at hot start, RAM clear, and RAM failure, and is generated twice in the setting change mode and setting confirmation mode, at power-on processing and at the end of setting change/confirmation.

Upon receipt of the power-on operation command, the peripheral control board 1510 performs notification in the manner described above according to the setting confirmation mode, setting change mode, and RAM abnormality state (see FIG. 184).

If the peripheral control board 1510 receives a game command during a normal game without receiving A001H as the power-on operation command, the game state may be inconsistent. It is determined to be invalid, and the game action (effect etc.) corresponding to the game command is not started. However, if a predetermined condition is met (for example, a game command during a normal game is continuously transmitted a predetermined number of times), there is a possibility that the peripheral control board 1510 has missed the power-on operation command (A001H). It is preferable to release the invalidation of the received game command and perform an effect corresponding to the game command.

In addition, in a state where the game commands are invalidated, an effect that satisfies a predetermined condition among the received game commands is performed (for example, the effect corresponding to the received command is performed for symbol movements, lamps, movable bodies, sounds, etc.). ), and the background of the display device or a predetermined lamp may be used to notify the occurrence of an inconsistency in the game state. Also, the fact that the game state is inconsistent may be notified with a low volume. This is because unless any effect is performed until a predetermined condition is met, a player who cannot understand the occurrence of an inconsistency in the game state will not start the special symbol variation display game even if he/she wins the start gate. This is to prevent troubles that may occur in the pachinko hall due to the pachinko machine 1 malfunctioning. In addition, even if the peripheral control board 1510 invalidates the game command, the main control board 1310 is executing normal game processing, so the function displays such as special symbols and normal symbols on the function display unit 1400 are normally displayed. be done.

FIG. 202B is a diagram showing a configuration example of a power-on status command. The power-on state command is a command for notifying whether or not a normal game can be started based on the contents recorded in the setting state management area. For example, when the power-on status command is composed of 2 bytes, and the upper byte is 30H and the lower byte is 01H, it indicates that the normal game can be started. The series code for each pachinko machine model may be notified using the lower byte of the power-on state command. For example, bits 6-4 can be used to identify eight different series. Note that the power-on state command may be another example shown in FIG. 220(C). By using the power-on state command shown in FIG. 220(C), the peripheral control board 1510 can be notified of the information recorded in the power-on buffer (game state before power failure).

FIG. 202C is a diagram showing a configuration example of a power-on recovery destination command. The power-on return destination command is a command for notifying the game state related to special symbols. show. The power-on return destination command notifies the state of the special symbol and the operating state of the special electric accessory at the time of power failure. The power-on recovery destination command is sent once when the power is turned on.

FIG. 202D is a diagram showing a configuration example of a setting value command. The setting value command is a command for notifying a setting value. For example, the setting value command is composed of 2 bytes, where the upper byte indicates A1H and the lower byte indicates the setting value. The set value command is sent at the time of recovery from a power failure in neither the setting change mode nor the setting confirmation mode, at the end of the setting change mode, or at the end of the setting confirmation mode. In addition, it is transmitted at the time of the start of special symbol fluctuation, or at the time of change in the game state (at the time of start and end of big hit, probability variation, time reduction, etc.). As a result, even if the peripheral control board 1510 misses the setting value command transmitted when the power is turned on, the setting value is changed to the correct setting value in the subsequent game (for example, the start of fluctuation of the special symbol), so that the setting value is incorrect. Rendering is not performed based on the value. Effects based on set values are effects that suggest set values using effects devices such as indicators, lamps, sounds, and movable bodies, and effects that are unlikely to occur (or do not occur) in normal times are performed with a predetermined probability. It suggests a set value by generating it. This set value suggesting effect may be effected in other aspects than the effect illustrated below, and may include a fake. As a set value suggesting effect, the main liquid crystal display device 1600, which is an example of a display device, displays an effect such as an advance notice corresponding to the set value, or changes the pattern variation mode from normal (for example, left and right center pattern variation The timing of start and confirmation will be different from normal (normally, each pattern starts to change at the same time, and in the case of high setting, it starts to change in order of left, middle, right, etc.), voice When using , a notification sound corresponding to the set value will be generated with a predetermined probability when the starter wins, or a different sound will be generated during the production (a male voice at normal time, a female voice at high setting) voice), etc.

FIG. 203 shows commands sent from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510 in various states. In the following description, n is a counter value indicating a processing state regarding special symbols/special electric accessories, and m is a value corresponding to a set value.

As shown in the figure, in the hot start where the normal game state is started, the operation command at power on (A001H) → state command at power on (3001H) → return destination command at power on (310nH) → set value command (A10mH) sent in order.

Further, when the main control RAM 1312 is initialized by operating only the RAM clear switch 954, the operation command at power-on (A001H)→status command at power-on (3001H)→return destination command at power-on (3101H)→set value command ( A10mH).

In the setting change mode, first, after the power-on operation command (A003H) is transmitted, the setting value is changed in the setting change mode, and after the setting key 971 is returned to the normal position, the power-on operation is performed. A command (A001H)→power-on state command (3001H)→power-on recovery destination command (3101H)→set value command (A10mH) is transmitted in this order.

In the setting confirmation mode, first, after the power-on operation command (A002H) is transmitted, the setting value is confirmed, and after the setting key 971 is returned to the normal position, the power-on operation command (A001H) is sent. → Power-on status command (3001H) → Power-on recovery destination command (310nH) → Setting value command (A10mH).

In addition, when the RAM is abnormal, the operation command (A009H) at power-on is first transmitted, and the setting change mode is activated by the setting change operation (the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are turned on) when the power is restored after the power is cut off. A power-on action command (A003H) is sent. After that, after the operation of returning the setting key 971 to the normal position, the operation command at power-on (A001H)→state command at power-on (3001H)→return destination command at power-on (3101H)→setting value command (A10mH) in this order. sent.

When the RAM is abnormal, the power-on operation command (A009H) is first transmitted. ) is sent. After that, after the operation of returning the setting key 971 to the normal position, the operation command at power-on (A001H)→state command at power-on (3001H)→return destination command at power-on (3101H)→setting value command (A10mH) in this order. sent.

As described above, when the main control board 1310 is activated in the normal gaming state, a command group (combination of a plurality of commands in a predetermined order) indicating power restoration is sent to the peripheral at a predetermined timing. It is sent to the control board 1510 . For this reason, when it is determined that the normal game state can be started after all the series of commands from A001H to A10mH have been received, and some commands in the series of commands cannot be received (missed), It determines that the normal game state cannot be started, and informs that the normal game state cannot be started.

That is, in the same way as the above-described effect when the game command is disabled, an effect that satisfies a predetermined condition among the received game commands is performed (for example, symbol movements, lamps, movable bodies, voices, etc. are received.) The effect corresponding to the given command may be performed), and the occurrence of inconsistency in the game state may be notified using the background of the display device or a predetermined lamp.

In addition, when the peripheral control board 1510 does not receive the set value command, the set value command transmitted at the start of the special symbol variation display game compensates for the set value command that was missed when the power was turned on, and the normal game is started. You may

Further, when the peripheral control board 1510 does not receive the setting value command, when the power of the peripheral control board 1510 is turned on, the setting value command is set to a predetermined initial value (for example, setting 1) as the setting value. It may be updated to the setting value corresponding to the command.

Note that both the power-on operation command (A0001H) and the power-on state command (3001H) notify the normal game start-ready state, and are normally transmitted in succession. Sending to the board is sufficient.

FIG. 204 is a diagram showing state transition of values set after power restoration from the state before power shutdown in the setting state management area.

The operation of a pachinko machine having a setting function when the power is turned on differs depending on whether the RAM clear switch 954 is operated or whether the setting key 971 is operated. There are multiple patterns considering convenience.

<Pattern 1>
An operation example in which the normal game state (VALID_PLAY=00H) is in effect at the time of power interruption immediately before and the main control RAM 1312 is normal at the time of restoration from power failure, as shown in FIG. 204(A), will be described. First, when the RAM clear switch 954 is turned on when the power is turned on, and when the setting key 971 is turned on, the main control RAM 1312 is the game control including the entire area stack area other than the set value and the base value. Initialize the region that will be used as a region. Also, the main control MPU 1311 is activated in the setting change mode, and the value of the setting state management area is updated to 02H. Also, the base display 1317 displays the set value associated with the setting change.

When the RAM clear switch 954 is not operated (OFF) and the setting key 971 is operated ON when the power is turned on, the memory contents of the main control RAM 1312 are not initialized. Also, the main control MPU 1311 is activated in the setting confirmation mode, and the value of the setting state management area is updated to 01H. Also, the base display 1317 displays the current set values for setting confirmation.

If the RAM clear switch 954 is ON when the power is turned on, and the setting key 971 is not operated (OFF), the main control RAM 1312 is a game control area including the stack area for all areas other than the set value and the base value. Initialize the area used as Also, the main control MPU 1311 is started in the normal game state, and the value of the setting state management area is maintained at 00H. Also, the base display 1317 displays a base value representing the performance of the pachinko machine after displaying (for example, full flashing for 5 seconds) indicating that the performance display has been switched to as an initial display when the power is turned on.

If the RAM clear switch 954 is not operated (OFF) and the setting key 971 is not operated (OFF) when the power is turned on, the memory contents of the main control RAM 1312 are maintained in the state before the power failure. In addition, even if all the storage contents in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 are not maintained, at least the area where the information for returning to the game state before the power failure is stored (the storage where the information about the game is stored) Areas (special symbols, areas related to normal symbols, areas related to prize balls, random numbers generated by the program (fluctuation pattern random numbers, initial value random numbers, etc.)) need only be maintained, and it is necessary to return to the game state before the power failure. After the power is restored, the area in which the information that is not stored may be in a state different from that before the power failure. Also, the main control MPU 1311 is started in the normal game state, and the value of the setting state management area is maintained at 00H. The same value (00H) may be set regardless of the original value. Also, the base display 1317 displays a base value representing the performance of the pachinko machine after displaying (for example, full flashing for 5 seconds) indicating that the performance display has been switched to as an initial display when the power is turned on.

<Pattern 2-1>
As shown in FIG. 204(B), in an operation example 1 in which the setting change mode is set at the time of power interruption immediately before and the main control RAM 1312 is normal at the time of restoration from the power failure, operation of the RAM clear switch 954 is performed when the power is turned on. Whether or not the setting key 971 is operated or not, the main control RAM 1312 initializes the area used as the game control area including the stack area other than the set value and the base value. Also, the main control MPU 1311 is started in the setting change mode, and the value of the setting state management area is maintained at 02H. Note that the same value (02H) may be set regardless of the original value. Also, the base display 1317 displays the set value associated with the setting change.

Initialization of the main control RAM 1312 in pattern 2-1 is to initialize the area used as the game control area including the stack area together with the storage area initialized by the initialization process that has already been executed at the time of power failure. good. For example, if the power is interrupted during the initialization process of the main control RAM 1312, the remaining storage areas that have not been initialized may be initialized. On the other hand, regardless of the progress of the initialization process at the time of power failure, the area used as the game control area including the stack area of the main control RAM1312 may be initialized after the power is restored.

If a power failure occurs during the initialization process, an area (for example, a RAM clearing flag) is provided to store whether the main control RAM 1312 is being initialized, and while the RAM clearing flag is set It is preferable to prohibit writing of data to the storage area to be initialized.

Further, the process of monitoring power failure may be repeatedly executed in the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode. Therefore, in addition to the main loop (steps S36 to S40 in FIG. 22), for example, a timer interrupt may be used to monitor the power failure warning signal.

Whether the power failure monitoring process and the power failure process are executed as common processing in any of the setting change mode, the setting confirmation mode, and the normal game state, or executed as separate processing, the setting change mode and the setting confirmation are performed. Common processing may be executed in the mode, and different processing may be executed in the normal game state. That is, out of three or more states (operation modes) in the operation of the pachinko machine, at least two states may share the power failure monitoring process and the power failure process.

As described above, in the pattern 2-1 when the power is interrupted in the setting change mode and the main control RAM 1312 is normal when the power is restored, regardless of the operation of the setting key 971 or the RAM clear switch 954, the setting is always performed. Start in change mode. For example, if a power failure occurs during setting change work in a hall, the setting change mode should be activated when power is restored. However, the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 for activating the setting change mode may not be operated when the power is restored. Therefore, by controlling as in pattern 2-1, it is possible to prevent an unintended state (different from the setting change mode) when power is restored.

For example, if only the setting key 971 is operated (the RAM clear switch 954 is not operated) when the power is restored, the system is started in the setting confirmation mode instead of the setting change mode, or only the RAM clear switch 954 is operated. When (the setting key 971 is not operated), the main control RAM 1312 is initialized and the normal game state is started, and when any switch is not operated, the normal game state is started. However, when controlled as in pattern 2-1, regardless of the operation of the setting key 971 or the RAM clear switch 954, the setting change mode is always activated.

<Pattern 2-2>
If the setting change mode is set at the time of the last power interruption and the main control RAM 1312 is normal at the time of restoration from the power failure, unlike the pattern 2-1, even if it operates in another pattern shown in FIG. 204(C). good. If the RAM clear switch 954 is turned on when the power is turned on, and if the setting key 971 is turned on, the main control RAM 1312 is used as a game control area including a stack area other than the set value and the base value. initialize the area Also, the main control MPU 1311 is started in the setting change mode, and the value of the setting state management area is maintained at 02H. Note that the same value (02H) may be set regardless of the original value. Also, the base display 1317 displays the set value associated with the setting change.

If the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 when the power is turned on is other than the above, and if at least one of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 is not operated (OFF) when the power is turned on, the main control RAM 1312 memory contents are not changed. Further, the main control MPU 1311 is activated in the game stop state, and the value of the setting state management area is updated to 08H indicating an abnormality of the main control RAM 1312 . Base indicator 1317 also displays errors (eg, error codes). The game stop state may be a game stop by executing an infinite loop on the main control MPU 1311 or a game stop by not executing normal game processing.

That is, in pattern 2-1, regardless of the state of the setting key or the RAM clear switch after power is restored, the transition to the setting change mode is made unconditionally. When the key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are operated to start the setting change mode, the setting change mode is started, and when the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are in other states, the game cannot be executed (RAM abnormality). and That is, in pattern 2-2, even if at least one of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 is operated at the time of power return, the normal game is not started as a RAM abnormal state, and the normal game is played after going through the setting change mode. Start playing. For this reason, when the operation to start the setting change mode is not performed, the normal game is not executed in a state different from the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode such as RAM abnormality, and the game stop state is notified. employees may be prompted to activate the configuration change mode.

If the value (08H) indicating the RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, without initializing the game control area and the stack area in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, until the next setting change operation is performed. Wait in the game stop state. The game stop state may be a game stop by executing an infinite loop on the main control MPU 1311 or a game stop by not executing normal game processing. After that, once the power is cut off, the setting key and the RAM clear switch are operated to the setting change mode, and the power is turned on, the value of the setting state management area is updated to 02H, and the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 Clear the stack area in the game control area and start the setting change mode.

<Pattern 3-1, 3-2>
204(D), an operation example will be described in which the setting confirmation mode is set at the time of power interruption immediately before and the main control RAM 1312 is normal at the time of restoration from the power failure. First, when the power is turned on, the RAM clear switch 954 is turned ON, and when the setting key 971 is turned ON, the main control RAM 1312 includes a stack area other than the set value and the base value as a game control area. Initialize the area used. Also, the main control MPU 1311 is activated in the setting change mode, and the value of the setting state management area is updated to 02H. Also, the base display 1317 displays the set value associated with the setting change.

When the RAM clear switch 954 is not operated (OFF) and the setting key 971 is operated ON when the power is turned on, the memory contents of the main control RAM 1312 do not change. Also, the main control MPU 1311 starts up in the setting confirmation mode, and the value of the setting state management area is maintained at 01H. Note that the same value (01H) may be set regardless of the original value. Also, the base display 1317 displays the current set values for setting confirmation.

When the RAM clear switch 954 is turned on when the power is turned on, and the setting key 971 is not operated (OFF), the main control RAM 1312 is used as a game control area including a stack area other than the set value and the base value. Initialize the area to be used. Also, the main control MPU 1311 is activated in the normal game state, and the value of the setting state management area is updated to 00H. Also, the base display 1317 displays a base value representing the performance of the pachinko machine after displaying (for example, full flashing for 5 seconds) indicating that the performance display has been switched to as an initial display when the power is turned on.

If the RAM clear switch 954 is not operated (OFF) and the setting key 971 is not operated (OFF) when the power is turned on, the stored contents of the main control RAM 1312 do not change. Also, the main control MPU 1311 is activated in the normal game state, and the value of the setting state management area is updated to 00H. Also, the base display 1317 displays a base value representing the performance of the pachinko machine after displaying (for example, full flashing for 5 seconds) indicating that the performance display has been switched to as an initial display when the power is turned on. In this case, like pattern 3-2 shown in FIG. The same value (01H) may be set regardless of the setting), the base display 1317 may display the current setting value for setting confirmation.

<Pattern 4>
As shown in FIG. 204(F), an operation example when there is an abnormality in the main control RAM 1312 at the time of recovery from power failure will be described. First, when the RAM clear switch 954 is turned on when the power is turned on, and when the setting key 971 is turned on, the main control RAM 1312 is the game control including the entire area stack area other than the set value and the base value. Initialize the region that will be used as a region. Also, the main control MPU 1311 starts up in the setting change mode, and the value of the setting state management area becomes 02H. Also, the base display 1317 provides display for setting changes.

When the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 at power-on is other than the above, that is, when at least one of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 is not operated (OFF) at power-on, the main The contents stored in the control RAM 1312 remain unchanged. Further, the main control MPU 1311 is started in the game stop state, and the value of the setting state management area is maintained at 08H. The same value (08H) may be set regardless of the original value. Base indicator 1317 also displays errors (eg, error codes).

If there is an abnormality in the main control RAM 1312 at the time of power interruption immediately before, if the main control RAM 1312 has been initialized before the power interruption, (1) The device built in the main control MPU 1311 is initialized. (2) Restart the hardware random numbers. (3) It is preferable to execute the main loop after executing at least one of (3) setting interrupt permission.

In addition, even if there is an abnormality in the main control RAM 1312 at the time of the last power shutdown, when the power is turned on, the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 are set before the determination of whether the RAM is abnormal in the state before the power failure (step S211 in FIG. 179). determines whether or not there is an operation of When a setting change operation (the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 are turned on) is detected when the power is turned on, the setting change mode is activated. The RAM abnormal state is maintained regardless of whether the start operation is performed, only the RAM clear switch 954 is operated, or neither is operated. That is, normally, when the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode are started, the setting change mode processing and the setting confirmation mode processing are executed within the timer interrupt processing. If so, different processes are executed in the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode. In other words, when the power is turned on again to recover from the RAM abnormal state, when starting in the setting change mode, the processing of the setting change mode is executed in the timer interrupt processing as usual, but the setting confirmation mode is started. When doing so, a process different from normal is executed in the timer interrupt process.

Thus, when the value (08H) indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, the game cannot be started even if the power is turned on again. However, since the main control RAM 1312 has already been initialized, it is not necessary to initialize the main control RAM 1312 again.

Next, the operation of the pachinko machine 1 and its variations will be described using time charts. The outline of the time chart explained below is as follows.
・Time chart for normal setting changes (Fig. 205)
・Time chart for normal setting confirmation (Fig. 206)
・Time chart when transitioning to the setting change mode at power failure with the setting key 971 turned off and the RAM clear switch 954 turned off after the power is restored (Fig. 207)
・Time chart when transitioning to the setting change mode at power failure with the setting key 971 ON and the RAM clear switch 954 OFF after the power is restored (Fig. 208)
・Time chart when transitioning to the setting confirmation mode at the time of power failure with the setting key 971 turned off and the RAM clear switch 954 turned off after the power is restored (Fig. 209)

FIG. 205 is a time chart from the start to the end of the setting change mode.

In the time chart shown in FIG. 205, since the RAM clear switch 954 is turned ON and the setting key 971 is turned ON when the power is turned on, the main control MPU 1311 starts up in the setting change mode.

First, when power is supplied to the main control board 1310 and the 5V power supply rises (T1), a reset signal is output from the reset circuit 1335 and the main control MPU 1311 is activated (T2).

The main control MPU 1311 executes the program from the start address of the program code by the reset signal. Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 executes a security check and starts the main control program at timing T3. After that, at timing T4, the level of the signal of the setting key 971 and the level of the signal of the RAM clear switch 954 are stored in the register, and the startup of the peripheral control board 1510 is waited until timing T5.

When the peripheral control board 1510 is activated by the start of energization, the customer waiting effect is started. Note that the peripheral control board 1510 may start the customer waiting effect after receiving the command from the main control board 1310 .

The main control MPU 1311 reads the level of the signal of the setting key 971 and the level of the signal of the RAM clear switch 954 from the register at the timing T5 when the peripheral control board activation waiting time has passed, and records 02H in the setting state management area to set. Go to change mode. Also, the main control MPU 1311 lights up all the LEDs of the function display unit 1400 . Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 starts outputting a security signal. The display mode of the function display unit is as described in FIG. 184 above.

Also, the main control MPU 1311 creates a power-on operation command (A003H) indicating transition to the setting change mode, and transmits it to the peripheral control board 1510 at a predetermined timing.

Peripheral control board 1510 executes the effect (notification) in the setting change mode shown in FIG. 184 described above according to the power-on command received.

During the setting change mode, when the RAM clear switch 954 (also used as the setting change switch 972) is operated, the main control MPU 1311 detects ON of the RAM clear switch 954, updates the set value from N to N+1, and displays the base display. 1317 displays the updated set value N+1 (T6). Furthermore, by the second operation of the RAM clear switch 954 (also used as the setting change switch 972), the main control MPU 1311 detects ON of the RAM clear switch 954, updates the set value from N+1 to N+2, and updates the base display 1317. The subsequent set value N+2 is displayed (T7). That is, in the setting change mode, the set value is changed within the range of 1 to 6 each time the RAM clear switch 954 (also used as the setting change switch 972) is operated, and when the set value exceeds 6, it is updated to 1. be.

The hall employee operates the setting key 971 to the OFF position after finishing changing the set value. When the main control MPU 1311 detects the OFF edge of the setting key 971, it ends the setting change mode, records 00H in the setting state management area, creates a power-on operation command (A0001H), and shifts to the normal game state. (T8). The generated power-on operation command (A0001H) is sent to the peripheral control board 1510 at a predetermined timing. By recording 00H in the setting state management area, it becomes possible to execute the processing during the normal game in the timer interrupt processing. Further, the main control MPU 1311 ends the lighting of all the function display units 1400 and starts the display in the normal game state. Furthermore, the base indicator 1317 displays the base value in the normal game state after blinking all the LEDs for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds). Thus, by displaying the base display 1317 in a predetermined manner at the start of the normal game state, the end of the setting change mode can be clearly recognized, and operation errors at the end of the setting change mode can be reduced. Further, the main control MPU 1311 transmits to the peripheral control board 1510 a power-on state command (3001H), a power-on recovery destination command (3101H), and a set value command (A10mH). Since the main control RAM 1312 is initialized in the setting change mode, the lower byte of the power-on recovery destination command becomes 01H. m in the setting value command (A10mH) is a numerical value from 1 to 6 corresponding to the setting value as shown in FIG. 202(D). Both the power-on operation command (A0001H) and the power-on state command (3001H) notify the normal game start-ready state, and are normally transmitted continuously. It is sufficient to send to

The peripheral control board 1510 learns from the received power-on state command that the normal game can be started, and executes an effect in the normal game state (for example, a customer waiting effect). It should be noted that the peripheral control board 1510 stops the notification effect during the setting change after a predetermined delay time has passed since it is known by the power-on state command that the normal game can be started, and the effect in the normal game state ( For example, the production may be switched so as to start a customer waiting production. It should be noted that during the predetermined delay time, it is preferable to perform a notification effect that the setting is being changed by some effect devices. continue the notification production. In addition, the continuation of the notification effect by the decorative lamps is that some of the decorative lamps (eg, the frame side) continue the notification effect, and the other decorative lamps (eg, the panel side) return to the normal game state effect. good.

Also, the main control MPU 1311 stops outputting the security signal after a predetermined time (for example, 50 milliseconds) from the end of the setting change mode (T9). This is because if the setting change mode ends in an extremely short time and the security signal is not output at all or only for a short time, the hole computer cannot detect the transition to the setting change mode. This is to ensure

FIG. 206 is a time chart from the start to the end of the setting confirmation mode.

In the time chart shown in FIG. 206, when the power was cut off immediately before, it was in the normal game state or in the setting confirmation mode, and when the power was turned on, the RAM clear switch 954 was not operated and the setting key 971 was turned ON. , the main control MPU 1311 is activated in the setting confirmation mode.

First, when power is supplied to the main control board 1310 and the 5V power supply rises (T1), a reset signal is output from the reset circuit 1335 and the main control MPU 1311 is activated (T2).

The main control MPU 1311 executes the program from the start address of the program code by the reset signal. Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 executes a security check and starts the main control program at timing T3. After that, at timing T4, the level of the signal of the setting key 971 and the level of the signal of the RAM clear switch 954 are stored in the register, and the startup of the peripheral control board 1510 is waited until timing T5.

When the peripheral control board 1510 is activated by the start of energization, the customer waiting effect is started. Note that the peripheral control board 1510 may start the customer waiting effect after receiving the command from the main control board 1310 .

The main control MPU 1311 reads the level of the signal of the setting key 971 and the level of the signal of the RAM clear switch 954 from the register at the timing T5 when the peripheral control board startup waiting time has elapsed, and records and sets 01H in the setting state management area. Go to confirmation mode. Also, the main control MPU 1311 lights up all the LEDs of the function display unit 1400 . Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 starts outputting a security signal.

In addition, the main control MPU 1311 creates a power-on operation command (A002H) indicating transition to the setting confirmation mode, and transmits it to the peripheral control board 1510 at a predetermined timing.

Peripheral control board 1510 executes an effect in the setting confirmation mode according to the received power-on command.

After confirming the setting values, the hall employee operates the setting key 971 to the OFF position. When the main control MPU 1311 detects the OFF edge of the setting key 971, it ends the setting change mode, records 00H in the setting state management area, and shifts to the normal game state (T6). By setting the value of the setting state management area to 00H, it becomes possible to execute the processing during the normal game in the timer interrupt processing. Also, the base indicator 1317 displays the base value in the normal game state after blinking all the LEDs for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds).

Further, the main control MPU 1311 transmits to the peripheral control board 1510 a power-on state command (3001H), a power-on return destination command (310nH), and a set value command (A10mH). m in the setting value command (A10mH) is a numerical value from 1 to 6 corresponding to the setting value as shown in FIG. 202(D). In the setting confirmation mode, since the main control RAM 1312 is not initialized in principle, the state before the power failure is transmitted as the lower byte of the power-on recovery destination command.

The peripheral control board 1510 learns from the received power-on state command that the normal game can be started, and executes an effect in the normal game state (for example, a customer waiting effect). It should be noted that the peripheral control board 1510 stops the notification effect during the setting change after a predetermined delay time has passed since it is known by the power-on state command that the normal game can be started, and the effect in the normal game state ( For example, the production may be switched so as to start a customer waiting production. It should be noted that during the predetermined delay time, it is preferable to perform a notification effect that the setting is being changed by some effect devices. continue the notification production. In addition, the continuation of the notification effect by the decorative lamps is that some of the decorative lamps (eg, the frame side) continue the notification effect, and the other decorative lamps (eg, the panel side) return to the normal game state effect. good.

In addition, the main control MPU 1311 stops outputting the security signal after a predetermined time delay (for example, 50 milliseconds) from the end of the setting confirmation mode (T7).

FIG. 207 is another time chart from the start to the end of the setting change mode.

In the time chart shown in FIG. 207, the main control MPU 1311 starts up in the setting change mode because it is in the setting change mode at the time of power shutdown immediately before. As shown in FIG. 204(B), if the setting change mode is set at the time of the last power shutdown, the main control MPU 1311 is in the setting change mode regardless of the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 or the setting key 971 at the time of power on. Indicates the case of starting.

First, when power is supplied to the main control board 1310 and the 5V power supply rises (T1), a reset signal is output from the reset circuit 1335 and the main control MPU 1311 is activated (T2).

The main control MPU 1311 executes the program from the start address of the program code by the reset signal. Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 executes a security check and starts the main control program at timing T3. After that, at timing T4, the level of the signal of the setting key 971 and the level of the signal of the RAM clear switch 954 are stored in the register, and the startup of the peripheral control board 1510 is waited until timing T5.

When the peripheral control board 1510 is activated by the start of energization, the customer waiting effect is started. Note that the peripheral control board 1510 may start the customer waiting effect after receiving the command from the main control board 1310 .

The main control MPU 1311 reads the level of the signal of the setting key 971 and the level of the signal of the RAM clear switch 954 from the register at the timing T5 when the peripheral control board activation waiting time has passed, and records 02H in the setting state management area to set. Go to change mode. Also, the main control MPU 1311 lights up all the LEDs of the function display unit 1400 . Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 starts outputting a security signal.

Also, the main control MPU 1311 creates a power-on operation command (A003H) indicating transition to the setting change mode, and transmits it to the peripheral control board 1510 at a predetermined timing.

Peripheral control board 1510 executes effects in the setting change mode according to the received power-on command. The operation state of the peripheral control board 1510 is reset and returns to the initial state when the power is turned off. Therefore, when the power is restored, the peripheral control board 1510 receives the power-on operation command transmitted by the main control board 1310 and continues the setting change state.

During the setting change mode, when the RAM clear switch 954 (also used as the setting change switch 972) is operated, the main control MPU 1311 detects ON of the RAM clear switch 954, updates the set value from N to N+1, and displays the base display. 1317 displays the updated set value N+1 (T6).

After that, when the power supply to the main control board is stopped, the main control MPU 1311 detects the power failure and executes the power failure processing (T7). Then, the output of the reset signal from the reset circuit 1335 stops, the display of the set value on the base display 1317 disappears, and the output of the security signal stops (T8). In addition, in the power-off process, the output of the security signal may be stopped and the base display 1317 may be turned off. For example, by turning off the output port of the security signal and the output port to the base display 1317 by the power-off processing program, the output of the security signal can be stopped and the base display 1317 can be turned off.

By turning off the output port in the power-off processing, the power consumption during the power-off processing can be reduced, and a reset due to the power supply (5V) dropping before the power-off processing is completed can be prevented. For example, it is effective to turn off the output port before calculating the checksum in the power-off processing. In addition, it is preferable to turn OFF the output port of the signal to the solenoid for controlling the opening and closing of the big winning openings 2005 and 2006, the second starting opening 2004, etc., and stop the driving signal of the solenoid.

Thereafter, power is supplied to the main control board 1310, and when the 5V power supply rises (T9), a reset signal is output from the reset circuit 1335, and the main control MPU 1311 is activated (T10).

The main control MPU 1311 executes the program from the start address of the program code by the reset signal. Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 executes a security check, starts the main control program at timing T11, and then stores the signal level of the setting key 971 and the signal level of the RAM clear switch 954 in the register at timing T12. , and waits for the activation of the peripheral control board 1510 until timing T13.

The main control MPU 1311 refers to the value of the setting state management area. In the example shown in FIG. 207, since 02H is recorded in the setting state management area, regardless of the operation of the setting key 971 or the RAM clear switch 954, at timing T13 after the peripheral control board activation waiting time has elapsed, the setting change mode is set. transition to When shifting to the setting change mode, the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 and the stack area in the game control area are initialized again in the same manner as the normal setting change mode. In addition, since the power failure is monitored after the initialization of the main control RAM 1312 is completed, and then the power failure processing is executed, the RAM clear processing is not interrupted by the power failure processing, so it is in the setting change mode at the time of the power failure. In this case, since the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 has already been initialized, the game control area may not be initialized by executing the RAM clear process at the time of power failure recovery. After re-initialization, the main control MPU 1311 turns on all the LEDs of the function display unit 1400 and starts outputting security signals.

Also, the main control MPU 1311 creates a power-on operation command (A003H) indicating transition to the setting change mode, and transmits it to the peripheral control board 1510 at a predetermined timing.

Peripheral control board 1510 executes effects in the setting change mode according to the received power-on command. Since the operation state of the peripheral control board 1510 is reset and returns to the initial state when the power is turned off, the peripheral control board 1510 receives the power-on operation command transmitted from the main control board 1310 when the power is restored, and continues the setting change state.

During the setting change mode, when the RAM clear switch 954 (also used as the setting change switch 972) is operated, the main control MPU 1311 detects ON of the RAM clear switch 954, updates the setting value, and updates the setting value after updating. Displayed on the display 1317 .

The hall employee operates the setting key 971 to the OFF position after finishing changing the set value. When the main control MPU 1311 detects the OFF edge of the setting key 971, it ends the setting change mode, records 00H in the setting state management area, and shifts to the normal game state (T14). By recording 00H in the setting state management area, it becomes possible to execute the processing during the normal game in the timer interrupt processing. Also, the base indicator 1317 displays the base value in the normal game state after blinking all the LEDs for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds). Further, the main control MPU 1311 transmits to the peripheral control board 1510 a power-on state command (3001H), a power-on recovery destination command (3101H), and a set value command (A10mH). m in the setting value command (A10mH) is a numerical value from 1 to 6 corresponding to the setting value as shown in FIG. 202(D).

The peripheral control board 1510 learns from the received power-on state command that the normal game can be started, and executes an effect in the normal game state (for example, a customer waiting effect). It should be noted that the peripheral control board 1510 stops the notification effect during the setting change after a predetermined delay time has passed since it is known by the power-on state command that the normal game can be started, and the effect in the normal game state ( For example, the production may be switched so as to start a customer waiting production. It should be noted that during the predetermined delay time, it is preferable to perform a notification effect that the setting is being changed by some effect devices. continue the notification production. In addition, the continuation of the notification effect by the decorative lamps is that some of the decorative lamps (eg, the frame side) continue the notification effect, and the other decorative lamps (eg, the panel side) return to the normal game state effect. good.

Also, the main control MPU 1311 stops outputting the security signal after a predetermined time delay (for example, 50 milliseconds) from the end of the setting change mode (T15). This is because if the setting change mode ends in an extremely short time and the security signal is not output at all or only for a short time, the hole computer cannot grasp the transition to the setting change mode. This is to secure the output time.

FIG. 208 is another time chart from the start to the end of the setting change mode.

In the time chart shown in FIG. 208, even if the main control MPU 1311 is in the setting change mode at the time of power shutdown immediately before, the main control MPU 1311 starts up in a different operation mode depending on the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 or setting key 971 at power on.

First, when power is supplied to the main control board 1310 and the 5V power supply rises (T1), a reset signal is output from the reset circuit 1335 and the main control MPU 1311 is activated (T2).

The main control MPU 1311 executes the program from the start address of the program code by the reset signal. Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 executes a security check and starts the main control program at timing T3. After that, at timing T4, the level of the signal of the setting key 971 and the level of the signal of the RAM clear switch 954 are stored in the register, and the startup of the peripheral control board 1510 is waited until timing T5.

When the peripheral control board 1510 is activated by the start of energization, the customer waiting effect is started. Note that the peripheral control board 1510 may start the customer waiting effect after receiving the command from the main control board 1310 .

The main control MPU 1311 reads the level of the signal of the setting key 971 and the level of the signal of the RAM clear switch 954 from the register at the timing T5 when the peripheral control board activation waiting time has passed, and records 02H in the setting state management area to set. Go to change mode. Also, the main control MPU 1311 starts outputting a security signal.

Also, the main control MPU 1311 creates a power-on operation command (A003H) indicating transition to the setting change mode, and transmits it to the peripheral control board 1510 at a predetermined timing.

Peripheral control board 1510 executes effects in the setting change mode according to the received power-on command. The operation state of the peripheral control board 1510 is reset and returns to the initial state when the power is turned off. Therefore, when the power is restored, the peripheral control board 1510 receives the power-on operation command transmitted by the main control board 1310 and continues the setting change state.

During the setting change mode, when the RAM clear switch 954 (also used as the setting change switch 972) is operated, the main control MPU 1311 detects ON of the RAM clear switch 954, updates the set value from N to N+1, and displays the base display. 1317 displays the updated set value N+1 (T6).

After that, when the power supply to the main control board is stopped, the main control MPU 1311 detects the power failure and executes the power failure processing (T7). Then, the output of the reset signal from the reset circuit 1335 stops, the display of the set value on the base display 1317 disappears, and the output of the security signal stops (T8). In addition, in the power-off process, the output of the security signal may be stopped and the base display 1317 may be turned off. For example, by turning off the output port of the security signal and the output port to the base display 1317 by the power-off processing program, the output of the security signal can be stopped and the base display 1317 can be turned off.

By turning off the output port in the power-off processing, the power consumption during the power-off processing can be reduced, and a reset due to the power supply (5V) dropping before the power-off processing is completed can be prevented. For example, it is effective to turn off the output port before calculating the checksum in the power-off processing. In addition, it is preferable to turn OFF the output port of the signal to the solenoid for controlling the opening and closing of the big winning openings 2005 and 2006, the second starting opening 2004, etc., and stop the driving signal of the solenoid.

Thereafter, power is supplied to the main control board 1310, and when the 5V power supply rises (T9), a reset signal is output from the reset circuit 1335, and the main control MPU 1311 is activated (T10).

The main control MPU 1311 executes the program from the start address of the program code by the reset signal. Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 executes a security check, starts the main control program at timing T11, and then stores the signal level of the setting key 971 and the signal level of the RAM clear switch 954 in the register at timing T12. , and waits for the activation of the peripheral control board 1510 until timing T13.

The main control MPU 1311 reads the signal level of the setting key 971 and the signal level of the RAM clear switch 954 from the register at the timing T13 when the peripheral control board activation waiting time has elapsed, and reads the signal level of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch. The operation mode is changed depending on the level of the 954 signal. In the example shown in FIG. 208, the RAM clear switch 954 is turned off and the setting key 971 is turned on so that the setting confirmation mode is entered when the power is turned on again. Since the value indicates the setting change (02H), the main control MPU 1311 is restarted in the setting change mode at timing T13 when the peripheral control board activation waiting time has passed, and the value of the setting state management area is maintained at 02H. be done. Note that the same value (02H) may be set regardless of the original value. When shifting to the setting change mode, the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 and the stack area in the game control area are initialized again in the same manner as the normal setting change mode. In addition, since the power failure is monitored after the initialization of the main control RAM 1312 is completed, and then the power failure processing is executed, the RAM clear processing is not interrupted by the power failure processing, so it is in the setting change mode at the time of the power failure. In this case, since the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 has already been initialized, the game control area may not be initialized by executing the RAM clear process at the time of power failure recovery. For example, in FIG. 186 described above, if the state before the power failure is during setting change, YES is obtained in step S2015, and the process branches to RESET_P_5A (step S2030 in FIG. 187) to execute RAM abnormality initialization processing (step S2034). However, if it branches to RESET_P_7 (S2036 in FIG. 187), the state before the power shutdown is continued without executing the RAM abnormality initialization processing step S2034. After re-initialization, the main control MPU 1311 turns on all the LEDs of the function display unit 1400 and starts outputting security signals. That is, in the time chart shown in FIG. 208, the setting change mode can be activated even if the setting key 971 is not turned ON. In other words, the setting change mode is started when the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are turned on when the power is turned on, and when the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are turned on when the power is turned on. Even if it is not ON, the setting change mode can be activated.

As indicated by a broken line at timing T12, when the RAM clear switch 954 is turned off and the setting key 971 is turned off when the power is turned on again, unlike the time chart shown in FIG. 00H may be recorded, and the game may be restarted in a state in which the normal game cannot be executed (for example, RAM abnormality) without returning to the setting change mode. That is, in the operation pattern shown in FIG. 208, even in the setting change mode at the time of power failure, if the setting change operation is not performed at the time of power return, the device is restarted in the state of RAM abnormality. In other words, if the power is cut off during the setting change mode, the normal game cannot be started unless the setting change mode is normally terminated at some point.

Also, the main control MPU 1311 creates a power-on operation command (A003H) indicating transition to the setting change mode, and transmits it to the peripheral control board 1510 at a predetermined timing.

Peripheral control board 1510 executes effects in the setting change mode according to the received power-on command. The operation state of the peripheral control board 1510 is reset and returns to the initial state when the power is turned off. Therefore, when the power is restored, the peripheral control board 1510 receives the power-on operation command transmitted by the main control board 1310 and continues the setting change state.

During the setting change mode, when the RAM clear switch 954 (also used as the setting change switch 972) is operated, the main control MPU 1311 detects ON of the RAM clear switch 954, updates the setting value, and updates the setting value after updating. It is displayed on the display 1317 (T14).

The hall employee operates the setting key 971 to the OFF position after finishing changing the set values. When the main control MPU 1311 detects the OFF edge of the setting key 971, it ends the setting change mode, records 00H in the setting state management area, and shifts to the normal game state (T15). By recording 00H in the setting state management area, it becomes possible to execute the processing during the normal game in the timer interrupt processing. Also, the base indicator 1317 displays the base value in the normal game state after blinking all the LEDs for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds). Further, the main control MPU 1311 transmits to the peripheral control board 1510 a power-on state command (3001H), a power-on recovery destination command (3101H), and a set value command (A10mH). Since the main control RAM 1312 is initialized in the setting change mode, the lower byte of the power-on recovery destination command becomes 01H. m in the setting value command (A10mH) is a numerical value from 1 to 6 corresponding to the setting value as shown in FIG. 202(D). Note that both the power-on operation command (A0001H) and the power-on state command (3001H) notify the normal game start-ready state, and are normally transmitted in succession. Sending to the board is sufficient.

The peripheral control board 1510 learns from the received power-on state command that the normal game can be started, and executes an effect in the normal game state (for example, a customer waiting effect). It should be noted that the peripheral control board 1510 stops the notification effect during the setting change after a predetermined delay time has passed since it is known by the power-on state command that the normal game can be started, and the effect in the normal game state ( For example, the production may be switched so as to start a customer waiting production. It should be noted that during the predetermined delay time, it is preferable to perform a notification effect that the setting is being changed by some effect devices. continue the notification production. In addition, the continuation of the notification effect by the decorative lamps is that some of the decorative lamps (eg, the frame side) continue the notification effect, and the other decorative lamps (eg, the panel side) return to the normal game state effect. good.

Further, the main control MPU 1311 stops outputting the security signal after a predetermined time (for example, 50 milliseconds) from the end of the setting change mode (T16). This is because if the setting change mode ends in an extremely short time and the security signal is not output at all or only for a short time, the hole computer cannot grasp the transition to the setting change mode. This is to secure the output time.

FIG. 209 is another time chart from the start to the end of the setting confirmation mode.

In the time chart shown in FIG. 209, if the setting confirmation mode is set at the time of the last power-off, the main control MPU 1311 starts up in the setting confirmation mode regardless of the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 or the setting key 971 at power-on.

First, when power is supplied to the main control board 1310 and the 5V power supply rises (T1), a reset signal is output from the reset circuit 1335 and the main control MPU 1311 is activated (T2).

The main control MPU 1311 executes the program from the start address of the program code by the reset signal. Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 executes a security check and starts the main control program at timing T3. After that, at timing T4, the level of the signal of the setting key 971 and the level of the signal of the RAM clear switch 954 are stored in the register, and the startup of the peripheral control board 1510 is waited until timing T5.

When the peripheral control board 1510 is activated by the start of energization, the customer waiting effect is started. Note that the peripheral control board 1510 may start the customer waiting effect after receiving the command from the main control board 1310 .

The main control MPU 1311 reads the level of the signal of the setting key 971 and the level of the signal of the RAM clear switch 954 from the register at the timing T5 when the peripheral control board activation waiting time has passed, and records 02H in the setting state management area to set. Go to change mode. Also, the main control MPU 1311 starts outputting a security signal.

In addition, the main control MPU 1311 creates a power-on operation command (A002H) indicating transition to the setting confirmation mode, and transmits it to the peripheral control board 1510 at a predetermined timing.

Peripheral control board 1510 executes an effect in the setting confirmation mode according to the received power-on operation command.

After that, when the power supply to the main control board is stopped, the main control MPU 1311 detects the power failure, executes the power failure processing, and the main control MPU 1311 stops the operation (T7). Then, the output of the reset signal from the reset circuit 1335 stops, the display of the set value on the base display 1317 disappears, and the output of the security signal stops (T8). In addition, in the power-off process, the output of the security signal may be stopped and the base display 1317 may be turned off. For example, by turning off the output port of the security signal and the output port to the base display 1317 by the power-off processing program, the output of the security signal can be stopped and the base display 1317 can be turned off.

By turning off the output port in the power-off processing, the power consumption during the power-off processing can be reduced, and a reset due to the power supply (5V) dropping before the power-off processing is completed can be prevented. For example, it is effective to turn off the output port before calculating the checksum in the power-off process. In addition, it is preferable to turn OFF the output port of the signal to the solenoid for controlling the opening and closing of the big winning openings 2005 and 2006, the second starting opening 2004, etc., and stop the driving signal of the solenoid.

Thereafter, power is supplied to the main control board 1310, and when the 5V power supply rises (T9), a reset signal is output from the reset circuit 1335, and the main control MPU 1311 is activated (T10).

The main control MPU 1311 executes the program from the start address of the program code by the reset signal. Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 executes a security check, starts the main control program at timing T11, and then stores the signal level of the setting key 971 and the signal level of the RAM clear switch 954 in the register at timing T12. , and waits for the activation of the peripheral control board 1510 until timing T13.

The main control MPU 1311 refers to the value of the setting state management area. In the example shown in FIG. 209, the RAM clear switch 954 is turned off and the setting key 971 is turned on so that the setting confirmation mode is entered when the power is turned on again. Since the value (01H) indicates setting confirmation, at timing T13 when the peripheral control board activation waiting time has elapsed, the controller is restarted in the setting confirmation mode, and the value of 01H is maintained in the setting state management area. Note that the same value (01H) may be set regardless of the original value. After that, the main control MPU 1311 starts outputting a security signal. That is, in the time chart shown in FIG. 209, the setting confirmation mode can be activated even if the setting key 971 is not turned ON. In other words, if the setting key 971 is turned ON and the RAM clear switch 954 is turned OFF when the power is turned on, the setting confirmation mode is started. can also start the setting confirmation mode.

In addition, the main control MPU 1311 creates a power-on operation command (A002H) indicating transition to the setting confirmation mode, and transmits it to the peripheral control board 1510 at a predetermined timing.

Peripheral control board 1510 executes an effect in the setting confirmation mode according to the received power-on command.

During the setting confirmation mode, the RAM clear switch 954 (also used as the setting change switch 972) is operated, and even if the main control MPU 1311 detects that the RAM clear switch 954 is ON, the set value is displayed on the base display without updating the set value. Continue to 1317 to display.

After confirming the setting values, the hall employee operates the setting key 971 to the OFF position. When the main control MPU 1311 detects the OFF edge of the setting key 971, it ends the setting confirmation mode, records 00H in the setting state management area, and shifts to the normal game state (T15). By recording 00H in the setting state management area, it becomes possible to execute the processing during the normal game in the timer interrupt processing. Also, the base indicator 1317 displays the base value in the normal game state after blinking all the LEDs for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds). Further, the main control MPU 1311 transmits to the peripheral control board 1510 a power-on state command (3001H), a power-on return destination command (310nH), and a set value command (A10mH).

The peripheral control board 1510 learns from the received power-on state command that the normal game can be started, and executes an effect in the normal game state (for example, a customer waiting effect). It should be noted that the peripheral control board 1510 starts an effect in the normal game state (for example, a customer waiting effect) after a predetermined delay time has passed since it was known by the power-on state command that the normal game can be started. may In addition, the peripheral control board 1510 cancels the notification effect during the setting change after a predetermined delay time has passed since it is known by the power-on state command that the normal game can be started, and the effect in the normal game state ( For example, the production may be switched so as to start a customer waiting production. It should be noted that during the predetermined delay time, it is preferable to perform a notification effect that the setting is being changed by some effect devices. continue the notification production. In addition, the continuation of the notification effect by the decorative lamps is that some of the decorative lamps (eg, the frame side) continue the notification effect, and the other decorative lamps (eg, the panel side) return to the normal game state effect. good.

Also, the main control MPU 1311 stops outputting the security signal after a predetermined time (for example, 50 milliseconds) from the end of the setting confirmation mode (T16). This is because if the setting change mode ends in an extremely short time and the security signal is not output at all or only for a short time, the hole computer cannot grasp the transition to the setting change mode. This is to secure the output time.

210 to 212 are diagrams showing configuration examples of the big hit determination threshold table. The big-hit determination threshold value table stores the hit-determination threshold value of the big-hit determination random number value for lottery for the big win of the special symbol.

The big hit threshold determination table shown in FIG. 210 is composed of a set value table selection address table and each set value determination threshold table. The big-hit determination threshold table shown in FIG. 210 is an example of judging a big-hit when the random number value for big-hit determination is larger than the threshold value defined in the table.

In the set value table selection address table, the pointer address of the determination threshold table selected for each set value is defined, and each data may be configured as a 2-byte value. Note that if the upper byte is a fixed value, only the lower byte may be defined. Each setting value determination threshold table stores a threshold for low probability (normal state) and a threshold for high probability (variable probability state).

When judging a big hit, a pointer address defined in an address table for selecting a set value table is acquired, and this value is used as an offset to select a threshold judgment table for the current set value. Then, using the variable probability state flag (0: low probability, 1: high probability) as an offset, the threshold value for big hit determination is acquired from the selected threshold value determination table. When the random number value for judging a big hit acquired at the time of winning of the start opening is equal to or greater than the acquired threshold value, it is determined as a big win, and when it is less than the threshold value, it is determined as a deviation.

The big hit determination threshold table shown in FIG. 211 is composed of a set value table selection address table and each set value determination threshold table. The big-hit determination threshold table shown in FIG. 211 is an example of judging a big-hit when the random number value for big-hit determination is within the range from the lower limit to the upper limit defined in the table.

In the set value table selection address table, the pointer address of the determination threshold table selected for each set value is defined, and each data may be configured as a 2-byte value. Note that if the upper byte is a fixed value, only the lower byte may be defined. The judgment threshold table for each setting value is the lower threshold at low probability (normal state), the upper threshold at low probability (normal state), the lower threshold at high probability (variable state), and the lower threshold at high probability (variable state). Stores the upper threshold.

When judging a big hit, a pointer address defined in an address table for selecting a set value table is acquired, and this value is used as an offset to select a threshold judgment table for the current set value. Then, by using the variable probability state flag (0: low probability, 1: high probability) as an offset, it is determined whether the block is a low probability block or a high probability block in the selected threshold value determination table, and the lower limit threshold and upper limit for big hit determination Get the threshold. When the random number value for judging a big win acquired at the time of winning the starter is equal to or more than the acquired lower limit threshold and equal to or less than the upper threshold, it is judged as a big win, and when it is out of the range from the lower limit threshold to the upper limit threshold, it is judged as a deviation.

The big hit determination threshold table shown in FIG. 212 includes an address table for low probability setting value table selection, a determination threshold table for each setting value for low probability, an address table for high probability setting value table selection, and each setting for high probability. It consists of a value judgment threshold table. The jackpot determination threshold table shown in FIG. 211 is composed of a low probability table and a high probability table, but the jackpot determination threshold table shown in FIG. 212 has a low probability table and a high probability table. configured separately.

The low-probability setting value table selection address table defines the pointer address of the judgment threshold table selected for each low-probability (normal state) setting value. defines the pointer address of the determination threshold table selected for each set value of high probability (probability variable state). The data defined in each set value table selection address table may be configured as a 2-byte value. Note that if the upper byte is a fixed value, only the lower byte may be defined. The determination threshold value table for each set value for low probability stores a lower limit threshold for a low probability (normal state) and an upper limit threshold for a low probability (normal state). The determination threshold value table for each set value for high probability stores a lower threshold value for a high probability (normal state) and an upper threshold value for a high probability (normal state).

At the time of jackpot determination, the address table for selecting the setting value table for low probability or the address table for selecting the setting value table for high probability is determined by the probability variable state flag (0: low probability, 1: high probability). A set value is acquired as an offset from the address table for selecting the set value table, and the judgment threshold table corresponding to the current set value is selected by the acquired offset. When the random number value for judging a big win acquired at the time of winning the starter is equal to or more than the acquired lower limit threshold and equal to or less than the upper threshold, it is judged as a big win, and when it is out of the range from the lower limit threshold to the upper limit threshold, it is judged as a deviation.

[12-17. Example 2 of setting change/confirmation process]
Next, another embodiment of a pachinko machine having a setting change function will be described. In the embodiment described below, the setting value can be selected by operating the RAM clear switch 954 without providing the setting change switch 972. In order to distinguish it from the setting change function, the operation for changing the setting value may be described as the setting change switch 972 .

213 and 214 are flowcharts of power-on processing executed by the main control MPU 1311 when power is turned on.

First, the main control MPU 1311 starts processing from address 8000, which is the start address of the program code, when the reset signal is released by turning on the power. The protection invalidity and prohibited area invalidation of the main control RAM 1312 are set in the RAM protection register (step S2200). The main control MPU 1311 has a function of designating a use area of the main control RAM 1312 and determining that an abnormality has occurred and resetting when a prohibited area other than the designated area is accessed. In order to cancel the reset function by accessing the prohibited area of the main control RAM 1312, the prohibited area is set to be invalid to enable access to the entire area of the main control RAM 1312. FIG. It should be noted that even if an unused area of the main control RAM 1312 is designated as a prohibited area, the prohibited area is enabled, and access to the designated prohibited area is detected, the main control MPU 1311 is reset. good.

Next, a simple clear mode timer of a predetermined time is set in the watchdog timer (step S2201), and the watchdog timer is cleared (step S2202). After that, the power failure clear signal is set to ON (step S2203), and the power failure clear signal is set to OFF (step S2204). By once setting the power failure clear signal to ON and then setting it to OFF, the power failure signal stored in the latch can be set to a normal value.

Next, the signal levels of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are read from the PF port and stored in the register (step S2205). Any one of a plurality of general-purpose registers (storage means for temporarily storing information relating to computation in processing) provided in advance in the main control MPU 1311 may be used as the register. General-purpose registers are divided into bank 0 and bank 1, and bank 0 registers are used in step S2205. The register is provided in the main control RAM 1312, and is erased without retaining information at the time of power failure, and is different from the area of RAM where information is backed up at the time of power failure. Since the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 have been operated after the peripheral control board 1510 has certainly started up, the hall If the employee of the hall erroneously interrupts the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971, the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 are determined in a state unintended by the hall employee. Therefore, the input states (levels) of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 are stored in a register or the like as temporary storage means at an early stage after the start of power-on processing, and the standby state of the peripheral control board 1510 is terminated. By judging the states of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 stored later in a register or the like, which is a temporary storage means, even if the hall employee erroneously interrupts the key operation at an early stage after the power is turned on. , the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 or the setting key 971 when the power is turned on is reliably detected.

After that, it is determined whether or not the power failure warning signal indicates power failure (step S2206). If the power failure warning signal is detected, the power supply voltage of the pachinko machine is not normal, so the system waits until the power supply voltage stabilizes in step S2206.

Thereafter, a sub activation wait timer (for example, about 2 seconds) is started, and the watchdog timer is continuously cleared until the timer expires to wait for activation of the peripheral control board 1510 (step S2207). Waiting for activation of the peripheral control board 1510 may be any period from power-on to transmission of the first command to the peripheral control board 1510 .

After that, it is determined again whether the power failure warning signal indicates power failure (step S2208). If the power failure warning signal is detected, the power supply voltage of the pachinko machine 1 is abnormal, so the system waits in step S2208.

After that, setting value confirmation processing is executed to determine whether the setting value is within the normal range, and whether the value in the setting state management area is within the normal range (step S2209). Details of the setting value confirmation processing will be described later with reference to FIG.

After that, the flag register is saved in the stack area within the game control area (step S2210). This is because the information used in one process does not affect the other process in order to ensure the independence of the process outside the game control area and the process within the game control area. After that, when the power is turned on, a RAM confirmation process outside the game area is executed to determine an abnormality outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2211). The details of the outside-game-area RAM checking process at power-on will be described later with reference to FIG. Then, the flag register saved in the stack area within the game control area is restored (step S2212).

Thereafter, the RAM abnormality determination result value is temporarily set in the C register (step S2213), and the RAM abnormality value (03H) in the setting state management area is temporarily set in the B register (step S2214). The B and C registers used in steps S2213 and S2214 are general purpose registers. Note that the general-purpose registers of bank 0 are used in the processing at power-on.

The value set in the setting state management area in Example 2 is different from that shown in FIG. 03H is recorded. That is, the setting state management area of example 2 is a 1-byte storage area in which the operation mode of the pachinko machine 1 is recorded. For example, the lower 4 bits are used and the upper 4 bits are not defined. Specifically, 00H is recorded in the normal game state, 01H in the setting confirmation mode, 02H in the setting change mode, and 03H if there is an abnormality in the main control RAM 1312 .

The setting state management area is not updated to 00H by the RAM clearing process by operating only the RAM clear switch 954, and the current value is maintained. Further, when the setting confirmation mode ends, the value is updated from 01H to 00H, and when the setting change mode ends, the value is updated from 02H to 00H. Furthermore, if the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal, the setting change mode is entered by the setting change operation at the next power-on, the setting change mode is updated from 03H to 02H, and the setting change mode is terminated from 02H to 00H.

Further, it determines whether there is an abnormality in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, stores the determination result in the C register (steps S2215, S2216), and proceeds to step 2219. Specifically, the checksum calculated and stored from the data used as the game control area (excluding the data saved in the stack) among the areas backed up in the built-in RAM 1312 at the time of the previous power shutdown, The checksum calculated using the same area is compared, and if the two are different, it is determined that the main control RAM 1312 has an abnormality. Also, if the value of the power failure flag indicating that the backup has been performed normally (the power failure processing has been performed normally) is not stored in the backup flag area, the data in the main control RAM 1312 is normally backed up when the power failure occurs. It is determined that the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal (power-off processing is not normally executed).

Then, if there is no abnormality in the game control area and outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, the RAM normality determination result value is provisionally set in the C register (step S2217), and the information in the setting state management area is transferred to the B register. (step S2218) and proceeds to step S2219.

After that, a value (03H) indicating RAM abnormality is temporarily recorded in the setting state management area (step S2219).

Then, among the register values in which the values of the PF ports are recorded, the bits of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are masked (step S2220). A general-purpose register different from the register provisionally set in S2213 and S2214 is used as the register in which the value of the PF port is stored. After that, it is determined using the values stored in the register whether the setting key 971 is turned ON and the RAM clear switch 954 is turned ON when the power is turned on (step S2221). If the setting key 971 is turned ON and the RAM clear switch 954 is turned ON, it is determined that a setting change operation has been performed, and the process proceeds to step S2230.

On the other hand, if the setting key 971 has not been operated and the RAM clear switch 954 has not been operated, it is determined whether the setting change mode was in effect when the power failure occurred (step S2222). For example, when the value of the setting state management area is the setting change mode (02H), it is determined that a power failure occurred during the setting change mode.

Then, when it is determined that a power failure has occurred during the setting change mode, the process proceeds to step S2230.

On the other hand, when it is determined that a power failure has not occurred during the setting change mode, it is determined whether there is an abnormality within the game control area and outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2223). For example, using the determination results stored in the C register in steps S2213 and S2217 described above, an abnormality in the game control area can be determined. As a result, if there is an abnormality either inside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 or outside the game control area, the process proceeds to step S2236.

On the other hand, if there is no abnormality in the game control area and outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, it is determined whether a power failure occurred during RAM abnormality processing (step S2224). For example, if the saved value in the setting state management area is a value (03H) indicating RAM abnormality, it is determined that a power failure occurred during RAM abnormality processing.

Then, when it is determined that a power failure has occurred during the RAM abnormality processing, the process proceeds to step S2236. On the other hand, when it is determined that a power failure has not occurred during the RAM abnormality processing, a value (00H) indicating the normal game state is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2225). By recording 00H in the setting state management area in step S2225, the value (03H) indicating RAM abnormality temporarily recorded in the setting state management area in step S2214 is returned to the normal state. Also, by recording 00H in the setting state management area in step S2225, the values in the setting state management area differ when jumping from steps S2226 and S2231 to step S2235. As described above, since the values in the setting state management area are different between the normal RAM clearing process and the RAM clearing process associated with the setting change process, even if the same program is used for both RAM clearing processes, the calling source can be distinguished. , there is no need to provide a separate program, and the size of the program can be reduced.

Thereafter, it is determined using the value stored in the register whether or not the RAM clear switch 954 was turned ON when the power was turned on (step S2226). Then, if the RAM clear switch 954 has been turned ON, the process proceeds to step S2235.

In the pachinko machine of this embodiment, processing is distributed based on the operation of the RAM clear switch 954, the operation of the setting key 971, and the values recorded in the setting state management area. For example, when it is determined that the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal, 03H is recorded in the setting state management area, and 03H is maintained until the power is cut off, so normal game processing cannot be executed. At this time, the RAM abnormality can be canceled by turning off the power supply, changing the settings, and turning on the power supply. That is, if it is determined in step S2221 that both the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 have been operated (setting change operation), the setting state management area changes from the value indicating RAM abnormality (03H) to the value indicating setting change. It is updated to (02H) (step S2230), and the RAM abnormal state ends. In this way, the recovery from the RAM abnormality is supposed to go through the setting change without fail. In other words, since it is determined whether a setting change operation has been performed before it is determined whether the state at the time of power failure is RAM abnormality, the RAM abnormality can be resolved only with the change of the set value as a trigger.

On the other hand, if the RAM clear switch 954 has not been operated, in order to restore the state before the power failure occurred, the game state information at the time of the power failure is stored in the power-on status buffer (step S2227).

After that, it is determined using the value stored in the register whether the setting key 971 was turned ON when the power was turned on (step S2228). If the setting key 971 is turned ON, it is determined that the setting confirmation operation has been performed, the value (01H) indicating the setting confirmation mode is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2229), and the process proceeds to S2236. . That is, even if the state at the time of the power failure is the setting confirmation mode, if the setting key 971 is not operated when the power is turned on, the normal game state is entered. If the state at the time of the power failure is the setting confirmation mode and the setting key 971 is not operated when the power is turned on, the game may shift to the same power failure confirmation mode as before the power failure instead of the normal game state.

Steps S2225 to S2229 are processes executed when at least one of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 is not operated. (step S2228) may be performed first. That is, as shown in the figure, after judging the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 (step S2226), the operation of the setting key 971 may be judged (step S2228). Operation of the RAM clear switch 954 may be determined (step S2226).

If YES is determined in step S2221 or step S2222, a value (02H) indicating the setting change mode is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2230). Then, it is determined whether there is an abnormality outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2231). For example, based on the RAM abnormality determination result set in the RAM abnormality determination area outside the game area in step S2266 described above, it is possible to determine the abnormality outside the game control area. As a result, if there is no abnormality outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, the process proceeds to step S2235.

On the other hand, if there is an abnormality outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, RAM clear processing outside the game control area is executed. That is, the flag register is saved in the game area stack area (step S2232), and the outside game area RAM abnormality processing is executed (step S2233). The details of the out-of-game area RAM abnormality processing will be described later with reference to FIG. Thereafter, the flag register saved in the game area stack area in step S2232 is restored (step S2234).

Then, the setting value in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, the area other than the setting state management area, and the stack area in the game control area are initialized (step S2235). In other words, the RAM clear processing outside the game control area is not executed without going through the setting change. When the RAM is abnormal outside the game control area, 03H is recorded in the setting state management area in the same way as when the RAM is abnormal within the game control area, and the game stops. It is not possible. However, while the condition for clearing the RAM outside the game control area is only a setting change, the condition for clearing the RAM inside the game control area is a setting change and operation of the RAM clear switch 954 (even if no RAM abnormality has occurred). (when the RAM is forcibly cleared by an employee's operation).

In the RAM clearing process in the game area in step S2235, excluding the setting value and the setting state management area is because if the setting value becomes high due to an illegal RAM clearing operation by the player, damage will occur on the hall side. This is because if a problem (RAM abnormality) occurs during a game with high settings and the game is stopped, the high settings are changed to low settings by the RAM clearing operation, which causes damage to the player.

After that, all command buffers are initialized (step S2236). When the power is turned off while commands are stored in the command buffer and the power is turned back on without clearing the RAM, the unsent commands stored in the command buffer are sent. For example, when the power supply is interrupted during the transmission of the variation command, the symbol command is transmitted, but the subsequent variation pattern command may not be transmitted. Then, when only the variation pattern command is transmitted when the power is turned on, the peripheral control board 1510 may be determined to be abnormal. Furthermore, if a command that has not been transmitted during the setting change process is stored in the command buffer, the command that has not been transmitted during the setting process is transmitted after the power is restored, so that the peripheral control board 1510 There is a possibility of malfunction by setting the game state by In order to prevent such an abnormality from occurring, the command buffer is initialized in step S2236.

Although the command buffer is initialized in step S2236, the command buffer may be cleared only when starting the setting change process and when starting the setting confirmation process. In the setting change process, the command buffer is cleared along with the initialization of the main control RAM 1312, so there is no need to clear the command buffer separately. However, in the setting confirmation mode, the main control RAM 1312 is not initialized. Therefore, it is advisable to clear the command buffer when shifting to the setting confirmation mode.

After that, the function of the device (CTC, SIO, etc.) built in the main control MPU 1311 is initialized (step S2237), and the hardware random number (for example, win-lose random number) built in the main control MPU 1311 is activated (step S2238). By activating the hardware random numbers in step S2238, the hardware random numbers are updated even in the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode. may Then, power-on setting processing is executed (step S2239). Details of the power-on setting process will be described later with reference to FIG.

Finally, the timer interrupt is enabled (step S2240), and the process proceeds to main control side main processing (FIG. 221).

FIG. 215 is a flowchart of setting value confirmation processing. The setting value confirmation process is executed in step S2209 of the power-on process (FIG. 213) to determine whether the setting value in the setting state management area is within the normal range, and whether the value in the setting state management area is within the normal range. do. Note that the setting value confirmation process may be executed when the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode is finished, in addition to when the power is turned on. Also, it may be executed at the start of special symbol variation, or at the time of change in the game state (at the start and end of a big hit, probability variation, time reduction, etc.).

In the setting value confirmation process, first, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether a value other than the value originally recorded in the setting state management area is set (step S2250). Since 00H to 03H are recorded in the setting state management area as shown in FIG. 220A, if a value of 04H or more is set, it is abnormal, and the process proceeds to step S2252.

On the other hand, if a normal value (03H or less) is set in the setting state management area, it is determined whether the set value is within a predetermined range (step S2251). For example, in a pachinko machine 1 in which settings can be selected in stages from 1 to 6, the values of works in which the setting values are stored correspond to 0 to 5 (when setting 1 = 0, when setting 6 = In the case of 5), if a value of 6 or more is stored, it is determined to be outside the predetermined range.

If the set value is out of the predetermined range, a value (03H) indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2252), the set value is initialized to 0 (step S2253), and the process returns to power-on processing. . On the other hand, if the set value is within the predetermined range, the process returns to power-on processing.

Regarding the values and setting values recorded in the setting state management area, whether or not the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal is also determined during the game progress (at each start of fluctuation, at the time of game state switching, etc.). For this reason, the conditions for determining that there is a RAM abnormality related to the setting state management area and setting values during the game, and the RAM abnormality when the power is turned on (the work area within the game area excluding the setting state management area and setting values, and the The two conditions for determining that the work RAM is abnormal are different. Part of these two RAM abnormality determination conditions may be the same. For example, if it is determined whether the setting state management area and the set value are abnormal even when the power is turned on, it can be said that the two determination conditions are partly the same.

The reason why the RAM abnormality determination conditions are different is that if the RAM abnormality determination regarding the setting value is performed only when the power is turned on, if the setting value is changed due to fraud or malfunction due to noise, etc. This is because it is desirable to detect the abnormality at an early stage and shorten the period during which the disadvantage occurs, because the problem will be disadvantageous to the user.

In addition, by subroutineing the RAM abnormality determination processing related to the setting state management area and the set value during the game, the same program can be used in a plurality of ways by calling the subroutine and determining the RAM abnormality as necessary during the game progress. It is possible to reduce the size of the program without providing it in place.

Also, the setting state management area is not subject to RAM abnormality determination at power-on, but may be handled in the same manner as other areas of the main control RAM 1312 as a RAM abnormality determination subject. By setting the setting state management area as a RAM abnormality determination object at power-on, if the setting change mode is set before the power failure and the RAM abnormality is determined at the time of power recovery, the RAM abnormality is prioritized. Therefore, it is desirable to initialize the values recorded in the setting state management area if an abnormality (that is, a RAM abnormality) occurs in the setting state management area. In this case, the storage area in which the setting value is stored in the main control RAM 1312 may be a target for RAM abnormality determination at power-on or may be excluded from RAM abnormality determination.

In addition, regarding the order of priority in the determination at the time of turning on the power, the RAM abnormality has the highest priority, and the normal game state has the lowest priority. Furthermore, entering the setting change mode has a higher priority than entering the setting confirmation mode and executing RAM clear processing by a RAM clear operation. By executing the determination process in the order of priority of the derived states in this way, it is possible to accurately derive the state with the highest priority even when a plurality of conditions are satisfied after the power is restored.

FIG. 216 is a flow chart of the outside-game-area RAM checking process when the power is turned on. When the power is turned on, the outside game area RAM confirmation process is executed in step S2211 of the power on process (FIG. 213), and the abnormality outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 is determined.

First, the main control MPU 1311 stores the value of the stack pointer in the SP saving buffer outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2260), and sets the stack pointer value outside the game area value to the stack pointer (step S2261). , All the register values of the bank (bank 0 or bank 1) used in the calling process are stored in the register saving buffer outside the game area (step S2262). It should be noted that the stack area outside the game control area may be used as a save buffer for storing all registers in the process executed outside the game control area.

Then, it is determined whether or not the area outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 has already been initialized by turning on the power for the first time or the like (step S2263). Specifically, if the value of the power down check area (EX_PDIND) is 5AH, it can be determined that the area outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 has been initialized by turning on the power for the first time.

If the main control RAM 1312 has not been initialized, for example, by turning on the power for the first time, the process proceeds to step S2266 without executing steps S2264 to S2265. On the other hand, if the outside of the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 has been initialized by turning on the power for the first time, etc., the checksum outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 is calculated (step S2264), and whether the calculated checksum is normal is determined (step S2265).

If the calculated checksum is normal, the process proceeds to step S2267. On the other hand, if the calculated checksum is abnormal, the RAM abnormality determination result value (01H) is set in the RAM abnormality determination area outside the game area (step S2266), and the process proceeds to step S2271. In addition, RAM abnormality outside the game control area is determined at S2231 based on the value set in the RAM abnormality determination area outside the game area at S2266.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the checksum calculated in step S2265 is normal, the LED check timer is set to 5 seconds, the LED check timer is activated (step S2267), and the LED blink cycle timer is set to the blink cycle value (600 milliseconds) is set (step S2268), and the mode switching time (5 seconds) is set in the mode switching time timer (step S2269). The LED blinking cycle timer is a timer for blinking the upper two digits (or all four digits) of the base display 1317, and when the LED blinking cycle timer times out, it becomes one blinking cycle. The mode switching time timer is a timer for controlling mode switching in the base display 1317. When the mode switching time timer expires, the mode is switched to the base display mode.

Thereafter, the performance display monitor display management area is initialized by setting 0 (step S2270), and the process proceeds to step S2271.

After that, the power down check area is initialized to 00H (step S2271).

Then, all the register values of the bank (bank 0 or bank 1) used in the process of the calling source saved in the register save buffer outside the game area are restored (step S2272), and stored in the SP save buffer outside the game area. The saved stack pointer value is restored (step S2273), and the process returns to power-on processing.

FIG. 217 is a flow chart of the out-of-game area RAM abnormality processing. The RAM abnormality time process outside the game area is executed in step S2233 of the power-on process (FIG. 214), and the area outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 is initialized.

First, the main control MPU 1311 stores the value of the stack pointer in the SP saving buffer outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2280), sets the value of the stack pointer outside the game area to the stack pointer (step S2281), All the register values of the bank (bank 0 or bank 1) used in the calling process are stored in the register saving buffer outside the game area (step S2282). It should be noted that the stack area outside the game control area may be used as a save buffer for storing all registers in the process executed outside the game control area.

Then, the RWM initialization process outside the use area is executed to initialize the area outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2283). Details of the out-of-use area RWM initialization process will be described later with reference to FIG.

Thereafter, the RAM normality determination value (00H) is set in the outside game area RAM abnormality determination area (EX_RWMERROR) of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2284). Based on the value set in the RAM abnormality determination area outside the game area in step S2284, it is determined whether or not the outside of the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal in step S2231 when the power is turned on next time.

Then, the LED check timer is set to 5 seconds, the LED check timer is activated (step S2285), the blinking cycle value (600 milliseconds) is set to the LED blinking cycle timer (step S2286), and the mode switching timer is set to the mode switching time timer. A switching time (5 seconds) is set (step S2287). These timer values are initial settings for displaying base values on base display 1317 .

Then, all the register values saved in the register save buffer outside the game area (the register values of the bank (bank 0 or bank 1) used in the process of the calling source saved in step S2262) are restored (step S2288). , returns the stack pointer value saved in the SP save buffer outside the game area (step S2289), and returns to the power-on process of the caller.

FIG. 218 is a flow chart of RWM initialization processing outside the used area. The RWM initialization process outside the use area is executed in step S2283 of the RAM abnormality processing outside the game area, and initializes the area outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 .

First, the main control MPU 1311 initializes by writing 00H to the work area outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2290). And it initializes by writing 00H in the stack area outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2291). After that, it returns to the outside game area RAM abnormality processing.

FIG. 219 is a flowchart of power-on setting processing. The power-on setting process is a subroutine and is executed in step S2239 of the power-on process (FIG. 214) to perform initial settings when power is turned on.

First, the main control MPU 1311 creates a power-on operation command and sets the created command in the transmission information storage area (step S2300). As will be described later with reference to FIG. 220B, the power-on operation command is a 2-byte command that notifies the recording contents of the setting state management area. It is a value obtained by adding 1 to the area value.

Next, the bit corresponding to the setting key 971 and the bit corresponding to the setting change switch 972 in the input level data 2 area are set to 1, which is the initial value. Note that other bits should be set to 0 (step S2301). The reason why the bit corresponding to the setting key 971 and the bit corresponding to the setting change switch 972 in the input level data 2 area is set to 1 is that the bit of the switch is detected as 1 at the time of the next timer interrupt, and the ON edge is incorrect. This is to prevent it from being made

Next, the backup flag is cleared (step S2302).

After that, it is determined whether or not a value (00H) indicating a game-startable state is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2303). If no value indicating a game-startable state is recorded in the setting state management area, it is either the setting change mode, the setting confirmation mode, or the RAM is abnormal. Return to processing.

On the other hand, if a value (00H) indicating a game-startable state is recorded in the setting state management area, it is a state in which a normal game can be started. The area is initialized (step S2304).

Thereafter, a power-on state command is created, and the created command is stored in the transmission information storage area (step S2305). As shown in FIG. 220(C), the power-on state command is a command composed of 2 bytes, where the upper byte is 30H and the lower byte indicates the state before the power failure.

Then, a power-on recovery destination command is created, and the created command is set in the transmission information storage area (step S2306). As shown in FIG. 202(C), the power-on return destination command is a 2-byte command that notifies the game state related to special symbols. The state of the pattern and the operation state of the special electric accessory are shown. The power-on recovery destination command is sent once when the power is turned on.

Further, a setting value command is created, and the created command is set in the transmission information storage area (step S2307). The setting value command, as shown in FIG. 202(D), is a 2-byte command for notifying a setting value, where the upper byte indicates A1H and the lower byte indicates the setting value.

In addition to the power-on state command, the power-on return destination command, and the setting value command, a special symbol reserve number command indicating the number of reservations of the special symbol variation display game is transmitted, and the number of reservations is displayed on the main liquid crystal display device 1600. The state before the power failure may be restored. In addition, the order of transmission of the special symbol hold number command is to be transmitted during the transmission of these commands even after the transmission of the power-on state command, the power-on recovery destination command, and the setting value command, even before the transmission of these commands. may

After that, it returns to the calling process.

The power-on setting process is always executed regardless of whether the mode is the setting change mode. The power-on setting process is called from the setting process (FIG. 224) when it is detected that the setting key 971 is turned OFF and the setting change/confirmation process ends. At this time, 00H is recorded in the setting state management area, so all the processes from S2300 to S2307 are executed.

When executing the setting change/confirmation process, the power-on setting process is called from step S2239 of the power-on process and step S2355 of the setting process, so the power-on operation command is transmitted twice. On the other hand, if the setting change/confirmation process is not executed, the power-on operation command is transmitted once only by the power-on setting process called from step S2239 of the power-on process. The power-on operation command is sent to allow the peripheral control board 1510 to identify the state of the main control board 1310 (setting change mode, setting confirmation mode, RAM error, etc.). Peripheral control board 1510, upon receiving the command, performs notification corresponding to a setting change mode, a setting confirmation mode, a RAM abnormality, and the like.

In the setting/confirmation change mode, the setting adjustment function by the player (for example, the adjustment of the volume and brightness by operating the button provided on the door frame 3) is stopped, and the adjustment by the hall employee (peripheral board box 1520 adjustment of the volume and brightness by the volume provided in the device) may be effective. Specifically, the setting adjustment function by the player may be stopped until the power-on operation command indicating the normal game state is received.

In addition, in both the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode, the entire screen of the main liquid crystal display device 1600 may be used to display whether the setting change mode, the setting confirmation mode, or the RAM abnormal state. . In this case, a voice message may be output indicating whether the mode is the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode. Further, some or all of the lamps (which may include the lamps provided on the door frame 3) may be used for notification.

FIG. 220B is a diagram showing a configuration example of a power-on operation command. The power-on operation command is a command for notifying the recording contents of the setting state management area. Unlike the example shown in FIG. 202A, in Example 2, the lower byte becomes 04H when a RAM error occurs.

Specifically, the power-on operation command consists of 2 bytes, the upper byte being A0H, and the lower byte indicating the content recorded in the setting state management area. The value of the lower byte stores the value obtained by adding 1 to the value of the setting state management area. This is because the value of the setting state management area is 00H during a normal game, and therefore if the value sent as a command is 00H, it cannot be distinguished from a hardware error in which the output is 0. is set to 1.

Note that the power-on operation command is generated at least once in the power-on processing. Specifically, a command A001H or A004H is created once in response to a hot start, RAM clear, or RAM abnormality, and a command A002H or A003H is created in power-on processing in the setting change mode and setting confirmation mode. After that, it is generated twice as the A001H command, once upon completion of setting change/confirmation.

When the peripheral control board 1510 receives the power-on operation command, the above-mentioned Notification is performed in the manner in which the information is displayed (see FIG. 184). Although not shown in FIG. 184, the notification of the state in which the normal game can be started is performed by displaying a demo screen or performing a standby state to explain the contents of the game.

If the peripheral control board 1510 receives a game command during a normal game without receiving A001H as the power-on operation command, the game state may be inconsistent. It is determined to be invalid, and the game action (effect etc.) corresponding to the game command is not started. However, if a predetermined condition is met (for example, a game command during a normal game is continuously transmitted a predetermined number of times), there is a possibility that the peripheral control board 1510 has missed the power-on operation command (A001H). It is preferable to release the invalidation of the received game command and perform an effect corresponding to the game command.

In addition, in a state where the game commands are invalidated, an effect that satisfies a predetermined condition among the received game commands is performed (for example, the effect corresponding to the received command is performed for symbol movements, lamps, movable bodies, sounds, etc.). ), and the background of the display device or a predetermined lamp may be used to notify the occurrence of an inconsistency in the game state. Also, the fact that the game state is inconsistent may be notified with a low volume. This is because unless any effect is performed until a predetermined condition is met, a player who cannot understand the occurrence of an inconsistency in the game state will not start the special symbol variation display game even if he/she wins the start gate. This is to prevent troubles that may occur in the pachinko hall due to the pachinko machine 1 malfunctioning. In addition, even if the peripheral control board 1510 invalidates the game command, the main control board 1310 is executing normal game processing, so the function displays such as special symbols and normal symbols on the function display unit 1400 are normally displayed. be done.

FIG. 220C is a diagram showing a configuration example of a power-on status command. Unlike the example shown in FIG. 202B in the above-described embodiment, the power-on state command of example 2 defines four states of 01H, 02H, 03H, and 04H. That is, the power-on state command is a command for notifying whether or not a normal game can be started based on the contents recorded in the power-on state buffer, and for notifying the state before the power failure. For example, the power-on status command consists of 2 bytes. If the upper byte is 30H and the lower byte is 01H, it indicates that the main control RAM 1312 has been initialized to notify RAM clear. Also, if the lower byte is 02H, the state before the power failure is a low probability/non-time saving state, and the main control RAM 1312 returns without being initialized, indicating that the normal game can be started. Also, if the lower byte is 03H, the state before the power failure is a high probability/time saving state, and the main control RAM 1312 returns without being initialized, indicating that the normal game can be started. Also, if the lower byte is 04H, the state before the power failure is a low probability/time saving state, and the main control RAM 1312 returns without being initialized, indicating that the normal game can be started.

As described above, the power-on state buffer is a storage area for storing information on the game state at the time of the power failure in order to restore the state before the power failure occurred. , the value obtained by adding 1 to the value of the power-on state buffer is stored. For example, in the low-probability non-shortening of working hours, 1 is stored in the power-on state buffer, and 2 obtained by adding 1 to this value is stored in the power-on state command. Also, when the main control RAM 1312 is initialized, the power-on state buffer is 0, so the power-on state command stores 1 and can notify that the main control RAM 1312 has been initialized.

FIG. 221 is a flow chart of main control side main processing executed by the main control MPU 1311. FIG. The main control side main process is executed after step S2240 of the power-on process (FIG. 214).

First, the main control MPU 1311 acquires a power failure warning signal and determines whether a power failure has occurred based on whether the power failure warning signal is ON (step S2310). In another example 2, the power failure is monitored in the main process, but the power failure may be monitored in the timer interrupt process and the power failure process may be executed when the occurrence of the power failure is detected. For example, if the power failure warning signal is ON at least at the start and end of the timer interrupt, the period in which the power failure warning signal is continuously output is counted, and the count result reaches a predetermined value. It may be determined that a power outage has occurred in

If the power failure warning signal is not ON, the power is normally supplied, so random number update processing 2 is executed (step S2311). The random number update process 2 may be the same as that described in FIG. 195, and mainly updates random numbers other than the random numbers for judging winning in the special lottery or the ordinary lottery.

On the other hand, when a power failure warning signal is detected, power failure processing (steps S2312 to S2319) is executed. In the power failure process, a process of backing up data for returning to the state before the power failure occurred is executed. Specifically, first, the interrupt is prohibited (step S2312). As a result, timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is not performed. Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 clears the output ports and stops the operation of the devices controlled by the outputs from each port (step S2313). Specifically, the power failure clear signal OFF bit data is output to the solenoid/power failure clear/ACK output port. It should be noted that not all output ports need to be cleared. For example, output ports for controlling solenoids and motors that consume a large amount of power may be cleared. By clearing these output ports, it is possible to reduce the power consumption until the main-board-side power-off process is completed, and to ensure that the main-board-side power-off process is completed.

After that, the flag register is saved in the stack area within the game area (step S2314), the power OFF processing is executed, and necessary processing is executed before the power is cut off (step S2315). The details of the power-off processing will be described later with reference to FIG. Then, the flag register saved in the game area stack area is restored (step S2316).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 calculates the checksum of the work area in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 for determining whether the data stored in the work area to be backed up is held normally, It is stored in a predetermined checksum storage area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2317). This checksum is used to determine whether the data backed up in the work area is normal. In addition, the target area for which the checksum is calculated is the setting state management (set value and the value of the setting status management area), the backup flag, and the value of the checksum area.

Further, a value (5AH) indicating that the power failure processing has been normally executed is stored in the backup flag area as a power failure flag (step S2318). This completes the storage of the game backup information. Finally, write RAM protection valid (write prohibited) and prohibited area invalid to the RAM protect register, prohibit writing to a predetermined area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2319), and wait until recovery from power failure. (infinite loop). The main control MPU 1311 has a function of designating a use area of the main control RAM 1312 and determining that an abnormality has occurred and resetting when a prohibited area other than the designated area is accessed. Therefore, by invalidating the prohibited area of the RAM protect register, the reset function by accessing the main control RAM 1312 is canceled (not reset), and access to the entire area is enabled. It should be noted that even if an unused area of the main control RAM 1312 is designated as a prohibited area, the prohibited area is enabled, and access to the designated prohibited area is detected, the main control MPU 1311 is reset. good.

FIG. 222 is a flowchart of processing when the power is turned off. The power-off processing is executed in step S2315 of the main control-side main processing (FIG. 221), and executes necessary processing before the power is turned off.

First, the main control MPU 1311 stores the value of the stack pointer in the SP saving buffer outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2320), sets the value of the stack pointer outside the game area to the stack pointer (step S2321), All register values are stored in the register saving buffer outside the game area (step S2322).

Subsequently, the checksum outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 is calculated and stored in the outside game area checksum storage area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2323). After that, 5AH is set in the power down check area (EX_PDIND), and it is recorded that the RAM area outside the game area of the main control RAM 1312 has been initialized (step S2324). If 5AH is recorded in the power down check area, the power failure process has been executed normally. In this sense, the power down check area and the RAM backup flag in the game control area are substantially the same. Since the power failure process is normally executed, it is already determined that the area outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 is normal, and as a result, if 5AH is set in the power down check area, the main control The initialization of the area outside the game control area of the RAM 1312 has been completed.

Thus, in the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, two types of flags indicating that the power failure process has been normally executed are provided in the game control area and outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, respectively. . This is because it is determined twice in the game control area and outside the game control area, and since one storage area is not shared between the inside of the game control area and the outside of the game control area, This is because it is desirable to process. For example, if there is only one flag indicating that power failure processing has been performed normally, 5AH is erroneously set to the flag, and if power failure processing is not performed and the power is restored, it is mistakenly assumed that power failure processing has been performed normally. determined by This double determination reduces the possibility of erroneous determination.

Furthermore, the two flags should be provided in separate areas (for example, areas where the lower bytes (**00H to **FFH) or the upper bytes (00**H or 01**H) of addresses do not overlap). Even if the data is rewritten due to a problem such as noise, it can be restored correctly.

Then, all the register values of the bank (bank 0 or bank 1) used in the process of the calling source, saved in the register save buffer outside the game area, are restored (step S2325), and stored in the SP save buffer outside the game area. The saved stack pointer value is restored (step S2326), and the caller is returned.

FIG. 223 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing executed by the main control MPU 1311. FIG.

First, the main control MPU 1311 sets the register bank selection flag to 1 and switches the register bank (step S2330). The main control MPU 1311 has two register groups used for calculation, one of which is used as a bank 0 register group, and the other can be used as a bank 1 register group, and bank switching is performed. Both banks of registers cannot be used without Register bank 0 is used in main control side main processing, and register bank 1 is used in timer interrupt processing. Therefore, an instruction to switch the bank to 1 is executed at the start of timer interrupt processing, but it is not necessary to execute an instruction to switch the bank to 0 at the end of timer interrupt processing. This is because the main control MPU 1311 stores the state of the bank in a flag register (for example, a register in which the Z flag and the C flag are set), and the flag register is saved in the stack area at the start of an interrupt, and the RET It returns from the stack area by executing an instruction. Therefore, by executing the RET instruction, the bank flag of the register stored in the flag register is restored. If a configuration is adopted in which the state of the bank is not stored in the flag register, the bank switching instruction is executed at the end of the timer interrupt process to restore bank 0. FIG.

Since the flag register also stores a flag for controlling whether or not to enable interrupts, it is not necessary to execute the RET instruction after enabling interrupts. Note that the flag that controls whether or not an interrupt is enabled is set to an interrupt disabled state after the flag register is stacked at the start of timer interrupt processing. Therefore, unless an interrupt is permitted (EI instruction, etc.) or a RETI instruction is executed during timer interrupt processing, the interrupt enabled state is not entered.

Next, the LED common counter is updated by +1. If the LED common counter value exceeds the upper limit, it is set to 0 (step S2331).

Next, switch input processing 1 is executed (step S2332). In switch input processing 1, various signals input to input terminals of various input ports of the main control MPU 1311 are read, ON edges are created, and stored in the input information storage area of the main control RAM 1312 as input information.

Note that switch input processing 1 in step S2332 is processing related to winning signals, and switch input processing 2 in step S2080 of FIG. Therefore, in the timer interrupt process executed in the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode, NO is determined in step S2335, so winning is detected, but fraud by the fraud detection sensor is not detected. Note that even if winning is detected, prize ball payout, variable display, etc. are not executed. This is because the setting change operation and the setting confirmation operation are performed by hall employees, and it is considered desirable that fraud is not performed in the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode, and that fraud is not detected. For example, since settings are changed or checked while the door is open, the door frame 3 and main body frame 4, which are connected to the outer frame 2 by the hinge members, are likely to sway. Vibration may be falsely detected. Therefore, such erroneous reporting can be prevented by stopping fraud detection by the fraud detection sensor in the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode. In addition, hall employees have magnets to collect balls that have fallen on the floor, which can prevent false alarms from the magnets held by employees when changing or confirming settings. That is, the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment has means for invalidating (or restricting, regulating, suppressing, etc.) fraud detection, and after shifting to normal game processing (for example, initial setting processing at power-on) ), the fraud detection is enabled, and in a specific gaming state (for example, during the setting process), the means disables (or limits, regulates, suppresses, etc.) the fraud detection.

Note that even in the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode, some fraud detection sensors (for example, radio wave sensors) may detect in the switch input process 1 and monitor specific types of fraud. In this way, it is possible to detect fraud in which a person (goto master) who tries to commit a fraudulent act forcibly activates the setting change mode by emitting radio waves or the like.

Subsequently, random number update processing 1 is executed (step S2333). In the random number update process 1, the random number for judging a big hit, the random number for a big hit design, and the random number for a small hit design are updated. Also, in addition to these random numbers, for changing the initial value of the random number for determining the jackpot symbol and the random number for determining the minor symbol to be updated in the random number update process 2 of the main control side main process shown in FIG. Update the random number for initial value determination. In the timer interrupt process shown in FIG. 223, the random number is updated even when executing the setting process for changing the set value. This is because the hardware random numbers that determine wins and losses are updated regardless of whether settings are being changed or settings are being checked. By updating even during the process of setting change and setting confirmation, inconsistency between hardware random numbers and software random numbers is unlikely to occur, and the expected value of the performance in the game and the expected value of the expected value that leads to the big win at the time of a specific performance. It is possible to suppress the divergence from

Thereafter, the set value confirmation process (FIG. 215) is executed to determine whether the set value is within the normal range (step S2334). The set value confirmation process is periodically executed in the timer interrupt process. When switching, at the start or end of a jackpot game, at the start or end of a time-saving state), at the time of fraud detection (for example, when the door is opened, when magnetism is detected). Resource consumption of the main control MPU 1311 can be suppressed by judging when a specific condition is satisfied, even if the judgment is not performed regularly in a short period as in the execution of timer interrupt processing.

Then, it is determined whether or not a value (00H) indicating the start of the game is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2335). By checking the value of the setting status management area after the setting value checking process (step S2334, FIG. 215), if the setting value is determined to be abnormal, the value of the setting status management area can be checked immediately after (S2335). It is controlled so that normal game processing is not executed. If a value indicating game start is recorded in the setting state management area, the process proceeds to step S2080 in FIG. On the other hand, if the value indicating the game start is not recorded in the setting state management area, the LED common port is turned off (step S2336). By turning off the LED common signal at an early stage of the timer interrupt processing, the time until the LED common signal turns on, that is, the LED extinguishing time is secured, and the ghost phenomenon in which the display before and after the LED display switching appears mixed. to prevent flickering of the LED.

Thereafter, a security signal is output from the external terminal board 784 (step S2337), and the flag register is saved in the game area stack area (step S2338). Then, the test signal output process is executed to output the test signal (step S2339). Then, the flag register is saved in the game area stack area (step S2340). Before and after the execution of the processing for outputting the test signal is started, the stack pointer and the register are saved in the same manner as other processing outside the game area, and are restored after the processing is completed. Since the test signal processing does not control the progress of the game, it is executed as processing outside the game control area. It should be noted that the test signal processing may be executed as processing within the game control area if it does not affect the game even if it is executed as processing within the game control area. When the test signal processing is executed as processing within the game control area, saving and restoring the flag register (steps S2337, S2340) executed before and after the test signal output processing (step S2339) becomes unnecessary.

Then, setting processing is executed (step S2341). Details of the setting process will be described later with reference to FIG.

Thereafter, setting display processing is executed (step S2342). Details of the setting display processing will be described later with reference to FIG.

Further, peripheral board command transmission processing for outputting the value of the transmission information storage area to the serial communication circuit is executed (step S2343). The transmission information storage area is a storage area that temporarily stores the generated transmission command. The value (command) stored in the transmission information storage area is read at step 2070 and stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit (SIO). The serial communication circuit has a multi-byte FIFO format transmission information storage area. This transmission information storage area stores a command generated each time a command is generated, and the values (commands) stored in the transmission information storage area are sequentially transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 . It should be noted that each time a command is generated, the generated command may be directly stored in the FIFO format transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit.

Thereafter, a predetermined value (18H) is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL to clear the watchdog timer (step S2344). Since the watchdog timer uses the simple clear mode, the watchdog timer is cleared by setting one word. Thereafter, a return instruction (for example, RETI) switches the bank of the register (step S2345), and returns to the processing before the interrupt.

The processing after it is determined in step S2335 that the value indicating the start of the game is recorded in the setting state management area is the same as the processing described above with reference to FIG. After executing the output data setting process in step S2091, the process proceeds to step S2343 in FIG.

FIG. 224 is a flowchart of setting processing. The setting process is executed in step S2341 of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 223) when the setting state management area does not indicate the normal game state (00H), and mainly executes the process of changing the set value.

First, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether a value (03H) indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2350). If a value indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, a power-on command is created (step S2351), and the process returns to the calling source.

As a result, in the case of a RAM abnormality, the power-on operation command (A004H) indicating the RAM abnormality is transmitted at each timer interrupt until the RAM abnormality is cleared. This is because if the power-on operation command indicating the RAM abnormality is sent only once, the RAM abnormality notification will not be sent again if the command is missing, so the peripheral control board 1510 cannot know the state of the gaming machine. is. Also, since the function display unit 1400 is completely turned off, if the peripheral control board 1510 does not know the state of the game machine, the abnormality notification will not be performed. In addition, when the RAM is abnormal, the game is not played, so commands other than the power-on operation command are not transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510. Therefore, as long as the RAM abnormality continues, the power-on operation command is repeatedly transmitted. are doing.

That is, the pachinko machine of the present embodiment is triggered by execution of regular processing (timer interrupt processing) that is executed every predetermined period in commands of the same system (for example, operation command at power-on), and executes a predetermined number of times (for example, , 1, 2, 3, etc.), and the second case, in which the number of times is not limited during operation of the pachinko machine and is repeatedly transmitted in a predetermined cycle. In the second case, the same command is repeatedly transmitted regardless of whether the peripheral control board 1510 has received it correctly, and other game-related commands are not transmitted when the normal game is stopped. is the command to be sent.

When peripheral control board 1510 receives a command regarding RAM abnormality, it notifies about RAM abnormality. Even if the same command is received again during the RAM abnormality notification, it is preferable to invalidate the received command regarding the RAM abnormality and continue the current notification. By invalidating the subsequent command, for example, it is possible to prevent the voice notification from being repeated from the beginning, and the normal notification can be performed.

Commands related to RAM abnormality may always be the same, but may differ depending on the timing of transmission. Command consistency may be determined by changing a command related to a RAM abnormality depending on the timing of transmission. For example, by setting the power-on operation command (A004H) that is transmitted when the RAM is abnormal when the power is turned on and the power-on operation command (A005H) that is transmitted when the RAM is abnormal during a normal timer interrupt. When the peripheral control board 1510 receives the power-on command (A005H) after the power-on command (A004H), it can determine that the RAM abnormality at power-on continues. On the other hand, when the power-on command (A005H) is received without receiving the power-on command (A004H), after the power is restored (for example, during normal play), the setting values recorded in the main control RAM 1312 and the setting state management area can be determined to be abnormal. In this way, the notification mode can be made different for each of the two determined states. For example, if the RAM abnormality continues at the time of power-on, it is possible to notify that the RAM is abnormal, and if the RAM abnormality occurs after the power is restored, it is possible to notify that the setting value is abnormal.

It should be noted that while the RAM abnormality is being notified, the player's setting adjustment function (for example, adjustment of volume and brightness by operating buttons provided on the door frame 3) may be stopped. This is because the setting adjustment operation by the player during the RAM abnormality notification is considered to be an erroneous operation. Specifically, the setting adjustment function by the player may be stopped until the power-on operation command indicating the normal game state is received.

When it is determined that the RAM is abnormal, the setting process is repeatedly executed, so that the process related to the special design and the normal design is not executed, and the game cannot be played at all. This RAM abnormality can be corrected by turning off the power once, executing power failure processing, and then, when turning on the power again, by operating the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 to activate the setting change mode. Then, the RAM abnormality is resolved. Then, by returning the setting key 971 to its original state, the setting change mode is terminated and the normal game can be started.

When the power is turned on again, if an operation other than starting the setting change mode is performed with the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954, the value (03H) indicating RAM abnormality in the setting state management area is maintained. The RAM abnormal state continues and the normal game cannot be started. In other words, in order to eliminate the RAM abnormality and return to the normal game state, it is necessary to go through the setting change mode.

On the other hand, if no value indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, it is determined whether the setting key 971 has returned to the OFF position (step S2352). Specifically, it detects the edge of the setting key 971 from ON to OFF, or whether a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the ON to OFF change.

When it is determined that the setting key 971 has returned to the OFF position (it is determined that the setting change or setting confirmation is completed), the security signal output timer is set for the output time (step S2353), and the setting state management area is initialized (step S2353). S2354), the power-on setting process shown in FIG. 219 is executed (step S2355), and the process returns to the calling process.

When an operation to terminate the setting change mode (turning off the setting key 971) is performed, by setting an output time value in the security signal output timer, the delay time until the security signal is turned off after the setting change mode is terminated can be set. establish. Therefore, even if the setting change mode or setting confirmation mode ends in a short time (for example, within one timer interrupt process), the shortest output signal of the security signal is set to the security signal output timer as the output time value. This ensures that the hall computer can reliably detect the security signal.

Further, when fraud is detected during the delay time until the security signal is turned off, it is preferable to output the security signal for a period or time corresponding to the newly detected fraud while maintaining the security signal.

In addition, if a power failure occurs during the delay time until the security signal turns OFF, when the hot start is performed in the normal game state when the power is restored, the security signal for the remaining time is output, and when the RAM is cleared by operating the RAM clear switch Alternatively, when the RAM is cleared by setting change, the security signal for the remaining time is not output. This is because the security signal output timer value is reset by the initialization of the main control RAM 1312, and the output of the security signal accompanying the initialization of the main control RAM 1312 is started.

When the power is turned on after a power failure occurs while the security signal is being output, one of five patterns of hot start, RAM clear, setting change mode, setting confirmation mode, and RAM abnormal state continuation occurs.

When shifting to the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode, the activated mode ends and the security signal is output until the delay time elapses. If the RAM abnormality continues, a security signal is output due to the continued RAM abnormality because the setting change operation has not been performed even after the power is restored. If the setting change mode or setting confirmation mode ends and power failure occurs before the delay time elapses, or in the case of a hot start after the power is restored, the security signal is output for the remaining time.

Even if the security signal is continuously output, the output of the security signal is stopped by the power-on reset signal when the power is turned on, and after a predetermined time (for example, during the startup wait time of the peripheral control board 1510), the timer interrupt process starts. After the transition, output of the security signal resumes. That is, in the following cases, even when the security signal is continuously output after a power failure occurs while the security signal is being output, there is provided a period during which the output of the security signal is stopped for a predetermined period after the power is restored.
・When the power is restored by hot start after a power failure occurs while security signals are being output due to fraud detection, etc. ・After a power failure occurs while security signals are being output due to a RAM error, the power is restored and the RAM error continues. - After a power failure occurs while security signals are being output in setting change mode, the power is restored and the setting change mode continues. In this way, even if the security signal continues to be output after a power failure occurs while the security signal is being output, the output of the security signal should be stopped for a predetermined period after the power is restored. , it is possible to determine whether there is an abnormality in the security signal on the hall computer side or whether the state accompanying the output of the security signal has been canceled.

In the setting confirmation mode in which only the setting key 971 is operated, the security signal is output until the setting confirmation mode ends regardless of the remaining time for which the security signal is output. Stop outputting the security signal after the elapse. Also, in the setting change mode in which the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are operated, it is preferable to perform the same processing as in the setting confirmation mode.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2352 that the setting key 971 has not returned to the OFF position, it is determined whether a value (02H) indicating a setting change is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2356). If it is determined to be in mode, it is determined whether the setting change switch 972 has been operated (step S2357). Note that the setting change switch 972 may be configured to be used also as the RAM clear switch 954 . As a result, if it is determined that a value indicating a setting change is recorded in the setting state management area and that the setting change switch 972 has been operated, the setting value is updated by +1 (step S2358). If the set value exceeds the upper limit of 6, it is set to 0 (steps S2359 and S2360). After that, it returns to the calling process.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the value indicating the setting change is not recorded in the setting state management area (that is, the setting confirmation mode is set) or the setting change switch 972 is not operated, the setting value is updated. return to the calling process.

When determining whether the setting change switch 972 has been operated (immediately before or after), it may be determined whether the setting key 971 has been turned ON. In this way, if the operation of the setting key 971 is determined when the setting change switch 972 is operated, even if the setting change mode is in effect at the time of power failure and the setting key 971 is not turned ON at the time of recovery from the power failure, the setting change switch 972 is turned on. It is possible to prevent the setting from being changed by an operation.

FIG. 225 is a flowchart of setting display processing executed by the main control MPU 1311. FIG. The setting display process is executed in step S2342 of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 223) when the setting state management area does not indicate the normal game state (00H), and the process of displaying the setting value is executed.

First, the main control MPU 1311 clears the LED segment port (step S2370).

Then, it is determined whether a value (03H) indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2371). If no value indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, the output of the segment terminal of the LED is set so that the current setting value is displayed on the base display 1317 (step S2372). On the other hand, if a value indicating RAM abnormality is recorded in the setting state management area, the output of the segment terminal of the LED is set so that the error is displayed on the base display 1317 (step S2373).

After that, an LED common signal corresponding to the LED common counter is output (step S2374), and the driver is driven to output display data (segment signal) corresponding to the set value or error display to the base display 1317 (step S2375). , return to the calling process.

[12-18. Another example 3 of setting change/confirmation process]
Next, another embodiment of a pachinko machine having a setting change function will be described. In another example 3 described below, the main difference from the above-described example 2 is that timer interrupt processing for setting change processing is provided separately from timer interrupt processing for normal games. Processes other than those described below are the same as those of Example 2 described above.

In addition, in Example 3, as in Example 2, the setting value can be selected by operating the RAM clear switch 954 without providing the setting change switch 972. In order to distinguish between the initialization function and the setting change function, the setting change switch 972 may be used to describe the operation for changing the setting value.

226 and 227 are flowcharts of power-on processing executed by the main control MPU 1311 when power is turned on.

First, the main control MPU 1311 starts processing from address 8000, which is the starting address of the program code, when the reset signal is released by turning on the power. The protection invalidity and prohibited area invalidation of the main control RAM 1312 are set in the RAM protection register (step S2400). The main control MPU 1311 has a function of designating a use area of the main control RAM 1312 and determining that an abnormality has occurred and resetting when a prohibited area other than the designated area is accessed. In this example 3, in order to cancel the reset function by accessing the prohibited area of the main control RAM 1312, the prohibited area is set to be invalid to enable access to the entire area of the main control RAM 1312. FIG. It should be noted that even if an unused area of the main control RAM 1312 is designated as a prohibited area, the prohibited area is enabled, and access to the designated prohibited area is detected, the main control MPU 1311 is reset. good.

That is, in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, when the power is turned on while the RAM clear switch 954 is operated, the predetermined area of the main control RAM 1312 is immediately initialized. However, if the checksum does not match or if the backup flag is not set normally, the function of the game machine is stopped as a RAM error, and the setting change operation is not performed after the game cannot be played. Then, the main control RAM 1312 is not initialized and the game is controlled so as not to be executed.

Therefore, if the prohibited area of the RAM protection register is set to valid, a reset occurs due to erroneous access to the prohibited area of the RAM due to a malfunction or defect. Since the power failure process has not been executed, the checksum has not been calculated, and the backup flag has not been set, it is determined that the RAM is abnormal. If it is determined that there is a RAM abnormality, not only is the game initialized by RAM clearing processing, but the game cannot be restarted unless the hall employee performs a RAM abnormality cancellation operation (setting change operation), so the RAM protect register is prohibited. It is desirable to set the area to "disabled".

Note that the prohibited area may be set valid. By setting the prohibited area to valid, if the prohibited area of the main control RAM 1312 is accessed illegally, etc., the game cannot be restarted unless the hall clerk performs a RAM abnormality release operation (setting change operation). can improve resistance to fraud.

Next, a simple clear mode timer of a predetermined time is set in the watchdog timer (step S2401), and the watchdog timer is cleared (step S2402). After that, the power failure clear signal is set to ON (step S2403), and the power failure clear signal is set to OFF (step S2404). By setting the power failure clear signal to ON and then to OFF, the power failure warning signal stored in the latch can be set to a normal state (not a power failure state).

Next, the signal levels of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are read from the PF port and stored in the register (step S2405). Since the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 have been operated after the peripheral control board 1510 has certainly started up, the hall If the employee of the hall erroneously interrupts the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971, the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 are determined in a state unintended by the hall employee. Therefore, the input states (levels) of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 are stored in a register or the like as temporary storage means at an early stage after the start of power-on processing, and the standby state of the peripheral control board 1510 is terminated. By judging the states of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 stored later in a register or the like, which is a temporary storage means, even if the hall employee erroneously interrupts the key operation at an early stage after the power is turned on. , the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 or the setting key 971 when the power is turned on is reliably detected.

After that, it is determined whether or not the power failure warning signal indicates power failure (step S2406). If the power failure warning signal is detected, the power supply voltage of the pachinko machine is not normal, so the system waits until the power supply voltage stabilizes in step S2406. Since the watchdog timer is not cleared in the loop of step S2406, the watchdog timer is reset unless the power failure is canceled. This reset by the watchdog timer immediately starts the program from the start address without executing a security check like the system reset, and executes the power-on processing. Therefore, the loop of step S2406 is not exited until the power failure warning signal is canceled.

In this way, the power failure determination process for detecting the power failure warning signal is performed in steps S2406 and S2408 during the power-on process, and in step S2450 of the main control side main process during the normal game. running in place. In the latter (step S2450), power failure processing is executed after step S2462 by detecting a power failure, but in the former (steps S2406 and 2408), power failure processing is not performed even if a power failure is detected. Since the checksum value and the backup flag value are maintained during the loop period, the state at the time of the power failure can be restored correctly without executing power failure processing.

The reset in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment includes a system reset generated by the reset circuit and a user reset generated by access outside the designated area of the watchdog timer or the game control RAM 1312 . A system reset launches a program after security checks are performed for several hundred milliseconds, while a user reset launches the program immediately without performing security checks when the reset is released.

Therefore, for example, if a watchdog timer resets during normal game processing, the power failure processing is not executed, the checksum is not calculated, and the backup flag is not set, so it is determined that the RAM is abnormal. be. When it is determined that the RAM is abnormal, the game state is initialized by RAM clear processing, and the game cannot be restarted unless the hall clerk performs a RAM abnormality release operation (setting change operation). On the other hand, in steps S2406 and S2408 during power-on processing, even if a reset occurs due to the watchdog timer, the hall clerk does not perform the RAM abnormality cancellation operation (setting change operation), and the state at the time of the power failure is correctly restored. can return.

Thus, regarding the reset generated by the watchdog timer, the setting change operation for canceling the RAM abnormality is required in order to restart the pachinko machine 1, and the case where it is not required is usually provided. When the watchdog timer resets during the game, it is when a software problem occurs, the data stored in the main control RAM 1312 is destroyed, and the contents different from the game state at the time of the power failure are stored. Therefore, it is desirable to initialize the main control RAM 1312. On the other hand, the occurrence of a reset by the watchdog timer in the power-on processing occurs when a hardware failure occurs, and the possibility of destroying the data stored in the main control RAM 1312 is low. This is because there is little need to convert

Although the reset generated by the watchdog timer has been described above, similar processing is performed for other types of user resets than the reset generated by the watchdog timer. That is, the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment has a plurality of reset factors, and the above-described processing can be executed by a reset (for example, a user reset by a watchdog timer) caused by one of the reset factors.

Thereafter, a sub activation wait timer (for example, about 2 seconds) is started, the watchdog timer is continuously cleared until the timer times out, and activation of the peripheral control board 1510 is waited for (step S2407). Waiting for activation of the peripheral control board 1510 may be any period from when the power is turned on until the first command is sent to the peripheral control board 1510, even if it is not after the setting value is determined.

After that, it is determined again whether the power failure warning signal indicates power failure (step S2408). If the power failure warning signal is detected, the power supply voltage of the pachinko machine 1 is abnormal, so the system waits in step S2408. It should be noted that the determination of whether the power failure warning signal indicates a power failure may be made in either step S2406 or S2408 instead of in both.

After that, the setting value confirmation process shown in FIG. 215 is executed to determine whether the setting value is within the normal range (step S2409).

Thereafter, the flag register is saved in the stack area within the game control area (step S2410), and the power-on time RAM confirmation process outside the game area shown in FIG. (Step S2411). Then, the flag register saved in the stack area within the game control area is restored (step S2412).

Thereafter, the RAM abnormality determination result value is temporarily set in the C register (step S2413), and the RAM abnormality value (03H) in the setting state management area is temporarily set in the B register (step S2414).

The value set in the setting state management area in Example 3 is different from that shown in FIG. 03H is recorded. That is, the setting state management area of example 3 is a 1-byte storage area in which the operation mode of the pachinko machine 1 is recorded, and for example, the lower 4 bits are used and the upper 4 bits are not defined. Specifically, 00H is recorded in the normal game state, 01H in the setting confirmation mode, 02H in the setting change mode, and 03H if there is an abnormality in the main control RAM 1312 .

The setting state management area is not updated to 00H by the RAM clearing process by operating only the RAM clear switch 954, and the current value is maintained. Further, when the setting confirmation mode ends, the value is updated from 01H to 00H, and when the setting change mode ends, the value is updated from 02H to 00H. Furthermore, if the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal, the setting change mode is entered by the setting change operation at the next power-on, the setting change mode is updated from 03H to 02H, and the setting change mode is terminated from 02H to 00H.

Further, it is determined whether or not there is an abnormality in the main control RAM 1312 (steps S2415 and S2416). Specifically, the checksum calculated and stored from the data used as the game control area (excluding the data saved in the stack) among the areas backed up in the built-in RAM 1312 at the time of the previous power shutdown, The checksum calculated using the same area is compared, and if the two are different, it is determined that the main control RAM 1312 has an abnormality. Also, if the value of the power failure flag indicating that the backup has been performed normally (the power failure processing has been performed normally) is not stored in the backup flag area, the data in the main control RAM 1312 is normally backed up when the power failure occurs. It is determined that the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal (power-off processing is not normally executed).

Then, if there is an abnormality in either the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 or outside the game control area, the process proceeds to step S2419. On the other hand, if there is no abnormality in the game control area and outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, the RAM normality determination result value is provisionally set in the C register (step S2417), and the information in the setting state management area is transferred to the B register. (step S2418) and proceeds to step S2219. As a result, the determination result of whether or not the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal is set in the C register. Therefore, in the subsequent processing, the RAM abnormality is determined as the determination of "RAM abnormality" and "game state before power failure". There is no need to re-execute processing (processing for determining whether checksums and backup flags match), and the size of the program can be reduced.

In addition, in the B register, the value of the setting state management area at the time of power failure or the determination result (RAM abnormal value) of the main control RAM 1312 at the time of power restoration is set, and the RAM abnormal value is provisionally set in the setting state management area in step S2419. By setting this, unnecessary processing can be deleted and the size of the program can be reduced. For example, if the RAM abnormal value is not provisionally set in the setting state management area in step S2419, and if YES is determined in steps S2423 and S2424, the RAM abnormal value is set in the setting state management area and step S2436 is performed. It is necessary to execute a JUMP instruction to However, since the RAM abnormal value has already been temporarily set in the setting state management area in step S2419, by designating S2436 as the JUMP destination at the time of determination in step S2423, as shown in the source code example illustrated below, the JUMP Order can be reduced.

Source code example when RAM abnormal value is not temporarily set in step S2419
AND A,30H ;S2420
CP A,30H ;S2421 (bit5: setting key, bit4: RAM clear SW)
JR Z, RESET_P_6 ;

CP B,02H ;S2422
JR Z, RESET_P_6 ;

CP C,00H ;S2423
JR Z,$111 ;
$000:
LD W,03H ;Equivalent to S2419
LD (VALID_PALY), W ;
JR S2436 ;Jump instruction to S2436
$111:
CP B,03H ;S2424
JR Z,$000 ;

XOR W,W ;S2425
LD (VALID_PALY), W ;
Example of source code when temporary setting of RAM abnormal value in step S2419
LD W,03H ;S2419
LD (VALID_PALY), W ;
AND A,30H ;S2420
CP A,30H ;S2421
JR Z, RESET_P_6 ;

CP B,02H ;S2422
JR Z, RESET_P_6 ;

CP C,00H ;S2423
JR NZ,S2436 ;

CP B,03H ;S2424
JR Z,S2436 ;

XOR W,W ;S2425
LD (VALID_PALY), W ;

After that, in step S2419, a value (03H) indicating RAM abnormality is temporarily recorded in the setting state management area (step S2419).

Then, among the register values in which the values of the PF ports are recorded, the bits of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are masked (step S2420). After that, it is determined using the values stored in the register whether the setting key 971 is turned ON and the RAM clear switch 954 is turned ON when the power is turned on (step S2421). If the setting key 971 is turned ON and the RAM clear switch 954 is turned ON, it is determined that a setting change operation has been performed, and the process proceeds to step S2430.

On the other hand, if the setting key 971 has not been operated and the RAM clear switch 954 has not been operated, it is determined whether the setting change mode was set when the power failure occurred (step S2422). For example, when the value of the B register set in step S2418 is the setting change mode (02H), it is determined that a power failure occurred during the setting change mode.

Then, when it is determined that a power failure has occurred during the setting change mode, the process proceeds to step S2430.

On the other hand, when it is determined that a power failure has not occurred during the setting change mode, it is determined whether there is an abnormality within the game control area and outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2423). For example, using the determination result stored in the C register in step S2413 described above, it is possible to determine an abnormality in the game control area. As a result, if there is an abnormality either inside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 or outside the game control area, the process proceeds to step S2436.

On the other hand, if there is no abnormality in the game control area and outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, it is determined whether a power failure occurred during RAM abnormality processing (step S2424). For example, if the value of the setting state management area set in the B register in S2418 is a value (03H) indicating RAM abnormality, it is determined that a power failure occurred during RAM abnormality processing.

Then, when it is determined that a power failure has occurred during the RAM abnormality processing, the process proceeds to step S2436. On the other hand, when it is determined that a power failure has not occurred during the RAM abnormality processing, a value (00H) indicating the normal game state is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2425). By recording 00H in the setting state management area in step S2425, the value (03H) indicating the RAM abnormality temporarily recorded in the setting state management area in step S2419 is reset to 00H as a temporary setting value. Also, by recording 00H in the setting state management area in step S2425, the values in the setting state management area differ when jumping from steps S2426 and S2431 to step S2435. Therefore, since the value of the setting state management area differs between the normal RAM clearing process and the RAM clearing process associated with the setting change process, even if the same program is used for both RAM clearing processes, the calling source cannot be distinguished. , there is no need to provide a separate program, and the program size can be reduced.

As shown in the source code example exemplified below, at the timing of step S2425, it is not determined whether 01H or 00H is recorded in the setting state management area. The determined value should be set in the setting state management area at the time of determination, but in that case, 00H is set in the setting state management area after the RAM clearing process when it is determined that the RAM clear switch 954 is turned ON. A recording process is required. Therefore, since the contents of processing are different between the power-on processing and the RAM clear processing at the time of setting change, dedicated processing is required for each portion other than the processing for initializing the main control RAM 1312 . Therefore, 00H is provisionally set in step S2425 in order to share the processing for initializing the main control RAM 1312 when the setting is changed and when only the RAM clear switch 954 is operated.

Source code example when 00H is not temporarily set in the setting state management area in step S2425
CP A,10H ;S2426 (PF port information is stored in A register)
JR NZ,$000 ;(bit5: setting key bit4: RAM clear SW)

LD A,(JOTAI_BF) ;S2427
LD (POWER_BF),A ;

CP A,20H ;S2428
JR NZ,$111 ;

LD W,01H ;S2429
LD (VALID_PALY), W ;
JR S2436;

$000:
XOR W,W ;Equivalent to S2425
LD (VALID_PALY), W ;
JR S2435 ;increase

$111:
XOR W,W ;increment
LD (VALID_PALY),W ;increase
JR S2436 ;increase

S2430:
LD W,02H ;S2430
LD (VALID_PALY), W ;
・・・・
S2435:
[RAM clear processing] ;S2435
S2436:
[Initialize all command buffers] ;S2436
Source code example when 00H is provisionally set in the setting state management area in step S2425
XOR W,W ;S2425
LD (VALID_PALY), W ;

CP A,10H ;S2426
JR NZ,S2435 ;

LD A,(JOTAI_BF) ;S2427
LD (POWER_BF),A ;

CP A,20H ;S2428
JR Z,S2436 ;

LD W,01H ;
LD (VALID_PALY), W ;
JR S2436;
S2430:
LD W,02H ;S2430
LD (VALID_PALY), W ;
・・・・
S2435:
[RAM clear processing] ;S2435
S2436:
[Initialize all command buffers] ;S2436

Thereafter, it is determined using the value stored in the register whether or not the RAM clear switch 954 was turned ON when the power was turned on (step S2426). Then, if the RAM clear switch 954 has been turned ON, the process proceeds to step S2435.

In the pachinko machine of this embodiment, processing is distributed based on the operation of the RAM clear switch 954, the operation of the setting key 971, and the values recorded in the setting state management area. For example, when it is determined that the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal, 03H is recorded in the setting state management area, and 03H is maintained until the power is cut off, so normal game processing cannot be executed. At this time, the RAM abnormality can be canceled by turning off the power supply, changing the settings, and turning on the power supply. That is, if it is determined in step S2421 that both the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 have been operated (setting change operation), the setting status management area changes from the value indicating RAM abnormality (03H) to the value indicating setting change. It is updated to (02H) (step S2430), and the RAM abnormal state ends. In this way, the recovery from the RAM abnormality is supposed to go through the setting change without fail. In other words, since it is determined whether a setting change operation has been performed before it is determined whether the state at the time of power failure is RAM abnormality, the RAM abnormality can be resolved only with the change of the set value as a trigger.

In addition, when it is determined that the RAM is abnormal, the work area and the stack area in the area within the game control area and the area outside the game control area may be initialized and the game process may be started. In this way, even if it is determined that the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal, it is possible to automatically return to the normal game state.

Also, when it is determined that the RAM is abnormal, the game is stopped, and after the power is cut off, when the work area of the area within the game control area and the area outside the game control area is determined to be normal when the power is restored, The game processing may be started by initializing the work area and the stack area of the area within the game control area and the area outside the game control area. In this way, the normal game state can be restored by the ON/OFF operation of the power switch.

In addition, when it is determined that the RAM is abnormal, the game is stopped, and after the power is cut off, when the power is restored, it is determined that the work area in the area within the game control area and the area outside the game control area is normal, and the RAM is cleared. When the switch is operated, the work area and the stack area in the area inside the game control area and the area outside the game control area may be initialized and the game process may be started. By doing so, it is possible to return to the normal game state by operating the RAM clear switch 954 after the power is turned off.

In addition, when it is determined that the RAM is abnormal, the game is stopped, and after the power is cut off, when the power is restored, it is determined that the work area in the area within the game control area and the area outside the game control area is normal, and the setting When the key 971 is operated, the work area and the stack area of the area inside the game control area and the area outside the game control area may be initialized and the game process may be started. In this way, the normal game state can be restored by operating the setting key 971 after the power is cut off.

On the other hand, if the RAM clear switch 954 has not been operated, in order to restore the game state before the power failure occurred, the game state information at the time of the power failure is stored in the power-on status buffer (step S2427). In this way, on the side of the peripheral control board 1510, each game state (for example, low probability state or high probability state, time saving state or non-time saving state) corresponding to production (background, decorative pattern mode (low probability time and high probability) are prepared for returning to the original state.In step S2300 of the power-on setting process (INITIAL_SET) executed in step S2439, the power-on operation command used in creating the

After that, it is determined using the value stored in the register whether the setting key 971 was turned ON when the power was turned on (step S2428). If the setting key 971 is turned ON, it is determined that the setting confirmation operation has been performed, the value (01H) indicating the setting confirmation mode is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2429), and the process proceeds to S2436. . That is, regardless of whether the state at the time of power failure is the setting confirmation mode, if only the setting key 971 is operated (if the RAM clear switch 954 is not operated), the setting confirmation mode is entered.

Steps S2425 to S2429 are processes executed when at least one of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 is not operated. (step S2428) may be performed first. That is, as shown in the figure, after judging the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 (step S2426), the operation of the setting key 971 may be judged (step S2428). Operation of the RAM clear switch 954 may be determined (step S2426).

If YES is determined in step S2421 or step S2422, a value (02H) indicating the setting change mode is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2430). Then, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the work area outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2431). For example, using the determination result stored in the C register in step S2413 described above, it is possible to determine an abnormality outside the game control area. As a result, if there is no abnormality outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, the process proceeds to step S2435.

On the other hand, if there is an abnormality outside the game control area of the main control RAM 1312, the flag register is saved in the game area stack area (step S2432), and the game area RAM abnormality processing shown in FIG. 217 is executed (S2433). Thereafter, the flag register saved in the game area stack area in step S2432 is restored (step S2434).

Then, the work area other than the setting value and setting state management area in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 and the stack area in the game control area are initialized (step S2435). An unused area provided between the work area and the stack area may be initialized together.

After that, all command buffers are initialized (step S2436). When the power is turned off without clearing the RAM after the power is turned off while commands are stored in the command buffer, the unsent commands stored in the command buffer are transmitted. For example, when the power supply is interrupted during the transmission of the variation command, the symbol command is transmitted, but the subsequent variation pattern command may not be transmitted. Then, when only the variation pattern command is transmitted when the power is turned on, the peripheral control board 1510 may be determined to be abnormal. Furthermore, if a command that has not been transmitted during the setting change process is stored in the command buffer, the command that has not been transmitted during the setting process is transmitted after the power is restored, so that the peripheral control board 1510 There is a possibility of malfunction by setting the game state by In order to prevent such an abnormality from occurring, the command buffer is initialized in step S2436.

Although the command buffer is initialized in step S2436, the command buffer may be cleared when starting the setting change process or when starting the setting confirmation process. In the setting change process, the command buffer is cleared along with the initialization of the main control RAM 1312, so there is no need to clear the command buffer separately. However, in the setting confirmation process, the main control RAM 1312 is not initialized. Therefore, it is good to clear the command buffer when moving to setting confirmation.

After that, the functions of the devices (CTC, SIO, etc.) built in the main control MPU 1311 are initialized (step S2437). Specifically, a timer interrupt cycle time is set in CTC0 for setting change processing, and CTC0 is set to allow interrupts. In addition, the time of CTC1 for controlling timer interrupt processing in the normal game state is not set, and the interrupt of CTC1 for normal game remains set to be prohibited.

Then, the hardware random number (for example, win-lose random number) built in the main control MPU 1311 is activated (step S2438), the update of the hardware random number is started, and the power-on setting process shown in FIG. 219 is executed (step S2439).

Finally, the timer interrupt is enabled (step S2440), and the process proceeds to main control side main processing (FIG. 228).

FIG. 228 is a flow chart of main control side main processing executed by the main control MPU 1311. FIG. The main control side main process is executed after step S2440 of the power-on process (FIG. 227).

First, the main control MPU 1311 executes first main loop processing (steps S2450 to S2453) for setting change processing. In the first main loop process, first, the main control MPU 1311 acquires a power failure warning signal and determines whether a power failure has occurred based on whether the power failure warning signal is ON (step S2450). In another example 3, the power failure is monitored in the main process, but the power failure may be monitored in the timer interrupt process and the power failure process may be executed when the occurrence of the power failure is detected. For example, if the power failure warning signal is ON at least at the start and end of the timer interrupt, the period in which the power failure warning signal is continuously output is counted, and the count result reaches a predetermined value. It may be determined that a power outage has occurred in In another example 3, timer interrupt processing for setting processing and timer interrupt processing for normal game processing are separately provided, so power failure may be monitored by either timer interrupt processing, and both timer interrupt processing Power outages may be monitored. For this reason, the same program (code ) into each timer interrupt process, the size of the program can be reduced.

When the power failure warning signal is detected, power failure processing (steps S2462 to S2469) is executed.

On the other hand, if the power failure warning signal is not ON, the power is normally supplied, so interrupts are set to be prohibited (step S2451), and it is checked whether a value (00H) indicating the start of the game is recorded in the setting state management area. Determine (step S2452). If a value indicating game start is recorded in the setting state management area, the process proceeds to step S2454 to start the normal game. On the other hand, if the value indicating the game start is not recorded in the setting state management area, the interrupt is set to be permitted (step S2453), the process returns to step S2450, and the first main loop process for setting change process is repeatedly executed. .

When it is determined in step S2452 that the value indicating the start of the game is recorded in the setting state management area, after switching the interrupt timer to the normal game, the second main loop processing for the normal game (steps S2457 to S2458) to run. Before executing the second main loop process, first, set the timer interrupt cycle time in CTC1 for normal game (step S2454), stop the interrupt of CTC0 (timer interrupt for setting process), interrupt the CTC1 ( Timer interrupt for normal game processing) is activated (step S2455), and interrupt permission is set (step S2456).

After that, a power failure warning signal is obtained, and it is determined whether or not a power failure has occurred depending on whether the power failure warning signal is ON (step S2457). When the power failure warning signal is detected, power failure processing (steps S2462 to S2469) is executed. On the other hand, if the power failure warning signal is not ON, the power is normally supplied, so random number update processing 2 is executed (step S2458). The random number update process 2 may be the same as that described in FIG. 195, and mainly updates random numbers other than the random numbers for judging winning in the special lottery or the ordinary lottery. After that, the process returns to step S2457, and the second main loop process for the normal game is repeatedly executed.

When the power failure warning signal is detected in steps S2450 and S2457, power failure processing (steps S2462 to S2469) is executed. In the power-off process in the main control-side main process shown in FIG. 228, a process of backing up data for returning to the state before the power failure occurred is executed. Specifically, first, the interrupt is prohibited (step S2462). As a result, timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is not performed. Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 clears the output ports and stops the operation of the devices controlled by the outputs from each port (step S2463). Specifically, the power failure clear signal OFF bit data is output to the solenoid/power failure clear/ACK output port. It should be noted that not all output ports need to be cleared. For example, output ports for controlling solenoids and motors that consume a large amount of power may be cleared. By clearing these output ports, it is possible to reduce the power consumption until the main-board-side power-off process is completed, and to ensure that the main-board-side power-off process is completed.

After that, the flag register is saved in the stack area within the game area (step S2464), the power OFF processing is executed, and necessary processing is executed before the power is cut off for the work area outside the game area (step S2465). ). The details of the power-off processing are as shown in FIG. Then, the flag register saved in the game area stack area is restored (step S2466).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 calculates the checksum of the work area in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 for determining whether the data stored in the work area to be backed up is held normally, It is stored in a predetermined checksum storage area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2467). This checksum is used to determine whether the data backed up in the work area is normal. In addition, the target area for which the checksum is calculated is the setting state management (set value and the value of the setting status management area), the backup flag, and the value of the checksum area.

Further, a value (5AH) indicating that the power failure processing has been normally executed is stored in the backup flag area as a power failure flag (step S2468). This completes the storage of the game backup information. Finally, write a setting value for validating RAM protection (writing prohibited) and invalidating the prohibited area to the RAM protection register, prohibiting writing to the main control RAM 1312 (step S2469), and waiting until recovery from the power failure ( infinite loop). The main control MPU 1311 has a function of designating a use area of the main control RAM 1312 and determining that an abnormality has occurred and resetting when a prohibited area other than the designated area is accessed. In this embodiment, the reset function due to access to this prohibited area is cancelled, allowing access to all areas. By designating an unused area of the main control RAM 1312 as a prohibited area and setting the prohibited area to be valid in the RAM protection register, when an access to the designated prohibited area is detected, the main control MPU 1311 It may be reset.

In the above-described processing, the processing is executed in the order of clearing the output port (step S2463), processing when the power is turned off (step S2465), calculating the checksum (step S2467), and setting the backup flag (step S2468). However, the execution order of these four processes is not limited to the illustrated one, and other orders may be used.

In example 3, the occurrence of a power failure is monitored by the main processing on the main control side, but the occurrence of a power failure may be monitored by the timer interrupt processing, and the power failure processing may be executed based on the monitoring result. For example, in each of the two main loops, check the power failure signal at least at the start and end, measure the period during which the power failure signal is continuously output, and if the measurement result reaches a predetermined value It is preferable to detect the occurrence of a power failure.

In the main control side main processing shown in FIG. 228, two main loops are provided corresponding to each of the timer interrupt processing for setting change processing and the timer interrupt for normal game. There is an opportunity to execute the timer interrupt processing of Also, in this execution opportunity, timer interrupt processing for setting change processing may not be executed (for example, when branching to YES in step S2454). By providing two main loops in this way, the main loop for normal games (timer interrupt processing) executes processing for calculating the base value, and the timer interrupt processing for setting change processing calculates unnecessary base values. It is possible to switch between executing the processing for calculating the base value and not executing the processing. In another example 3, timer interrupt processing for setting processing and timer interrupt processing for normal game processing are separately provided, so power failure may be monitored by either timer interrupt processing, and both timer interrupt processing Power outages may be monitored. For this reason, the same program (code ) into each timer interrupt process, the size of the program can be reduced.

FIG. 229 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing for setting processing executed by the main control MPU 1311 .

First, the main control MPU 1311 sets the register bank selection flag to 1 and switches the register bank (step S2470). The main control MPU 1311 has two register groups used for calculation, one of which is used as a bank 0 register group, and the other can be used as a bank 1 register group. It is configured so that one of the banks can be used by In this embodiment, the register bank 0 is used in the main control side main process, and the register bank 1 is used in the timer interrupt process for setting process or normal game. Therefore, an instruction to switch to bank 1 is executed at the start of timer interrupt processing, but there is no need to execute an instruction to switch to bank 0 at the end of timer interrupt processing. This is because the main control MPU 1311 stores the state of the bank in a flag register (for example, a register in which the Z flag and the C flag are set), and the flag register is saved in the stack area at the start of an interrupt, and the RET It returns from the stack area by executing an instruction. This is because the bank flag stored in the flag register is restored by executing the RET instruction. If a configuration is adopted in which the bank state is not stored in the flag register, it is necessary to return to bank 0 by executing a bank switching instruction at the end of timer interrupt processing.

Since the flag register also stores a flag for controlling whether or not to enable interrupts, it is not necessary to execute the RET instruction after enabling interrupts. Note that the flag that controls whether or not an interrupt is enabled is set to an interrupt disabled state after the flag register is stacked at the start of timer interrupt processing. Therefore, unless an interrupt is permitted (EI instruction, etc.) or a RETI instruction is executed during timer interrupt processing, the interrupt enabled state is not entered.

Next, the LED common counter is updated by +1. If the LED common counter value exceeds the upper limit, it is set to 0 (step S2471).

Next, switch input processing 1 is executed (step S2472). In switch input processing 1, various signals input to input terminals of various input ports of the main control MPU 1311 are read, ON edges are created, and stored in the input information storage area of the main control RAM 1312 as input information.

Since the switch input process 1 in step S2472 is a process related to the winning signal, in the timer interrupt process executed in the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode, NO is determined in step S2473, so the winning detection is performed. , no fraud is detected. Note that even if winning is detected, prize ball payout, variable display, etc. are not executed. This is because the setting change operation and the setting confirmation operation are performed by hall employees, and it is considered desirable that fraud is not performed in the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode, and that fraud is not detected.

Note that even in the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode, some fraud detection sensors (for example, radio wave sensors) may detect in the switch input process 1 and monitor specific types of fraud. In this way, it is possible to detect fraud in which a person (goto master) who tries to commit a fraudulent act forcibly activates the setting change mode by emitting radio waves or the like. For example, while a hall employee is changing or checking settings, the door is open and the sensor attached to the door is positioned to approach the next pachinko machine. Therefore, while the setting change operation or setting confirmation is being performed, it is possible to detect any fraudulent activity caused by radio waves or the like in the neighboring pachinko machine.

Then, it is determined whether a value (00H) indicating game start is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2473). In the timer interrupt process for the setting change process, the value of the game state management area is usually other than 00H (01H to 03H), so the value (00H) indicating the start of the game is displayed in the setting state management area. Although it is not necessary to determine whether or not is recorded, determination is purposely made in order to prevent fraudulent acts such as illegally shifting to the setting change mode during the normal game.

If a value indicating the start of the game is recorded in the setting state management area, the process for changing the setting value and setting display (steps S2474 to S2478) is not executed, and the process proceeds to step S2479. On the other hand, if the value indicating the start of the game is not recorded in the setting state management area, the specific output port is cleared (step S2474). , a solenoid signal such as a large winning opening and an electric chew, and a response signal (ACK) at the time of command reception to the payout control board 951 . After that, the LED common port is turned off (step S2475). By turning off the LED common signal at an early stage of the timer interrupt processing, the time until the LED common signal turns on, that is, the LED extinguishing time is secured, and the ghost phenomenon in which the display before and after the LED display switching appears mixed. to prevent flickering of the LED.

After that, a security signal is output from the external terminal board 784 (step S2476), and the setting process shown in FIG. 224 is executed (step S2477). After that, the setting display process shown in FIG. 225 is executed (step S2478).

Further, peripheral board command transmission processing for outputting the value of the transmission information storage area to the serial communication circuit is executed (step S2479). The transmission information storage area is a storage area that temporarily stores the generated transmission command. A value (command) stored in the transmission information storage area is read and stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit (SIO). The serial communication circuit has a transmission information storage area which is a transmission buffer in the FIFO format of multiple bytes, and sequentially transmits the values stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit to the peripheral control board 1510 . Since the capacity of the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit is finite, unsent commands remain in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit, and the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit is full or full. , it is preferable to control whether the command is stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit according to the free state of the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit. For example, it determines whether the free space in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit is larger than the size (number of bytes) of the command to be stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit. It may be stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit. Also, each time the command transmission process to the peripheral control board 1510 is executed, a predetermined upper limit is set for the size of the command to be stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit. If the size of commands to be stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit exceeds a predetermined upper limit without judging the free space, all the commands cannot be stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit. Also, in the peripheral board command transmission process executed in the next timer interrupt process, the remaining commands should be stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit and transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 .

It should be noted that the upper limit number should be set equal to or less than the amount of data that can be transmitted by the serial communication circuit (SIO) in one timer interrupt cycle. For example, if the communication speed of the serial communication circuit is 20 kbps and the timer interrupt period is 4 ms, serial communication of approximately 80 bits is possible in one timer interrupt period. If one command consists of 20 bits, 80/20=4, so the upper limit should be 4 commands. In practice, the upper limit may be set to 5 commands, which is one more command. This is because although the maximum command length was assumed to be 20 bits, there are many commands shorter than the maximum length.

Regardless of whether a predetermined upper limit is set for the amount of command data stored in the transmission information storage area in one command transmission process, data is stored in the transmission information storage area so that the transmission information storage area does not become full. It is preferable that the capacity of the storage area in which the previous command is stored be smaller than or equal to the capacity of the transmission information storage area.

Thereafter, a predetermined value (18H) is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL to clear the watchdog timer (step S2480). Since the watchdog timer uses the simple clear mode, the watchdog timer is cleared by setting one word. Thereafter, a return instruction (for example, RETI) switches the bank of the register (step S2481), and returns to the processing before the interrupt.

Unlike the other timer interrupt processes, the timer interrupt process for the setting change process shown in FIG. 229 does not execute the random number update process (R_ATART_K). As with the random number, the random number update process may be executed in the timer interrupt process for the setting change process.

In another example 3, the test signal output process is called in the timer interrupt process for the setting change process even if it is executed in the timer interrupt process for the normal game (for example, the output data setting process S2505 in FIG. 230). good too.

FIG. 230 is a flow chart of the normal game timer interrupt process executed by the main control MPU 1311 .

First, the main control MPU 1311 sets the register bank selection flag to 1 and switches the register bank (step S2490). The main control MPU 1311 has two register groups used for calculation, one is used as a bank 0 register group, and the other can be used as a bank 1 register group. Any bank can be used by In this embodiment, the register bank 0 is used in the main control side main process, and the register bank 1 is used in the setting process or the timer interrupt process for normal games. Therefore, an instruction to switch to bank 1 is executed at the start of timer interrupt processing, but there is no need to execute an instruction to switch to bank 0 at the end of timer interrupt processing. This is because the main control MPU 1311 stores the state of the bank in a flag register (for example, a register in which the Z flag and the C flag are set), and the flag register is saved in the stack area at the start of an interrupt, and the RET It returns from the stack area by executing an instruction. This is because the bank flag stored in the flag register is restored by executing the RET instruction. If a configuration is adopted in which the bank state is not stored in the flag register, it is necessary to return to bank 0 by executing a bank switching instruction at the end of timer interrupt processing.

Since the flag register also stores a flag for controlling whether or not to enable interrupts, it is not necessary to execute the RET instruction after enabling interrupts. Note that the flag that controls whether or not an interrupt is enabled is set to an interrupt disabled state after the flag register is stacked at the start of timer interrupt processing. Therefore, unless an interrupt is permitted (EI instruction, etc.) or a RETI instruction is executed during timer interrupt processing, the interrupt enabled state is not entered.

Next, the LED common counter is updated by +1. If the LED common counter value exceeds the upper limit, it is set to 0 (step S2491).

Next, switch input processing 1 is executed (step S2492). In switch input processing 1, various signals input to input terminals of various input ports of the main control MPU 1311 are read, ON edges are created, and stored in the input information storage area of the main control RAM 1312 as input information.

Subsequently, random number update processing 1 is executed (step S2493). In the random number update process 1, the random number for judging a big hit, the random number for a big hit design, and the random number for a small hit design are updated. Also, in addition to these random numbers, for changing the initial value of the random number for determining the jackpot symbol and the random number for determining the minor symbol to be updated in the random number update process 2 of the main control side main process shown in FIG. Update the random number for initial value determination.

Thereafter, switch input special processing is executed (step S2494).

Thereafter, timer update processing is executed (step S2495). In the timer update process, for example, the time during which the special symbol indicator 1185 lights up according to the variation display pattern determined by the special symbol and special electric auditors control process, the normal symbol fluctuation determined by the normal symbol and normal electric auditors control process In addition to the time during which the normal symbol display 1189 lights up according to the display pattern, a payout control board 951 normally receives various commands sent by the main control board 1310 (main control MPU 1311). Time management such as ACK signal input judgment time set as a judgment condition when judging whether or not there is an input is performed. Specifically, when the variation time of the variation display pattern or the normal symbol variation display pattern is 5 seconds, the timer interrupt cycle is set to 4 ms, so each time this timer subtraction process is performed, the variation time is subtracted by 4 ms. When the subtraction result becomes 0, the fluctuation time of the fluctuation display pattern or the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern is accurately measured.

Subsequently, prize ball control processing is executed (step S2496). In the prize ball control process, input information is read from the input information storage area, the number of game balls (prize balls) to be paid out is calculated based on the read input information, and the calculated number is written in the main control RAM 1312 . In addition, based on the calculation result of the number of prize balls, a prize ball command for paying out game balls is created, and a self-check for confirming the connection state between the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 is performed. create commands. The main control MPU 1311 transmits the created prize ball command and self-check command to the payout control board 951 as main payment serial data. The main control MPU 1311 has a 2-channel output serial communication circuit, transmits a command to the peripheral control board 1510 on one channel, and transmits a command to the payout control board 951 on the other channel. The transfer rate (baud rate) of serial communication can be set for each channel. For example, in step S2437, the transfer rate of the serial communication circuit is set. For example, as for the transfer rate, the transfer rate on the payout control board 951 side may be set lower than the transfer data on the peripheral control board 1510 side. Since the prize balls controlled by the payout control board 951 have game value, they are not easily affected by noise and the like. On the side of the peripheral control board 1510, since commands for effects not accompanied by game values are transmitted, the effects can be restored by the next command. It is desirable to send the command to the peripheral control board 1510 quickly so as not to make the user feel uncomfortable. In addition, the performance response is poor (for example, even if a game ball wins in the starting winning hole and the special symbol display on the function display unit 1400 starts to fluctuate, the decorative symbols on the main liquid crystal display device 1600 do not start to fluctuate). This is because the player feels uneasy about the failure.

Subsequently, frame command reception processing is executed (step S2497). The payout control board 951 transmits various 1-byte (8-bit) commands (for example, frame state 1 command, error cancellation navigation command, and frame state 2 command) classified into state displays by the payout control program. On the other hand, as will be described later, the payout control program outputs an error generation command when an error occurs in the payout operation, or outputs an error cancellation notification command based on the detection signal of the operation switch. In the frame command reception process, when various commands are normally received as payer serial data, information to notify the payout control board 951 is stored in the output information storage area of the main control built-in RAM 1312 . In addition, the main control MPU 1311 formats the command normally received as the payer serial data into a 2-byte (16-bit) command (for example, frame status display command, error cancellation notification command, etc.), memorize to Specifically, in the frame command reception process, in order to perform notification corresponding to the command received from the payout control board 951, the command received from the payout control board 951 is adapted to the command system for transmitting to the peripheral control board 1510. and stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit (SIO) like other generated commands. Also, when the command from the payout control board 951 is normally received, it generates a signal for controlling the output of the main ACK signal. The main ACK signal is output directly from the output port to the payout control board 951 instead of the serial communication circuit. Note that the main ACK signal may be output as a command from the serial communication circuit.

Subsequently, fraud detection processing is executed (step S2498). In the fraudulent activity detection process, an abnormal state (magnetism, vibration, winning anomaly, etc.) related to fraud is confirmed. For example, when the input information is read out from the above-described input information storage area, and when it is detected that the game ball is entering the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 by the count switch when it is not in the jackpot game state, the main control program generates a prize-winning abnormal display command classified as a notification display as an abnormal state, and stores it as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

Subsequently, a switch-passing command output process is executed to create a command corresponding to the detection of the passage of various switches relating to the winning switch and the starting switch and set it in the transmission information storage area (step S2499).

Then, the flag register is saved in the stack area in the game control area (step S2500), and the base display output process is executed (step S2501). The base display output process is a process executed using the second area outside the game control area, unlike other processes, and is a common process that is not affected by the specifications of the pachinko machine 1 . Therefore, in order to ensure the independence of the base display output processing, before and after the execution of the base display output processing, the predetermined data such as the flag register is saved in the stack area in the game control area, and the base display It is set so that it is not updated in the output process. After that, the flag register saved in the stack area in the game control area is restored (step S2502).

Subsequently, a special symbol and special electric accessary product control process is executed (step S2503). In the special symbol and special electric accessory control processing, it is determined whether or not the big hit random number value matches the hit determination value pre-stored in the main control built-in ROM, and the probability fluctuation state is established based on the big hit symbol random number value. Determine whether to migrate. Then, when the big win random number value matches the hit determination value, it is determined whether or not to open and close the big winning openings 2005 and 2006 . When the large winning openings 2005 and 2006 are opened and closed by this determination, the large winning openings 2005 and 2006 are opened (or expanded), and the gaming state is such that game balls can be received in the large winning openings 2005 and 2006. Then, the game state is shifted to an advantageous game state for the player. Further, when the variable probability transition condition is established, the state is shifted to the probability variable state after that, and when the variable probability transition condition is not established, the state is shifted to a game state other than the probability variable state. Here, the "variable probability state" refers to a state (high probability state) in which the odds of winning the special lottery are set relatively high compared to the normal game state (low probability state).

Subsequently, normal symbol and normal electric accessory control processing is executed (step S504). In the normal symbol and normal electric accessory control process, the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area, and it is determined whether or not the detection signal from the gate switch 2352 is input to the input terminal. When the detection signal is input to the input terminal, the random number for normal symbol per determination is extracted, and it is determined whether or not it matches the normal per symbol determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM (" “General Lottery”). Then, it is determined whether or not to open and close the second starting port door member 2549 according to the lottery result of the ordinary lottery. When the opening and closing operation is performed by this determination, the second starting port door member 2549 is opened (or expanded), so that the game ball can be received in the starting port 2004. A game advantageous to the player. transition to state.

Subsequently, output data setting processing is executed (step S2505). In the output data setting process, various signals are output from output terminals of various output ports of the main control MPU 1311 . For example, from the output terminal of the predetermined output port of the main control MPU 1311 based on the output information, when normally receiving various commands from the payout control board 951 output the main payout ACK signal to the payout control board 951, or jackpot game When in the state, output a drive signal to the attacker solenoid (first attacker solenoid 2113, second upper attacker solenoid 2553, second lower attacker solenoid 2556) that performs opening and closing operation of the opening and closing member 2107 of the large winning opening 2005, 2006, In addition to outputting a drive signal to the starting opening solenoid 2550 that performs the opening and closing operation of the starting opening (second starting opening door member 2549), as output information to the hall computer, information output signal during probability fluctuation, special pattern display information Various information (game information) signals related to games such as an output signal, a normal symbol display information output signal, a time saving medium information output information, a start winning prize information output signal, and a security signal are output to the external terminal board 784 . Also, in the output data setting process, the test signal output process may be executed to output the test signal.

Also, in the output data setting process, a signal corresponding to the number of out balls counted in the switch input special process (step S2494) is output from the external terminal plate 784. FIG. For example, a pulse signal of a predetermined length may be output from the external terminal plate 784 every predetermined number of out balls (10, etc.).

Also, in the output data setting process, a test signal to be output to the inspection device connected to the pachinko machine 1 is set. The test signal includes, for example, a signal indicating a game state, a signal indicating a normal symbol, and a signal indicating a stop symbol of a special symbol.

Further, peripheral board command transmission processing for outputting the value of the transmission information storage area to the serial communication circuit is executed (step S2506). The transmission information storage area is a storage area that temporarily stores the generated transmission command. The value (command) stored in the transmission information storage area is read at step 2070 and stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit (SIO). The serial communication circuit has a transmission information storage area which is a transmission buffer in the FIFO format of multiple bytes, and sequentially transmits the values stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit to the peripheral control board 1510 .

Thereafter, a predetermined value (18H) is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL to clear the watchdog timer (step S2507). Since the watchdog timer uses the simple clear mode, the watchdog timer is cleared by setting one word. Thereafter, a return instruction (for example, RETI) switches the bank of the register (step S2508), and returns to the processing before the interrupt.

[12-18. Another example 4 of setting change/confirmation process]
Next, another embodiment of a pachinko machine having a setting change function will be described. In another example 4 described below, the processing related to the setting change is executed in the main processing on the main control side instead of the timer interrupt processing. Processes other than those described below are the same as those of Example 3 described above.

In addition, in Example 4, as in Example 2, the setting value can be selected by operating the RAM clear switch 954 without providing the setting change switch 972. In order to distinguish between the initialization function and the setting change function, the setting change switch 972 may be used to describe the operation for changing the setting value.

FIG. 231 is a flow chart of main control side main processing executed by the main control MPU 1311. FIG. The main control side main process is executed after step S2440 of the power-on process (FIG. 227). The main-control-side main process of another example 4 executes steps S2481 to S2484 in place of step S2452 of the main-control-side main process of another example 3 (FIG. 228). Execution of setting change and setting confirmation processing in the main control side main processing is not limited to the case of separately providing timer interrupt processing for setting processing and timer interrupt processing for normal game processing as in Example 4. It is also applicable to example 1 and example 2. For example, the main control main process shown in FIG. 231 includes a first main loop process for setting process (steps S2450 to S2453) and a second main loop process for normal game (steps S2457 to S2458). Also in the main loop process, one timer interrupt process (FIG. 196 of another example 1, FIG. 223 of another example 2) is executed. ) and normal game processing are executed. In this case, since only one timer interrupt process is executed in the main loop, switching of CTC in steps S2454 and S2455, which will be described later, is unnecessary.

In the main-control-side main process shown in FIG. 231, the same processes as those of the main-control-side main process (FIG. 228) of Example 3 are given the same reference numerals.

First, the main control MPU 1311 executes first main loop processing (steps S2450 to S2453) for setting processing. In the first main loop process, first, the main control MPU 1311 acquires a power failure warning signal and determines whether a power failure has occurred based on whether the power failure warning signal is ON (step S2450). In Example 4, the power failure is monitored in the main process, but the power failure may be monitored in the timer interrupt process and the power failure process may be executed when the power failure is detected. For example, if the power failure warning signal is ON at least at the start and end of the timer interrupt, the period in which the power failure warning signal is continuously output is counted, and the count result reaches a predetermined value. It may be determined that a power outage has occurred in In another example 4, timer interrupt processing for setting processing and timer interrupt processing for normal game processing are provided separately, so power failure may be monitored by either timer interrupt processing, and both timer interrupt processing Power outages may be monitored. For this reason, the same program (code ) into each timer interrupt process, the size of the program can be reduced.

When the power failure warning signal is detected, power failure processing (steps S2462 to S2469) is executed.

On the other hand, if the power failure warning signal is not ON, the power is normally supplied, so interrupts are disabled (step S2451), and the setting process shown in FIG. 224 is executed (step S2482). After that, the setting display process shown in FIG. 225 is executed (step S2483).

After that, it is determined whether or not the setting change/setting confirmation process is completed depending on whether the setting key 971 has returned to the OFF position (step S2484). Specifically, it detects the edge of the setting key 971 from ON to OFF, or whether a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the ON to OFF change. If the operation to end the setting change/setting confirmation process has been performed, the process proceeds to step S2454 to start the normal game. On the other hand, if the setting change/setting confirmation processing has not ended, the edge information of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 is cleared (step S2485). By clearing the edge information, it is possible to prevent multiple times of changing the set value with one operation. This is because the first main loop process may be executed multiple times while the timer interrupt process for detecting the edge of the RAM clear switch 954 or setting key 971 is executed once. This is so that the same edge information as the previous time is not used to change the setting in the first main loop process executed later. Only the edge information of the RAM clear switch 954 may be cleared without clearing the edge information of the setting key 971 . After that, the interrupt is set to be permitted (step S2453), and the first main loop processing for setting change processing, which returns to step S2450, is repeatedly executed. The reason why interrupts are disabled in the processes from S2482 to S2485 is to prevent the setting change process and the setting confirmation process from being interrupted by a timer interrupt.

In addition, in the first main loop processing (steps S2450 to S2453) for the setting processing, the edge information of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 is kept being cleared, and when the game shifts to the normal game (execution of the second main loop processing ), the edge information of the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 are not referred to.

When it is determined in step S2484 that the setting change/setting confirmation process is completed, the second main loop process for normal game (steps S2457 to S2458) is executed. When executing the second main loop process, first, the timer interrupt cycle time is set in CTC1 for normal game (step S2454), the interrupt of CTC0 is stopped, and the interrupt of CTC1 is started (step S2455), CTC1 is set to allow interrupts (step S2456).

After that, a power failure warning signal is obtained, and it is determined whether or not a power failure has occurred depending on whether the power failure warning signal is ON (step S2457). When the power failure warning signal is detected, power failure processing (steps S2462 to S2469) is executed. On the other hand, if the power failure warning signal is not ON, the power is normally supplied, so random number update processing 2 is executed (step S2458). The random number update process 2 may be the same as that described in FIG. 195, and mainly updates random numbers other than the random numbers for judging winning in the special lottery or the ordinary lottery. After that, the process returns to step S2457, and the second main loop process for the normal game is repeatedly executed. If it is detected that the setting key 971 has been turned ON during the normal game (after entering the second main loop), the main control MPU 1311 generates a command notifying that fact, and controls peripheral control. Substrate 1510 may provide a notification effect on the display device. Since this notification effect is performed during the normal game, it is desirable to have a mode that does not interfere with the progress of the normal game. A character or a specific symbol may be displayed, or a specific character indicating that the setting key 971 is being turned ON may be displayed as the game progresses.

When the power failure warning signal is detected in steps S2450 and S2457, power failure processing (steps S2462 to S2469) is executed.

In the power failure process, a process of backing up data for returning to the state before the power failure occurred is executed. Specifically, first, the interrupt is prohibited (step S2462). As a result, timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is not performed. Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 clears the output ports and stops the operation of the devices controlled by the outputs from each port (step S2463). Specifically, the power failure clear signal OFF bit data is output to the solenoid/power failure clear/ACK output port. It should be noted that not all output ports need to be cleared. For example, output ports for controlling solenoids and motors that consume a large amount of power may be cleared. By clearing these output ports, it is possible to reduce the power consumption until the main-board-side power-off process is completed, and to ensure that the main-board-side power-off process is completed.

After that, the flag register is saved in the stack area within the game area (step S2464), the power OFF processing is executed, and necessary processing is executed before the power is cut off for the work area outside the game area (step S2465). ). The details of the power-off processing are as shown in FIG. Then, the flag register saved in the game area stack area is restored (step S2466).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 calculates the checksum of the work area in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 for determining whether the data stored in the work area to be backed up is held normally, It is stored in a predetermined checksum storage area of the main control RAM 1312 (step S2467). This checksum is used to determine whether the data backed up in the work area is normal. In addition, the target area for which the checksum is calculated is the setting state management (set value and the value of the setting status management area), the backup flag, and the value of the checksum area.

Further, a value (5AH) indicating that the power failure processing has been normally executed is stored in the backup flag area as a power failure flag (step S2468). This completes the storage of the game backup information. Finally, write a setting value for validating RAM protection (writing prohibited) and invalidating the prohibited area to the RAM protection register, prohibiting writing to the main control RAM 1312 (step S2469), and waiting until recovery from the power failure ( infinite loop). The main control MPU 1311 has a function of designating a use area of the main control RAM 1312 and determining that an abnormality has occurred and resetting when a prohibited area other than the designated area is accessed. In this embodiment, the reset function due to access to this prohibited area is cancelled, allowing access to all areas. By designating an unused area of the main control RAM 1312 as a prohibited area and setting the prohibited area to be valid in the RAM protection register, when an access to the designated prohibited area is detected, the main control MPU 1311 It may be reset.

In the above-described processing, the processing is executed in the order of clearing the output port (step S2463), processing when the power is turned off (step S2465), calculating the checksum (step S2467), and setting the backup flag (step S2468). However, the execution order of these four processes is not limited to the illustrated one, and other orders may be used.

In Example 4, the occurrence of a power failure is monitored by the main processing on the main control side, but the occurrence of a power failure may be monitored by the timer interrupt processing, and power failure processing may be executed based on the monitoring result. For example, in each of the two main loops, check the power failure signal at least at the start and end, measure the period during which the power failure signal is continuously output, and if the measurement result reaches a predetermined value It is preferable to detect the occurrence of a power failure. In another example 4, timer interrupt processing for setting processing and timer interrupt processing for normal game processing are provided separately, so power failure may be monitored by either timer interrupt processing, and both timer interrupt processing Power outages may be monitored. For this reason, the same program (code ) into each timer interrupt process, the size of the program can be reduced.

In the main control side main processing shown in FIG. 231, two main loops are provided corresponding to each of the timer interrupt processing for setting change processing and the timer interrupt for normal game. There is an opportunity to execute the timer interrupt processing of Also, in this execution opportunity, timer interrupt processing for setting change processing may not be executed (for example, when branching to YES in step S2454). By providing two main loops in this way, the main loop for normal games (timer interrupt processing) executes processing for calculating the base value, and the timer interrupt processing for setting change processing calculates unnecessary base values. It is possible to switch between executing the processing for calculating the base value and not executing the processing.

232 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing for setting change processing executed by the main control MPU 1311. FIG. In another example 4, the setting change/setting confirmation process is repeatedly executed in the main loop for the setting process. Therefore, the timer interrupt processing for setting change processing in Example 4 does not include the setting change/setting confirmation processing (steps S2477 to S2478) of the timer interrupt processing for setting change processing in Example 3 (FIG. 229). It is a thing.

First, the main control MPU 1311 sets the register bank selection flag to 1 and switches the register bank (step S2470). The main control MPU 1311 has two register groups used for calculation, one of which is used as a bank 0 register group, and the other can be used as a bank 1 register group, and bank switching is performed. Both banks of registers cannot be used without Register bank 0 is used in main control side main processing, and register bank 1 is used in timer interrupt processing. Therefore, an instruction to switch the bank to 1 is executed at the start of timer interrupt processing, but it is not necessary to execute an instruction to switch the bank to 0 at the end of timer interrupt processing. This is because the main control MPU 1311 stores the state of the bank in a flag register (for example, a register in which the Z flag and the C flag are set), and the flag register is saved in the stack area at the start of an interrupt, and the RET It returns from the stack area by executing an instruction. Therefore, by executing the RET instruction, the bank flag of the register stored in the flag register is restored. If a configuration is adopted in which the state of the bank is not stored in the flag register, the bank switching instruction is executed at the end of the timer interrupt process to restore bank 0. FIG.

Since the flag register also stores a flag for controlling whether or not to enable interrupts, it is not necessary to execute the RET instruction after enabling interrupts. Note that the flag that controls whether or not an interrupt is enabled is set to an interrupt disabled state after the flag register is stacked at the start of timer interrupt processing. Therefore, unless an interrupt is permitted (EI instruction, etc.) or a RETI instruction is executed during timer interrupt processing, the interrupt enabled state is not entered.

Next, the LED common counter is updated by +1. If the LED common counter value exceeds the upper limit, it is set to 0 (step S2471).

Next, switch input processing 1 is executed (step S2472). In switch input processing 1, various signals input to input terminals of various input ports of the main control MPU 1311 are read, ON edges are created, and stored in the input information storage area of the main control RAM 1312 as input information.

In addition, since the switch input process 1 in step S2472 is a process related to the winning signal, in the timer interrupt process executed in the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode, even if the winning is detected, the payout of prize balls, special symbols, normal Processing related to the progress of the game, such as symbol variation display, is not executed. Winning detection relating to the progress of the game is performed, but detection relating to fraud such as magnets and impact (vibration) is not performed. This is because the setting change operation and setting confirmation operation are performed by hall employees. This is because it is considered preferable not to detect it.

Note that even in the setting change mode and the setting confirmation mode, some fraud detection sensors (for example, radio wave sensors) may detect in the switch input process 1 and monitor specific types of fraud. In this way, it is possible to detect fraud in which a person (goto master) who tries to commit a fraudulent act forcibly activates the setting change mode by emitting radio waves or the like.

Then, it is determined whether a value (00H) indicating game start is recorded in the setting state management area (step S2473). It should be noted that the value of the gaming state management area may not be determined in the timer interrupt process for the setting change process. This is to deal with the fraudulent act of illegally shifting to the setting change process. Further, whether or not the value (00H) indicating the start of the game is recorded in the setting state management area is determined before the switch input process 1 (step S2472), and the value indicating the start of the game is recorded in the setting state management area. If so, the process may proceed after the peripheral board command transmission process (step S2479).

If a value indicating the start of the game is recorded in the setting state management area, the processing (steps S2474 to S2476) relating to change and display of setting values is not executed, and the process advances to step S2479. Incidentally, when a value indicating the start of a game is recorded in the setting state management area, an abnormality notification command for notifying that an abnormal timer interrupt process is being executed may be generated. This is because when a value indicating the start of a game is recorded in the setting state management area, the timer interrupt processing for the setting change processing shown in FIG. 232 is not executed, and some kind of abnormality has occurred. This anomaly notification mode may be notification using a liquid crystal, lamp, or sound, such as magnet, radio wave, or vibration notification, or may output a security signal from the external terminal board 784 . One or more of these notification modes may be employed for notification either singly or in combination.

On the other hand, if the value indicating the start of the game is not recorded in the setting state management area, the specific output port is cleared (step S2474). , a solenoid signal such as a large winning opening and an electric chew, and a response signal (ACK) at the time of command reception to the payout control board 951 . After that, the LED common port is turned off (step S2475). By turning off the LED common signal at an early stage of the timer interrupt processing, the time until the LED common signal turns on, that is, the LED extinguishing time is secured, and the ghost phenomenon in which the display before and after the LED display switching appears mixed. to prevent flickering of the LED.

Thereafter, a security signal is output from the external terminal board 784 (step S2476). The process of outputting the security signal may also be executed in the main loop for the setting change process of the main control side main process shown in FIG. 231, similarly to the setting change/setting confirmation process.

Further, peripheral board command transmission processing for outputting the value of the transmission information storage area to the serial communication circuit is executed (step S2479). The transmission information storage area is a storage area that temporarily stores the generated transmission command. The value (command) stored in the transmission information storage area is read at step 2070 and stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit (SIO). The serial communication circuit has a transmission information storage area which is a transmission buffer in the FIFO format of multiple bytes, and sequentially transmits the values stored in the transmission information storage area of the serial communication circuit to the peripheral control board 1510 . The peripheral board command transmission process may be executed after the process of S2480 or S2481 of the main process is completed instead of the timer interrupt process.

Thereafter, a predetermined value (18H) is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL to clear the watchdog timer (step S2480). Since the watchdog timer uses the simple clear mode, the watchdog timer is cleared by setting one word. Thereafter, a return instruction (for example, RETI) switches the bank of the register (step S2481), and returns to the processing before the interrupt.

In timer interrupt processing for setting change processing shown in FIG. 232, unlike other timer interrupt processing, random number update processing (R_ATART_K) is not executed. This is because there is no need to update random numbers generated by software when a RAM abnormality occurs, but random number update processing may be executed.

[13. Pachinko machine with light guide plate]
Next, an embodiment of a pachinko machine having a light guide plate will be described. A recent pachinko machine has a light guide plate that emits light by illumination on the front side of the main liquid crystal display device 1600, and together with the main liquid crystal display device 1600, produces a special symbol variation display game. In this type of pachinko machine, a complex presentation is possible by using a liquid crystal display device and a light guide plate, for example, by superimposing images. In addition, since the light guide plate is provided in front of the liquid crystal display device, a three-dimensional effect is displayed together with the image displayed on the liquid crystal display device. In addition, there is a light guide plate that enables stereoscopic vision using the parallax of the left and right eyes, and displays an effect with a greater three-dimensional effect.

However, the performance using the light guide plate has become boring, and it is necessary to improve the interest by a new light emission performance. Furthermore, there is a light guide plate that can display a plurality of patterns on a single plate, and there is a demand for more interesting effects by displaying a wider variety of patterns.

[13-1. structure]
FIG. 233 is an exploded perspective view of the center accessory 2500 and the display effect unit 2600 of the front unit 2000 of the game board 5, viewed from the front. FIG. 234 is a front view showing a state in which the display effect unit illuminates the first pattern. FIG. 235 is a front view showing a state in which the display effect unit illuminates the second pattern.

The display effect unit 2600 of the front unit 2000 is attached to the center role 2500 so as to close the frame of the frame-like center role 2500 . The presentation effect unit 2600 is attached to the rear side of the center accessory 2500. - 特許庁The display effect unit 2600 includes a transparent flat light guide plate 2610 that closes the frame of the center role 2500, and a first pattern substrate 2611 and a second pattern substrate that are attached to the rear side of the center role 2500. 2612. A plurality of light guide plate LEDs 2613 capable of emitting light to the right side surface of the light guide plate 2610 are mounted on the first pattern substrate 2611 , and the second pattern substrate 2612 is mounted to emit light to the upper side surface of the light guide plate 2610 . A plurality of light guide plate LEDs 2614 capable of irradiating are mounted.

The first pattern substrate 2611 and the second pattern substrate 2612 are arranged perpendicular to the light guide plate 2610 so that the side surfaces of the light guide plate 2610 can be irradiated with light. Therefore, from the front side of the pachinko machine 1, only the sides of the first pattern board 2611 and the second pattern board 2612 can be seen, and the first pattern board 2611 and the second pattern board 2612 can be seen from the player side. This makes the game area 5a look better.

Although the light guide plate (front light guide plate) 2610 will be described in this embodiment, another back light guide plate may be provided between the light guide plate 2610 and the liquid crystal display device 1600 .

The light guide plate 2610 includes a first pattern 2621 (see FIG. 234) formed by a large number of concave-convex first reflecting portions that reflect light from above to the front side, and light from the lateral direction to the front side. and a second pattern 2622 (see FIG. 235) formed by a large number of uneven second reflecting portions that reflect the light. In other words, the display effect unit 2600 can emit light 2613 for the light guide plate of the first pattern substrate 2611, and can emit light to display the first pattern 2621 on the light guide plate 2610. When light is emitted, the second pattern 2622 is displayed on the light guide plate 2610 by light emission. The plurality of LEDs 2613 and 2614 mounted on the first picture board 2611 and the second picture board 2612 are desirably full-color LEDs, and are light-emitting sources (lens-equipped LEDs) that irradiate light in a narrow range and have strong directivity. is desirable. By using full-color LEDs, the first pattern 2621 and the second pattern 2622 can be projected onto the light guide plate 2610 with any single color or multiple colors (for example, seven rainbow colors).

On the light guide plate 2610, unevennesses forming a plurality of first reflecting portions for reflecting the first pattern 2621 and unevennesses forming a plurality of second reflecting portions for reflecting the second pattern 2622 are minutely formed. When the light guide plate LEDs 2613 of the first pattern substrate 2611 and the light guide plate LEDs 2614 of the second pattern substrate 2612 do not emit light, the light guide plate 2610 transmits light, Various decorations of the unit 3000 and effect images displayed on the effect display device 1600 can be visually recognized well. In the light guide plate 2610, even when the light guide plate LEDs 2613 and 2614 are in a light emitting state, the liquid crystal display device 1600 provided on the back side can be seen through a transmission region, and the light with which the light guide plate 2610 is irradiated is not reflected. A glass-like processed matte region, a lame region formed with a reflective pattern that reflects light that passes through the light guide plate 2610 regardless of the direction in which the light travels, and a light emitting portion of the light guide plate LED 2613 ( In other words, there is provided a moving area in which a reflective pattern is formed so as to change whether light is emitted depending on the traveling direction of light in the light guide plate 2610 .

As shown in FIG. 234, the first pattern 2621 forms part of the effect of the special pattern variation display game together with the image displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 as will be described later. The first pattern 2621 is composed of moving areas 2621a and 2621c, lame areas 2621b and 2621d, and a matte area 2621e. The outside of the first pattern 2621 is a transmissive area 2621f. In the moving areas 2621a and 2621c, part of the light guide plate LEDs 2613 of the first pattern substrate 2611 is lit, and the moving area 2621a and the moving area 2621c emit light by switching the lit portions. Therefore, by blinking the LED 2613 for the light guide plate, it is possible to make it appear that the size of the first pattern 2621 changes.

In the first pattern 2621 shown in FIG. 234, the moving area and the lame area are arranged so as to be repeated twice, but they may be repeated any number of times. Complicated movements can be represented by the first pattern 2621 by forming the first pattern 2621 by repeating the moving region and the lame region a plurality of times. In the first pattern 2621 shown in FIG. 234, moving regions and lame regions are alternately repeated. The moving regions having different light incident positions) may be arranged adjacent to each other.

By causing the light guide plate LEDs 2613 to emit light so that the color of light emitted by the light guide plate LEDs 2613 changes, each moving region 2621a can be illuminated in a different color. Then, by sequentially changing the emission color of the light guide plate LED 2613 (for example, repeating red→orange→yellow→green→blue→indigo→purple→red), the pattern appears to move as the color changes. be able to.

As shown in FIG. 235, the second pattern 2622 is a pattern in which a plurality of streaks of light extend obliquely downward. The second pattern 2622 is formed such that the diagonally extending light streaks correspond to the positions of the light guide plate LEDs 2614 mounted on the second pattern substrate 2612 . In other words, when one light guide plate LED 2614 emits light, a light streak extending obliquely downward from the light guide plate 2610 from the portion of the light guide plate LED 2614 that emits light on the upper side of the light guide plate 2610 emits light.

The second pattern 2622 becomes farther from the light guide plate LEDs 2614 as it goes down the light guide plate 2610 , so the brightness of the light streaks becomes darker as it goes down the light guide plate 2610 . Thus, when the second picture 2622 is viewed from the front (player's side), the lines of light appear to extend backward toward the lower direction of the light guide plate 2610, and the light is emitted three-dimensionally. It is possible to give the illusion that the light guide plate 2610 emits light.

Furthermore, it is preferable to arrange the reflectors so that stereoscopic viewing is possible due to parallax between the left and right eyes. For example, focusing on one light streak that constitutes the second pattern 2622, the second reflecting portion that emits the light that forms an image of the light streak on the retina of the player is positioned on the light guide plate 2610 for the left and right eyes. By arranging it at the position, a parallax between the left and right eyes of the player can be generated, and the second pattern with depth can be shown.

As shown in FIG. 234, the light guide plate 2610 of the present embodiment has a first pattern 2621 projected by irradiation of light from one direction, a matte region 2621e that does not reflect the irradiated light, or a Instead, it consists of lame regions 2621b and 2621d formed with reflection patterns that reflect transmitted light, and moving regions 2621a, 2621c and 2622a formed with reflection patterns that reflect light traveling in a specific traveling direction. , the first pattern can be composed of a moving pattern area (dynamic pattern) that appears to move and a still pattern area (static pattern) that appears stationary.

234 and the second pattern 2622 shown in FIG. 235 can be projected by using one light guide plate 2610 depending on the lighting direction. For this reason, a single color light (for example, red light with a single wavelength or white light with multiple wavelengths) is emitted from the side, and multiple colors of light are emitted from above (for example, a group of adjacent LEDs). 2614 emit light at different wavelengths), one light guide plate 2610 can produce a rainbow pattern (rainbow beam) shining in seven colors and a single color pattern.

In the light guide plate 2610 of the present embodiment, the matte area 2621e and the lame areas 2621b and 2621d of the first pattern 2621 are still patterns and the moving patterns appear to move in the moving areas 2621a, 2621c and 2622a by irradiation of light from the lateral direction. is showing That is, the first pattern 2621, which is irradiated with light from the horizontal direction, produces a light guide plate presentation with both a still pattern and a moving pattern. In this case, the still picture and the moving picture of the first picture 2621 are projected simultaneously.

Unlike the above, the first pattern 2621 may be composed of a matte area and a lame area, and the first pattern 2621 may not include a moving pattern. In this case, the light guide plate presentation is performed with a static pattern of the first pattern 2621 by irradiation of light from the lateral direction and a second pattern 2622 by irradiation of light from above. In this case, the still picture by the first picture 2621 and the moving picture by the second picture 2622 can be projected at different timings. That is, the moving picture may be projected after the still picture is projected, or the still picture may be projected after the moving picture is projected. In this way, by projecting the still picture and the moving picture at different timings, it is possible to perform various effects. In particular, by displaying a specific character as a still picture after displaying a rainbow picture as a moving picture, it is possible to perform an effect in which the character descends. On the other hand, by displaying a character with a moving picture after displaying a background with a still picture, it is possible to produce an effect in which the character moves to a specific place.

In the light guide plate 2610 of this embodiment, the first pattern 2621 and the second pattern 2622 may be arranged so as to overlap each other. When the light is irradiated from the horizontal direction and the upward direction, in the area where the two patterns are superimposed on the light guide plate 2610, since the reflection patterns of the two patterns are provided in a mixed manner, the two patterns can be recognized together. . However, when the first pattern 2621 is a pattern that can be viewed two-dimensionally and the second pattern 2622 is a pattern that can be viewed stereoscopically, stereoscopic vision may be difficult in an area where the two patterns coexist. When the reflection pattern of the first pattern 2621 is not provided, and a transmission region 2621f is provided so that the back side (liquid crystal display device 1600) can be seen through, and the pattern of the reflection pattern of the second pattern 2622 is projected, the second pattern 2622 is played. This allows a person to easily view stereoscopically.

In the light guide plate 2610 of this embodiment, the first pattern 2621 and the second pattern 2622 may be arranged in separate areas without overlapping. When the first pattern 2621 is a pattern that can be viewed two-dimensionally and the second pattern 2622 is a pattern that can be viewed stereoscopically, stereoscopic vision may be difficult in an area where the two patterns coexist. By dividing the area in which the reflection pattern of the pattern 2621 is provided and the area in which the reflection pattern of the second pattern 2622 is provided, and by projecting the pattern of the reflection pattern of the second pattern 2622, the second pattern can be easily presented to the player in three dimensions. can be seen.

[13-2. Configuration of Light Guide Plate]
Next, a specific configuration of the reflector will be described. FIG. 236 is a diagram showing the structure of the light guide plate 2610 (especially the arrangement of the reflectors).

As described above, the light guide plate 2610 has a transmissive area 2621f through which the rear side (liquid crystal display device 1600) can be seen through, and a matte area 2621e that does not reflect the irradiated light. Lame regions 2621b and 2621d formed with reflection patterns for reflecting transmitted light and moving regions 2621a, 2621c and 2622a formed with reflection patterns for reflecting light traveling in a specific traveling direction are provided.

FIG. 237 is a diagram showing the structure of the reflector.

The reflecting portion is formed by a concave portion provided on the back side of the light guide plate 2610, and the light traveling inside the light guide plate 2610 is reflected to the front side of the light guide plate 2610 by reflection of light on the boundary surface (reflecting surface 2651). Then, the pattern portion of the light guide plate 2610 is caused to emit light so that the player can visually recognize the pattern. Inside the light guide plate 2610, light incident from the light guide plate LEDs 2614 travels inside the light guide plate 2610 with a certain amount of spread (eg ±30 degrees). The streaks of light forming the second pattern 2622 are visible when the light traveling in the direction of the streaks of light is reflected by the reflecting section 2650 described below.

In the reflecting portion of the moving area 2622a shown in FIG. 237(A), a plurality of reflecting portions 2650 are arranged along the streak of light. The size of the reflecting part 2650 is desirably several hundred micrometers to several millimeters, which is much smaller than the streaks of light appearing on the light guide plate 2610, but is shown enlarged in the figure.

The reflecting portion 2650 is composed of a reflecting surface 2651 that reflects light, an inclined surface 2652 on the back side of the reflecting surface 2651, and a side surface 2653 formed by a curved surface. The reflective surface 2651 is arranged at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with respect to the surface of the light guide plate 2610, and such that the vertical line of the reflective surface 2651 and the incident direction of the reflected light are approximately 45 degrees. Therefore, the light traveling inside the light guide plate 2610 and hitting the reflecting surface 2651 of the reflecting portion 2650 is reflected toward the front side of the light guide plate 2610 as shown in FIG. 237(B).

In addition, the direction perpendicular to the streak of light appearing in the moving region 2622 a , that is, the light traveling parallel to the reflecting surface 2651 along the reflecting surface 2651 does not hit the reflecting surface 2651 and is reflected by the reflecting portion 2650 to reach the light guide plate 2610 . do not exit from the surface of Similarly, a small amount of light traveling in a direction that has an angle (especially an acute angle) with the streak of light appearing in the moving region 2622a hits the reflecting surface 2651, and only a small amount of light is reflected by the reflecting portion 2650, leading Only weak light is emitted from the surface of the light plate 2610 . For this reason, the light of the wavelengths that reach more can be seen by the player's eyes, and the pattern can be seen in the color of the light guide plate LED 2614 that emits light at a specific position.

At this time, by tilting the reflecting surface 2651 a little, the emission direction of the reflected light may be slightly shifted left and right from the direction perpendicular to the light guide plate 2610 . Since the light source that irradiates the light guide plate 2601 of this embodiment emits light with strong directivity, the reflected light from the reflecting section 2650 also reaches the player as a light beam with directivity. Therefore, a parallax between the left and right eyes of the player can be generated, and the second pattern with depth can be displayed. That is, since the reflecting portion 2650 that reflects the light reaching the right eye and the reflecting portion 2650 that reflects the light reaching the left eye are in different positions, the light reaching the right eye and the light reaching the left eye are different. A virtual intersection is not on the light guide plate 2610 . In other words, if the virtual intersection point of the light reaching the right eye and the light reaching the left eye is behind the light guide plate 2610, the pattern appears to be at a deep position, and the light reaching the right eye and the light reaching the left eye are visible. If the virtual intersection point with the incoming light is in front of the light guide plate 2610, the pattern appears in front.

The inclined surface 2652 provided on the opposite side of the reflective surface 2651 may be provided at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with respect to the surface of the light guide plate 2610 like the reflective surface 2651, and may be arranged so that the light traveling inside the light guide plate 2610 is inclined. may be formed at an angle that does not reflect toward the front side of the light guide plate 2610 (for example, perpendicular to the surface of the light guide plate 2610).

The side surface 2653 is processed into a curved surface. By processing the side surface 2653 into a curved surface instead of a flat surface, it is possible to prevent the pattern from being displayed by light coming from a direction other than a specific direction without strongly reflecting light incident from one direction.

Reflecting portions 2660 of lame regions 2621b and 2621d shown in FIG. 238 are configured by spherical concave portions provided on the back side of light guide plate 2610, and travel through light guide plate 2610 from a plurality of directions (that is, The light arriving at the reflecting portion 2660 is reflected (through a plurality of paths) and emitted to the front side of the light guide plate 2610 . Since the reflecting portion 2660 in the lame region reflects the light from the plurality of light guide plate LEDs 2614, the lame region 2621b glitters when the light guide plate LEDs 2614 blink at different timings. Also, when the light guide plate LEDs 2614 emit lights of different colors, the lame region 2621b emits a mixture of a plurality of colors. Furthermore, when the light guide plate LEDs 2614 blink in different colors, the lame region 2621b is mixed with a plurality of colors and glitters.

Note that the matte region 2621e is not provided with a reflecting portion, and is processed to have an irregular shape like frosted glass, so that the light traveling through the light guide plate 2610 is not reflected to the front side.

So far, the light guide plate 2610 representing the first pattern and the second pattern has been described. Next, an example of a light guide plate representing a different pattern will be described. FIG. 239 is a diagram schematically showing the relationship between the LEDs and the reflecting portions in the light guide plate forming the patterns shown in FIGS. 240 to 242. FIG.

The light guide plate 2610 shown in FIG. 239 is formed on the rear surface thereof, and reflects incident light from any of the plurality of specific light entrance portions 2630 on the upper surface of the light guide plate 2610, and emits the light to the front side of the light guide plate 2610. It has a plurality of fine reflecting portions 2670 that The plurality of specific light entrance portions 2630 of the light guide plate 2610 introduce light so that the light travels through the light guide plate 2610 from a plurality of positions. As for the plurality of specific light entrance portions 2630, the first specific light entrance portion 2630a, the second specific light entrance portion 2630b, the third specific light entrance portion 2630c, and the fourth specific light entrance portion 2630d are illustrated. A specific light entrance section 2630a to a seventh specific light entrance section are provided. This is to repeatedly provide seven specific light receiving portions 2630 (LED group 2614) for a rainbow effect in which the light guide plate emits light in seven colors. The first specific light-entering portion 2630a to the seventh specific light-entering portion (not shown) repeat in order from left to right on the upper surface of the light guide plate 2610 in the longitudinal direction (horizontal direction in the figure) (seventh specific light-entering portion are arranged in the order of the first specific light entrance portion 2630a).

The reflecting portion 2670 extends in a direction perpendicular to a straight line connecting the corresponding specific light entrance portion 2630 (the direction in which the light incident from the specific light entrance portion 2630 travels in the light guide plate 2610) and guides the light. It has an interface inclined at 45 degrees with respect to the rear surface of the light plate 2610 . Reflector 2670 is recessed into a pent-roof-like triangle. Reflecting portion 2670 reflects light incident from corresponding specific light entering portion 2630 and emits the light in a direction substantially perpendicular to the front surface of light guide plate 2610 . Also, the reflecting portion 2670 reflects the light incident from the non-corresponding specific light entering portion 2630 and emits the light in a direction inclined with respect to the vertical line of the front surface of the light guide plate 2610 .

As a result, as indicated by broken lines in FIG. 239, the light incident from the corresponding specific light entrance portion 2630 is reflected by the reflecting portion 2670 toward the front side of the light guide plate 2610 (perpendicular to the plane of the paper). A player seated in front of the pachinko machine 1 sees the reflecting part 2670 as emitting light. On the other hand, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 239, the light incident from the non-corresponding specific light entrance portion 2630 is reflected by the reflection portion 2670 in a direction other than the front of the light guide plate 2610, and the pachinko machine 1 The reflecting part 2670 does not appear to emit light from the player sitting in front of it.

In this embodiment, the reflecting portion 2670 is recessed in a triangular shape and extends in the direction perpendicular to the straight line connecting the corresponding specific light entering portion 2630. However, this is not the case. , and it may extend in a direction perpendicular to the straight line connecting the corresponding specific light entrance portion 2630 .

The plurality of reflecting portions 2670 correspond to any of the plurality of specific light entering portions 2630, and the plurality of first reflecting portions 2670a and second specific light entering portion 2630b corresponding to the first specific light entering portion 2630a. a plurality of second reflecting portions 2670b corresponding to the plurality of third reflecting portions 2670c corresponding to the third specific light entering portion 2630c; and a plurality of fourth reflecting portions corresponding to the fourth specific light entering portion 2630d including portion 2670d and the like.

Further, the light guide plate 2610 is capable of displaying a plurality of patterns 2623 that can be illuminated in different manners by reflecting light forward from a specific reflecting portion 2670 of the plurality of reflecting portions 2670 . The plurality of patterns 2623 includes a pattern 2623a consisting of a plurality of first reflecting portions 2670a, a pattern 2623b consisting of a plurality of second reflecting portions 2670b, a pattern 2623c consisting of a plurality of third reflecting portions 2670c, and a plurality of fourth reflecting portions 2670c. A pattern 2623d made up of a portion 2670d is included.

As shown in FIGS. 240 to 242, the patterns are arranged in order from the center to the outside in a circulating manner.

The second picture board 2612 has a strip-like shape extending left and right, and LEDs 2614 are mounted at positions corresponding to the respective specific light receiving portions 2630 . The plurality of LEDs 2614 includes a first LED group 2614a corresponding to the first specific light entrance portion 2630a, a second LED group 2614b corresponding to the second specific light entrance portion 2630b, and a third specific light entrance portion 2630c. A third LED group 2614c corresponding to, a fourth LED group 2614d corresponding to the fourth specific light entrance portion 2630d, and a fifth LED group corresponding to the fifth specific light entrance portion (not shown) (illustration omitted), a sixth LED group (not illustrated) corresponding to the sixth specific light receiving portion (not illustrated), and a seventh LED group corresponding to the seventh specific light receiving portion (not illustrated) (not shown). Note that FIG. 239 illustrates the first LED group 2614a to the fourth LED group 2614d, and omits the fifth to seventh LED groups. Each LED group is formed by dividing a plurality of LEDs 2614 arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction (horizontal direction in the figure) on the second pattern substrate 2612 in the horizontal direction of the second pattern substrate 2612, and sequentially from left to right. , (the seventh LED group is followed by the first LED group 2614a). In this embodiment, each LED group has six LEDs 2614 each.

Next, the lighting effect by the display effect unit 2600 of this embodiment will be described in detail. When the first LED group 2614a of the second pattern substrate 2612 is caused to emit light, light enters the light guide plate 2610 from the first specific light entrance portion 2630a, and is reflected to the front of the light guide plate 2610 by the first reflection portion 2670a, Since the second reflecting portion 2670b, the third reflecting portion 2670c, the fourth reflecting portion 2670d, and the like reflect light to a direction other than the front, only the first reflecting portion 2670a appears to shine from the player seated in front of the pachinko machine 1. As a result, the pattern composed of the plurality of first reflecting portions 2670a can be caused to emit light.

When the second LED group 2614b of the second pattern substrate 2612 is caused to emit light, light enters the light guide plate 2610 from the second specific light entrance portion 2630b, and is reflected to the front of the light guide plate 2610 by the second reflection portion 2670b, Since the first reflecting portion 2670a, the third reflecting portion 2670c, the fourth reflecting portion 2670d, etc. reflect light to a direction other than the front, only the second reflecting portion 2670b appears to shine from the player seated in front of the pachinko machine 1. As a result, the pattern composed of the plurality of second reflecting portions 2670b can be caused to emit light.

When the third LED group 2614c of the second pattern substrate 2612 is caused to emit light, light enters the light guide plate 2610 from the third specific light entrance portion 2630c, and is reflected to the front of the light guide plate 2610 by the third reflecting portion 2670c, Since the other first reflecting portion 2670a, second reflecting portion 2670b, fourth reflecting portion 2670d, etc. reflect light to a direction other than the front, only the third reflecting portion 2670c appears to shine from the player seated in front of the pachinko machine 1. As a result, the pattern composed of the plurality of third reflecting portions 2670c can be caused to emit light.

When the fourth LED group 2614d of the second pattern substrate 2612 is caused to emit light, light enters the light guide plate 2610 from the fourth specific light entrance portion 2630d, and is reflected to the front of the light guide plate 2610 by the fourth reflection portion 2670d, Since the first reflecting portion 2670a, the second reflecting portion 2670b, the third reflecting portion 2670c, etc., reflect to other than the front, only the fourth reflecting portion 2670d appears to shine from the player seated in front of the pachinko machine 1. As a result, the pattern composed of the plurality of fourth reflecting portions 2670d can be caused to emit light.

Similarly, when each LED group is caused to emit light from the fifth LED group to the seventh LED group 2614, light enters the light guide plate 2610 from the corresponding specific light entrance portion 2630, and the light guide plate 2610 passes through the corresponding reflection portion 2670. The light is reflected to the front, and the other reflecting parts 2670 reflect to other than the front, and only the corresponding reflecting parts 2670 appear to shine from the player seated in front of the pachinko machine 1. You can make the pattern you are holding emit light.

As described above, in the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, by switching the group of LEDs to emit light, the plurality of patterns 2623 can be caused to emit light. Such light emission production can be performed. In particular, as shown in FIG. 240, in a light guide plate 2610 on which similar patterns are superimposed, a moving effect is achieved in which the patterns emit light like an animation that spreads from the center to the outside or shrinks from the outside to the center. can be done.

FIG. 240 is a diagram showing an example of a pattern displayed in a moving effect by the light guide plate. In the example shown in FIG. 240, by switching the position of the group of LEDs that emit light with the lapse of time, a moving effect is performed in which the size of the pattern changes.

As described above, the light guide plate 2610 is provided with the first specific light entrance portion 2630a to the seventh specific light entrance portion 2630g. A seventh LED group 2614g is arranged. In addition, in FIG. 240, the position corresponding to each specific light entrance part is represented by the alphabet of the last letter of a code|symbol.

As shown in FIG. 240(A), when the sixth LED group 2614f and the seventh LED group 2614g are turned on and light enters from the sixth specific light entrance portion 2630f and the seventh specific light entrance portion 2630g, the light guide plate 2610 The incident light is reflected by the sixth reflecting portion 2670f and the seventh reflecting portion 2670g, and the pattern in which the sixth reflecting portion 2670f and the seventh reflecting portion 2670g are arranged emits light, which the player can recognize.

After that, when the fifth LED group 2614e and the sixth LED group 2614f are turned on and the light is incident from the fifth specific light incident portion 2630e and the sixth specific light incident portion 2630f, the light incident on the light guide plate 2610 is reflected by the fifth reflection portion 2670e and the sixth reflecting part 2670f are reflected, and the pattern in which the fifth reflecting part 2670e and the sixth reflecting part 2670f are arranged emits light, which the player can recognize.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 240(B), when the fourth LED group 2614d and the fifth LED group 2614e are turned on and light enters from the fourth specific light entrance portion 2630d and the fifth specific light entrance portion 2630e, the light guide plate The light incident on 2610 is reflected by the fourth reflecting portion 2670d and the fifth reflecting portion 2670e, and the pattern in which the fourth reflecting portion 2670d and the fifth reflecting portion 2670e are arranged emits light, which the player can recognize.

After that, when the third LED group 2614c and the fourth LED group 2614d are turned on and the light is incident from the third specific light entrance portion 2630c and the fourth specific light entrance portion 2630d, the light incident on the light guide plate 2610 is reflected by the third reflection portion 2670c and the fourth reflecting part 2670d are reflected, and the pattern in which the third reflecting part 2670cd and the fourth reflecting part 2670d are arranged emits light, which the player can recognize.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 240(C), when the second LED group 2614b and the third LED group 2614c are turned on and light enters from the second specific light entrance portion 2630b and the third specific light entrance portion 2630c, the light guide plate The light incident on 2610 is reflected by the second reflecting portion 2670b and the third reflecting portion 2670c, and the pattern in which the second reflecting portion 2670b and the third reflecting portion 2670c are arranged emits light, which the player can recognize.

In this way, by changing the position of the group of LEDs (LED elements) to emit light without changing the number thereof, the size of the pattern can be changed, and a moving effect can be realized in which the pattern is emitted so as to move outward from the center. At this time, the LED groups may emit a single color, or each group may emit a different color (ie, depending on the position).

FIG. 241 is a diagram showing an example of a pattern displayed in another moving effect by the light guide plate. In the example shown in FIG. 241, by changing the number of light-emitting LED groups with the lapse of time, a moving effect is performed in which the size of the pattern changes.

As described above, the light guide plate 2610 is provided with the first specific light entrance portion 2630a to the seventh specific light entrance portion 2630g. A seventh LED group 2614g is arranged. In addition, in FIG. 241, the position corresponding to each specific light entrance part is represented by the alphabet of the last letter of a code|symbol.

As shown in FIG. 241(A), the second LED group 2614b to the seventh LED group 2614g are turned on, and the incident light from the second specific light entrance section 2630b to the seventh specific light entrance section 2630g is reflected by the second reflection section 2670b. The second to seventh reflecting portions 2670g are reflected, and the pattern in which the second to seventh reflecting portions 2670b to 2670g are arranged emits light and can be recognized by the player.

After that, the third LED group 2614c to the seventh LED group 2614g are turned on, and the light incident from the third specific light entrance section 2630c to the seventh specific light entrance section 2630g is reflected by the third reflection section 2670c to the seventh reflection section 2670g. Then, the pattern in which the third reflecting portion 2670c to the seventh reflecting portion 2670g are arranged emits light and can be recognized by the player.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 241(B), the fourth LED group 2614d to the seventh LED group 2614g are turned on, and the incident light from the fourth specific light entrance section 2630d to the seventh specific light entrance section 2630g is fourthly reflected. The part 2670d to the seventh reflecting part 2670g reflect, and the pattern in which the fourth reflecting part 2670d to the seventh reflecting part 2670g are arranged emits light, which the player can recognize.

After that, the fifth LED group 2614e to the seventh LED group 2614g are turned on, and the light incident from the fifth specific light entrance portion 2630e to the seventh specific light entrance portion 2630g is reflected by the fifth reflection portion 2670e to the seventh reflection portion 2670g. Then, the pattern in which the fifth reflecting portion 2670e to the seventh reflecting portion 2670g are arranged emits light and can be recognized by the player.

Further, as shown in FIG. 241(C), the sixth LED group 2614f to the seventh LED group 2614g are turned on, and light incident from the sixth specific light entrance portion 2630f to the seventh specific light entrance portion 2630g is reflected in the sixth direction. The part 2670f to the seventh reflecting part 2670g reflect, and the pattern in which the sixth reflecting part 2670f to the seventh reflecting part 2670g are arranged emits light, which the player can recognize.

In this way, by changing the number of LED groups (LED elements) that emit light, it is possible to change the size of the pattern (light emission range) and perform a moving effect in which the pattern emits light in a shrinking manner. At this time, the LED groups may emit a single color, or each group may emit a different color (ie, depending on the position).

FIG. 242 is a diagram showing an example of a pattern displayed in another moving effect by the light guide plate. In the example shown in FIG. 242, by changing the emission color of the LED group with the lapse of time, a moving effect is performed in which the color of the pattern changes.

As described above, the light guide plate 2610 is provided with the first specific light entrance portion 2630a to the seventh specific light entrance portion 2630g. A seventh LED group 2614g is arranged. The first LED group 2614a to the seventh LED group 2614g are composed of full-color LEDs and can emit light in multiple colors. In addition, in FIG. 242, the position corresponding to each specific light entrance part is represented by the alphabet of the last letter of a code|symbol.

As shown in FIG. 242(A), the first LED group 2614a lights up in red, the red light incident from the first specific light entrance portion 2630a is reflected by the first reflection portion 2670a, and the first reflection portion 2670a is arranged. The drawn pattern emits red light, and the player recognizes the red pattern. Similarly, the second LED group 2614b lights up in orange, and the orange light incident from the second specific light entrance portion 2630b is reflected by the second reflection portion 2670b to emit light with an orange pattern. In addition, the third LED group 2614c lights up in yellow, and the yellow light incident from the third specific light receiving portion 2630c is reflected by the third reflecting portion 2670c to emit a yellow pattern. In addition, the fourth LED group 2614d lights up in green, and the green light incident from the fourth specific light entering portion 2630d is reflected by the fourth reflecting portion 2670d to emit green light. In addition, the fifth LED group 2614e lights up in blue, and the blue light incident from the fifth specific light entering portion 2630e is reflected by the fifth reflecting portion 2670e to emit blue light. In addition, the sixth LED group 2614f is lit in indigo blue, and the indigo light incident from the sixth specific light receiving portion 2630f is reflected by the sixth reflecting portion 2670f to emit light in the pattern in indigo. Further, the seventh LED group 2614g lights up in purple, and the seventh reflecting portion 2670g reflects the purple light incident from the seventh specific light receiving portion 2630g to emit a purple pattern.

After that, as shown in FIG. 242(B), the first LED group 2614a to the seventh LED group 2614g light up in purple, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo, respectively, and the color of the pattern changes. After a further period of time, as shown in FIG. 242(C), the first LED group 2614a to the seventh LED group 2614g light up in indigo, purple, red, orange, yellow, green, and blue, respectively. color changes.

In this way, the colors of the LEDs forming the group of LEDs are changed, and the color of the pattern is changed sequentially (for example, every 0.5 seconds). Since the human eye pays close attention to patterns that emit light in the same color, it is possible to create a moving effect in which the patterns emit light as if they move inward.

FIG. 243 is a diagram showing the arrangement of patterns on the light guide plate 2610 and the arrangement of the LED group 2614. FIG.

In this embodiment, a plurality of LED groups 2614 correspond to a reflecting portion 2670 forming one pattern, and the plurality of LED groups 2614 emit light in a predetermined pattern to display one pattern. Specifically, control is performed such that the light emission pattern of the LED group 2614 (the specific light incident portion 2630) is repeated with a group of seven LEDs as a repeating unit. Moreover, the LED is configured to emit light with directivity and illuminate a predetermined angle range from the front of the LED.

That is, as shown in FIG. 243, the illumination range of the LEDs emitting light in the same pattern (which is the light emitting source of the light forming one picture) is the range shown by the fan shape in the drawing. In the vicinity, there is a range where the light from the LED does not reach.

For this reason, a pattern is provided at a position separated by a predetermined distance from the edge of the light guide plate 2610 where light is incident. For example, if the illumination range of the LED is 60 degrees (full angle at half maximum θ = ±30 degrees), the range where the light from the LED does not reach is an equilateral triangle, so the length of the repeating unit of the LED group (with the same pattern The pattern is separated from the end of the light guide plate 2610 by a length of 0.87 times α).

To generalize, the following relationship is established where α is the length of the repeating unit of the LED group, θ is the illumination angle of the LED, and L is the distance separating the pattern from the edge of the light guide plate 2610 .
L=tan θ×α/2

In this way, when a moving picture that appears to move is composed of light from a plurality of LED groups, the moving picture must be placed at a position a predetermined distance away from the edge of the light guide plate 2610 . In other words, the moving pattern area that displays a pattern that appears to move is smaller than the static pattern area that displays a static pattern. If the light guide plate 2610 has the same size as the display area of the liquid crystal display device 1600 , moving effects can be produced by the light guide plate 2610 in an area narrower than the display area of the liquid crystal display device 1600 . Therefore, in the performance of the variable display game, it is possible to allow the player to recognize the progress of the variable display game without hindering the visual recognition of the special symbols normally displayed near the end of the display area of the liquid crystal display device 1600 . . In addition, by performing the moving effect in the central portion of the liquid crystal display device 1600 where the player gazes, the excitement of the player due to the moving effect can suppress the decrease in interest.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the light guide plate 2610 is attached to the center accessory 2500 of the front unit 2000 has been described. A region where the moving effect is impossible is created within a predetermined distance from the end of the light guide plate 2610, and the player can visually recognize the region where the moving effect is impossible. In addition, the area where the moving effect is possible becomes narrower, and the effect of the effect is reduced.

Therefore, unlike the above, the light guide plate 2610 may be attached to the back unit 3000 . In this case, since the light guide plate 2610 can be made larger than the inner frame of the center accessory 2500, the area where the moving effect is not possible is hidden by the center accessory 2500, and the area where the moving effect is not possible is the display area of the main liquid crystal display device 1600. , and moving effects can be performed in the entire (or most) area of the inner frame of the center accessory 2500 . That is, when the pachinko machine 1 is viewed from the front, the end portion of the light guide plate 2610 is located outside the periphery of the main liquid crystal display device 1600 and the periphery of the center accessory 2500 .

Since the back unit 3000 includes various decorations (decoration unit 3050, movable effect units 3100, 3200, 3300, 3400, 3500, etc.), the end of the light guide plate 2610 is positioned behind these decorations. A light guide plate 2610 can be arranged, and a light emitting device (first pattern substrate 2611, second pattern substrate 2612) can be positioned behind the decoration. As a result, the board serving as the light source can be arranged at a position where the player cannot see it, and the decorativeness can be ensured.

Furthermore, the LEDs for the light guide plate 2610 (LEDs 2613 and 2614 for the light guide plate) and the LEDs for causing the decoration to emit light may be mounted on one substrate.

In this way, when the light guide plate 2610 is attached to the back unit 3000, the entire display area of the main liquid crystal display device 1600 can be used as an area where moving effects can be performed, and the player is made aware of the unnaturalness due to the limitation of the moving effect area. You can avoid it.

FIG. 244 is a diagram showing an example of a pattern displayed in another moving effect by the light guide plate. In the example shown in FIG. 244, by changing the emission color of the LED group with the lapse of time, a moving effect is performed in which the color of the pattern changes.

As described above, the light guide plate 2610 is provided with the first specific light entrance portion 2630a to the seventh specific light entrance portion 2630g. Group 2614g is located. The first LED group 2614a to the seventh LED group 2614g are composed of full-color LEDs and can emit light in multiple colors. In addition, in FIG. 244, the position corresponding to each specific light entrance part is represented by the alphabet of the last letter of a code|symbol.

As illustrated, the first LED group 2614a lights up in red, the first reflecting portion 2670a reflects the red light incident from the first specific light receiving portion 2630a, and the pattern on which the first reflecting portion 2670a is arranged is red. , and the player recognizes the red pattern. Similarly, the second LED group 2614b lights up in orange, and the second reflection part 2670b reflects the orange light incident from the second specific light entrance part 2630b to emit light with an orange pattern. Also, the third LED group 2614c lights up in yellow, and the yellow light incident from the third specific light receiving portion 2630c is reflected by the third reflecting portion 2670c to emit a yellow pattern. In addition, the fourth LED group 2614d lights up in green, and the green light incident from the fourth specific light entrance portion 2630d is reflected by the fourth reflection portion 2670d to emit green light. In addition, the fifth LED group 2614e lights up in blue, and the blue light incident from the fifth specific light entrance portion 2630e is reflected by the fifth reflecting portion 2670e to emit blue light. In addition, the sixth LED group 2614f lights up in indigo blue, and the sixth reflecting portion 2670f reflects the indigo light incident from the sixth specific light receiving portion 2630f to emit light in the pattern in indigo. Further, the seventh LED group 2614g lights up in purple, and the seventh reflecting portion 2670g reflects the purple light incident from the seventh specific light receiving portion 2630g to emit a purple pattern.

After that, each of the first LED group 2614a to the seventh LED group 2614g lights up in purple, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo, and the color of the pattern changes. As time passes, each of the first LED group 2614a to the seventh LED group 2614g lights up in indigo, purple, red, orange, yellow, green, and blue, and the color of the pattern changes.

In this way, the colors of the LEDs forming the group of LEDs are changed, and the color of the pattern is changed sequentially (for example, every 0.5 seconds). Since the human eye pays close attention to patterns that emit light in the same color, it is possible to create a moving effect in which the pattern emits light as if streaks of light in seven colors flow.

Although the detailed explanation is omitted, even with the light guide plate 2610 having a pattern in which two light lines intersect as shown in FIG. The color of the pattern (light streaks) changes, and it is possible to create a moving effect that makes the pattern emit light so that seven colors of light streaks flow. In addition, by using left-right eye parallax to make the lines of light appear deeper or closer to the viewer as they move away from the light source, it is possible to display a pattern with a three-dimensional effect.

Next, a stereoscopic pattern and a planar pattern by the light guide plate 2610 will be described.

FIG. 245 is a diagram showing how the light guide plate 2610 displays a picture in plan view.

As shown in FIG. 245B, since the reflecting surface of the reflecting portion 2660 provided on the back surface of the light guide plate 2610 is curved, light traveling through the light guide plate 2610 is reflected in a plurality of directions. , reach the player's right eye 10R and left eye 10L. Reflecting portion 2660 also reflects light that travels through light guide plate 2610 and arrives at reflecting portion 2660 from a plurality of directions (that is, through a plurality of paths), and emits the light to the front side of light guide plate 2610 . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 245(A), the pattern 2621 formed by the reflecting portion 2660 does not cause parallax between the left and right eyes, so that the player can view the pattern 2621 as a planar pattern at the position of the light guide plate 2610. will be seen as

FIG. 246 is a diagram showing how the light guide plate 2610 displays a picture in plan view.

As shown in FIG. 246(B), the reflecting portion 2650L provided on the back surface of the light guide plate 2610 reflects the light traveling in the light guide plate 2610 toward the left eye 10L of the player, and the reflecting portion 2650R Light traveling in the light guide plate 2610 is reflected toward the player's right eye 10R. However, since the reflective portion 2650L and the reflective portion 2650R are arranged close to each other (for example, 1 mm or less), as shown in FIG. The parallax of the eye is small, and it can be said that the pattern for the left eye formed by the reflecting portion 2650L and the pattern for the right eye formed by the reflecting portion 2650R are arranged at the same position. Therefore, the player sees the pattern 2621 as a planar pattern at the position of the light guide plate 2610 .

FIG. 247 is a diagram showing how a stereoscopic pattern is displayed by the light guide plate 2610. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 247(B), the reflecting surface 2651 of the reflecting portion 2650L provided on the back surface of the light guide plate 2610 is set at an angle that reflects the light traveling in the light guide plate 2610 toward the player's left eye 10L. The reflecting surface 2651 of the reflecting portion 2650R is set at an angle to reflect the light traveling through the light guide plate 2610 toward the player's right eye 10R. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 247(A), on the light guide plate 2610, the left eye image 2621L and the right eye image 2621R are shifted by the distance between the reflecting portions 2650L and 2650R. A right-eye image and a left-eye image with parallax are recognized. In the state shown in FIG. 247, the light reaching the player's left eye 10L and the light reaching the right eye 10R intersect at point 2621C on the back side of light guide plate 2610. In FIG. Therefore, the player sees the pattern 2621 formed by the reflecting portions 2650L and R as a three-dimensional pattern behind the light guide plate 2610. FIG.

FIG. 248 is a diagram showing how a stereoscopic pattern is displayed by the light guide plate 2610. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 248(B), the reflecting surface 2651 of the reflecting portion 2650L provided on the back surface of the light guide plate 2610 is set at an angle that reflects the light traveling in the light guide plate 2610 toward the player's left eye 10L. The reflecting surface 2651 of the reflecting portion 2650R is set at an angle to reflect the light traveling through the light guide plate 2610 toward the player's right eye 10R. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 248(A), on the light guide plate 2610, the left eye image 2621L and the right eye image 2621R are shifted by the distance between the reflecting portions 2650L and 2650R. A right-eye image and a left-eye image with parallax are recognized. In the state shown in FIG. 248, the light reaching the player's left eye 10L and the light reaching the right eye 10R intersect at point 2621C on the surface side of light guide plate 2610. In FIG. Therefore, the player sees the pattern 2621 formed by the reflecting portions 2650L and R as a three-dimensional pattern in front of the light guide plate 2610. FIG.

As described above, according to the display effect unit 2600, since a plurality of different patterns can be illuminated by a single light guide plate 2610, it is not necessary to provide a plurality of light guide plates for each pattern in order to display animation or the like. Therefore, the thickness of the display effect unit 2600 in the front-rear direction can be reduced as much as possible. In addition, since the light guide plate 2610 is attached to the center accessory 2500, the light guide plate 2610 can be positioned as close to the player side as possible, making it easy to secure a wide space behind the light guide plate 2610. can. Therefore, since a wide space can be secured behind the light guide plate 2610, the lower movable production unit 3100, the upper rear movable production unit 3200, the upper front movable production unit 3300, etc. can be arranged behind the light guide plate 2610. By improving the appearance of the game area 5a, the pachinko machine 1 can be made highly appealing to the players. By performing the movable performance by the upper front movable performance unit 3300 or the like, it is possible to provide the player with various performances, to entertain the player and to suppress the decrease in interest.

In addition, by arranging the light guide plate 2610 in front of the effect unit, the decorative body, and the effect display device 1600, a plurality of semi-transparent patterns due to the light emission of the plurality of reflecting parts 2670 emerge to show the luminous decoration that moves like an animation. Therefore, it is possible to give a strong impact to the player who is accustomed to the light emitting effect using the conventional light guide plate, to surprise and amuse the player, and to provide something good to the player. It is possible to make the player think that something might happen, and to heighten the player's sense of expectation for the game, thereby suppressing the loss of interest.

In addition, since only the player sitting in front of the pachinko machine 1 can see the luminous display of the pattern by the light guide plate 2610, the luminous display of the pattern 2623 is not visible to other players far from the front. becomes difficult to see, making it difficult for other players to notice that the effect using the light guide plate 2610 is being performed, so that it is possible to suppress other players from paying attention and To enable a player to play a game without hesitation, to entertain the player, and to suppress the deterioration of interest.

Furthermore, since the light guide plate 2610 is attached to the frame of the center role 2500 attached to the center of the front view game area 5a, the patterns 2621 and 2622 are illuminated by the LEDs 2613 and 2614. Also, the light-emitting patterns do not interfere with the game in the game area 5a, and the area where the game is actually played can be visually recognized from the player side in a good condition, making it difficult to see the game. To prevent distrust from being given to a player and to enjoy the game in a good condition.

In addition, since the light guide plate 2610 is attached to the frame-shaped center accessory 2500, by matching the periphery of the light guide plate 2610 with the frame of the center accessory 2500, the periphery of the light guide plate 2610 (first picture substrate 2611, second pattern board 2612) can be made difficult to see from the player side, and it is difficult for the player to notice the existence of the light guide plate 2610. Therefore, the light guide plate 2610 does not exist when the pattern is displayed by light emission. A strong impact can be given to the player who thought that there is no such thing, and the player can be surprised.

Further, since the effect display device 1600 capable of displaying the effect image is provided behind the light guide plate 2610, the luminous display of a plurality of patterns different from each other by the light guide plate 2610 and the effect image by the effect display device 1600 are combined. Since the performance can be shown to the player, various performances can be produced by appropriately combining them, and the player can be hardly bored, and the player can be entertained by the performance by the light guide plate 2610 and the performance display device 1600.例文帳に追加It is possible to suppress the decline in the player's interest in the game.

In addition, since the effect display device 1600 is arranged behind the light guide plate 2610, the distance from the player seated in front of the pachinko machine 1 to the light guide plate 2610 and the distance to the effect display device 1600 are different. Therefore, it is possible to display effect images related to the plurality of patterns 2623 that are light-emitting displayed on the light guide plate 2610, and to give the light-emitting patterns 2623 a sense of depth and a three-dimensional effect. A performance (display performance) capable of strongly attracting the player's interest can be shown to the player, and the player can be entertained and the decline in interest in the game can be suppressed.

Also, the LEDs 2613 and 2614 may be monochromatic LEDs or full-color LEDs. In addition, the number of specific light entering portions, reflecting portions, and the number of LED groups can be appropriately selected according to the number, shape, and size of patterns.

[13-3. Production example]
Next, an example of effect display using the light guide plate in the special symbol variation display game will be described. 249 to 254 are diagrams showing examples of effects using a light guide plate.

In the effect display shown in FIG. 249, the light guide plate 2610 is caused to emit light so that a predetermined pattern is reflected on the light guide plate 2610, and a moving effect is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 to move the image toward the predetermined image. This effect display may be executed in a specific special symbol variation display game (for example, as a specific ready-to-win effect or advance notice effect).

Specifically, first, as shown in FIG. 249A, nothing is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600, and the entire screen turns black (blacks out). This blackout causes the player to gaze at the liquid crystal display device 1600 .

After that, as shown in FIG. 249(B), the LEDs 2613 mounted on the first pattern board 2611 are turned on, and the first pattern 2621 is reflected on the light guide plate 2610 . This causes the player to gaze at the first pattern 2621 . Then, as shown in FIG. 249(C), a moving effect is performed in which an image moving toward the first pattern 2621 is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 . Further, as shown in FIG. 249(D), the moving effect may move the image 1611 from multiple locations (that is, multiple directions) on the liquid crystal display device 1600 toward the first pattern 2621 . An image 1611 that is moved and displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 may have the same color as the first pattern 2621 or a different color. Further, the image 1611 moved and displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 may have the same shape (similar shape) as the first pattern 2621 as shown in FIG. 249 or a different shape as shown in FIG. The image 1611 and the first pattern 2621 that are moved and displayed are images of the same character (the pose and face may be the same or different), or the same characters (for example, the name of the character) with the same font and color. They can be the same or different. In the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, since the light guide plate 2610 is arranged on the front side of the liquid crystal display device 1600, the back side of the first pattern 2621 projected on the light guide plate 2610 as shown in FIG. It is preferable that an image is displayed by the liquid crystal display device 1600 on both sides.

After that, as shown in FIG. 249(E), in the moving effect, the number of images 1611 moving toward the first pattern 2621 and the proportion of the moving images 1611 occupying the display area of the liquid crystal display device 1600 are measured over time. may be changed according to

The aspect of the first pattern 2621 projected on the light guide plate 2610 may be changed during the moving effect. For example, as shown in FIG. 251, the color and brightness of the first pattern 2621 projected on the light guide plate 2610 may be changed during the movement effect. The color and brightness of the first pattern 2621 may be changed continuously (gradually) or stepwise (stepwise).

Also, as shown in FIG. 252, the size of the first pattern 2621 projected on the light guide plate 2610 may be changed during the moving effect. In this case, it is preferable to provide a plurality of light guide plates and use the other light guide plates to project patterns of different sizes. In addition, the light guide plate 2610 can project a plurality of different patterns by irradiating light from different directions. , oblique directions), different sizes (large or small) of the first pattern 2621 may be projected.

After performing the moving effect for a predetermined time, the LED 2613 mounted on the first pattern substrate 2611 is turned off, and the first pattern 2621 is removed from the light guide plate 2610, as shown in FIG. 249(F). Furthermore, the image displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 is also erased, and the entire screen is blacked out. This blackout makes the player look at the liquid crystal display device 1600 and creates a space for improving the expectation for the next performance.

After that, as shown in FIG. 249(G), an image 1612 different from the first pattern 2621 and the moving image (for example, a character with high hit reliability) is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 . Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 249(H), the size of the character image 1612 is changed. For example, if the size of the character image 1612 is increased, the player's expectation of winning increases, but if the size of the character image 1612 is decreased, the player's expectation of winning decreases. Note that the color and expression of the character image 1612 may be changed. Also, the character image 1612 is preferably displayed in an area overlapping the display area of the first pattern 2621 . Furthermore, along with displaying the character image 1612, the light guide plate 2610 may be illuminated from above to project a rainbow pattern (see FIG. 235).

Note that this character image may be projected on the light guide plate 2610 . As described above, the light guide plate 2610 can project a plurality of different patterns by irradiating light from different directions. A character image may be projected by irradiating light from the direction). Also, a plurality of light guide plates may be provided and the character image may be projected on other light guide plates. When character images with different sizes and facial expressions are projected on a light guide plate provided in addition to the light guide plate 2610, an effect display with a sense of depth is possible, unlike the planar liquid crystal display device 1600. FIG.

As described above, in the moving effect in which the image moves toward the first pattern 2621, the image on the liquid crystal display device 1600 moves after the first pattern 2621 is projected, but the image on the liquid crystal display device 1600 moves. , the first picture 2621 may be projected. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 253, after the blackout (FIG. 253(A)), before the first pattern 2621 is projected as shown in FIG. A moving effect is started in which an image moving toward a projected position is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600. - 特許庁After that, as shown in FIG. 253(C), the LEDs 2613 mounted on the first pattern substrate 2611 are turned on, and the first pattern 2621 is reflected on the light guide plate 2610 . After that, as shown in FIG. 253(D), the moving effect in which the image moves toward the first pattern 2621 is continued.

Thus, the time during which the first pattern 2621 is projected (duration of the light guide plate effect) and the effect time during which the image 1611 moves (the time during which the moving image is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600) The light guide plate effect in which is projected may be started before or after the effect in which the image 1611 moves. Also, the duration of the light guide plate effect in which the first pattern 2621 is projected may be longer or shorter than the effect time in which the image 1611 moves.

Also, as shown in FIG. 254, a variable display game effect may be performed by switching between a moving pattern in which the patterns where the images are gathered appears to move and a static pattern in which the patterns appear to not move.

In the light guide plate presentation shown in FIG. 254, when a moving picture appears, the expectation for a big win is high, and when a static picture only appears, the expectation for a big win is low. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 254(A), a still picture 2621 is displayed on the light guide plate 2610 in accordance with the progress of the variable display game, and as shown in FIG. 2621 to display the image 1611 on the liquid crystal display device 1600 to move effect. Further, as the variable display game progresses, the static pattern 2621 is switched to the moving pattern as shown in FIG. 254(C). Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 254(D), a moving effect may be performed in which the image 1611 is moved from a plurality of locations (that is, a plurality of directions) of the liquid crystal display device 1600 toward the first pattern 2621 .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 254(E), a still picture 2621 is displayed on the light guide plate 2610 according to the progress of the variable display game, and as shown in FIG. A moving effect is performed in which an image 1611 that moves by pressing is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 . Further, as the variable display game progresses, as shown in FIG. good. After that, as shown in FIG. 254(H), the variable display game ends without switching the stationary pattern 2621 to the moving pattern.

In the effect shown in FIG. 254, when a specific display effect (for example, a specific ready-to-win effect, a pseudo-continuous effect, or a specific look-ahead effect) is selected in the special symbol variation display game, the specific display effect is displayed. The specific image 1611 may perform an effect together with the moving effect by the first pattern 2621, and in other cases, the first pattern may not perform the moving effect.

As described above, in the effect of the variable display game shown in FIG. 254, the effect of selectively displaying the stationary pattern and the moving pattern by the light guide plate 2610 is performed, so that the player has a sense of anticipation for the development of the variable display game. , it is possible to suppress the decline in game interest.

Next, an example of an effect in which an effect using an operating object is added to the effect display using the light guide plate in the special symbol variation display game will be described.

255 and 256 are diagrams showing examples of effects using the light guide plate 2610 and the movable body 3601. FIG.

In the rendering shown in FIG. 255, the pattern displayed on the light guide plate 2610 and the movable body 3601 appearing in front of the liquid crystal display device 1600 constitute one pattern. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 255(A), a portion of the movable body 3601 appears or disappears from the upper portion of the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 1600 in a short period according to the progress of the variable display game. Repeatedly, the player's expectation for a big win is heightened. Then, as shown in FIG. 255(B), the entire movable body 3601 appears in front of the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 1600 .

After that, as shown in FIG. 255(C), a pattern 2621 superimposed on the movable body is displayed by light emission of the light guide plate 2610, and a moving effect is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 to display an image 1611 moving toward the movable body 3601. conduct. Further, as the variable display game progresses, as shown in FIG. 255(D), a moving effect may be performed in which the image is moved from a plurality of locations (that is, a plurality of directions) of the liquid crystal display device 1600 toward the pattern 2621. .

The movable body 3601 may emit light at the timing when this moving effect starts or during the moving effect. The light-emitting mode (light-emitting color and light-emitting timing) of the movable body 3601 may be the same as or different from the light-emitting mode of the light guide plate 2610 .

Players' expectations for the development of the variable display game can be increased by selectively performing either the effect display in which the movable body 3601 does not appear as shown in FIG. 249 or the effect display in which the movable body 3601 appears as shown in FIG. The pachinko machine can be enhanced and highly interesting.

In the above example, the movable body 3601 is made to appear instead of the pattern on which the images are gathered. For example, if the body is represented by the movable body 3601 and the face is represented by the light guide plate 2610, the expression of the face can be changed by switching the pattern displayed on the light guide plate 2610. FIG. In this way, in addition to effects by the liquid crystal display device 1600, various effects by the light guide plate 2610 can be realized.

In the effect shown in FIG. 256, a light guide plate 2610 is used as the effect suggesting the appearance of the movable body 3601 . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 256(A), according to the progress of the variable display game, the light guide plate 2610 emits light to display a pattern 2621, and as shown in FIG. A moving effect is performed in which an image 1611 moving toward the displayed pattern is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 . Further, as the variable display game progresses, as shown in FIG. 256(C), a moving effect is performed in which the image 1611 is moved from a plurality of locations (that is, a plurality of directions) of the liquid crystal display device 1600 toward the first pattern 2621. may Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 256(D), movable body 3601 appears from above the display screen of liquid crystal display device 1600 and stops at a position overlapping pattern 2621 of light guide plate 2610 .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 256(E), according to the progress of the variable display game, a pattern 1613 is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600, and as shown in FIG. A moving effect is performed in which a moving image 1611 is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 . Further, as the variable display game progresses, as shown in FIG. good. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 256(H), the variable display game ends with a loss without the movable object appearing.

In this manner, in the effect shown in FIG. 256, the effect suggesting that the movable body is coming out can be performed using the light guide plate.

[14. Pachinko machine using main control MPU with serial communication function]
The main control MPU 1311 of the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment has a synchronous serial communication function in addition to the conventional communication function by an 8-bit parallel bus.

In the conventional pachinko machine, the input/output signals of the main control MPU 1311 in the main control board 1310 are transmitted using a parallel port in which one signal is transmitted by one signal line or an 8-bit bus. , data output from the main control MPU 1311 may be read, or an illegal signal may be input to the main control MPU 1311 to commit a fraudulent act. For this reason, a configuration that makes it difficult to externally detect the input/output signals of the main control MPU 1311 is required. It becomes difficult to read data or input data in line with the timing of the lines.

In addition, the main control board 1310 is equipped with a test signal output circuit for the purpose of monitoring the signal when the inspection agency inspects the pachinko machine. For example, when inspecting the operation of the special electric accessory, in order to monitor the output signal of the solenoid that opens and closes the special electric accessory, the signal input to the solenoid driver (transistor) (for example, 5V on/off signal) was branched and used as a signal for inspection. If the serial signal transmitted in the main control board 1310 described above is output as a signal for inspection, the inspection agency will need a device to analyze the serial signal, so it is difficult to use the serial signal as a signal for inspection. is. Therefore, in a pachinko machine that transmits signals by serial communication within the main control board 1310, it is necessary to devise the output of the inspection signal. For this reason, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, by inputting one serial signal into two parallel-connected serial-to-parallel conversion circuits, an inspection signal whose level changes at the same timing as the solenoid driving signal is generated. is to be generated. If the output transistor of the serial/parallel conversion circuit is configured with an open collector (or open drain), the voltage level will be different by changing the voltage (5V and 12V) applied to the two serial/parallel conversion circuits connected in parallel. Two synchronized signals can be generated.

Furthermore, it is necessary to reduce the number of steps of the program for detecting the input by serial communication and reduce the software load. In the pachinko machine of this embodiment, part of the signal input to the main control MPU 1311 is input to the parallel/serial conversion circuit, and part of the signal is input directly to the general-purpose port of the main control MPU 1311. It is necessary to devise how to accept the input signal. For example, a signal whose input level needs to be determined immediately after power-on should be directly input to the general-purpose port of the main control MPU 1311 without being input to the parallel/serial conversion circuit. This is because the level of the signal input to the general-purpose port of the main control MPU 1311 can be detected even before execution of interrupt processing, so the signal level can be detected even in processes other than timer interrupt processing such as immediately after power-on.

In particular, in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, depending on the number of signals that are directly input to the main control MPU 1311, it is not necessary to use the extended I/O using chip select. The level of the signal can be captured in bit units for each clock, and the signal level can be detected in real time without waiting for reception of the serial signal.

257 is a block diagram around the synchronous serial interface of the main control board 1310, FIG. 258 is a circuit diagram showing connection between the serial/parallel conversion circuit and the LEDs, and FIG. 259 is a main control MPU 1311 and peripheral It is a figure which shows the arrangement|positioning on the main control board 1310 of components. In FIGS. 257, 258 and 259, thick lines indicate parallel signal transmission lines, and thin lines indicate serial signal transmission lines.

The main control MPU 1311 of this embodiment includes an asynchronous serial communication port (asynchronous serial communication function) for communicating with other boards (peripheral control board 1510, payout control board 951, etc.), Synchronous serial communication port (synchronous serial communication function) for communicating with the interface circuit, output of control signals for other devices (solenoids, etc.), and output from abnormality detection sensors such as vibration detection sensors and magnetic detection sensors It has a general-purpose port to which signals are input.

The synchronous serial communication function of the main control MPU 1311 has multiple transmission/reception ports and multiple transmission ports. A communication partner of the transmission/reception port is selected by a chip select signal output from the main control MPU 1311 .

The transmission/reception port includes a serial signal transmission terminal (SERTX), a reception signal input terminal (SERRX), chip select output terminals (SERS0 to SERS3), and a synchronization signal output terminal (SERCK). A transmission port is composed of a serial signal transmission terminal (SERTXT), a chip select output terminal (SERST), and a synchronization signal output terminal (SERCKT).

As shown in FIG. 257, one parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 and two serial/parallel conversion circuits 1342 and 1343 are connected to the transmission/reception port. The number of parallel/serial conversion circuits connected to the transmission/reception port is not limited to that illustrated.

A larger number of serial/parallel conversion circuits may be connected by connecting like the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 without using the chip select terminal. In this case, the types of signals output from the serial/parallel conversion circuit do not increase.

A parallel-to-serial conversion circuit 1341 connected to the transmission/reception port takes in the parallel data input when CLEAR/LOAD (negative logic) is at level 0, and after CLEAR/LOAD (negative logic) rises to 1, it receives a predetermined clock signal. Data is output from the serial port at the timing of The parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 receives signals from game ball detection switches (start winning opening, large winning opening count switch, normal winning opening, specific area switch, normal symbol gate switch, game board ejection switch) and photosensors. , and mainly detects game balls flowing down the game area 5a. The parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 has a configuration having a 16-bit input port, but may have a 16-bit configuration by connecting in parallel integrated circuits having an 8-bit input port.

Specifically, since the serial signal transmission terminal (SERTX) is connected to the CLEAR/LOAD (negative logic) of the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341, when the serial transmission signal output by the main control MPU 1311 is 0 level, The input output signal of the game ball detection switch is taken in, and after the serial transmission signal (SERTX) rises to 1, serial data corresponding to the level of the game ball detection switch is output from the serial port at a predetermined clock timing. Thus, the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 takes in the output signal of the game ball detection switch with the SERTX signal as a trigger, so it can take in the data of the ball detection sensor at an arbitrary timing.

The serial/parallel conversion circuit 1342 and the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343 connected to the transmission/reception port both output signals for lighting the LEDs (function display unit 1400, base display 1317). , the chip select signal from the main control MPU 1311 selects the data transmission destination. Serial/parallel conversion circuits 1342 and 1343 take in serial data input when the chip select (CS) signal is at level 0 according to a predetermined clock signal, and output signals from the parallel port at the timing when the chip select signal rises to 1. do. The output level from the parallel port is latched in the serial/parallel conversion circuits 1342 and 1343, and is maintained until the chip select signal rises to 1 next time.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 258, a serial/parallel conversion circuit 1342 is connected to the segment side of the LED, and a serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343 is connected to the common side of the LED. The serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343 outputs a signal at a predetermined timing to dynamically light the LED. The serial/parallel conversion circuits 1342 and 1343 are configured to have a 16-bit output port, but may be configured to have a 16-bit configuration by connecting in parallel integrated circuits having an 8-bit output port.

The main control MPU 1311 outputs a common signal at the timing of outputting 0 from the chip select terminal (SERS0), sets the display digit of the 7-segment LED of the base display 1317, and outputs 0 from the chip select terminal (SERS1). A segment signal is output at the timing to light the LED.

In this embodiment, a 7-segment LED having a common terminal on the anode side of the LED is used for the base indicator 1317, and when the LED is turned on, a drive current flows from the common terminal on the anode side to the segment terminal on the cathode side. flow. However, since integrated circuits having the same configuration are used for the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1342 and the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343, the direction of the current output by the driver circuit in each conversion circuit 1342 and 1343 (the direction of the output transistor of the driver circuit) polarity) will be the same. For this reason, a driver circuit 1344 is provided after the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343 so that current can be supplied to the common terminal on the anode side. That is, the driver circuit 1344 has a function of outputting a driving current for lighting the LED, and the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343 has a function of absorbing the driving current for lighting the LED.

The parallel-to-serial conversion circuit 1341 and the serial-to-parallel conversion circuits 1342 and 1343 may use an integrated circuit having only a parallel-to-serial conversion function and an integrated circuit having only a serial-to-parallel conversion function, respectively. Alternatively, an integrated circuit capable of mutually converting a serial signal and a parallel signal may be used by switching between a parallel-to-serial conversion function and a serial-to-parallel conversion function.

Two serial/parallel conversion circuits 1345 and 1346 are connected to the transmission port of the main control MPU 1311 . The serial/parallel conversion circuits 1345 and 1346, like the serial/parallel conversion circuits 1342 and 1343 described above, take in serial data input when the chip select (CS) is at level 0 according to a predetermined clock signal, and when CS is at 1. Output from the parallel port at the rising timing. A driver transistor is provided at the output of the parallel port, and the voltage applied to the driver transistor is switched to generate an output signal. In other words, output signals of various voltages can be generated depending on the voltage applied to the driver transistor.

An external terminal board 784 is connected to the channel A output ports (PA0 to PA7) of the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345, and signals output from the external terminal board 784 (for example, security signals, ball pay-out signals, etc.). is output. Various solenoids are connected to the output ports (PB0 to PB7) of the channel B of the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345, and drive signals for the various solenoids are output. In addition, an inspection terminal 1348 is connected to the output port (PB0 to PB7) of channel B of the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346, and a signal output from the inspection terminal 1348 (for example, a special electric accessory opening signal, Ordinary electric accessory opening signal, etc.) is output. The output port of channel A of the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346 is not connected to anything.

The transmission port of the main control MPU 1311 can control only one channel (16 bits), and the same branched signal including chip select is input to the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345 and the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346. Therefore, the same signal is output on the parallel side. Therefore, the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345 and the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346 generate a set of parallel signals that change at the same timing from one serial signal. That is, the solenoid drive signal output from the channel B output port (PB0 to PB7) of the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345 and the test signal output from the channel B output port (PB0 to PB7) of the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346 A signal changes at the same timing. Therefore, the motion of the solenoid can be accurately output from the inspection terminal 1348 . Note that +12 V is applied to the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345 to drive the solenoid at 12 V, and +5 V is applied to the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346 to output a 5 V inspection signal. In this way, by using two serial/parallel conversion circuits to which different voltages are applied, synchronized signals with different voltage levels can be generated.

Among the outputs from the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345 and the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346, the pattern on the output side of the solenoid drive signal through which a relatively large current flows is thickened, and the pattern on the output side of the inspection signal through which only a relatively small current flows is thickened. The pattern can be thin. Even if the pattern is not thickened, it is sufficient to reduce the resistance of the pattern. Patterns are formed on both the front and back surfaces to increase the effective cross-sectional area, or an inner layer pattern is formed to increase the effective cross-sectional area. may be increased.

In addition, since the two serial/parallel conversion circuits 1345 and 1346 operate independently, even if the load on one conversion circuit increases, the waveform of the output signal from the other conversion circuit will not be disturbed, and the output signal will not be affected. does not occur. That is, the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346 can output an inspection signal having the same waveform as the original waveform of the solenoid drive signal regardless of the operation of the solenoid connected to the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345, which is useful for accurate inspection. .

Next, the arrangement of the main control MPU 1311 and peripheral components on the main control board 1310 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 259, a main control MPU 1311 is mounted on the main control board 1310, and various interface circuits are arranged around it. An inspection circuit layout area is provided on the main control board 1310, and a serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346, an interface circuit 1347, and an inspection terminal 1348 are provided in the inspection circuit layout area. The circuit components (serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346, interface circuit 1347, inspection terminal 1348, etc.) provided in the inspection circuit layout area are mounted only on the pachinko machine 1 to be inspected by the inspection agency, and are generally commercially available pachinko machines. 1 (patterns for component mounting are provided). That is, although the pachinko machine 1 that is generally available on the market is equipped with a connector that relays the signal output from the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345 to the solenoid, the test signal output from the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346 A relaying inspection terminal 1348 is not mounted. For this reason, the pachinko machine 1 on the market is configured so that the inspection signal is not detected by a fraudulent person and used for fraudulent activity.

As described above, in the commercially available pachinko machine 1, no parts are mounted in the inspection circuit layout area, but a printed pattern (for example, a data bus connected to the interface circuit 1347) is provided. For this reason, there is a possibility that noise is induced in the data bus and causes malfunction. pull down) to reduce the effect of noise.

Furthermore, from the viewpoint of preventing unauthorized modification, the pachinko machine 1 on the market does not use surface-mounted parts, but the circuit parts provided in the inspection circuit layout area are not mounted on the pachinko machine 1 on the market. Surface mount components can be used. Therefore, the parts of the inspection circuit can be made smaller, the inspection circuit layout area can be made smaller, and the main control board 1310 can be made smaller. Similarly, from the viewpoint of preventing unauthorized modification, the commercially available pachinko machine 1 has no parts mounted on the back side of the main control board 1310, but the circuit parts provided in the inspection circuit layout area are 1, components can be mounted on the back side of the main control board 1310. FIG.

Of the parts of the inspection circuit, the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346 and the inspection terminal 1348 may be provided on another board arranged near the main control board 1310 . This separate board is mounted only on the pachinko machine 1 that is inspected by an inspection agency, and is not mounted on the pachinko machine 1 that is generally on the market. Also in this case, the inspection signal is not output from the pachinko machine 1 that is generally commercially available.

By arranging the circuit parts used for inspection of the pachinko machine 1 collectively in the inspection circuit arrangement area in this way, it is easy to discover missing parts in the commercial pachinko machine 1, and additional parts for fraud can be found. Easy to find installation. Also, the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346 and the interface circuit 1347 can be arranged near the inspection terminal 1348, and the main control board 1310 with high noise resistance can be configured.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 259, the circuit components placed in the inspection circuit placement area are oriented differently (for example, 180 degrees as shown) from similar circuit components placed elsewhere on the main control board 1310. rotated direction). In this way, by arranging the circuit parts in different directions in the inspection circuit layout area and other places on the main control board 1310, it becomes possible to easily distinguish between the parts used in normal games and the parts for inspection. In the manufacturing process of the pachinko machine 1 on the market, it is possible to prevent erroneous mounting such as erroneously arranging parts in the circuit arrangement area for inspection.

Also, on the main control board 1310, the symbols and numbers (or combinations thereof) of the mounted circuit components are displayed, for example, by silk printing. The numbers may be collectively attached with the symbols and numbers following the symbols and numbers of the circuit components used for game control. For example, the integrated circuits for game control are IC1 to IC11, and the integrated circuits arranged in the inspection circuit layout area are denoted by IC12 and subsequent symbols. In this way, it is possible to attach symbols and numbers that do not skip to the circuit parts for game control mounted on the pachinko machine 1 on the market, and to easily check after the circuit parts are mounted on the main control board 1310. can.

Furthermore, if the symbols and numbers of the inspection terminals are in a separate system from the symbols and numbers of the connectors connected to the game control parts, the connectors and inspection terminals connected to the game control parts can be easily identified. It is possible to distinguish between them and prevent miswiring of incorrectly connecting cables. In particular, if the symbols and numbers of the inspection terminals are the same as the symbols and numbers of the connection destinations of the inspection device of the other party, it is convenient for cable connection during inspection, and connection errors can be reduced.

In addition, some of the general-purpose ports of the main control MPU 1311 are free ports that are not used, and it is preferable to arrange the free ports so as to concentrate on adjacent terminals of the main control MPU 1311 . That is, regardless of whether the port numbers of the unused ports are consecutive, it is preferable that the terminals of the unused ports are arranged at a concentrated position. By concentrating and arranging the empty terminals, the area where the printed pattern is not provided on the main control board 1310 is concentrated, making it easy to discover the lack of parts and to discover the attachment of additional parts for fraud. It's getting easier.

In addition, the terminal of the empty port is arranged at a position close to the connector through which a relatively large current flows (for example, a solenoid is connected) in terms of the positional relationship with the connector. That is, in the longitudinal direction of the main control MPU 1311, connectors for inputting and outputting game control signals are arranged on the left and right sides (top and bottom in the figure) of the terminals of the empty ports. Therefore, when adding an additional function to the pachinko machine 1, the setting of the main control board 1310 can be easily changed without routing a long pattern.

As described above, by using serial communication for signal transmission within the main control board 1310, the wiring of the data bus can be reduced, making it easier to detect the attachment of additional parts for fraud. In other words, the number of data buses connected to a plurality of parallel interface circuits is eliminated, and several signal lines including control lines are used. Therefore, a clean circuit pattern is obtained. In addition, by shortening the routing distance of the data lines, the main control board 1310 that is resistant to noise can be configured.

In addition, since the number of data lines is reduced, the circuits can be arranged without being affected by the routing of the data lines.

Further, by reducing the number of circuit patterns, the number of ground patterns can be increased without changing the area of main control board 1310, and main control board 1310 that is more resistant to noise can be constructed.

FIG. 260 is a diagram showing the arrangement of ports in the main control MPU 1311. FIG.

The parallel output port of address D2 (chip select SERS0) is the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343, and as shown in FIG. , and the output ports PA4 to PA7 are connected to the common side of the base indicator 1317 (the anode terminal of the 7-segment LED). Channel B output ports PB0 to PB7 of the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343 are not used.

Also, the parallel output port of address D3 (chip select SERS1) is the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1342, and as shown in FIG. terminal), and channel B output ports PB0 to PB7 are connected to the segment side of the base indicator 1317 (the cathode terminal of the 7-segment LED).

On the common side of the LED (anode terminal of the LED), the output port to be turned on is switched at a constant cycle (for example, interrupt every 4 ms). When focusing on the output port of channel A, only PA0 is turned on in the timer interrupt processing, only PA1 is turned on in the next timer interrupt processing (after 4 ms), and only PA7 is turned on in the next timer interrupt processing (after 4 ms). is repeatedly turned on at a constant cycle (4 ms×the number of ports). That is, when repeatedly switching 8 ports, each port is turned ON every 32 ms. Alternatively, if the channel A output ports PA0 to PA3 and PA4 to PA7 are grouped respectively and attention is focused on the channel A output port, only PA0 and PA4 are turned ON in the timer interrupt processing, and in the next timer interrupt processing (4 ms later) ON only PA1 and PA5, . . . , ON only PA3 and PA7 in the next timer interrupt processing (after 4 ms) may be repeated at a constant cycle (4 ms×the number of ports). By using serial communication for this constant cycle operation, it is possible to make it difficult to perceive the operation timing of the main control MPU 1311 .

The parallel input port of address D5 is parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341, and switches (ball detection sensors) for detecting game balls are connected to inputs PA1-PA7 and PB0-PB7. The outputs of these ball detection sensors are input as serial signals to the main control MPU 1311 and read as signals of address D5.

In addition, general-purpose input ports INP0 to INP4 provided in the main control MPU 1311 are input with operation information of the setting key 971, operation information of the RAM clear switch 954, power failure warning signal, primary payment ACK signal, and frame open detection switch detection signal. ing. These signals need to be monitored in real time (when requested by the program) or outside the timer interrupt processing (for example, immediately after power-on). It is directly input to the MPU 1311 .

Furthermore, the general-purpose input/output ports (both input/output) IOP0 to IOP3 provided in the main control MPU 1311 receive the detection signal of the radio wave detection sensor, the detection signal of the vibration detection sensor, the detection signal of the magnetic detection switch, and the detection signal of the proximity error switch. is entered. These signals are output when an abnormality (malpractice, malfunction, etc.) occurs in the pachinko machine 1, and since real-time monitoring (when requested by the program) is required, a parallel/serial conversion circuit is used. It is directly input to the main control MPU 1311 without intervening. In addition, based on the detection signals of these sensors and switches, the abnormality is notified by the main liquid crystal display device 1600 or by voice. With this anomaly notification, the staff of the pachinko hall comes to check the state of the pachinko machine, so the game is substantially stopped. If this abnormality notification is a false notification, it will make the player feel uncomfortable, so it is necessary to suppress false detection. Therefore, it is preferable to input these signals to a general-purpose input/output port and detect them a plurality of times in a short period of time (so-called double reading) to suppress erroneous detection due to the influence of noise.

In this double read process, in one timer interrupt process, read instructions are continuously executed to determine the signal level input to a general-purpose input/output port (or general-purpose input port) at short time intervals. Execute multiple read instructions with several instructions in between to determine the signal level input to the general-purpose input/output port (or general-purpose input port) at short time intervals, or perform multiple read operations with a wait of several clocks in between. This is done by executing an instruction to determine the signal level input to a general purpose input/output port (or general purpose input port) at short time intervals. Therefore, when the port level is continuously determined via the parallel/serial conversion circuit, the level can be detected only at intervals of several tens of microseconds. The level can be detected at the following intervals, and the signal level can be detected in a short period.

In this way, in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, signals from various switches and sensors that require real-time performance are directly input to the general-purpose input port and general-purpose output port without using extended I/O using chip select. Since the level of the signal input to the general-purpose input/output port (both input and output) is captured in bit units for each clock, the signal level can be detected in real time without waiting for reception of the serial signal.

Although the general-purpose input/output ports (both input/output) IOP4 to IOP7 are not used, part of the signals input via the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 is transferred to the general-purpose input/output ports (both input/output) IOP4 to IOP7. can be entered in

Although not shown, the main control MPU 1311 may have a general-purpose output port.

If the general-purpose input port is a vacant terminal, it is pulled up to 5 V via a resistor or pulled down to GND to prevent the terminal from going to an intermediate potential and reduce the effects of noise induced in the power supply line. should be reduced. Also, if the general-purpose output port is a free terminal, it may be left open, but it should be pulled up to 5V or pulled down to GND via a dummy resistor so that the level change of the output port does not become noise.

As described above, in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the test signal is output from the general-purpose port of the main control MPU 1311, and the signal used for game control is output via the serial/parallel conversion circuit. For this reason, the winning ball detection signals are collectively input to one port, which facilitates handling by the game control program.

In addition, among the signals input to the main control MPU 1311, signals that need to be detected multiple times in a short period of time (so-called double reading) are input to the general-purpose port, and signals that do not need to be read twice are sent serially. It is input to the main control MPU 1311 via the parallel conversion circuit. Since the general-purpose port can check the signal level in real time, the signal level can be detected multiple times in a short period of time to eliminate the influence of noise and make a decision. Ports may be assigned such that signals that do not need to be read twice are input to the general purpose port if the general purpose input port is free.

A signal input to the main control MPU 1311 can be assigned to the general-purpose input port, and a signal input to the main control MPU 1311 and a signal output from the main control MPU 1311 can be assigned to the general-purpose input/output port (both input and output). Since any of them can be assigned, the general-purpose input/output port has high versatility for specification changes. For this reason, general-purpose input/output ports (both input and output) are desirable for the ports left as spares for adding new functions, and it is desirable to assign priority to general-purpose input ports.

Next, with reference to FIG. 261, the timing of data output and capture by synchronous serial signals will be described.

When the main control MPU 1311 outputs 0 (LOW) from the chip select terminal SERS 0 , the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343 is selected, and the main control MPU 1311 outputs a common side selection signal for the base display 1317 . In the figure, PA7 (COM4) is selected among PA7 to PA4. After that, the main control MPU 1311 outputs a selection signal on the common side of the function display unit 1400 from the serial signal transmission terminal SERTX. In the figure, PA3 (LED-C4) is selected from PA3 to PA0.

Since no output is assigned to the B channel port of the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343, nothing is originally output at the data fetching timings of PB7 to PB0, and 1 (HIGH) is maintained. However, in the pachinko machine of this embodiment, the serial transmission signal SERTX output from the main control MPU 1311 is connected to the CLR/LOAD terminal that determines the data loading timing of the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341, and this signal is 0 ( LOW), data is fetched from PA0 to PB7. Therefore, the serial transmission signal SERTX is set to 0 (LOW) at any timing of PB7 to PB0, and data is read from PA0 to PB7 of the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341. FIG.

The parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 takes in data, and after the serial transmission signal SERTX rises to 1 (HIGH), outputs serial data from the serial signal output terminal (Q8C) in accordance with the clock signal. During this time, the serial transmission signal SERTX is maintained at 1 (HIGH) and controlled so as not to receive new data.

As described above, the pachinko machine of this embodiment uses the transmission signal of the open output port as a trigger to capture the output of the game ball detection sensor, so the data of the ball detection sensor can be captured at any timing.

Next, another arrangement of the main control board 1310 in the main control board box 1320 will be described with reference to FIGS. 262 and 263. FIG.

It is desirable to use the main control board 1310 in common for a plurality of models without redesigning. However, the input/output signals of the main control board 1310 may differ depending on the model and specifications. Therefore, in this embodiment, the input/output interface of the main control board 1310, which differs depending on the model, is mounted on a separate board (input/output board 1351), and the periphery of the main control MPU 1311 common to each model is mounted on the main control board 1310. configuration. By making the main control board 1310 common to multiple models, that is, by making the board size, circuit design, printed board artwork, component layout, etc. the same, performance (for example, noise resistance performance) is evaluated and designed. A main control board 1310 with stable quality can be used in common for a plurality of models without redesigning.

Also, when the input/output interface of the main control board 1310 is mounted on another input/output board 1351, where to divide the circuit becomes a problem. One is a method of separating with a serial signal line, and the other is a method of separating with a parallel signal converted from a serial signal. In the former case, the number of wirings between substrates can be reduced more than the latter, which is desirable. Moreover, even if the signal itself is obtained, it is difficult to know the order in which the data is transmitted in the serial signal, and it is unclear which data is transmitted at which timing. Furthermore, it is output at a speed synchronous with the serial signal clock, and this synchronous clock may be different from the operation clock of the main control MPU 1311 and can be changed. Therefore, it is difficult to estimate the data rate from the outside, and even if the serial signal is acquired, it is difficult to know the content of the data being transmitted. Therefore, it is preferable to connect the main control board 1310 and the input/output board 1351 with a serial signal line.

As shown in FIG. 262, an input/output board 1351 attached to the main control board 1310 is provided, and the main control board 1310 and the input/output board 1351 are mounted inside the main control board box 1320 . The main control board box 1320 is made of a transparent resin that accommodates the main control board 1310 and the input/output board 1351 in a sealable manner with a structure that cannot be opened without being destroyed once closed. The input/output substrate 1351 is provided with a parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 and a serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345 . The main control board 1310 and the input/output board 1351 (main control MPU 1311, parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 and serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345) are connected by a serial communication line, and are connected by a parallel bus or a general-purpose port. Boards can be connected with a smaller number of wires. The serial signal line may be connected by an electric wire or by a board-to-board connector.

In addition, if serial communication is used between boards, it is difficult to analyze the data even if the signal is acquired. In addition, the input/output board 1351 for inputting/outputting signals for game control is configured separately from the main control board 1310, and input/output signals that vary depending on the model are set on the input/output board 1351, so the main control board 1310 is modified. The number of models that can be applied without doing so increases, and the versatility of the main control board 1310 can be improved.

Furthermore, by housing the main control board 1310 and the input/output board 1351 in one main control board box 1320, the signal line for serial communication can be shortened.

Also, when the main control board 1310 is used for other models, the setting of the input/output board 1351 may be changed, and the relationship between the connector of the main control board 1310 and the main control MPU 1311 does not change depending on the model, so the pachinko machine can be easily designed, and the main control board 1310 whose performance (for example, noise resistance performance) has been evaluated and whose design quality is stable can be used. Further, the conventional main control board box 1320 can be used without redesigning the main control board box 1320 unless the size of the input/output board 1351 and the position of the mounting hole are changed. In addition, countermeasures against noise that vary depending on the model may be implemented by the input/output board 1351 instead of the main control board 1310 .

Serial/parallel conversion circuits 1342 and 1343 for outputting drive signals for the base display 1317 are preferably arranged on the main control board 1310 . When the base display unit 1317 is arranged on the input/output board 1351, the serial/parallel conversion circuits 1342 and 1343 are arranged on the input/output board 1351, and the signals for driving the function display unit 1400 are applied to the input/output board. It is preferable to output from 1351.

Also, the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346 that generates the inspection signal is preferably arranged on the main control board 1310 . That is, it is preferable to provide the inspection circuit layout area and the inspection terminals 1348 on the main control board 1310 . This is because a part of the signal output from the inspection terminal 1348 is output from the main control MPU 1311 via a parallel bus, so that when the inspection terminal 1348 is arranged on the input/output board 1351, the main control board 1310 and input/output This is because the number of connection lines with the substrate 1351 increases.

Also, as shown in FIG. 263, the main control board 1310 may be accommodated in the main control board box 1320 and the input/output board 1351 may be mounted outside the main control board box 1320. FIG.

In the form shown in FIG. 263, since the input/output board 1351 is provided outside the main control board box 1320, the main control board box 1320 can be used in common even if the size of the main control board box 1320 changes. In addition, since the input/output board 1351 and the main control board 1310 are housed in separate board boxes, the degree of freedom in arranging the boards is improved. In addition, if the main control board box 1320 that accommodates the main control board 1310 and the input/output board box 1350 that accommodates the input/output board 1351 are provided separately, each board box becomes smaller and the board installation position becomes more flexible. . Furthermore, since the main control board 1310 is provided with a base display 1317, an LED for displaying an error code, and a setting key 971, it must appear on the back side of the pachinko machine 1, but the input/output board 1351 Since it does not have to be visible from the back side of the machine 1, the substrate installation position is free. Thus, in the form shown in FIG. 263, the degree of freedom in design can be improved.

263, the serial signal output from the main control MPU 1311 is output to the outside of the main control board box 1320. FIG. The main control MPU 1311 outputs data from the data bus in addition to the serial signal. In the pachinko machine, it is desirable not to output the data bus output from the main control MPU 1311 to the outside of the main control board box 1320 which is sealed, in order to prevent unauthorized persons from detecting the operation of the pachinko machine. . However, even if the serial signal output from the main control MPU 1311 is output to the outside of the main control board box 1320, there is a low possibility that a fraudulent person will perceive the operation status of the pachinko machine. This is because the data bus outputs data according to the operation clock of the main control MPU 1311, and the data rate is constant, so the data rate can be easily guessed from the outside, and as a result, the signal transmitted on the data bus cannot be obtained. There is something. However, the serial signal is output at a speed synchronized with the serial signal clock, and the speed of this synchronous clock may be different from the operating clock of the main control MPU 1311 and can be changed. Therefore, it is difficult to estimate the data rate from the outside, and even if the serial signal is acquired, it is difficult to know the content of the data being transmitted.

As described above, the input/output board 1351 is provided separately from the main control board 1310, and the input/output function of the signal depending on the model is mounted on the input/output board 1351. It may be mounted on the input/output board 1351 as long as there is a portion where resistance to fraud and noise does not decrease even if it is arranged. For example, output of signals requiring drive current for solenoids and motors attached to the game board 5, output of drive signals for the function display unit 1400, and various sensors (winning ball detection, radio wave sensor, magnetic sensor, vibration sensor) is a function that may be mounted on the input/output board 1351 . In addition, communication with the payout control board 951, output of signals output from the external terminal board 784, power failure detection, input of the setting key 971 (the setting key 971 itself may be provided outside the main control board 1310), base display The output to 1317 is a function that should be installed in 1310 on the main control board.

The parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 and the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345 mounted on the input/output board 1351 are configured such that when a dummy signal (0 V or 5 V) is input to an empty input terminal or a dummy resistor is connected to an empty output terminal, good. This is because if nothing is connected to an empty terminal, noise may be taken in and the circuit may malfunction.

In particular, it is difficult to analyze the serial signals when some of the multiple signals that the fraudster attempts to acquire are transmitted via a parallel bus or general-purpose port, and other signals are transmitted as serial signals. A fraudulent person needs to obtain signals from a plurality of locations including the main control board 1310 and the input/output board 1351, which enhances the deterrence against fraud.

[15. slot machine]
The arrangement of the programs and data stored in the ROM of the pachinko machine has been described so far, and the arrangement of the programs and data stored in the RAM and ROM of the slot machine (rotary game machine) will now be described. Although the outline of the pachinko machine has been described with reference to FIG. 26, programs and data are arranged in the RAM and ROM in the same manner as the slot machine 4000 described below.

[15-1. structure]
First, the structure of the slot machine 4000 in this embodiment will be described. 264 is a perspective view of the slot machine 4000, and FIG. 265 is a perspective view of the slot machine 4000 with the front member 4200 opened.

As shown in FIGS. 264 and 265, the slot machine 4000 of this embodiment has various devices inside a box-shaped housing 4100 with an open front, and a front member on the front of the housing 4100. 4200 is provided so as to be openable and closable in a one-sided manner. Above the front member 4200, there are provided an image display 4500 for effecting display and information display according to the progress of the game, a speaker for effecting sound, and the like. The image display unit 4500 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, and displays various information in addition to effect display related to the game. Various effects displays and history information displays on the image display 4500 are controlled by the effects control board 4700 . That is, the image display 4500 serves as an effect display means capable of displaying an effect in accordance with the progress of the game, and the effect control board 4700 serves as a display control means capable of controlling the display of the effect display means. Eggplant.

At the center of the front member 4200, there is a front panel on which a pattern or the like for decoration is drawn so that the rear cannot be seen. ) A pattern display window 4401 is formed. It should be noted that the front panel may be composed of a display device, and the reels 4301 are visible when no image is displayed in the symbol display window 4401, and an image that directs the game is displayed mainly around the symbol display window 4401. do. In this case, it is also possible to display an image for effecting a game in the symbol display window 4401 .

Through the symbol display window 4401 (window portion), the symbols that are variably displayed by the rotation of the reels 4301 arranged in the housing can be visually recognized. The reel 4301 is configured by horizontally arranging a left reel 4301a, a middle reel 4301b, and a right reel 4301c. Strip-shaped sheets on which a plurality of patterns are drawn along the longitudinal direction are wound around the outer peripheral surfaces of these reels 4301a, 4301b, and 4301c, so that a plurality of patterns are arranged according to a predetermined arrangement.

Reel driving motors 4341a, 4341b and 4341c (see FIG. 266), which are stepping motors, are provided for the reels 4301a, 4301b and 4301c, respectively. It is possible to That is, the reel drive motors 4341a, 4341b and 4341c constitute the drive sources for the respective reels 4301a, 4301b and 4301c. Further, the reel drive motors 4341a, 4341b, 4341c are controlled by a two-phase excitation method, similarly to the payout motor 839 of the pachinko machine 1, to increase drive torque and static torque. As a result, a small motor can be used as the drive source, and the cost can be reduced.

In the following description, the reels 4301a, 4301b, and 4301c are referred to as a left reel 4301a, a middle reel 4301b, and a right reel 4301c, respectively, as required. The corresponding reel stop buttons 4211a, 4211b, 4211c are called a left reel stop button 4211a, a middle reel stop button 4211b, and a right reel stop button 4211c. Further, the reel drive motors 4341 corresponding to the respective reels are assumed to be a left reel drive motor 4341a, a middle reel drive motor 4341b, and a right reel drive motor 4341c.

Further, by rotating the reel 4301 by the reel driving motor 4341, the plurality of types of symbols viewed from the symbol display window 4401 are varied so as to circulate, for example, from top to bottom (variation display). On the other hand, when the reels 4301 are stopped, a predetermined number of consecutive symbols (for example, 3), that is, a total of 9 symbols of 3×3, are displayed through the symbol display window 4401 for each of the reels 4301a, 4301b, and 4301c. is visible. That is, through the symbol display window 4401, the effective display portions of the reels 4301a, 4301b, and 4301c for deriving and displaying the game stop result are visible.

A predetermined activatable line is set for the 3×3 symbol matrix visually recognized from the symbol display window 4401 . In this embodiment, a line (middle line) that crosses the middle pattern of each reel 4301a, 4301b, 4301c, a line that diagonally crosses each reel 4301a, 4301b, 4301c from the bottom of the left reel 4301a to the middle of the middle reel 4301b to the top of the right reel 4301c ( A line diagonally crossing the reels 4301a, 4301b, and 4301c from the upper stage of the left reel 4301a to the middle stage of the middle reel 4301b and the lower stage of the right reel 4301c (the line descending to the right) is an activatable line. Then, the player inserts medals or inputs from the credits (hereinafter referred to as "betting operation") to activate the activatable line, and based on the pattern combinations (lots) formed on the activated line. Establishment/non-establishment of a prize (role) is determined.

When a prize is established, there are cases where three predetermined patterns are lined up on the activated line, and there are cases where three predetermined patterns are lined up on another line visually. As such a line, there is a line (upper line) that crosses the upper pattern of each reel 4301a, 4301b, 4301c. In addition, the line (lower line) that crosses the lower pattern of each reel 4301a, 4301b, 4301c, and the front part (visible part) facing the pattern display window 4401 of each reel 4301a, 4301b, 4301c other than the above The patterns may be visually arranged on the virtual line to be positioned. Below, the lines that can be activated (middle, upward to the right, downward to the right), lines that can align the visible patterns when winning (upper line), and other lines (lower line, etc.) line).

The upper, middle, lower, right-up and right-down lines are set as activatable lines, and predetermined activatable lines are activated according to the number of bets. role) is established/not established. For example, if the number of bets is 1, the middle line is the valid line, if the number of bets is 2, in addition to the middle line, the upper and lower lines are valid lines. and Also, regardless of the number of bets (even if the number of bets is 1 or 2), all lines may be valid, or may be dedicated to 3-coin stakes.

Around (for example, below) the symbol display window 4401, a payout number display LED 4562 for displaying the number of medals to be paid out by the game is provided. A credit display for displaying the number of medals accumulated in the slot machine 4000 and a count display for displaying the number of remaining games during the grand prize may be provided.

Below the pattern display window 4401, a stepped portion is formed to protrude forward, and the upper surface of this stepped portion serves as an operation portion 4202 that slopes downward toward the front side. The operation unit 4202 is provided with a medal insertion slot 4203, and a one coin insertion button 4205 and a max bet button 4206 as progress operation units for advancing the game.

The medal slot 4203 is arranged on the right side of the operation section 4202 when viewed from the front side of the slot machine 4000 . A game can be executed by a player inserting medals into the medal insertion slot 4203 and performing a betting operation. An insertion sensor 4207b for detecting the passage of medals is provided on the route through which the medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 4203 pass, and the number of inserted medals is counted based on the information detected by the insertion sensor 4207b.

A single insert button 4205 and a max bet button 4206 are arranged on the left side of the operation unit 4202 when viewed from the front side of the slot machine 4000 . The one-card input button 4205 can be input one by one from the credit by pressing it once. The max bet button 4206 can be pressed once to allow input from credits to the maximum bet amount (for example, 3), but if the credit amount is less than the maximum bet amount, the credit amount is input as the bet amount. It's like

Below the operation unit 4202, a payout button 4209, a start lever 4210, a return button 4208, a reel stop button 4211, a key device 4215, and the like are provided. A payout button 4209 is used to pay out medals inserted from the medal slot 4203, medals (bet medals) input as the number of bets from the one insert button 4205 and the max bet button 4206, or credits that are paid out when a prize is established and stored. It is used when giving a command to return the stored medals (stored medals) to the medal receiving tray 4201 . In addition, when medals are inserted from the medal insertion slot 4203 after the automatic betting operation based on the establishment of a replay winning (replay winning), or medals exceeding a predetermined number that can be stored as credits are also used for medals via the medal selector 4207. It is returned to the receiving tray 4201 .

The start lever 4210 is an operation lever for starting a game in one section. The key device 4215 is for inserting a key when opening the front member 4200 or when resetting an error (eg, hopper error) condition of the slot machine 4000 . The return button 4208 is used to return the medals inserted from the medal slot 4203 and stuck in the medal selector 4207 to the medal receiving tray 4201 .

The reel stop button 4211 is composed of a left reel stop button 4211a, a middle reel stop button 4211b, and a right reel stop button 4211c provided in one-to-one correspondence with the left reel 4301a, the middle reel 4301b, and the right reel 4301c, respectively. and stops the rotation of the corresponding reels 4301a, 4301b, and 4301c according to the stop operation.

A decorative plate (decorative panel) forming the lower region of the front member 4200 is provided below the portion where these operation buttons are provided. Further, below the decorative plate and at the lowest part of the front member 4200, a medal receiving tray 4201 for storing medals, a medal payout port, a speaker 4512 for outputting sound, and the like are provided.

A main board (game control device) 4600 (see FIG. 266) that controls the entire slot machine 4000 is arranged in the upper part of the inside of the housing. A character ratio indicator 1317 and a display switch 1318 are provided on the main board 4600 . The character ratio display 1317 is composed of, for example, a 4-digit 7-segment LED, similar to the pachinko machine described above. A liquid crystal display device provided on the main board 4600 may constitute the character ratio indicator 1317 .

The character ratio indicator 1317 is not provided on the main board 4600, but is also used as another indicator (for example, the payout number display LED 4562 or the image display body 4500) provided on the front of the slot machine 4000, and the payout number display LED 4562 or the character ratio may be displayed on the image display 4500 .

When the display switch 1318 is operated, the character ratio is displayed on the character ratio display 1317 . It is preferable to display (print, engrave, seal, etc.) on the printed circuit board near the display switch 1318 or on the housing 4100 that it is a switch for operating the display of the character object ratio. The display switch 1318 is desirably provided near the character ratio display 1317, but even if it is not the main control unit 1300, it can be placed on another board (for example, the production control board 4700) if it is easy to operate. , power supply device 4112 ), housing 4100 , or front member 4200 . Also, as will be described later, the display switch 1318 may also serve as a RAM clear switch. By providing the display switch 1318 at a position where the player cannot operate it, it is possible to prevent the player from erroneously operating it.

In addition, a pattern variation display device 4300 is provided at approximately the center inside the housing, and rotatable reels 4301a, 4301b, and 4301c are placed thereon. An external relay terminal board 4131 for outputting a signal from the main substrate 4600 to an external device is provided inside the housing of the slot machine 4000 .

Furthermore, a medal payout device (hopper) 4110 is arranged in the lower part inside the housing. The medal payout device 4110 receives and stores medals inserted from the medal slot 4203 and guided by the medal selector 4207, and when a predetermined symbol combination mode is formed on the activated line and a prize is awarded, this prize is awarded. or the number of medals exceeding the upper limit of the credit due to the addition associated with winning is paid out to the medal receiving tray 4201.例文帳に追加By operating the payout button 4209, the medal payout device 4110 pays out the medals for the credit to the medal receiving tray 4201.例文帳に追加In addition, on the right side of the medal payout device 4110, the medals overflowing from the medal payout device 4110 are stored, and the medals that have flowed in are sent to the medal collection mechanism of the installation island where the slot machine 4000 is installed. An overflow tank is provided for induction.

[15-2. Internal configuration of the slot machine]
FIG. 266 is a block diagram showing the configuration of various mechanical elements, electronic devices, operation members, etc. provided in the slot machine 4000. As shown in FIG. The slot machine 4000 has a main board 4600 for overall control of the game progress, and the main board 4600 is mounted with a CPU 4601, a ROM 4602, a RAM 4603, an input/output interface 4604, and the like.

Further, as described above, the main board 4600 is provided with a character ratio display 1317 that displays the character ratio calculated by the CPU 4601 and a display switch 1318 that switches the display of the character ratio display 1317 . The display switch 1318 may comprise a momentary pushbutton switch, but other types of switches may be used. When the display switch 1318 is operated, the character product ratio may be displayed on the character product ratio display 1317 .

All of the above-described single insert button 4205, max bet button 4206, start lever 4210, reel stop buttons 4211a, 4211b, 4211c, payout button 4209, etc. are connected to the main substrate 4600, and these operation buttons are sensors (not shown). is operated by the player, and the detected operation signal is output to the main board 4600 . Specifically, when the starting lever 4210 is operated, an operation signal for starting the symbol variation display device 4300 (starting rotation of the reels 4301a, 4301b, and 4301c) is output to the main substrate 4600, and the reel stop button 4211a. , 4211b and 4211c are operated, operation signals for stopping the reels 4301a, 4301b and 4301c are output to the main board 4600 respectively.

Further, the slot machine 4000 accommodates other devices together with the main substrate 4600, and various signals are input to the main substrate 4600 from these devices. Equipment includes a symbol variation display device 4300, a medal payout device 4110, and the like.

As described above, the variable symbol display device 4300 includes reel drive motors 4341a, 4341b, and 4341c for respectively rotating the reels 4301a, 4301b, and 4301c (left reel drive motor 4341a, middle reel drive motor 4341b, right reel drive motor 4341b, reel drive motor 4341c). The reel driving motor 4341 is a stepping motor, and each reel 4301a, 4301b, 4301c can rotate and stop independently. It is displayed while continuously changing downward.

Position sensors 4331a, 4331b, and 4331c are provided for detecting reference positions for rotation of the reels 4301a, 4301b, and 4301c. They are provided correspondingly within the reel (left reel position sensor 4331a, middle reel position sensor 4331b, right reel position sensor 4331c). By inputting detection signals (index signals) from these position sensors to the main board 4600, the main board 4600 can obtain stop position information of each reel.

Inside the medal selector 4207, the above-described solenoid 4207a and insertion sensor 4207b are installed. The insertion sensor 4207 b detects medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 4203 and outputs a medal detection signal to the main board 4600 . When the solenoid 4207a is in the OFF state, inserted medals are detected by the inserted medals sensor 4207b. Conversely, when the solenoid 4207a is in the ON state, the path to the insertion sensor 4207b in the medal selector 4207 is locked out, and insertion of medals cannot be accepted. The medal that flows through the return gutter returns to the medal receiving tray 4201 . At this time, the function of the insertion sensor 4207b is invalidated, so that neither betting by inserting medals nor accumulation of medals is performed.

The medal payout device 4110 has a payout sensor 4110e for detecting the paid out medals one by one in the outlet, and a payout medal signal for each medal is input to the main board 4600 from the payout sensor 4110e. . In addition, the game medal auxiliary storage box is provided with a medal full sensor 4111a. output to At this time, the image display 4500, the error lamp 4554, and the like display an error indicating an abnormality in the accumulation of medals, thereby informing the player, hall staff, etc. of the occurrence of the abnormality.

On the other hand, the main board 4600 outputs control signals to the symbol variation display device 4300 and the medal payout device 4110 . That is, the main substrate 4600 outputs drive pulse signals for controlling the start and stop of the reel drive motors 4341a, 4341b, and 4341c. In addition, the medal payout device 4110 receives a drive signal from the main substrate 4600 according to the type of combination of symbols stopped on the activated line, and upon receipt of this, the medal payout device 4110 pays out medals. At this time, if the medal payout device 4110 does not have enough medals to be paid out, or if there are no medals, the payout sensor 4110e will not be able to detect the number of medals. After a predetermined period of time (for example, 3 seconds) has passed, the payout sensor 4110e outputs an abnormal medal payout signal to the main board 4600, and the main board 4600 receives the signal to notify that an abnormality has occurred in the payout of medals. is displayed on the error lamp 4554, the image display 4500, etc., to inform the player, hall staff, etc. of the occurrence of an abnormality.

The slot machine 4000 is provided with an effect control board 4700 in addition to the main board 4600. This effect control board 4700 includes a CPU 4701, a ROM 4702, a RAM 4703, an input/output interface 4707, a VDP (Video Display Processor) 4704, and an AMP (audio amplifier). ) 4705, a sound source IC 4706 and the like are mounted. The performance control board 4700 receives various command signals from the main board 4600, and controls the display of the image display 4500, the light emission (or lighting, blinking, extinguishing, etc.) of the lighting device 4502, etc., and the operation of the speaker 4512.

Furthermore, an external relay terminal board 4131 is provided, and the slot machine 4000 is connected to the hall computer 4800 of the game arcade via the external relay terminal board 4131 . The external relay terminal board 4131 has a role of relaying various signals (inserted medal signal, paid-out medal signal, game status, etc.) transmitted from the main board 4600 to the hall computer 4800 .

The power supply unit 4112 creates a plurality of types of DC power supplies from 24 volt AC (24V AC) power supplied from the island facility. For example, three types of power supplies are created: DC +5V (hereinafter "+5V"), DC +12V (hereinafter "+12V"), and DC +24V (hereinafter "+24V"). Three types of power of +5V, +12V, and +24V generated by the power supply device 4112 are supplied to each component included in the slot machine 4000. is supplied to the symbol variation display device 4300.

In addition, the power supply device 4112 is attached with a setting change key switch 4112t, a reset switch 4112u, a power switch 4112v, and the like. None of these switches are exposed to the outside of the slot machine 4000 and can be operated only when the front member 4200 is opened. The power switch 4112v is for turning ON/OFF the power supply to the slot machine 4000, and the setting change key switch 4112t is for changing the settings of the slot machine 4000 (for example, settings 1 to 6). The reset switch 4112u is used to clear an error that has occurred in the slot machine 4000, and is operated together with the setting change key switch 4112t when changing settings.

Further, the main board 4600 is provided with a reel driving motor voltage switching circuit 4605 . When the output shaft of the reel drive motor 4341 is rotationally driven to obtain drive torque for rotating the reel 4301, the CPU 4601 sets the voltage switching signal logic (for example, HI) to the reel drive motor voltage switching circuit 4605. , the control is performed so that +12V is supplied to the reel drive motor 4341 as the motor drive voltage. On the other hand, when obtaining static torque for maintaining the stopped state of the output shaft of the reel drive motor 4341, the CPU 4601 sets the logic of the voltage switching signal (for example, LOW) to the reel drive motor voltage switching circuit 4605. , the control is performed to supply +5V to the reel drive motor 4341 as the motor drive voltage.

The configuration example of the slot machine 4000 has been described above. In the game using the slot machine 4000, when the player operates the starting lever 4210 after determining the number of medals to be wagered, the reels 4301a, 4301b, and 4301c rotate, and then the player presses the reel stop buttons 4211a, 4211b, and 4211c. is operated, the corresponding reels 4301a, 4301b, 4301c are controlled to stop, and when all the reels 4301a, 4301b, 4301c are stopped, the game result is determined from the combination of symbols on the active line, and if necessary Accordingly, the prescribed number of medals corresponding to the corresponding winning combination is awarded.

As described above, each of the reels 4301a, 4301b, and 4301c is provided with a reel strip on which a pattern is drawn. Then, when all the reels 4301a, 4301b, 4301c are stopped, the symbol corresponding to the predetermined winning combination is displayed in the symbol display window 4401 (combination of symbols displayed on the activated line). It is determined whether or not a combination mode (symbol combination) is displayed. Specifically, it is determined whether or not a combination of symbols corresponding to a predetermined winning combination is displayed on the above-mentioned effective line in the symbol display window 4401 . It is determined whether or not the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination is displayed on each of the plurality of activated lines. As a result, when it is determined that a plurality of winning combinations of symbol combinations are displayed, medals are paid out in the amount obtained by adding up the payout numbers corresponding to the displayed winning combinations.

[15-3. Storage area configuration]
Next, storage areas provided by the ROM 4602 and RAM 4603 provided on the main substrate 4600 will be described. The storage area of the pachinko machine has been outlined in FIG. 24, but is configured in the same manner as the slot machine 4000 shown in FIGS. 267-270. FIG. 267 is a diagram showing the details of the access area in the game control of the slot machine 4000 and the ROM area 4910 which is a storage area corresponding to the ROM 4602 in this embodiment.

The storage area in this embodiment is provided by media such as the ROM 4602 and the RAM 4603, and is provided as one access area to which addresses from "0000H" to "FFFFH" are assigned. The access area of this embodiment is divided into predetermined areas corresponding to the medium that provides the access area, and includes a ROM area 4910, a RAM area 4920, an I/O area 4930, and a parameter information setting area 4940. is Note that each area does not necessarily correspond to the medium that provides the access area, and one area may be provided by a plurality of media, or a plurality of areas may be provided by one medium.

Since the access area of this embodiment is configured as described above, the CPU 4601 can access programs and data by specifying an address without being aware of the medium that actually provides the access area. Details of the access area will be described below.

[15-3-1. ROM area]
First, the configuration of the ROM area 4910 will be described. ROM area 4910 corresponds to the storage area provided by ROM 4602 . The ROM 4602 is a non-volatile storage medium that retains stored data even when the pachinko machine 1 is powered off. This is not possible. Note that the ROM 4602 may be a non-volatile storage medium, and the data stored in the ROM area 4910 may be updated.

The ROM area 4910 is given addresses from "0000H" to "1FFFH". The data stored in the ROM 4602 can be accessed by the CPU 4601 specifying addresses "0000H" to "1FFFH".

The ROM area 4910 includes a first control area, a first isolation area, a first data area, a second control area, a second isolation area, a second data area, a third control area, a third isolation area, and a fourth isolation area. included. Each area has a start address and an end address.

The first control area is a game control area, and stores programs and the like for performing game control. The first data area is a game data area in which data necessary for game control are stored. That is, the program stored in the first control area is executed, and game control is performed while referring to the data stored in the first data area. In addition, let the area|region (1st control area, 1st data area) used for game control be the area|region for game control (1st storage area).

The second control area stores a program for debugging (functional inspection) of the control program. The second data area is an area for storing data for debugging (function test). The second data area is not necessarily required, and debugging data may be stored in the second control area. In addition, the area (second control area, second data area) where the program and data for debugging (function inspection) of the game control program without being used for game control are stored is the area for debugging (inspection function) ( second storage area).

The third control area stores a program for calculating and displaying the character product ratio. The third control area also stores data for character product ratio calculation. A third data area may be provided for storing data for character product ratio calculation. An area (third control area) in which a program and data for calculating the role product ratio without being used for game control are stored is defined as a role product ratio calculation area (third storage area). Thus, by designing the role product ratio calculation/display code 13135 separately from the game control code 13131 and storing it in a separate area, the role product ratio calculation/display code 13135 is inspected and the game control code 13131 is stored. can be performed separately from the inspection of the slot machine 4000, and the trouble of inspecting the slot machine 4000 can be reduced. Also, the code 13135 for calculating/displaying the role product ratio can be used in common for a plurality of models without depending on the model.

The first isolation area, the second isolation area, the third isolation area, and the fourth isolation area are areas allocated between the control area and the data area, and access is prohibited. In the processing by the CPU 4601, when the isolated area is accessed, the reset processing is forcibly executed. The first isolated area, the second isolated area, the third isolated area, and the fourth isolated area are areas that are continuous with the preceding and following areas. ("0A00H"), and the end address of the first isolated area is the address ("0AFFH") one before the first data area. In addition, the third isolated area is arranged between the game control area and the debug (function test) area, and is treated as the game control area in FIG. 30, but the debug (function test) area may be treated as Similarly, the fourth isolated area is arranged between the area for debugging (functional inspection) and the area for character ratio calculation, and is treated as the area for debugging (functional inspection) in FIG. It may be treated as an object ratio calculation area.

[15-3-2. RAM area]
Next, the configuration of the RAM area 4920 will be described. FIG. 268 is a diagram showing details of the RAM area 4920 in this embodiment. RAM area 4920 corresponds to the storage area provided by RAM 4603 . The RAM 4603 is a volatile storage medium whose stored contents are erased when the pachinko machine 1 is turned off, and the stored data can be read and written. The RAM area 4920 temporarily stores the programs and data stored in the ROM area 4910, and stores data derived by executing the programs. Note that the RAM 4603 may be a non-volatile storage medium as long as it can read and write data. Also, when a power failure occurs, the data stored in the RAM 4603 can be held for a predetermined period by the backup power supply.

The RAM area 4920 is given addresses from "3000H" to "31FFH". The data stored in the RAM 4603 can be accessed by the CPU 4601 specifying addresses "3000H" to "31FFH".

The RAM area 4920 includes a work area for game control, a work area for debugging (inspection function), a save area and an isolation area. Each area has a start address and an end address.

The work area for game control is a work area (temporary area) used when executing game control (first control). The debug (inspection function) work area is a work area used when executing program debug control (second control). The role product ratio calculation work area is an area for storing data for calculating the role product ratio and the calculated role product ratio (character product ratio, continuous accessory ratio, advantageous section accessory ratio, etc.). It should be noted that the work area for debugging (inspection function) and the work area for calculating the character ratio do not necessarily need to secure a dedicated work area. A work area for debugging (inspection function) or a work area for calculating the character ratio may be assigned to the work area. In this case, the independence of the game control area, the control area for debugging (inspection function), and the work area for calculating the character ratio is reduced. However, if the program configuration does not use the work area for debugging (inspection function) or the work area for calculating the character ratio, it is not necessary to use the work area for debugging (inspection function) or the work area for calculating the character ratio. good too.

The withdrawal area is an area for temporarily storing in order to save data used in game control or debug (inspection function) control or character product ratio calculation. For example, when an interrupt occurs and a predetermined process is executed, the values of various CPU registers (calculation registers, flag registers, stack pointers, etc.) are copied to a save area before executing the predetermined process, After the processing is completed, the copied values are returned to various registers of the CPU. The retreat area may be used in common for game control, debugging (inspection function), and character ratio calculation. Calculation may be divided separately. Thereby, independence can be maintained more by game control, debug (inspection function) control, and role product ratio calculation.

The isolated area is between the work area for game control, the work area for debugging (inspection function), and the work area for calculating the character ratio, and the work area for debugging (inspection function), the save area, and the save area for calculating the character ratio. , and is a continuous area with each area (areas before and after). For example, the start address of the isolated area between the work area for game control and the work area for debugging (inspection function) is the next address ("3076H") after the end address of the work area for game control, and the end address is It becomes the previous address ("307FH") of the work area for debugging (inspection function). The isolated area is an area to which access is prohibited, and is configured to forcibly execute reset processing when accessed during processing by the CPU 4601 .

FIG. 268 shows the details of the role product ratio calculation work area on the right side thereof. The role product ratio calculation work area may include a main area for storing the calculation result of the role product ratio, and a backup area 1 and a backup area 2 for storing a copy of the data stored in the main area. . There may be one or more backup areas. A check code for detecting data errors is added to each area. The check code may be a checksum of data in each area or a predetermined value. The check code may be set in the initialization process when the power of the slot machine 4000 is turned on, set each time the data in the main area is updated in the character ratio calculation/display process, or may be set in the initialization process (step S1020 in FIG. 271). ) may be set. In particular, when the check code is a fixed value, even if the check code is initialized when it is determined to be normal in the initialization process or when the data is erased, and the fixed value is set in the initialization process (step S1020 in FIG. 271) good. The check code may also be used as a power failure flag. That is, if a predetermined value is set in the check code in the main area, it may be determined that the power failure flag is set. Also, if a predetermined value is set in the power interruption flag, it may be determined that the check code of each area has a correct value (that is, the data of each area is normal).

In the initialization process (step S1020 in FIG. 271), it is determined whether or not the data in the backup area is normal, and the data in the backup area determined to be normal should be copied to the main area. Also, in the power-off processing executed when the power is turned off, the values in the main area may be copied to each backup area.

Unused space is provided between the main area and the backup area 1 and between the backup area 1 and the backup area 2 . By providing an unused space between each area, the addresses of each area can be separated, and each area can be distinguished by the high-order digits of the address.

FIG. 269 is a diagram showing a specific structure of a work area for storing each data in the role product ratio calculation work area.

FIG. 269(A) shows the structure of the work area of the simplest method. In the structure of the work area shown in FIG. 269(A), the number of payouts, the number of consecutive payouts, the total number of payouts, the ratio of prizes, the ratio of consecutive prizes, the number of advantageous section games, the number of non-advantageous section games, and the advantageous section Stores a percentage. The number of prizes paid out is the number of medals paid out while the prize is in operation (for example, during a regular bonus). The number of consecutive award winning balls is the number of medals paid out during continuous award operation (for example, during big bonus). The total number of payouts is the total number of medals paid out in the game. The role ratio can be calculated by dividing the number of payouts by the total number of payouts. The continuous accessory ratio can be calculated by dividing the number of continuous accessory payouts divided by the total number of wins and payouts. The number of games played in an advantageous interval is the number of games played in a game state that is advantageous to the player (for example, a game state in which the number of medals in hand is less likely to decrease, such as ART (Assist Replay Time)), and the number of games played in a non-advantageous interval. , is the number of games executed in a game state other than the advantageous section. The advantageous section ratio can be calculated by dividing the number of games in the advantageous section by (the number of games in the advantageous section + the number of games in the non-advantageous section).

Among the structure of the work area shown in FIG. It corresponds to the cumulative total and is a storage area of 3 or 4 bytes each, and can store numerical values up to 16777215 or 4294967295 in decimal. Since these data will not be erased unless an abnormality occurs in the data, a large storage area is provided so that long-term data can be stored. Also, the role product ratio, continuous role product ratio, and advantageous section ratio are storage areas of 1 byte, and can store numerical values up to 255 in decimal.

The number of bonus payouts, the number of continuous bonus payouts, the total number of payouts, the number of advantageous zone games, and the number of non-advantageous zone games are updated in the zone update process for calculating the role ratio (step S1038 in FIG. 271), and the role ratio , the continuous role ratio, and the advantageous section ratio are calculated and stored in the role ratio calculation/display process (step S1119 in FIG. 272).

FIG. 269(B) shows the structure of a work area using a ring buffer. In the structure of the work area shown in FIG. Stores the number of games played in the advantageous section and the ratio of the advantageous section. Each data storage area is configured by a ring buffer having n storage areas for each predetermined number of games (for example, 15 storage areas for every 400 games). When the number (400) is reached, the write pointers for all data are moved, and the storage area where the data is updated changes. Then, after the data of the predetermined number of games is stored in the n-th storage area, the write pointer moves to the first storage area and stores the data in the first storage area.

The write pointer and read pointer of the ring buffer are common to all data, and the write pointers for all data are moved for each predetermined number of winning balls. Further, the read pointer also moves along with the movement of the write pointer. The read pointer points to a storage area one behind the write pointer. This is for calculating the character ratio using data for 400 games.

The cumulative total of each data is the cumulative value of the data stored in the n storage areas of the ring buffer. When the ring buffer is cycled and one storage area of the ring buffer is cleared for writing new data, the cumulative value is calculated excluding the data in the cleared area. The total cumulative value of each data is the cumulative value of the data collected in the past, and the cumulative value of the character ratio and the continuous component ratio is the value calculated from the cumulative value of each data. Even if one storage area of the ring buffer is cleared for writing new data, the total accumulated value is calculated including the data in the cleared area.

Of the structure of the work area shown in FIG. 269(B), the number of replays, the number of prize payouts, the number of award payouts, the number of consecutive award payouts, and the number of games in the ring buffer are each a 2-byte storage area. Numerical values up to 65535 in decimal can be stored. The number of replays, the number of winning prizes, the number of payouts, the number of consecutive payouts, and the total number of games are storage areas of 3 bytes each, and can store values up to 16,777,215 in decimal. A large storage area is provided because the cumulative total is, for example, the sum of data for 400 games×n (6000 games when n=15). The number of replays, the number of prize payouts, the number of payouts of the award, the number of consecutive payouts of the award, and the cumulative total of the number of games are each a storage area of 3 or 4 bytes, and can store numerical values up to 16777215 or 4294967295 in decimal. Since the total cumulative total is not deleted unless an abnormality occurs in the data, a larger storage area is provided so that long-term data can be stored. Also, the sum total and total sum of the role ratio and the continuous role ratio are each a storage area of 1 byte, and can store numerical values up to 255 in decimal. The number of games played in an advantageous section and the number of games played in a non-advantageous section are each a 3-byte storage area, and can store numerical values up to 16777215 in decimal. The advantageous interval ratio is a 1-byte storage area, and can store numerical values up to 255 in decimal.

By increasing the number of games corresponding to the data stored in each storage area constituting the ring buffer (for example, 600 games), the number of continuous storage areas for storing time-series data ( Even if n) is reduced to 10, the data for the same 6000 games in total can be stored. Therefore, the size of the storage area used as the ring buffer can be reduced.

Among the structure of the work area shown in FIG. The description is the same as in FIG. 269(A). The number of replays is the number of games that have been replayed. The winning payout number is the total number of medals paid out in the game. The number of games played is the number of games played, and when this value reaches a predetermined number, the write pointer moves.

The number of replays, the number of prize payouts, the number of accessory payouts, the number of continuous accessory payouts, the total number of payouts, the number of advantageous section games, and the number of non-advantageous section games are updated in the area update process for calculating the role ratio (step S1038 in FIG. 271). ), and the role ratio, continuous role ratio, and advantageous section ratio are calculated and stored in the role ratio calculation/display process (step S1119 in FIG. 272).

In the data structure shown in FIG. 269(A), when it is determined that the stored value is abnormal, the data in the role product ratio calculation work area is deleted in the initialization process (step S1020 in FIG. 271). data is not erased by other triggers. For this reason, the data in the work area for calculating the role product ratio may be erased every predetermined period (for example, one day, one week, one month, etc.). Similarly, the total accumulation in FIG. 269(B) may be erased every predetermined period.

Also, the data in the work area for calculating the character ratio or the calculated character ratio is an abnormal value (for example, the character ratio is over 100%, or the calculation result of the character ratio has changed significantly from the previous calculation value. , number of payouts>total number of payouts, etc.), the abnormal value may be deleted. Not only the abnormal value but also all the data in the work area for calculating the role product ratio may be deleted. Further, if the data in the work area for calculating the role product ratio or the calculated role product ratio is an abnormal value, it may be notified that there is an abnormality. Also, the data in the backup area may be inspected using the check code, and after duplicating the normal data in the backup area to the main area, the character product ratio may be calculated again.

[15-3-3. Configuration of I/O Area]
Next, the I/O area 4930 is described. An input/output port corresponds to the I/O area 4930 , and the CPU 4601 can access each input/output port by accessing the I/O area 4930 . Input/output ports correspond to, for example, ports related to inputs such as switches, and ports related to outputs such as large winning opening solenoids and LED drive signals. Input/output port settings (settings related to use/unuse such as input settings and output settings) are set based on the setting values in the parameter information setting area 4940 .

[15-3-4. Parameter information setting area]
Next, the parameter information setting area 4940 will be explained. FIG. 270 is a diagram showing details of the parameter information setting area 4940 of this embodiment. A parameter information setting area 4940 is an area in which various settings can be made. For example, various settings include the start/end addresses of each control area and data area, as shown in FIG. In addition, in FIG. 270, the definition of the start address and the end address of each area of the third control area, the work area for calculating the character ratio calculation, and the save area for calculating the character ratio calculation is omitted, but the third control area start setting And the third control area end setting is defined in the same way as the start and end settings of other control areas, and the work area start setting for character ratio calculation and the work area end setting for character ratio calculation are the start and end settings of other work areas It is defined in the same manner as the end setting, and the character product ratio calculation save area start setting and character product ratio calculation save area end setting are defined in the same manner as the start and end settings of other save areas. An area other than the area set here is an unused (unset) area. As a result, when the CPU 4601 accesses the unused area, the reset signal is forcibly input to the CPU 4601 . In FIG. 270, the areas are set as continuous areas, but the set areas do not have to be continuous. For example, the parameters may be grouped and arranged at predetermined intervals.

Further, in this embodiment, when an area other than the setting area (the first to fourth isolation areas of the ROM 4910 and the isolation area of the RAM 4920) is accessed, a reset is forcibly generated. Therefore, by intentionally accessing the isolated area and resetting, it is possible to perform the initial activation of the program. Since slot machines execute processes sequentially, by accessing the isolation area after the last game process is completed, the program can be executed from the startup process and the initial settings can be executed again. As a result, even if the initial setting function is set to a value different from the set value due to noise or the like during the game, the normal value can be set again by executing the initial setting again. Furthermore, in the initial setting process, RAM clearing is determined by the power failure flag, but it is possible to forcibly clear the RAM by accessing the isolated area without setting the power failure flag. Become. On the other hand, in the above-mentioned pachinko machine, since the game is played in parallel, once the game itself is initialized, it becomes impossible to continue the game. Since it is necessary to initialize the information in the RAM, it is possible to eliminate the processing for initializing the information in the RAM by accessing the isolated area.

The values set in the parameter information setting area 4940 are not set sequentially by user program processing such as initial setting of the CPU 4601, but by setting the address of the parameter area and the set value in the ROM 4602 separately from the program. , the parameter information set in the ROM 4602 is sequentially set in each function setting register of the CPU before the CPU 4601 starts the control program at startup. As a result, various parameters can be set when the power of the pachinko machine 1 is turned on. Since the set values of various parameters are information managed (determined) by the user, they are set in the ROM 4602 in which the game control program is stored.

[15-4. Game control]
[15-4-1. System reset startup process]
Next, control of the slot machine of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 271 is a flow chart for explaining the procedure of system reset activation processing executed when the slot machine 4000 is reset. System reset activation processing is processing that is executed when the slot machine 4000 is powered on or when a power failure occurs, and is processing that is activated when a reset signal is input to the CPU 4601 .

When the system reset activation process is started, the CPU 4601 first executes a parameter setting process for setting various parameters necessary for executing the game (step S1010). Specifically, the setting values stored in the parameter information setting area 4940 included in the storage area are set in the function setting registers of the CPU 4601, and the addresses of the areas assigned to the access areas are set as setting values. By setting the address of each area as a set value, for example, a work area or a save area is assigned to the RAM area 4920 as a used area, and an area not assigned as a used area (isolated area in FIG. 268) is treated as an unused area. assigned. Also, the work area and the save area are divided into game control and debugging (inspection function) (or other uses). In the ROM area 4910, as in the RAM area 4920, areas for storing programs and data are allocated as used areas, and areas not allocated as used areas are allocated as unused areas.

Next, the CPU 4601 executes security check processing (step S1012). Security check processing is processing for determining whether or not the data stored in the ROM 4602 is normal data. If the data stored in the ROM 4602 is not normal data, for example, there is a possibility that the ROM 4602 has been replaced with an illegal ROM, so activation of the slot machine 4000 is stopped. Furthermore, the CPU 4601 waits until the time required for the security check elapses (step S1014).

It should be noted that the processing from power-on of the slot machine to the end of the security check (processing up to step S1014) is not defined by the user program, but is configured by hardware inside the CPU that cannot be changed by the developer. It has become.

Subsequently, the CPU 4601 executes device initialization setting processing for initialization (step S1016). In the device initialization setting processing, processing such as startup setting of periodic processing (timer interrupt processing in FIG. 272) for periodically executing predetermined processing is executed. In this embodiment, the parameter setting process executes a function such as a random number function setting that prevents the user program from rewriting the settings related to the game lottery after the security check, and the device initialization setting process for functions other than these functions. running with By dividing the initialization of the CPU 4601 into the parameter setting process and the device initialization setting process in this way, the degree of freedom of game control is enhanced and cheating is less likely to occur in the game.

Furthermore, the CPU 4601 determines whether or not to initialize the RAM 4603 (step S1018). In the process of step S1018, it is determined whether cold start to initialize the RAM 4603 or hot start to return to the game with the contents of the backed up RAM 4603 is performed.

When performing a cold start to initialize the RAM 4603 (result of step S1018 is "Yes"), the CPU 4601 executes initialization processing to initialize the RAM 4603 (step S1020). A cold start is performed when the settings of the pachinko machine 1 are changed, when an abnormality occurs in the contents of the RAM 4603, when the power interruption flag is not set, and the like.

On the other hand, the CPU 4601 executes processing for returning to the game based on the backed-up contents of the RAM 4603 when performing a hot start to return to the game based on the contents of the RAM 4603 (result of step S1018 is "No"). (Step S1022). At this time, the process that was interrupted at the time of power failure is restored by the return process. Specifically, in either of steps S1024 to S1042 of the system reset activation process described later or steps S1110 to S1130 of the periodic process (FIG. 272), the process that was interrupted at the time of power failure is resumed.

Note that the slot machine 4000 in this embodiment calculates a checksum based on information stored in the RAM 4603 when a power failure occurs and when recovery processing is executed. At this time, only the work area for game control excluding the work area for debugging (inspection function) out of all areas that use the checksum calculation target as work (work area for game control and work area for debugging (inspection function)) may be Calculating the checksum only in the game control work area is because the debugging (inspection function) process is designed to maintain independence from the game control process, and it does not affect the game results. Since it is a process that does not exist, it is possible that some bugs may remain due to insufficient verification.In this case, a work area for debugging (inspection function) that holds information obtained by executing such processing Using it as a checksum calculation target may impair the reliability of normal recovery from a power outage. On the other hand, since the game control process is directly related to the game, if it is installed in a product with bugs remaining, it will cause a big trouble in the market. Depending on the situation, sales may be discontinued and the product may need to be recalled. This is because the work area for game control is more reliable than the work area for debugging (inspection function) because the verification is performed practically.

When the initialization process ends, or when a series of games ends, the CPU 4601 executes a game initial setting process to start a new game (step S1024). In the game initial setting process, the information in the RAM 4603, which is no longer necessary for performing a series of game controls, is once returned to the initial setting state.

After completing the game initial setting process, the CPU 4601 executes an information signal 1 output process for outputting a debug (inspection function) signal at the start of the game (step S1026). In the information signal 1 output processing, processing such as setting the debugging (inspection function) signal to the initial state is performed. For the information signal output processing, information signal 1 to N output processing is defined, and necessary modules are called at the timing of outputting the information signal. For example, when outputting a debug (inspection function) signal (information on reel rotation start, start lever ON, winning combination) associated with the start of the game in the game start processing, debugging regarding the stop of each reel in the symbol stop processing ( When the inspection function) signal (stop operation signal, stopped symbol information, etc.) is output, the debugging (inspection function) signal related to the fixed combination in the winning judgment process (fixed combination stopped on each reel, payout accompanying the fixed combination At the time of outputting the number information, the information of the output signal regarding the payout number at the time of payout (the number of payout medals, etc.), the "information signal N output processing" module necessary for the processing is appropriately called and executed.

Subsequently, the CPU 4601 executes standby processing for performing processing before the player operates the starting lever 4210 (step S1028). Before the start lever 4210 is operated, for example, it is determined whether or not a replay execution instruction has been given, whether or not medals have been inserted, and whether or not medals have been settled. Confirmation of game setting values and the like are performed.

When the starting lever 4210 is operated, the CPU 4601 executes game start processing for starting the game (step S1030). In the game start process, a random number value for drawing a game is obtained, a winning combination is determined, and the rotation of the reels 4301 is started. After that, the CPU 4601 executes Wait processing for waiting until the reel 4301 reaches the normal rotational speed (step S1032).

When the reels 4301 reach the normal rotational speed, the CPU 4601 makes it possible to accept input from the reel stop button 4211, and executes symbol stop processing until all the reels 4301 are stopped (step S1034).

Furthermore, when all the reels 4301 are stopped, the CPU 4601 executes a winning determination process for determining a winning combination based on the stopped symbols (step S1036). In the winning determination process, the winning combination is determined, and when the winning combination is determined, the setting corresponding to the winning combination is performed, and the setting for executing the payout process corresponding to the winning combination is performed.

Subsequently, the CPU 4601 determines the current gaming state, adds the number of prize medals to be paid out as the gaming value to the area corresponding to the current gaming state, and adds the value to the area corresponding to the current gaming state, and adds the value to the area corresponding to the current gaming state. 268, see FIG. 269) is updated (step S1038). The processing of step S1038 can be skipped when there are no prize medals to be paid out in step S1036, and the load on the CPU 4601 can be reduced.

Note that even when the slot machine 4000 detects fraud and stops the game, the role product ratio calculation area update process (step S1038) is executed. Regardless of whether fraud is detected or not, by executing these processes, it is possible to collect data for character product ratio calculation even during fraud notification.

Finally, the CPU 4601 executes game end processing for processing at the end of the game (step S1042). In the game ending process, a payout process corresponding to the winning combination is executed, and if there is no winning or if there is no payout, this process is skipped. When the game ending process ends, the process returns to the game initialization process, and the main loop process from step S1024 to step S1038 is executed.

[15-4-2. Periodic processing]
Next, periodic processing, which is interrupt processing that is activated at predetermined intervals while the main loop processing of the system reset initial activation processing is being executed, will be described. FIG. 272 is a flowchart showing the procedure of regular processing.

When the regular processing is executed, the CPU 4601 first saves the values stored in all registers (step S1110). At this time, the saved data is stored in the game control save area shown in FIG. As mentioned above, periodic processing is interrupt processing that is activated while main loop processing is being executed. need to be

Subsequently, the CPU 4601 resets the watchdog timer incorporated in the CPU (step S1112). This allows the watchdog timer to be cleared periodically.

Next, the CPU 4601 executes switch input processing for sampling input signals from various switches (step S1114). Furthermore, a game state check process is executed (step S1116). In the game state check process, a process related to drive control of a driver (stepping motor) that rotates the reel 4301 is performed. Specifically, it performs stepping motor pulse output, origin position detection, and the like.

Subsequently, the CPU 4601 executes timer measurement processing for updating various timers used in game control (step S1118). Since the periodic processing is executed periodically, the set time is the execution interval of the periodic processing times the set number of times.

Subsequently, the CPU 4601 determines whether the display switch 1318 has been operated, and if the display switch 1318 has been operated, calls the role product ratio calculation/display processing, and displays the medals stored in the role product ratio calculation work area. Refer to the number of payouts to calculate the accessory ratio. Then, the calculated role product ratio is displayed on the role product ratio display 1317 (step S1119). The role product ratio calculation/display processing is the same as the role product ratio calculation/display processing ( FIGS. 24 and 25 ) described in the embodiment of the pachinko machine 1 . Further, the specific calculation method of the character ratio and the specific display method of the character ratio are the same as the methods described in the embodiment of the pachinko machine 1 . In this way, by calling the character product ratio calculation/display process in the timer interrupt process and calculating the character product ratio, it is possible to confirm the character product ratio (gambling property of the slot machine 4000) based on the most recent data.

In addition, when the display switch 1318 is operated, all types of values (character ratio, continuous character ratio, total, total total) may be calculated, but each time the display switch 1318 is operated, the may be calculated only for Also, the role product ratio may be calculated regardless of whether the display switch 1318 is operated, and the calculated role product ratio may be displayed on the role product ratio display device 1317 when the display switch 1318 is operated.

Subsequently, the CPU 4601 executes LED output processing for controlling the LED (step S1120). The LED to be controlled is the one controlled by the main substrate 4600, and for example, the payout number display LED 4562. It also outputs data for displaying the character ratio on the LED.

CPU 4601 executes information output processing for outputting a signal to external relay terminal board 4131 (step S1122). The output signal is transmitted to hall computer 4800 via external relay terminal board 4131 . Furthermore, CPU4601 outputs the command memorize|stored in the command buffer to the production|presentation control board 4700 (step S1124).

The CPU 4601 executes random number update processing for updating the random numbers used in the game (step S1126). In random number update processing, random numbers to be generated by software processing are updated. Here, in addition to random numbers generated only by software, update processing of soft random numbers built into the CPU is executed. With the software random numbers built into the CPU, although the count itself is executed by hardware, the update trigger is determined in this process. By configuring in this way, it is possible to reduce program processing related to random number update.

When the random number update process ends, the CPU 4601 performs a process to return to the interrupted process (main loop process). Specifically, the value of the register saved in the process of step S1110 is restored (step S1128). Furthermore, execution of interrupts is permitted (step S1130). During execution of regular processing (timer interrupt processing), even if a new timer interrupt occurs, the new timer interrupt is pending, and the interrupt is enabled after the timer interrupt processing that was executed immediately before ends normally. It is now running. Therefore, the periodic processing (timer interrupt processing) is configured so as not to be executed multiple times.

[15-4-3. Information signal output processing]
Next, information signal output processing executed in system reset start-up processing and the like will be described. The information signal output processing is provided according to each output signal function (1 to N), and is composed of a plurality of modules. For example, there are "conditional device output signal (signal output related to conditional device operation)" and "lottery determination processing (signal output related to lottery)". Although the signals to be output are different, the configuration of each information output process is basically the same, so the explanation of each flow is omitted. FIG. 273 is a flow chart showing the procedure of information signal output processing of this embodiment.

When the information signal output process is started, the CPU 4601 first saves the values of all registers of the CPU (step S1210). This is to prevent the value set in the register from being destroyed by executing the information signal output processing (to ensure recovery even if it is destroyed), and the values of all registers are saved to the stack area. It is designed to let Also, the stack area used at this time is assigned to the save area for debugging (inspection function), and is assigned to a different area separated from the save area for game control.

Subsequently, the CPU 4601 acquires from the RAM 4603 information referred to for selecting (ON/OFF) an information signal (debugging (inspection function) signal) to be output (step S1212). Each information signal output process only refers to the information stored in the RAM 4603, and does not write data to the RAM 4603 in the process. When writing is necessary, information is output to the work area for debugging (inspection function). A dedicated work is provided, and the work is configured so as not to be used (including reference) in processes other than the information signal output process. Thereby, even if the program for executing the information signal output process is placed in a different place from the other game control programs, independence from the other game control programs can be ensured without using a common area. .

Next, the CPU 4601 generates an information signal to be output based on the information obtained in the process of step S1212 (step S1214), and outputs the generated signal to the corresponding port (step S1216). Furthermore, it waits until the information signal output time, which is the time for maintaining the output signal, elapses (step S1218). The information signal output time is predetermined, and by setting a sufficient time, the debugging (inspection function) signal can be reliably transmitted to the destination. After that, the values of all the registers saved in the process of step S1210 are restored (step S1220), and this process ends.

As described above, the information signal (debugging (inspection function) signal) is generated and output by the processing from step S1210 to step S1220. Then, the processing from step S1210 to step S1220 is executed for the debug (inspection function) signals to be output. Different types and numbers of signals are output for each output signal function (1 to N). In this embodiment, a plurality of types of information signal output processing are defined for each function. Information signal output processing may be made common by preparing two data areas and selecting and outputting a signal corresponding to a function designated by a caller.

As described above, in the present embodiment, a program (signal output program) for executing information signal output processing etc. is stored in an area clearly distinguished from the area for storing the game control program (game control area). By providing an area (debugging (inspection function) area), a program for debugging (inspection function) of the pachinko machine 1 can be arranged independently. The signal output program is used for the purpose of debugging (inspection function) of the pachinko machine 1, and is a process that does not affect the results of the game and does not impair the fairness of the game. In addition, for purposes other than this (for example, to arrange game control programs and general-purpose programs to compensate for the lack of capacity in the game control area), programs should not be placed in the debug (inspection function) area. It has become.

The signal output program is executed after being statically called from the game control program, and at this time, the address of the call destination is specified. Furthermore, the signal output program is modularized for each function, and protects all registers used in the game control area when called. Also, as mentioned above, when executing the program processing of the game control area, access to the debug (inspection function) work area is prohibited, and the program processing of the debug (inspection function) area is executed. If it is, it is configured to permit only reference to the game control work area and prohibit writing. Furthermore, it is configured to prohibit calling modules (including subroutines) placed in the game control area from the debug (inspection function) area. The program placed in the debug (inspection function) area including the signal output program is always called in the form of a subroutine, and after the subroutine ends, the return instruction returns immediately after the call. The modules stored in the debug (inspection function) area are configured for each purpose. By configuring in this way, the execution of the game control program is not affected by the execution of the signal output program (the program placed in the debug (inspection function) area).

In the embodiment of the slot machine 4000, the erasing timing of the RAM (game control work area, role product ratio calculation work area) may be the same as steps S18 to S26 in FIG. The slot machine 4000 does not have a RAM clear switch, and if the setting change key switch 4112t is operated, the game state backup data is deleted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the embodiment of the pachinko machine described above, it is possible to accurately calculate the role ratio of the slot machine in operation, and to enhance the gambling nature of the gaming machine in operation. I can confirm.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to such specific configurations, but various modifications and equivalents within the spirit of the appended claims. including configuration.

Among the inventions disclosed in this specification, representative aspects of the invention other than those described in the scope of claims are as follows.

(0) A gaming machine that provides a game value to a player,
a main controller that executes a program that controls the progress of a game;
and a character ratio indicator that displays information about the given game value,
The character ratio display device has a display device and a driver circuit for driving the display device,
The main controller is
transmitting data to be displayed on the character ratio display to the driver circuit by serial communication;
The game according to each of the preceding items, characterized in that, after power-on, the synchronization method, communication rate, whether to use parity, and whether to use stop bits are set for serial communication with the driver circuit. machine.

(1) The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein communication between the main controller and the driver circuit is slower than communication between the main controller and the peripheral controllers.

As a result, inaccurate display of the character product ratio due to garbled data during communication can be suppressed.

(2) the main controller,
It has a work RAM that holds data related to the progress of the game and data for calculating the character ratio even when the power is off,
The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the settings for the serial communication are executed after the work RAM is cleared.

As a result, it is possible to prevent display of an erroneous character product ratio by using erroneous RAM data.

(3) the main controller,
has a function of transmitting the data accumulated in the FIFO buffer by serial communication,
The game machine according to any one of the preceding items, wherein a data storage amount is set to determine the timing of data transmission from the FIFO buffer after power-on.

This allows data to be sent in any number of bits from the FIFO buffer.

(4) A gaming machine that gives a game value to a player,
a main controller that executes a program that controls the progress of a game;
and a character ratio indicator that displays information about the given game value,
The character ratio display device has a display device and a driver circuit for driving the display device,
The main controller, the display device and the driver are arranged such that the length of the signal line connecting the main controller and the driver circuit is longer than the length of the signal line connecting the driver circuit and the display device. The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, characterized by arranging a circuit.

By lengthening the signal line that connects the main controller and the driver circuit, it is possible to easily detect illegal modifications without arranging parts around the main controller, and furthermore, the signal line that connects the driver circuit and the display device. is shorter than the signal line connecting the main controller and the driver circuit, the influence of noise can be reduced and the character-object ratio can be displayed more accurately.

(5) The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the main controller and the character product ratio display are housed in one case.

As a result, unauthorized modification can be easily discovered without arranging other parts around the main controller, and the influence of noise can be reduced.

(6) The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the main controller and the character product ratio display are arranged on a single printed circuit board.

As a result, unauthorized modification can be easily discovered without arranging other parts on the printed circuit board around the main controller, and the influence of noise can be reduced.

(7) The game machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein the character product ratio display device is configured by housing the display device and the driver circuit in one package.

This can reduce the influence of noise on the signal line connecting the driver circuit and the display device. Also, the signal line connecting the driver circuit and the display device can be shortened.

(8) The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein a guard pattern (ground pattern or power supply pattern) is provided along the signal line connecting the main controller and the driver circuit.

As a result, the influence of noise on the signal line connecting the main controller and the driver circuit can be reduced.

(9) The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the display direction of the character ratio indicator is the same as the display direction of the model number on the surface of the main control device.

As a result, it is possible to easily confirm whether or not the main control device has been replaced and the displayed accessory ratio without taking an unreasonable posture.

(10) the driver circuit has a standby mode in which characters and numbers are not displayed on the display device to reduce power consumption;
The game according to any one of the preceding items, wherein the main controller sets the driver circuit to a standby state when the character product ratio display is in a closed state in which the character product ratio display is not visible in the installed state of the game machine. machine.

As a result, wasteful power consumption of the game machine can be prevented when display of the character product ratio is unnecessary.

(11) A gaming machine that gives prize balls as game value to a player by winning a prize in a predetermined winning hole of a game ball shot toward a game area,
a main control device that controls the progress of a game;
Equipped with a role ratio display that displays information about prize balls,
The winning opening includes a general winning opening whose entrance shape does not change depending on the game state, and an electric winning opening whose entrance opens or expands depending on the game state,
The main controller determines the number of prize balls to be paid out to the player, at least the number of the first prize balls to be paid out triggered by the winning in the general winning opening, and the number of winning balls in the electric winning opening triggered by counted separately from the number of second prize balls to be paid out,
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the character ratio display device displays information regarding a ratio between the number of the first prize balls and the number of the second prize balls.

(12) The main controller stores the counted number of prize balls in a memory,
the memory stores check code for verifying the stored number of prize balls;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the main controller erases the number of prize balls stored in the memory when the check code is not normal.

As a result, an abnormality in the number of prize balls stored in the memory can be detected, and display of an erroneous role ratio (the ratio between the number of the first prize balls and the number of the second prize balls) can be suppressed.

(13) The main controller,
The memory has a first backup area and a second backup area in which stored contents are retained even when power is cut off,
Data for game control is stored in the first backup area,
storing the data of the number of prize balls for calculating the character ratio in the second backup area;
The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein the data stored in the first backup area and the data stored in the second backup area are erased under different conditions.

Thus, when at least one of the data for game control and the data on the number of winning balls for calculating the role product ratio is normal, only the abnormal data can be deleted and the normal data can be left.

(14) The main controller,
The memory has a first backup area and a second backup area in which stored contents are retained even when power is cut off,
Data for game control is stored in the first backup area,
storing the data of the number of prize balls for calculating the character ratio in the second backup area;
If the RAM clear switch is operated when the game machine is turned on, the data stored in the first backup area is erased, but the data stored in the second backup area is not erased. The game machine described in the item.

When the role product ratio calculation/display data 13136 can be erased by operating the RAM clear switch, the role product ratio calculated by the gaming machine can be erased at an arbitrary timing. For this reason, by operating the RAM clear switch, the backed-up character product ratio calculation/display data 13136 is not erased, thereby preventing erasure of the character product ratio calculation/display data 13136 by the operation of the game hall staff. , It is possible to prevent concealment in a state where the character ratio is high. Therefore, it is possible to easily detect a gaming machine that has been remodeled to a state with a high role ratio, and prevent concealment of the state with a high role ratio.

(15A) A gaming machine that gives a game value to a player,
a control means for executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
a display means for displaying information about the given game value,
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the control means updates the information on the game value to be displayed on the display means in response to input/output of a predetermined signal.

(15B) the information about the gaming value is a base;
The control means is
To control the progress of a game by switching between a special game state in which a player can obtain a large amount of game value and a normal game state other than the special game state,
The number of prize balls paid out to the player in the normal gaming state is the number of balls consumed by the player in the normal gaming state (for example, the number of game balls launched into the game area, the number of game balls discharged from the gaming machine). The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the base is calculated by dividing by the number of balls, the sum of the number of game balls passing through the outlet and the number of winning balls.

(15C) The control means receives, as the predetermined signal, a winning detection signal for detecting a winning to a winning opening, a reception confirmation signal for a prize ball payout command or a prize ball payout completion signal, or a timing for receiving a prize ball payout completion signal. The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the number of prize balls used to calculate the base to be displayed on the display means is updated at the timing when the prize ball payout command instructing the payout is transmitted.

(15D) The control means
The total number of prize balls used for calculating the base is stored,
In the normal game state, when receiving a signal that a game ball has won a prize in a winning hole provided in the game area, calculating the number of prize balls determined corresponding to the winning hole,
updating the total number of prize balls using the calculated number of prize balls;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the base is calculated by dividing the updated total number of prize balls by the number of balls consumed in the normal game state.

(15E) comprising payout control means for controlling the payout of prize balls to the player;
The control means is
The total number of prize balls used for calculating the base is stored,
In the normal game state, when the winning of a game ball into a winning hole provided in the game area is detected, the number of winning balls determined corresponding to the winning hole is calculated,
instructing the payout control means to pay out the calculated number of prize balls to the player;
updating the total number of prize balls using the number of prize balls instructed to the payout control means;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the base is calculated by dividing the updated total number of prize balls by the number of balls consumed in the normal game state.

(15F) provided with a payout control means for controlling the payout of prize balls to the player;
The control means is
The total number of prize balls used for calculating the base is stored,
In the normal game state, when the winning of a game ball into a winning hole provided in the game area is detected, the number of winning balls determined corresponding to the winning hole is calculated,
instructing the payout control means to pay out the calculated number of prize balls to the player;
receiving confirmation of receipt of the instruction from the payout control means;
updating the total number of prize balls using the number of prize balls corresponding to the instruction for which the receipt confirmation is received;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the base is calculated by dividing the updated total number of prize balls by the number of balls consumed in the normal game state.

(15G) a payout control means for controlling the payout of prize balls to the player;
The control means is
The total number of prize balls used for calculating the base is stored,
In the normal game state, when the winning of a game ball into a winning hole provided in the game area is detected, the number of winning balls determined corresponding to the winning hole is calculated,
instructing the payout control means to pay out the calculated number of prize balls to the player;
receiving the completion of the payout of the prize balls according to the instruction from the payout control means;
updating the total number of prize balls using the number of prize balls corresponding to the received instruction of completion of the payout;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the base is calculated by dividing the updated total number of prize balls by the number of balls consumed in the normal game state.

(15H) The control means includes information updating means for updating information on the game value to be displayed on the display means in response to input/output of a predetermined signal, and updating the updated information on the game value on the display means. The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, further comprising processing display means for processing (statistically processing) and displaying the results of arithmetic processing performed when updating the information.

According to the inventions 15A to 15H, it is possible to accurately execute processing related to acquisition of game media.

(16A) A gaming machine that provides a game value to a player,
a control means for executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
a display means for displaying information about the given game value,
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the control means updates the information related to the game value to be displayed on the display means in relation to satisfaction of a predetermined condition in the game situation.

(16B) the information about the gaming value is a base;
The control means is
controlling the progress of a game by switching between a special game state in which a player can obtain a large amount of game value and a normal game state other than the special game state;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the base is calculated at the timing when the number of prize balls paid out to the player in the normal game state reaches a predetermined number.

(16C) The control means
The total number of prize balls used for calculating the base is stored,
In the normal game state, when a winning game ball is detected in a winning hole provided in the game area, the number of winning balls determined corresponding to the winning hole is calculated and stored in a buffer,
At a predetermined timing, the predetermined number is transferred from the buffer to the total number of prize balls, and the total number of prize balls is the number of balls consumed by the player in the normal game state (for example, the number of game balls launched into the game area). , the number of game balls discharged from the gaming machine, the sum of the number of balls passing through the outlet and the number of winning balls) to calculate the base.

(16D) The predetermined timing is timing when the number of winning balls in the buffer exceeds the predetermined number,
When the number of prize balls in the buffer exceeds the predetermined number, the control means subtracts the predetermined number from the buffer, adds the predetermined number to the total number of prize balls, and thereby removes the total prize balls from the buffer. The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, characterized in that the predetermined number is moved to a number.

(16E) The control means includes information updating means for updating information on the game value to be displayed on the display means in response to input/output of a predetermined signal, and updating the information on the updated game value to the display means. The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, further comprising processing display means for processing (statistically processing) and displaying the results of arithmetic processing performed when updating the information.

According to the inventions 16A to 16E, it is possible to accurately execute processing different from the game while maintaining the game within the regular restrictions of the main controller.

(17A) A gaming machine that gives a game value to a player,
a control means for executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
a display means for displaying information about the given game value,
The control means is
Count the number of balls consumed by the player,
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the game value-related information to be displayed on the display means is updated in relation to the fact that the counted number of balls consumed satisfies a predetermined condition.

(17B) The control means
controlling the progress of a game by switching between a special game state in which a player can obtain a large amount of game value and a normal game state other than the special game state;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the information regarding the game value is calculated at the timing when the number of balls consumed in the normal game state reaches a predetermined number.

(17C) The control means determines the number of balls to be consumed according to the number of game balls launched into the game area, the number of game balls discharged from the gaming machine, or the sum of the number of game balls passing through the out port and the number of winning balls. The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, characterized in that it counts .

(17D) the information about the gaming value is a base;
The control means is
stores the total number of out balls used for calculating the base;
calculating the number of balls consumed in the normal game state and storing it in a buffer;
A predetermined number is transferred from the buffer to the total number of out balls at a predetermined timing, and the base is calculated by dividing the number of prize balls paid out to the player in the normal game state by the total number of out balls. The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, characterized by:

(17E) The predetermined timing is timing when the number of balls consumed in the buffer exceeds the predetermined number,
When the number of balls consumed in the buffer exceeds the predetermined number, the control means subtracts the predetermined number from the buffer and adds the predetermined number to the total number of out balls, thereby A game machine according to any of the preceding items, characterized in that a predetermined number is moved to a number.

(17F) The control means
Triggered by winning the start winning slot, a special symbol variation display game for deriving the special game state is executed,
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, characterized in that, when the reserved memory of the special symbol variation display game reaches the upper limit, the number of prize balls is counted without memorizing the winning of the starting prize winning opening.

(17G) The control means includes information updating means for updating information on the game value to be displayed on the display means in response to input/output of a predetermined signal, and updating the updated information on the game value on the display means. The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, further comprising processing display means for processing (statistically processing) and displaying the results of arithmetic processing performed when updating the information.

According to inventions 17A to 17G, it is possible to accurately execute processing different from the game while maintaining the game.

(18A) A gaming machine that provides a game value to a player,
a control means for executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
display means for displaying information about the given game value;
a main body frame to which a game board having a game area in which the game is played is detachably attached;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the display means displays the information about the game value even when the body frame is closed.

(18B) the main body frame is rotatably attached to an outer frame attached to an island facility of a playground;
The game machine according to any one of the preceding items, wherein the display means is provided on the back side of the game machine so as to be visible when the body frame is opened.

(18C) the control means is attached to the body frame;
The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the display means is provided in the case of the control means so as to be visible from the back side of the game machine.

According to the inventions 18A to 18C, it is possible to suppress the decrease in hall sales.

(19A)
A gaming machine that provides a game value to a player,
a control means for executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
a display means for displaying information about the given game value,
The control means is
Information updating means for updating information on game value to be displayed on the display means in relation to satisfaction of a predetermined condition in the game;
a game execution means for performing a special symbol variation display game triggered by winning a prize in the starting prize opening,
wherein the game value information is updated even when the predetermined condition is satisfied while the special symbol variation display game is being played by the game execution means; The game machine described.

(19B) the information about the gaming value is a base;
The control means, as the predetermined condition, at any timing of detection of winning to the winning opening, transmission of prize ball payout command, reception of receipt confirmation of prize ball payout command, and reception of prize ball payout completion signal The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the number of winning balls used to calculate the base to be displayed on the display means is updated.

According to the inventions 19A to 19B, it is possible to provide a gaming machine that has sufficient countermeasures against cheating even during a variable display game.

(20A) A gaming machine that gives a game value to a player,
a main control means for executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
Effect control means for controlling the effect of a special symbol variation display game that is triggered by winning a prize in the starting port;
a game value information display means for displaying information about the given game value,
The production control means is
controlling the transition to a low power mode in which the power consumption of the game machine is reduced from the normal mode,
The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein during the low power mode, the display mode is not changed so as to reduce the power consumption of the game value information display means.

(20B) an effect display means for displaying the effect of the special symbol variation display game and comprising a liquid crystal display means having a backlight;
The effect display means reduces the brightness of the backlight during the low power mode,
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the gaming value information display means is composed of a light-emitting diode and does not reduce brightness even during the low power mode.

(20C) an effect display means for displaying an effect of the special symbol variation display game;
The effect display means controls the display mode to the low power mode when a predetermined time elapses after the reserved memory of the special symbol variation display game is consumed,
The game value information display means does not change the display mode so as to reduce power consumption even after a predetermined time has elapsed after the reserved memory of the special symbol variation display game is consumed. The gaming machine described in each of the preceding items.

According to the inventions 20A to 20C, it is possible to provide a gaming machine with a substantial energy saving mode.

(21A) A gaming machine that provides a game value to a player,
a control means for executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
a display means for displaying information about the given game value,
The control means is
game state control means for controlling the game state to any one of a normal game state and a plurality of advantageous game states more advantageous to the player than the normal game state;
The information regarding the game value is calculated and updated by dividing the number of prize balls in the normal game state by the number of balls consumed by the player in the normal game state. game machine.

(21B) The control means determines the number of game balls launched into the game area, the number of game balls discharged from the gaming machine, or the sum of the number of game balls passing through the out port and the number of winning balls, The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein the number of balls consumed in the normal game state is counted.

(21C) The control means
When the special symbol variation display game results in a big win, the advantageous game state is derived, and control is performed to open the winning openings from which the player can obtain a large amount of game value,
The advantageous gaming state is defined as the period between the determination of the big win in the special symbol variation display game and the start of the next special symbol variation display game, and the number of prize balls and the number of consumed balls during this period are excluded from the calculation of the information on the game value. The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, characterized by:

(21D) The control means
In the advantageous game state, control is performed to open the winning openings from which the player can obtain a large amount of game value,
The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein the number of game balls that have entered the winning slot is excluded from the number of game balls that have been launched into the game area, and the number of balls that have been consumed in the normal game state is counted.

According to the inventions 21A to 21D, accurate information can be output to the outside of the gaming machine.

(22A) A gaming machine that provides a game ball when a predetermined condition is satisfied,
a control means for executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
and display means for displaying information about the given game ball,
In the game area where the launched game balls roll, there are a start port that triggers a special game state that facilitates the acquisition of a large number of game balls, and a trigger that leads the open state from the closed state of the start port. At least a passage opening is provided,
The control means is
It is also possible to control a special game state that makes it easy to derive the open state of the start port,
The number of prize balls given to the player is played by excluding the number of prize balls given and the number of consumption balls consumed by the player while being controlled to either the special game state or the special game state. The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein the information on the game balls is calculated and updated by dividing by the number of balls consumed by the player.

(22B) The control means selects one of the number of game balls launched into the game area, the number of game balls discharged from the gaming machine, and the sum of the number of game balls passing through the out port and the number of winning balls, The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein the number of balls consumed in the normal state is counted.

(22C) The control means determines the number of winning balls and the number of consumed balls during the period from the determination of winning by the normal symbol variation display game to the start of the next normal symbol variation display game as the expanded state, The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, characterized in that it is excluded from information calculation.

(22D) The control means counts the number of balls consumed in the normal state by excluding the number of game balls that have entered the starting hole from the number of game balls launched into the game area. A game machine described in each item.

According to the inventions 22A to 22D, accurate information can be output to the outside of the gaming machine.

(23A) a shooting device operable by a player for shooting game balls toward a game area;
prize ball awarding means for awarding a predetermined number of prize balls when the game balls are detected in a winning hole provided in the game area;
a main control means for executing a lottery to decide whether or not to grant an advantageous gaming state advantageous to a player when the game ball is detected in a predetermined winning opening among the winning openings;
A gaming machine comprising peripheral control means for determining an effect to appear based on information transmitted from the main control means,
The main control means has an information update means that can update information on the given game ball to increase or decrease,
A first state in which the information on the given game ball can be updated by the information updating means to increase or decrease, and a state in which the information on the given game ball can be updated to increase or decrease by the information updating means There is at least a second state in which the rate at which the information on the given game ball is updated to increase is suppressed compared to the first state,
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the peripheral control means determines the appearance of a special effect indicating that the state has shifted from the first state to the second state.

(23B) the information about the gaming value is a base;
The main control means is
To control the progress of a game by switching between a special game state in which a player can obtain a large amount of game value and a normal game state other than the special game state,
calculating the base by dividing the number of prize balls in the normal game state by the number of balls consumed by the player in the normal game state;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the peripheral control means determines the appearance of the adversity effect with the timing at which the base is highly likely to fall as the second state.

(23C) The main control means
Writing information about game balls into a storage area at a predetermined time, every predetermined number of prize balls, or every predetermined number of consumed balls,
comparing the information about the game ball written in the storage area with the information about the game ball stored in the storage area before the writing, and determining the increase or decrease of the information about the game ball;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the peripheral control means determines appearance of the adversity effect in accordance with the determined increase/decrease.

According to the inventions 23A to 23C, it is possible to suppress the loss of interest even if the state in which the variable display game is interrupted continues for a long time.

(24A) A gaming machine that gives a game value to a player,
a control means for repeatedly executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
display means for displaying information about the given game value;
prize ball acquisition means for acquiring the number of prize balls won by the player at a predetermined timing;
Consumed ball detection means for detecting the consumed ball consumed by the player,
The control means is
When the predetermined timing and the detection of the consumed balls by the consumed balls detection means occur within the same repetition, the number of prize balls obtained at the predetermined timing and the detected number of consumed balls are detected within the same repetition. count with
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the information on the game value is calculated using the counted number of awarded balls and number of consumed balls.

(24B) the information about the gaming value is a base;
The control means is
To control the progress of a game by switching between a special game state in which a player can obtain a large amount of game value and a normal game state other than the special game state,
counting the total number of prize balls in the normal game state and the number of game balls consumed by the player in the normal game state within the same repetition;
The game according to each of the preceding items, wherein the information regarding the game value is calculated by dividing the total number of prize balls in the normal game state by the number of game balls consumed by the player in the normal game state. machine.

According to the inventions 24A to 24B, information on the number of game media acquired by the player can be quickly displayed.

(25A) A gaming machine that gives a game value to a player,
a control means for executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
display means for displaying information about the given game value;
an out-port detecting means for detecting a game ball passing through an out-port provided at the bottom of the game area;
winning ball detection means for detecting a winning ball into a predetermined winning hole,
The control means is
game state control means for controlling to any one of at least a normal game state and a special game state in which a player can obtain more game value than in the normal game state;
counting the number of game balls passing through the out port from the output of the out port detection means;
counting the number of winning balls from the output of the winning ball detection means;
counting the number of balls consumed by the player based on the sum of the counted number of game balls passing through the outlet and the number of winning balls;
Information on the game value is calculated by dividing the number of prize balls paid out to the player in the normal game state by the number of balls consumed in the normal game state at a predetermined timing. , the game machine described in the preceding items.

(25B) A gaming machine that provides a game value to a player,
a control means for executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
display means for displaying information about the given game value;
a detection means for counting the number of game balls launched into the game area,
The control means is
game state control means for controlling to any one of at least a normal game state and a special game state in which a player can obtain more game value than in the normal game state;
counting the number of game balls launched into the game area from the output of the detection means, counting the consumption game balls consumed by the player;
Information on the game value is calculated by dividing the number of prize balls paid out to the player in the normal game state by the number of balls consumed in the normal game state at a predetermined timing. , the game machine described in the preceding items.

(25C) A gaming machine that provides a game value to a player,
a control means for executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
display means for displaying information about the given game value;
a detection means for counting the number of game balls discharged from the game machine,
The control means is
game state control means for controlling to any one of at least a normal game state and a special game state in which a player can obtain more game value than in the normal game state;
counting the number of game balls discharged from the gaming machine from the output of the detection means, counting the number of consumption balls consumed by the player;
Information on the game value is calculated by dividing the number of prize balls paid out to the player in the normal game state by the number of balls consumed in the normal game state at a predetermined timing. , the game machine described in the preceding items.

According to the inventions 25A to 25C, it is possible to accurately execute processing related to acquisition of game media.

(26A) A gaming machine that gives a game value to a player,
a control means for executing a program for controlling the progress of a game;
a display means for displaying information about the given game value,
The control means is
game state control means for controlling to any one of at least a normal game state and a special game state in which a player can obtain more game value than the normal game state;
a prize ball counting means for counting the number of prize balls excluding the number of prize balls awarded when a game ball hit toward the right side of the game area enters a prize winning opening;
Consumed ball number counting means for counting the number of consumed balls consumed by the player excluding the number of game balls hit toward the right side of the game area,
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the control means updates the information on the game value using the counted number of awarded balls and number of consumed balls.

(26B) the information about the gaming value is a base;
Counting the number of prize balls in the normal game state, excluding the number of prize balls given when the game ball hit toward the right side of the game area enters a prize winning opening that is allowed to win,
excluding the number of game balls hit toward the right side of the game area and counting the number of consumption balls in the normal game state;
Any of the preceding items, wherein the control means calculates the information on the game value by dividing the counted number of prize balls in the normal game state by the number of consumed balls in the normal game state. game machine.

(26C) The control means detects that the game ball has passed through the gate section provided on the right side of the game area or won a prize in the winning opening provided on the right side of the game area, and the predetermined period is The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the number of prize balls and the number of consumed balls are excluded from counting.

(26D) The control means determines the predetermined period according to the elapse of a predetermined time from the last detection, the time to consume a predetermined number of game balls, or the time to pay out a predetermined number of prize balls. The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, characterized by:

(26E) The control means excludes the number of balls passing through the gate section provided on the right side of the game area and the number of winning balls into the winning hole provided on the right side of the game area, The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the number of balls consumed is counted.

According to inventions 26A to 26E, accurate information can be output to the outside of the gaming machine.

(27A) A gaming machine that gives a game value to a player,
main control means for deriving a game state advantageous to the player according to the result of a win-lose lottery in the game;
first data setting means for setting first data according to a game result;
second data setting means for setting second data independent of game results;
third data setting means for setting third data according to game results;
a first conversion means for obtaining first conversion data from the first data set by the first data setting means and the second data set by the second data setting means;
a second conversion means for obtaining second conversion data from the first conversion data obtained by the first conversion means and the third data set by the third data setting means;
and display means for displaying the second conversion data without displaying the first conversion data.

(27B) The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the display device does not display the second conversion data when the second conversion data is a numerical value within a predetermined range.

(27C) The first conversion means is multiplication means, and multiplies the first data and the second data at the timing when a predetermined condition is established to obtain the first conversion data, The game machine described in each of the preceding items.

(27D) The second conversion means is division means, and is characterized by dividing the first conversion data by the third data to obtain the second conversion data at the timing when a predetermined condition is established. , the game machine described in the preceding items.

(27E) the first data is a game value given to the player (for example, the number of prize balls);
The third data is the gaming value (for example, the number of out balls) consumed by the player,
The second conversion means divides the first conversion data by the third data to obtain second conversion data, and obtains information about the given game value,
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the display displays information (for example, base) regarding the game value obtained by the second conversion means.

According to the inventions 27A to 27E, information regarding game results can be displayed accurately and quickly. In particular, it is possible to accurately display in real time the base value required for evaluating the gaming machine. Further, by using the second conversion means (division means), it is possible to accurately display the information (for example, the base value) regarding the game value in real time while suppressing an increase in the processing load of the control means.

(28A) A gaming machine that gives a game value to a player,
a control means for executing regular processing for controlling the progress of a game;
display means for displaying information about the given game value;
and conversion means for calculating information about the game value,
The control means is
Passing an argument to the conversion means at a predetermined timing, obtaining a result converted by the conversion means based on the argument from the conversion means,
A gaming machine characterized in that the process of passing the argument and the process of acquiring the result of the conversion can be executed within one periodical process.

(28B) The conversion means includes:
It is an arithmetic circuit that performs a division operation,
a divisor register for inputting a divisor, a dividend register for inputting a dividend, and a result register for outputting a quotient of a division operation,
The control means is
writing arguments to the divisor register and the dividend register;
reading the quotient from the result register after a predetermined time has passed since the argument was written;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the process of writing arguments to the divisor register and the dividend register is executed before the predetermined time from the end of the repeatedly executed program.

(28C) prize game medium number counting means for counting the game medium given to the player in a predetermined game state;
Consumed game media number counting means for counting the game media consumed by the player in the predetermined game state;
The control means is
writing a value obtained by multiplying the number of prize game media counted by the prize game medium count means by 100 into the dividend register;
writing the number of consumed game media counted by the consumed game media count means into the divisor register;
A gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein a base value is read from the result register.

According to inventions 28A to 28C, information on game results can be displayed accurately and quickly. In particular, since the process of passing an argument to the conversion circuit and the process of obtaining the conversion result from the conversion circuit are executed within one repetition process (timer interrupt process), complication of control can be suppressed.

(29A) A gaming machine that gives a game value to a player,
a prize-winning opening in which a game ball can win a prize;
a control means for controlling the progress of a game;
display means for displaying information about the given game value;
Consumed ball counting means for counting the consumed balls consumed by the player;
a prize ball counting means for counting the prize balls given to the player;
At least one of the winning openings is a specific winning opening that can be switched between an open state in which game ball winning is easy and a closed state in which winning is difficult,
The control means is
updating the information on the game value to be displayed on the display means based on the counted number of consumed balls and the number of prize balls;
If winning to the specific winning opening is detected even though the specific winning opening is in the closed state, it is determined that there is a winning abnormality, and if the determination is made, the number of winning balls related to the winning abnormality. is excluded from the number of balls consumed, and the information on the game value to be displayed on the display means is updated.

(29B) At least one of the winning openings is a starting winning opening that triggers a special game state that facilitates the acquisition of a large number of game balls;
The control means determines that there is a winning abnormality when a winning to the starting winning opening is detected while the starting winning opening is closed, and excludes the number of winning balls related to the winning from the number of consumed balls. , the game machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein information relating to game value to be displayed on the display means is updated.

(29C) at least one of the winning openings is a big winning opening opened in a special game state;
The control means determines that there is a winning abnormality when a winning to the big winning opening is detected while the big winning opening is closed, and excludes the number of winning balls related to the winning from the number of consumed balls. , the game machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein information relating to game value to be displayed on the display means is updated.

(29D) having consumable ball detection means for detecting consumable balls consumed by the player;
The consumable ball counting means counts the consumable balls consumed by the player by subtracting the winning ball number associated with the winning abnormality from the consumable ball number detected by the consumable ball number detection means. The game machine described in the item.

(29E) the control means stores the total number of consumed balls used to calculate the information on the game value;
The consumed ball counting means adds the number of consumed balls detected by the consumed ball number detection means to the total number of consumed balls, subtracts the number of winning balls related to the winning abnormality from the total number of consumed balls, and calculates the number of consumed balls. The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, characterized by counting.

(29F) the control means stores the total number of balls consumed to be used for calculating the information on the game value;
The consumed ball counting means counts the consumed balls by adding a value obtained by subtracting the number of consumed balls related to the winning abnormality from the number of consumed balls detected by the consumed ball number detecting means to the total number of consumed balls. A game machine according to any of the preceding paragraphs, characterized by:

(29G) The winning port can be switched between an open state in which game ball winning is easy and a closed state in which it is difficult to win,
When a winning to the winning opening is detected in the closed state and no winning balls are dispensed in relation to the winning, the control means determines that there is a winning abnormality, and reduces the number of winning balls related to the winning. The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the game value information to be displayed on the display means is updated by excluding it from the number of balls consumed.

(29H) When the abnormal winning to the winning opening is detected multiple times within a predetermined period, the control means excludes the number of winning balls related to the abnormal winning from the number of consumed balls and displays it on the display means. The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, characterized in that information on game value for playing is updated.

According to inventions 29A to 29H, information on game results can be displayed accurately and quickly. In particular, by excluding the number of winning balls related to abnormal winning from the number of out balls, the information (for example, the base value) regarding the game value can be accurately displayed in real time.

(30) A gaming machine that gives a game medium as a prize to a player,
a game area in which a plurality of winning holes are arranged;
a prize granting means for granting a predetermined specific prize out of a plurality of prizes when a game medium is detected in each of the prize winning openings;
Arithmetic processing means for executing a predetermined arithmetic process using the number of game media flowing into the game area and the number of game media given as a prize given by the prize giving means;
a processing means for processing the result of the arithmetic processing executed by the arithmetic processing means;
a display means for displaying the result of arithmetic processing processed by the processing means on a predetermined display device;
When a specific prize among the plurality of prizes is generated in the game, the prize giving means gives the specific prize, and the display means displays the result of the arithmetic processing so as not to change. game machine.

According to invention 30, it is possible to accurately and quickly display information about game results. In particular, when a specific prize is generated (for example, a prize ball paid out when a high-value prize is awarded (general prize hole with a large number of prize balls, big prize hole, etc.)) Even if it is awarded, the result of arithmetic processing (calculated base value) can be displayed so that it does not change, and it is easy to judge whether the gaming machine is demonstrating the predetermined performance (for example, whether the set ball payout rate is correct) can.

(31A) A game comprising a main control means including a lottery means for executing a lottery for winning and losing when a specific condition is satisfied, and a peripheral control means for controlling a predetermined effect based on a signal from the main control means. machine and
The peripheral control means is
Temporary storage means for storing information based on signals received from the main control means;
information storage means updated by the information stored in the temporary storage means;
and a first information output means for outputting at least part of the information stored in the information storage means to the outside when a predetermined condition is satisfied,
A gaming machine characterized in that the status history of the gaming machine can be comprehended.

(31B) Even if it is not in a special game state, it has a general prize winning opening that can win a game ball launched into the game area,
The signal transmitted from the main control means to the peripheral control means includes a signal indicating winning to the general winning slot,
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the first information output means outputs information regarding winning to the general winning slot to the outside when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

(31C) external output means for outputting information based on the predetermined condition to an external terminal board when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
information storage means for storing information more detailed than the information output to the external terminal board when the predetermined condition is satisfied;
and information presentation means for presenting the information stored by the information storage means.

(31D) comprising first initialization means for initializing the state of the gaming machine;
The peripheral control means is
a storage means for storing information based on the signal received from the main control means;
and limited initialization means that does not initialize a part of the information stored in the storage means even if the information is initialized by the first initialization means. machine.

(31E) first initialization means for initializing the state of the gaming machine;
and a second initialization means for initializing the storage contents of the information storage means,
The information storage means can retain stored contents even when power to the game machine is cut off,
The game machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein the first initialization means does not initialize the storage contents of the information storage means, but initializes the storage contents of the temporary storage means.

(31F) The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the peripheral control means stores the type of signal received from the main control means and the time at which the signal is received in the information storage means.

(31G) The signals transmitted from the main control means to the peripheral control means include a signal relating to a counting event counted according to the progress of the game and a signal relating to a state change event that triggers a change in the state of the gaming machine. including
The peripheral control means is
Temporary storage means for storing information based on signals received from the main control means;
information storage means updated by the information stored in the temporary storage means;
a first information output means for outputting at least part of the information stored in the information storage means to the outside when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
The peripheral control means is
counting the counting events based on the signal received from the main control means and storing the counting result in the temporary storage means;
When a signal relating to the state change event is received from the main control means, the state change event is stored in the information storage means, and the counting result of the counting event stored in the temporary storage means is stored in the information storage means. The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, characterized by:

(31H) the signal transmitted from the main control means includes a signal relating to a counting event counted for management of the gaming machine and a signal relating to a state change event that triggers a change in the state of the gaming machine;
The information storage means stores the counting result of the counting event for each state of the gaming machine,
The peripheral control means is
counting signals related to the counting event received from the main control means and storing them in the temporary storage means;
When a signal related to the state change event is received from the main control means, the type of the signal related to the state change event and the time when the signal was received are stored in the information storage means, and the counting event stored in the temporary storage means. The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the counting result of the counting event stored in the information storage means is added to the counting result of the above.

(31I) the signal transmitted from the main control means includes a signal relating to a counting event counted for management of the gaming machine and a signal relating to a state change event that triggers a change in the state of the gaming machine;
The information storage means stores the counting result of the counting event for each state of the gaming machine,
The peripheral control means is
counting signals related to the counting event received from the main control means and storing them in the temporary storage means;
When a signal relating to the state change event is received from the main control means, the counting result of the counting event stored in the temporary storage means is added to the counting result of the counting event stored in the information storage means. The game machine described in the preceding items.

According to the inventions 31A to 31I, it is possible to know how the number of balls released has changed. In particular, according to inventions 31D and 31E, it is possible to properly store information about games.

(32) A gaming machine that gives prize game media as game value to a player,
a control means for executing regular processing related to the progress of the game;
Consumed game media counting means for counting the consumed game media consumed by the player;
prize game medium counting means for counting prize game media given to a player;
calculation means for calculating information about the given game value using the counted number of consumed game media and the number of prize game media;
a first light-emitting element group including a plurality of light-emitting elements for displaying game-related information including variable display of symbols;
a second light-emitting element group including a plurality of light-emitting elements that display information about the given gaming value;
The first light emitting element group includes a first terminal to which one terminal of the plurality of light emitting elements is commonly connected, and a plurality of second terminals to which the other terminals of the plurality of light emitting elements are respectively connected. and
The second light emitting element group includes a third terminal to which one terminals of the plurality of light emitting elements are commonly connected, and a plurality of fourth terminals to which the other terminals of the plurality of light emitting elements are respectively connected. and
the first terminal of the first light emitting element group and the third terminal of the second light emitting element group are connected to one output drive means,
Although the control means outputs a selection signal to the first terminal and the third terminal at a common timing, at least one of the first light emitting element groups is output during the period in which the selection signal is output. a signal output to the plurality of second terminals for lighting one light emitting element and a signal output to the plurality of fourth terminals for lighting at least one light emitting element in the second light emitting element group; are output at different timings to control the display of the first light emitting element group and the second light emitting element group within one periodical process.

According to invention 32, it is possible to simply configure a circuit for displaying information (for example, base value and role ratio) about the game value to be given, and to quickly and accurately display the information about the game value.

(33) A gaming machine that gives a prize game medium as game value to a player,
a control means for executing regular processing related to the progress of the game;
Consumed game media counting means for counting the consumed game media consumed by the player;
prize game medium counting means for counting prize game media given to a player;
calculation means for calculating information about the given game value using the counted number of consumed game media and the number of prize game media;
a first light-emitting element group including a plurality of light-emitting elements for displaying game-related information including variable display of symbols;
a second light-emitting element group including a plurality of light-emitting elements that display information about the given gaming value;
The first light emitting element group includes a first terminal to which one terminal of the plurality of light emitting elements is commonly connected, and a plurality of second terminals to which the other terminals of the plurality of light emitting elements are respectively connected. and
The second light emitting element group includes a third terminal to which one terminals of the plurality of light emitting elements are commonly connected, and a plurality of fourth terminals to which the other terminals of the plurality of light emitting elements are respectively connected. and
A selection signal output to the first terminal of the first light emitting element group, and at least one light emitting element of the first light emitting element group corresponding to the selection signal output to the first terminal. A signal output to the plurality of second terminals for lighting, a selection signal output to the third terminal of the second light emitting element group, and a selection signal output to the third terminal The signal output to the plurality of fourth terminals for lighting at least one light emitting element of the second light emitting element group in response to is output within the same periodical processing, but is output in the same periodical processing, a process of outputting a selection signal output to one terminal and a signal output to the plurality of second terminals corresponding to the selection signal; a selection signal output to the third terminal and the selection signal; The processing of outputting the signals to be output to the corresponding plurality of fourth terminals is outputting signals at different timings within the periodic processing by different processing within the same periodic processing. .

According to invention 33, a circuit for displaying information about the game value to be given can be configured simply. Therefore, it is possible to quickly and accurately display the information on the game value.

(34A) A gaming machine that gives a prize game medium as a game value to a player,
a control means for controlling the progress of a game;
Consumed game media counting means for counting the consumed game media consumed by the player;
prize game medium counting means for counting prize game media given to a player;
calculation means for calculating information about the given game value using the counted number of consumed game media and the number of prize game media;
a calculation result display means for displaying information about the game value calculated by the calculation means;
The control means is
A control device that executes processing for game control,
timing means for generating a signal (e.g., a clock signal or a reset signal) that determines the operation timing of the control device;
an output drive means controlled by the control device and outputting at least a control signal for display by the calculation result display means;
In a board on which the control device is mounted, the timing means is arranged in one direction as viewed from the control device, the output drive means and the calculation result display means are arranged in the other direction different from the one direction, and the The game machine is characterized by being arranged apart from the timing means.

(34B) A connection line between the control device and the timing means and a connection line between the control device and the output drive means are arranged on the substrate so as not to cross each other. The game machine described in each preceding item.

(34C) the timing means includes a reset circuit that generates a reset signal to be input to the control device; and an oscillator circuit that generates a clock signal to be input to the control device;
On a printed circuit board on which the control means is implemented, the reset circuit is arranged in the same direction from the processor as the oscillator circuit, and the driver circuit and the display device are arranged away from the reset circuit and the oscillator circuit. The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, characterized by:

According to the inventions 34A to 34C, it is possible to suppress interference between the signal regarding game control and the signal for displaying information regarding the game. Therefore, the influence on the game control can be suppressed, and the information regarding the game value can be quickly and accurately displayed.

(35A) A gaming machine that gives prize gaming media as gaming value to a player,
a control means for controlling the progress of a game;
Consumed game media counting means for counting the consumed game media consumed by the player;
prize game medium counting means for counting prize game media given to a player;
calculation means for calculating information about the given game value using the counted number of consumed game media and the number of prize game media;
display means for displaying information about the game value under the control of the control means;
The control means is
A control device that executes processing for game control,
a memory that is accessed by the control device when executing the process and stores at least information about the game value;
The game machine is provided with input means for instructing initialization of the memory,
The control means is
a first initialization means for determining whether or not the data stored in the memory is normal at a predetermined timing, and initializing a predetermined first area of the memory when it is determined to be abnormal; ,
a second initialization means for determining whether or not the input means is being operated when the power is turned on, and initializing a predetermined second area of the memory when it is determined that the input means is being operated; have
The first area initialized by the first initialization means and the second area initialized by the second initialization means are also the second initialization means by the first initialization means. including overlapping regions that are also commonly initialized by the initialization means;
at least the first region includes a region that does not overlap with the second region;
A gaming machine, wherein the information about the game value is stored in the first area other than the overlapping area.

(35B) the first area stores data used for calculating information about the game value;
The second area stores data used to control the progress of the game,
The control means is
when the data stored in the first area is determined to be abnormal, initializing the first area;
when the data stored in the second area is determined to be abnormal, initializing the second area;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein when it is determined that the input means is operated, the second area is initialized without initializing the first area.

(35C) the first area stores data used for calculating information about the game value;
The second area stores data used to control the progress of the game,
The control means is
when the data stored in the first area is determined to be abnormal, initializing the first area and the second area;
when the data stored in the second area is determined to be abnormal, initializing the first area and the second area;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein when it is determined that the input means is operated, the second area is initialized without initializing the first area.

(35D) Each of the preceding items, wherein the control means determines whether or not the data stored in the first area is abnormal each time periodic processing is repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals. The gaming machine described in .

(35E) The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the control means determines whether the data stored in the first area is abnormal each time the information regarding the game value is calculated. .

(35F) The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the control means determines whether or not the data stored in the first area is abnormal when the power of the game machine is turned on.

According to the inventions 35A to 35F, it is possible to appropriately control the memory that stores the information (base value and role ratio) about the game value to be given. Therefore, the information regarding the game can be displayed accurately and quickly.

(36A) A gaming machine that gives a prize game medium as a game value to a player,
a control means for controlling the progress of a game;
Consumed game media counting means for counting the consumed game media consumed by the player;
prize game medium counting means for counting prize game media given to a player;
calculation means for calculating information about the given game value using the counted number of consumed game media and the number of prize game media;
display means for displaying information about the game value;
and an electric accessory operated by the control means,
Under certain conditions, when a plurality of game media wins during the operation of the electric role product triggered by a single win, some of the winning game media are provided with information on the game value. A gaming machine characterized in that any game medium can trigger a variable display game, although it is used for calculation and is not used for calculation of the information on the game value for other game media.

(36B) The control means includes:
executing a variable display game when a predetermined starting condition is satisfied;
Depending on the result of the variable display game, a first game state (time saving, high probability state, big hit, etc.) that is advantageous to the player and a second game state (normal state) that is less advantageous than the first game state. and control to either
When a plurality of game media wins during one operation of the electric role product, the game media won in the second game state are used to calculate the information on the game value, and the first game media The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein any game medium can trigger a variable display game, although the game medium won in the state is not used for calculating the information on the game value.

(36C) The control means includes:
Detects multiple types of errors that occur in game machines,
When a plurality of game media wins during one operation of the electric accessory, the game media won while the predetermined type of error is detected are not used for calculating the information on the game value. First, game media that have won a prize in a state in which a predetermined type of error has not been detected are used to calculate information related to the game value, but any game media can be a trigger for a variable display game. The game machine described in the preceding items.

According to the inventions 36A to 36C, it is possible to quickly and accurately display the information on the game value because the use of the game medium for calculating the information on the game value is switched according to the state of the gaming machine.

(37A) A gaming machine comprising an outer frame, a main body frame supported to be openable and closable with respect to the outer frame and provided with a game board, and a setting change operation section for changing a setting state related to a game. hand,
Difficulty in setting change making it difficult to operate the setting change operation unit when the body frame is in a closed state with respect to the outer frame, compared to when the body frame is in an open state with respect to the outer frame A game machine characterized by having a conversion means.

(37B) an outer frame, a main body frame supported to be openable and closable with respect to the outer frame and provided with a game board; A gaming machine comprising a setting state display unit for displaying,
A game machine, comprising: visibility making means for making the contents displayed by the setting state display section invisible when the body frame is in a closed state with respect to the outer frame.

(37C) an outer frame, a main body frame supported to be openable and closable with respect to the outer frame and provided with a game board, and a setting determination operation section for performing a setting determination operation for determining a setting state related to a game. A game machine that
A gaming machine comprising decision making means for making it difficult to operate the setting decision operation section when the body frame is in a closed state with respect to the outer frame.

(37D) A gaming machine comprising an outer frame, a main body frame supported to be openable and closable with respect to the outer frame and having a game board provided thereon, and a setting change operation unit for changing a setting state related to a game. hand,
The setting change operation unit has a setting key insertion unit into which a setting key is inserted,
A specific portion of the outer frame prevents the setting key from being inserted into the setting key insertion portion when the body frame is in a closed state with respect to the outer frame. game machine.

According to the inventions 37A to 37D, it is possible to make it difficult for a fraudulent person to illegally change the setting state, thereby increasing the reliability of the gaming machine.

(37E) A gaming machine that provides a predetermined game profit when performing variable display of symbols based on establishment of a starting condition and deriving a winning result as a result of variable display of the symbols,
variation time determination means for determining the variation time of the pattern;
a setting information determination unit that determines one of a plurality of predetermined setting information regarding a game based on an operation on the specific operation unit;
The variable time determination means is capable of determining the specific variable time when the setting information is determined to be the specific information based on the operation on the specific operation unit.

(37F) A gaming machine that provides a predetermined game profit when performing variable display of symbols based on establishment of a starting condition and deriving a win result as a result of the variable display of the symbols,
variation time determination means for determining the variation time of the pattern;
a probability determining unit that determines one of a plurality of probabilities that the winning result will be derived based on an operation on the specific operation unit;
The game machine, wherein the variable time determination means can determine the specific variable time when the probability determined based on the operation on the specific operation unit is a specific probability.

(37G) A gaming machine that provides a predetermined game profit when performing variable display of symbols based on the establishment of a starting condition and deriving a winning result as a result of the variable display of the symbols,
variation time determination means for determining the variation time of the pattern;
a setting information determination unit that determines one of a plurality of predetermined setting information regarding a game based on an operation on the specific operation unit;
The variable time determination means may determine a common variable time regardless of the setting information, or may determine a different variable time according to the setting information,
A gaming machine, wherein a probability that the different variable time is determined according to the setting information is set lower than a probability that the common variable time is determined.

(37H) A gaming machine that provides a predetermined game profit when performing variable display of symbols based on the establishment of a starting condition and deriving a winning result as a result of the variable display of the symbols,
variation time determination means for determining the variation time of the pattern;
a setting information determination unit that determines one of a plurality of predetermined setting information regarding a game based on an operation on the specific operation unit;
A production control unit that performs a predetermined production,
The variable time determination means can determine different variable times according to the setting information,
When a specific variable time is determined by the variable time determining means in correspondence with specific setting information of the setting information, the effect control unit performs variable display of the symbol within the specific variable time. A gaming machine characterized by sequentially performing a result suggesting effect suggesting a result and a setting suggesting effect suggesting the content of the setting information determined by the setting information determining section.

According to the inventions 37E to 37H, it is possible to make the player perceive the setting state in a new manner, thereby improving the interest in the game.

(37I) A main control board provided with a game control unit for controlling games, a separate control board connected to the main control board and provided with a control unit different from the game control unit, and the game control A gaming machine comprising a setting-related operation unit for changing the setting state related to the game performed by the unit,
The game control unit has setting change allowable state generation means for allowing an operation related to changing the setting state to the setting related operation unit,
The gaming machine characterized in that the setting change permission state generation means allows an operation related to the change of the setting state when the information transmitted from the separate control board to the main control board is specific information. .

According to the invention of 37I, it is possible to make it difficult for a fraudulent person to illegally change the setting state, thereby increasing the reliability of the gaming machine.

(37J) A game control unit for controlling a game, and a setting change operation unit for changing a setting state related to the control performed by the game control unit. A gaming machine that provides a game profit by winning a game ball fired toward a predetermined winning hole,
It is characterized by comprising a firing disabling means that disables the shooting of the game ball by operating the shooting operation unit for a predetermined period when the setting change operation unit is operated and the setting state is changed. game machine.

According to the invention of 37J, the act of illegally changing the setting state can be suppressed.

(38A) A gaming machine comprising a game control unit for controlling a game, and a setting operation unit for changing settings related to the control performed by the game control unit,
A gaming machine, wherein a game control board forming the game control section and a setting board forming the setting operation section are accommodated in one case.

(38B) The above-described items, wherein the case can accommodate a dummy unit that cannot be operated to change settings in place of the setting operation unit together with the game control unit. game machine.

(38C) The setting operation unit
a first operation unit for starting a setting state in which the setting can be changed;
a second operation unit for confirming the setting and ending the setting state;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, further comprising a setting display for displaying the contents of settings.

(38D) The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the dummy unit has none of the first operating section, the second operating section, and the setting display.

According to the inventions 38A to 38D, the specifications of a game machine with a setting function and a game machine without a setting function can be made common to enable efficient design and production.

(39A) a game control unit having a processor that executes a program for controlling a game and a memory that the processor accesses;
a clear switch for initializing a predetermined area of the memory;
A gaming machine comprising a setting operation unit for changing settings related to control performed by the game control unit,
The setting operation unit has a setting change operation unit for starting a setting state in which the setting can be changed,
The game control unit is
when the game machine is powered on, detecting the operation of the clear switch and the operation of the setting change operation unit;
A gaming machine, wherein the setting state is started when the clear switch is operated and the setting change operation unit is operated.

(39B) The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the game control unit initializes the first area of the memory after the setting state is completed.

(39C) The game control unit, when the clear switch is operated and the setting change operation unit is not operated, in the second area at least partially different from the first area, the The game machine according to each of the preceding items, characterized in that the memory is initialized.

According to inventions 39A to 39C, erroneous operations for changing settings can be prevented.

(40A) A gaming machine comprising a game control unit for controlling a game and a setting operation unit for changing settings related to the control performed by the game control unit,
The game control unit has game value display means for displaying information about the given game value,
The setting operation unit has a setting change operation unit for starting a setting state in which the setting can be changed, and a setting display unit for displaying the content of the setting,
The gaming machine, wherein the game control unit displays the game value display means and the setting display means in the setting state so as not to cause confusion.

(40B) The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the game control unit and the setting operation unit are accommodated in one case.

(40C) The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the game value display means and the setting display means are configured by one display.

(40D) the game value display means displays information about the given game value on the display without delay according to the progress of the game;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the setting display means displays information about the setting on the display instead of information about the given game value in the setting state.

(40E) The game machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein the game value display means and the setting display means are configured by separate displays.

(40F) The game value display means
Except for the setting state, information about the given game value is displayed without delay according to the progress of the game,
displaying, in the setting state, any of characters, numbers, or figures that are not displayed in the setting state;
The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein the setting display means displays information regarding the setting in the setting state.

(40G) The game value display means
Except for the setting state, information about the given game value is displayed without delay according to the progress of the game,
In the setting state, extinguished or all lit,
The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein the setting display means displays information regarding the setting in the setting state.

According to the inventions 40A to 40G, it is possible to prevent confusion of a plurality of displays arranged on the substrate.

(41A) lottery means for performing a lottery for a win based on the fact that the game medium has passed through the starting port;
a performance determining means for determining one of a plurality of performances based on the result of the lottery;
an effect executing means for executing the effect determined by the effect determining means;
setting information determination means for determining one of a plurality of predetermined setting information regarding a game when a predetermined operation is performed on a predetermined operation unit;
setting information confirmation means for displaying the setting information determined by the setting information determination means on a predetermined display unit when an operation different from the predetermined operation is performed;
the plurality of effects include a setting suggestion effect capable of suggesting the setting information determined by the setting information determining means;
The game machine is characterized in that it is possible to execute the setting suggesting performance even if the different operation is performed when the performance determining means has decided to perform the setting suggesting performance.

(41B) lottery means for performing a lottery for a win based on the fact that the game medium has passed through the starting port;
setting information determination means for determining one of a plurality of predetermined setting information regarding a game when a predetermined operation is performed on a predetermined operation unit;
a performance determining means for determining one of a plurality of performances based on the result of the lottery;
an effect executing means for executing the effect determined by the effect determining means;
error detection means for detecting an error;
and an error notification means for notifying the error detected by the error detection means,
the plurality of effects include a setting suggestion effect capable of suggesting the setting information determined by the setting information determining means;
The game machine, wherein the effect executing means can execute the setting suggesting effect during a period in which the error notification means is reporting an error that satisfies a predetermined condition.

(41C) lottery information acquiring means for acquiring lottery information based on the establishment of the starting condition;
Based on the lottery information acquired by the lottery information acquisition means, a determination means for determining whether it is a hit;
Special symbol variation executing means for executing special symbol variation based on establishment of the start condition;
holding means for storing and holding the lottery information with a predetermined number as an upper limit when the establishment of the starting condition is not satisfied although the establishment of the starting condition is satisfied;
setting information determining means for determining one of a plurality of predetermined setting information regarding a game based on an operation on a predetermined operation unit;
and a display means for displaying a predetermined effect,
The effect includes an expected suggesting effect for the determination result by the determining means and a setting suggesting effect capable of suggesting the setting information determined by the setting information determining means,
When the starting condition is newly established during the fluctuation period of the special symbol fluctuation in which it is determined that the expected suggestive effect is to be executed, or while the lottery information corresponding to the special symbol fluctuation is being held, the newly established A game machine characterized by limiting the execution of the setting suggestion effect in the special symbol variation corresponding to the starting condition.

(41D) lottery information acquiring means for acquiring lottery information based on the establishment of the starting condition;
Based on the lottery information acquired by the lottery information acquisition means, a determination means for determining whether it is a hit;
Special symbol variation executing means for executing special symbol variation based on establishment of the start condition;
holding means for storing and holding the lottery information with a predetermined number as an upper limit when the establishment of the starting condition is not satisfied although the establishment of the starting condition is satisfied;
setting information determining means for determining one of a plurality of predetermined setting information regarding a game based on an operation on a predetermined operation unit;
and a display means for displaying a predetermined effect,
The effect includes an expected suggesting effect for the determination result by the determining means and a setting suggesting effect capable of suggesting the setting information determined by the setting information determining means,
When the starting condition is newly established during the fluctuation period of the special symbol fluctuation in which it is determined that the expected suggestive effect is to be executed, or while the lottery information corresponding to the special symbol fluctuation is being held, the newly established A gaming machine characterized by being able to execute said expected suggestion performance and said set suggestion performance in special symbol variations corresponding to said starting condition.

(41E) lottery information acquiring means for acquiring lottery information based on the establishment of the starting condition;
Based on the lottery information acquired by the lottery information acquisition means, a determination means for determining whether it is a hit;
Special symbol variation executing means for executing special symbol variation based on establishment of the start condition;
holding means for storing and holding the lottery information with a predetermined number as an upper limit when the establishment of the starting condition is not satisfied although the establishment of the starting condition is satisfied;
setting information determination means for determining one of a plurality of predetermined setting information regarding a game based on an operation on a predetermined operation unit;
and a display means for displaying a predetermined effect,
The effect includes an expected suggesting effect for the determination result by the determining means and a setting suggesting effect capable of suggesting the setting information determined by the setting information determining means,
When the start condition is newly established during the fluctuation period of the special symbol fluctuation in which the expected suggestive effect and the set suggestive effect are determined to be executed, or during the holding of the lottery information corresponding to the special symbol change , a game machine characterized by limiting the execution of the setting suggestion effect in the special symbol variation corresponding to the newly established starting condition.

(41F) lottery information acquisition means for acquiring lottery information based on the establishment of the starting condition;
Based on the lottery information acquired by the lottery information acquisition means, a determination means for determining whether it is a hit;
Special symbol variation executing means for executing special symbol variation based on establishment of the start condition;
holding means for storing and holding the lottery information with a predetermined number as an upper limit when the establishment of the starting condition is not satisfied although the establishment of the starting condition is satisfied;
setting information determination means for determining one of a plurality of predetermined setting information regarding a game based on an operation on a predetermined operation unit;
and a display means for displaying a predetermined effect,
The effect includes an expected suggesting effect for the determination result by the determining means and a setting suggesting effect capable of suggesting the setting information determined by the setting information determining means,
When the start condition is newly established during the fluctuation period of the special symbol fluctuation in which the expected suggestive effect and the set suggestive effect are determined to be executed, or during the holding of the lottery information corresponding to the special symbol change , a game machine characterized by limiting the execution of said expected suggestion performance and said set suggestion performance in a special symbol variation corresponding to said newly established starting condition.

(41G) lottery information acquiring means for acquiring lottery information based on the establishment of the starting condition;
Based on the lottery information acquired by the lottery information acquisition means, a determination means for determining whether it is a hit;
Special symbol variation executing means for executing special symbol variation based on establishment of the start condition;
holding means for storing and holding the lottery information with a predetermined number as an upper limit when the establishment of the starting condition is not satisfied although the establishment of the starting condition is satisfied;
setting information determination means for determining one of a plurality of predetermined setting information regarding a game based on an operation on a predetermined operation unit;
and a display means for displaying a predetermined effect,
The effect includes an expected suggesting effect for the determination result by the determining means and a setting suggesting effect capable of suggesting the setting information determined by the setting information determining means,
When the start condition is newly established during the fluctuation period of the special symbol fluctuation in which the expected suggestive effect and the set suggestive effect are determined to be executed, or during the holding of the lottery information corresponding to the special symbol change , a game machine characterized in that the expected suggestive effect and the set suggestive effect can be executed in the special symbol variation corresponding to the newly established starting condition.

According to the inventions of 41A to 41G, it is possible to improve amusement in games.

(42A) A gaming machine comprising main control means for deriving a game state advantageous to a player according to the result of a win-lose lottery in a game,
The main control means is
program storage means for storing a first program and a second program;
A calculation means for performing required calculation processing by the first program and the second program;
a first storage means having a plurality of storage areas for temporarily storing data in the arithmetic processing;
a second storage means having a storage area having the same configuration as that of the first storage means;
Access permission/inhibition of the first storage means and the second storage means are switched so that either one of them can be accessed,
The computing means is
using the first storage means when executing the first program;
A gaming machine, wherein the second storage means is used when the second program is executed.

(42B) A gaming machine, wherein the first storage means and the second storage means are switched between accessibility and non-accessibility by one command input to the computing means.

(42C) The instruction to switch the first storage means to be accessible and the instruction to switch the second storage means to be accessible are different in at least one of an instruction (opcode) and an argument (operand). game machine.

(42D) The first program is a program (within the game control area) that performs a win-lose lottery in the game,
The gaming machine, wherein the second program is a program (outside the game control area) that calculates information about a game value given in a game, and is called and executed from the first program.

(42E) A gaming machine comprising main control means for deriving a game state advantageous to the player according to the result of a win-lose lottery in the game,
The main control means is
program storage means for storing a first program and a second program;
A calculation means for performing required calculation processing by the first program and the second program;
a first storage means having a plurality of storage areas for temporarily storing data in the arithmetic processing;
a second storage means having a storage area having the same configuration as that of the first storage means;
Access permission/inhibition of the first storage means and the second storage means are switched so that either one of them can be accessed,
The computing means is
When executing the first program, using the first storage means,
at the start of the second program, in the second program, switching to disable access to the first storage means and enable access to the second storage means;
A gaming machine, wherein the second storage means is used when the second program is executed.

(42F) A game machine characterized in that, when the second program ends, the computing means switches the second program so that the second storage means is inaccessible and the first storage means is accessible.

(42G) A gaming machine comprising main control means for deriving a game state advantageous to a player according to the result of a win-lose lottery in a game,
The main control means is
program storage means for storing a first program and a second program;
A calculation means for performing required calculation processing by the first program and the second program;
a first storage means having a plurality of storage areas for temporarily storing data in the arithmetic processing;
a second storage means having a storage area having the same configuration as that of the first storage means;
Access permission/inhibition of the first storage means and the second storage means are switched so that either one of them can be accessed,
The computing means is
When executing the first program, using the first storage means,
When starting the second program, in the first program, switching the first storage means to be inaccessible and the second storage means to be accessible,
A gaming machine, wherein the second storage means is used when the second program is executed.

(42H) After the end of the second program, the computing means switches from being inaccessible to the second storage means to being accessible to the first storage means in the first program returned from the second program. A game machine characterized by

According to the inventions 42A to 42H, data can be saved at high speed with a simple instruction when processing is transferred between programs, and precautions at the time of program creation can be reduced.

(43A) A gaming machine that provides a game value to a player,
main control means for deriving a game state advantageous to the player according to the result of a win-lose lottery in the game;
Peripheral control means for controlling effects in games based on instructions from the main control means;
a display device in which effect display is performed under the control of the peripheral control means;
a display panel for displaying a performance pattern;
a light emitting device that is controlled by the peripheral control means and emits light from a plurality of positions on the side of the display panel so as to travel through the display panel;
The display panel includes a plurality of first reflectors that reflect light traveling along specific paths in the display panel toward the front side of the game machine, and and a plurality of second reflecting parts that reflect to the front side of the game machine,
The peripheral control means is
displaying a dynamic pattern on the display panel by causing the light emitting device to emit light in a predetermined pattern and changing the light reflected by the first reflecting section;
A gaming machine characterized in that a static pattern is displayed on the display panel by reflecting the light from the light emitting device by the second reflecting section.

(43B) the light-emitting device has a plurality of light-emitting elements that emit light from a plurality of positions to the sides of the display panel;
The peripheral control means changes the light emission colors of the plurality of light emitting elements according to the passage of time so that light of different colors travels along different paths in the display panel, thereby causing the plurality of first reflections to occur. The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, characterized in that the colors of the patterns reflected by the plurality of first reflecting portions are changed over time by emitting light of different colors from the portions.

(43C) The light-emitting device has a plurality of light-emitting elements that emit light from a plurality of positions to the sides of the display panel,
The peripheral control means switches lighting of the plurality of light emitting elements according to the passage of time, controls a path of light within the display panel, and emits light from at least a portion of the plurality of first reflecting portions. The game machine according to any of the preceding items, characterized in that the color of the pattern projected by the plurality of first reflecting portions is changed according to the lapse of time by causing the plurality of first reflecting portions to change.

(43D) the light-emitting device has a plurality of light-emitting elements that emit light from a plurality of positions toward the side of the display panel;
The peripheral control means switches the number of light emitting elements that emit light among the plurality of light emitting elements according to the passage of time, controls the path of light in the display panel, and controls the light path of the plurality of first reflecting portions. The game machine according to any of the preceding items, characterized in that the colors of the patterns reflected by the plurality of first reflecting portions are changed with the passage of time by emitting light from at least a portion thereof.

According to inventions 43A to 43D, a pattern that appears to move and a pattern that appears to stand still can be displayed on a single light guide plate, thereby suppressing a decrease in interest in the game.

(44A) A gaming machine that gives a game value to a player,
main control means for deriving a game state advantageous to the player according to the result of a win-lose lottery in the game;
Peripheral control means for controlling effects in games based on instructions from the main control means;
a display device in which effect display is performed under the control of the peripheral control means;
a display panel that displays a performance pattern;
a light-emitting device that is controlled by the peripheral control means and emits light from a plurality of positions on the side of the display panel so as to travel through the display panel;
The display panel includes a plurality of first reflectors that reflect light traveling along specific paths in the display panel toward the front side of the game machine, and Having a plurality of second reflection parts that reflect to the front side of the game machine,
The first reflector includes a plurality of first right-eye reflectors for reflecting light traveling along a specific path in the display panel in a direction to reach the player's right eye, and a player's left eye. and a plurality of first left-eye reflectors that reflect in a direction reaching the
the plurality of first right-eye reflectors are arranged on the display panel so as to form a right-eye pattern,
The plurality of first left-eye reflective parts are arranged on the display panel so as to form a left-eye pattern at a position different from the right-eye pattern,
The peripheral control means is
The pattern for the right eye and the pattern for the left eye are caused by causing the light emitting device to emit light so that the light emitted in the same pattern reaches the first reflector for the right eye and the first reflector for the left eye. is displayed on the display panel to make the player recognize a stereoscopic pattern that causes parallax between the left and right eyes,
A gaming machine characterized in that a planar pattern free from parallax between left and right eyes is displayed on the display panel by reflecting the light from the light emitting device by the second reflecting section.

(44B) The second reflecting section directs the light traveling through a plurality of paths in the display panel to the front side of the gaming machine in the direction of reaching the player's right eye and the direction of reaching the left eye. The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the plane pattern is displayed on the display panel by reflecting the light on the display panel.

(44C) The second reflecting section includes a plurality of second right-eye reflecting sections that reflect light traveling along a specific path in the display panel in a direction to reach the player's right eye, and the player's and a plurality of second left-eye reflectors that reflect in a direction reaching the left eye,
the plurality of second right-eye reflective parts are arranged on the display panel so as to form a right-eye pattern,
The plurality of second left-eye reflective parts are arranged on the display panel so as to form a left-eye pattern at the same position as the right-eye pattern,
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the plane pattern is displayed on the display panel by the light reflected by the second reflecting section.

According to the inventions 44A to 44C, a three-dimensional pattern and a two-dimensional pattern can be displayed on a single light guide plate, thereby suppressing a decrease in interest in the game.

(45A) A gaming machine that provides a game value to a player,
main control means for deriving a game state advantageous to the player according to the result of a win-lose lottery in the game;
Peripheral control means for controlling effects in games based on instructions from the main control means;
a display device in which effect display is performed under the control of the peripheral control means;
a display panel for displaying a performance pattern;
a light-emitting device that is controlled by the peripheral control means and emits light from a plurality of positions on the side of the display panel so as to travel through the display panel;
The peripheral control means is
A dynamic pattern and a static pattern can be displayed on the display panel by causing the light emitting device to emit light;
A game machine characterized by performing an effect suggesting the result of the win/lose lottery by combining the display of the dynamic picture and the display of the static picture.

(45B) The display panel includes a plurality of first reflectors for reflecting light traveling along specific paths in the display panel and emitting the light toward the front side of the game machine, and a plurality of paths in the display panel. and a plurality of second reflecting parts that reflect the traveling light and emit it to the front side of the game machine,
The peripheral control means is
By causing the light emitting device to emit light in a predetermined pattern, changing the path of light traveling in the display panel and changing the light reflected by the first reflecting section, the changing pattern is displayed on the display panel. display in
displaying a static pattern on the display panel by reflecting the light from the light emitting device by the second reflecting portion;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the display of the changing pattern and the display of the stationary pattern are combined to produce an effect suggesting the result of the win-lose lottery.

According to the inventions 45A to 45B, a moving picture and a static picture can be displayed on a single light guide plate, thereby suppressing the loss of interest in the game.

(46A) A gaming machine that provides a game value to a player,
main control means for deriving a game state advantageous to the player according to the result of a win-lose lottery in the game;
Peripheral control means for controlling effects in games based on instructions from the main control means;
a display device that displays an effect image under the control of the peripheral control means;
a display panel that displays a performance pattern;
a light-emitting device that is controlled by the peripheral control means and emits light from a plurality of positions on the side of the display panel so as to travel through the display panel;
The display panel has a plurality of reflecting portions that reflect light traveling in the display panel to the front side of the gaming machine,
The peripheral control means is
displaying a target pattern on the display panel by causing the light emitting device to emit light;
A gaming machine, wherein an image moving toward the target pattern is displayed on the display device.

(46B) The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the pattern displayed on the display panel and the image displayed on the display device represent the same character or letter.

(46C) The game according to any of the preceding items, characterized in that said peripheral control means displays an image moving toward said target pattern on said display device after displaying said target pattern on said display panel. machine.

(46D) The game according to any of the preceding items, characterized in that the peripheral control means causes the display panel to display the target pattern after displaying an image moving toward the target pattern on the display device. machine.

According to inventions 46A to 46D, a plurality of patterns or patterns of different modes can be displayed on a single light guide plate, thereby suppressing a decrease in interest in games.

(47A) game control means for performing a lottery for a special game beneficial to the player when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
A gaming machine comprising a setting operation means operated to change or confirm a set value related to the control performed by the game control means,
The game control means is
executing power-on processing that is executed when power is turned on to the gaming machine, and periodic processing that is executed at each predetermined cycle;
When power to the game machine is turned on while the setting operation means is operated, in the power-on processing, the setting change is possible to change the setting value according to the operation state of the setting operation means. perform setting corresponding to a setting confirmation state in which the state or the setting value cannot be changed;
In the setting change state or the setting confirmation state, after executing the setting corresponding to the setting change state or the setting confirmation state, in the periodic processing, the processing corresponding to the setting change state or the setting confirmation state can be executed. A gaming machine characterized by:

(47B) The regular process is common to at least two of the plurality of processes, such as a process related to changing the set value, a process related to confirmation of the set value, a process related to a normal game, and the plurality of processes. The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, characterized in that it includes a process executed in the above.

(47C) The regular process is composed of at least a first repeated process for executing a process related to the normal game and a second repeated process for executing a process related to changing the setting,
The gaming machine according to each of the preceding items, wherein the game control means selectively executes the first repeating process and the second repeating process according to an operation mode of the gaming machine.

(47D) the memory includes a setting state management area for recording the operation state of the gaming machine in an area in which the stored contents are backed up when power is cut off;
The game control means is
In the setting change mode, setting that the setting change mode is in the setting state management area as the predetermined condition,
A gaming machine characterized in that, in the setting confirmation mode, as the predetermined condition, the fact that the setting confirmation mode is set is set in the setting state management area.

(48) game control means for performing a lottery for a special game beneficial to the player when a predetermined condition is established;
A gaming machine comprising a setting operation means operated to change or confirm a set value related to the control performed by the game control means,
The game control means is
executing power-on processing that is executed when power is turned on to the gaming machine, and periodic processing that is executed at each predetermined cycle;
When power to the game machine is turned on while the setting operation means is operated, in the power-on processing, the setting change is possible to change the setting value according to the operation state of the setting operation means. perform setting corresponding to a setting confirmation state in which the state or the setting value cannot be changed;
The regular processing can execute a normal game process related to a normal game and a setting process related to setting change or setting confirmation,
The gaming machine, wherein the normal game process comprises a plurality of processes, and a specific process among the plurality of processes is a process that can be executed in common between the normal game and the setting process.

(49A) game control means for performing a lottery for a special game beneficial to the player when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
A setting operation means operated to change or confirm a set value related to the control performed by the game control means;
A gaming machine comprising
The setting operation means is composed of at least a first setting operation means and a second setting operation means,
The game control means is
Equipped with storage means capable of storing information related to games,
storing and holding the output signal of the setting operation means in a specific storage means of the storage means in a power-on process executed when the gaming machine is powered on;
In the power-on processing, when determining whether or not the setting operation means is operated, the determination is made based on the information stored and held in the specific storage means without reading the output signal of the setting operation means. death,
The second setting operation means performs the storage means when the first setting operation means is not operated and only the second setting operation means is operated in the power-on processing. a means for initializing the
In the power-on processing, when the first setting operation means is not operated and only the second setting operation means is operated, when the storage means is initialized, the specific A game machine characterized by not initializing a storage means.

(49B) provided with peripheral control means for controlling the performance in the display device,
The game machine according to any one of the preceding items, wherein the game control means determines a mode for starting the game machine according to the output signal stored in the memory after the peripheral control means is started.

(50A) game control means for performing a lottery for a special game beneficial to the player when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
A setting operation means operated to change or confirm a set value related to the control performed by the game control means;
A gaming machine comprising
The setting operation means is composed of at least a first setting operation means and a second setting operation means,
The game control means is
A storage means having at least a first storage area capable of storing game-related information and a second storage area different from the first storage area,
The first storage area is an area for storing the setting value,
The second storage area is an area for storing various parameters used by the game,
The game control means is
Initializing the first storage area and the second storage area when it is determined that the set value is not a normal value;
When it is determined that the first setting operation means of the setting operation means is not operated and the second setting operation means is operated, the first storage area is not initialized , and initializing the second storage area.

(50B) the memory further includes a third storage area;
Said game control means, when said third condition is satisfied, said first storage area, said second storage area and said third storage area are initialized, characterized in that in the preceding items The game machine described.

(50C) the third storage area is a storage area other than an area for storing various parameters used in the normal game;
The game control means determines that the third condition is established when the data backed up in the memory is erased when a power failure occurs, and the first storage area, the second storage area and the third The game machine according to each of the preceding items, characterized in that the memory area of is initialized.

(51A) game control means for performing a lottery for a special game beneficial to the player when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
A setting operation means operated to change or confirm a set value related to the control performed by the game control means;
A gaming machine comprising
The game control means is
Equipped with storage means capable of retaining game-related information even when the power is shut off,
executing power-on processing that is executed when power is turned on to the gaming machine, and periodic processing that is executed at each predetermined cycle;
When power to the game machine is turned on while the setting operation means is operated, in the power-on processing, the setting change is possible to change the setting value according to the operation state of the setting operation means. perform setting corresponding to a setting confirmation state in which the state or the setting value cannot be changed;
The storage means stores a setting state management area in which a value set corresponding to the setting change state or the setting confirmation state is stored according to an operation state of the setting operation means at least in the power-on process. A gaming machine characterized by comprising:

(51B) A setting operation means operated to start in a setting change mode for changing the setting value related to the control performed by the game control means,
The game control means is
When an operation is performed to start the game machine in the setting change mode while the RAM abnormality is stored in the setting state management area, the setting change mode is recorded in the setting state management area and stored in the memory. When a predetermined area is initialized and an operation to end the setting change mode is performed by the setting operation means, the normal game state is recorded in the setting state management area, and the game is played in the normal game state in which game balls can be shot. start the machine,
When an operation is performed to activate the gaming machine in the setting confirmation mode in a state in which the RAM abnormality is stored in the setting state management area, the RAM abnormality recorded in the setting state management area is continued, and the RAM abnormality recorded in the setting state management area continues. The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the normal game state is not recorded in the setting state management area even if an operation to end the setting confirmation mode is performed by the setting operation means.

(52) A game control means for performing a lottery for a special game beneficial to the player when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
A setting operation means operated to change or confirm a set value related to the control performed by the game control means;
A gaming machine comprising
The game control means is
Execution of power-on processing executed when power is turned on to the gaming machine, first periodic processing executed every predetermined first cycle, and second periodic processing executed every predetermined second cycle make it possible
determining whether or not an operation associated with a setting operation is being performed in the setting operation means in the power-on processing;
When the setting operation means determines that an operation associated with the setting operation is being performed, a setting change state in which the setting value can be changed or a setting confirmation state in which the setting value cannot be changed depending on the operation state. Run the settings corresponding to
When the setting operation means determines that an operation associated with the setting operation is not performed, setting corresponding to a setting change state in which the setting value can be changed or a setting confirmation state in which the setting value cannot be changed is performed. Without, normal game start processing can be executed,
The first periodic processing is executed after the setting corresponding to the setting change state or the setting confirmation state is executed in the power-on processing,
The gaming machine, wherein the second periodic processing is executed after normal game start processing is made executable in the power-on processing.

(53A) game control means for controlling the progress of the game;
an accessory controlled according to a control signal output from the game control means;
a first driver circuit that outputs a drive signal for driving the accessory,
A game machine capable of mounting an inspection signal generation circuit for outputting an inspection signal used for inspection of the game machine,
The inspection signal generation circuit includes:
a second driver circuit to which the same control signal as that of the first driver circuit is input and which generates an inspection signal from the control signal;
an inspection connector that outputs the generated inspection signal,
The first driver circuit converts a control signal output as a serial signal from the game control means into a drive signal for driving the accessory,
The game machine, wherein the second driver circuit converts a control signal output as a serial signal from the game control means into the test signal.

(53B) the first driver circuit and the second driver circuit each have an output transistor that switches an input power source to generate an output signal;
The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the first driver circuit and the second driver circuit receive different voltages and independently generate different voltage signals that change at the same timing.

(53C) The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein a connector connected to the first driver circuit is mounted, and a connector connected to the second driver circuit is not mounted.

(53D) The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the connector connected to the first driver circuit is a discrete part, and the connector connected to the second driver circuit is a surface-mounted part. .

(53E) game control means for executing regular processing at predetermined intervals in order to control the progress of the game;
a first detection means for detecting, from among events relating to the progress of the game, an event taken by the game control means in the periodic processing;
A gaming machine comprising a second detection means for detecting an event taken by the game control means in a process other than the regular process, among the events related to the progress of the game,
The game control means is
conversion means for converting the signal from the first detection means into a serial signal;
a serial input port to which a serial signal is input;
a general-purpose input port to which signals from the first detection means or the second detection means are individually input;
a signal from the first detection means is input to either the general-purpose input port or to the serial input port via the conversion means;
A gaming machine, wherein the signal from the second detection means is input to the general-purpose input port.

(53F) the first detection means is ball detection means for detecting a game ball launched toward the game area;
The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the second detection means is a setting operation means operated to change or confirm a set value relating to control performed by the game control means.

(53G) an accessory driven according to a control signal output from the game control means;
a first driver circuit that outputs a drive signal for driving the accessory,
The serial input port is a serial input/output port capable of inputting serial signals and outputting serial signals,
The game control means outputs a control signal for driving the accessory from the serial input/output port,
The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the first driver circuit converts the control signal into the drive signal.

(53H) game control means for executing regular processing at predetermined intervals in order to control the progress of the game;
A gaming machine comprising first detection means and second detection means for detecting an event related to the progress of the game,
The game control means is
conversion means for converting the signal from the first detection means into a serial signal;
a serial input port to which a serial signal is input;
a general-purpose input port to which signals from the first detection means or the second detection means are individually input;
The first detection means determines a signal level based on a result of detecting a signal once in one periodical process,
The second detection means determines the signal level based on the result of detecting the signal a plurality of times within one periodical process,
a signal from the first detection means is input to either the general-purpose input port or to the serial input port via the conversion means;
a signal from the second detection means is input to the general-purpose input port;
The gaming machine, wherein the game control means detects the signal of the second detection means a plurality of times and determines the signal level within one periodical process.

(53I) the first detection means is ball detection means for detecting a game ball launched toward the game area;
The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the second detection means is a setting operation means operated to change or confirm a set value relating to control performed by the game control means.

(53J) game control means for controlling the progress of the game;
a display device driven according to a control signal output from the game control means;
A gaming machine comprising a first driver circuit that outputs a drive signal for driving the accessory,
The game control means is mounted on the first printed circuit board,
The first driver circuit converts a control signal output as a serial signal from the game control means into a drive signal for driving the display device, and is mounted on a second printed circuit board. cage,
The first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board are connected by a serial communication line for transmitting from the first printed circuit board a serial signal obtained by converting the signal repeating at the predetermined cycle. game machine.

(53K) can be equipped with an inspection signal generation circuit for outputting an inspection signal used for inspection of the gaming machine;
The inspection signal generation circuit includes:
a second driver circuit to which the same control signal as that of the first driver circuit is input and which generates an inspection signal from the control signal;
an inspection connector that outputs the generated inspection signal,
The second driver circuit converts a control signal output as a serial signal from the game control means into the test signal, and is mounted on the first printed circuit board. game machine.

(53L) The gaming machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board are accommodated in one circuit board box.

(53M) the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board are housed in different board boxes;
The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the first printed circuit board is sealed by a caulking mechanism.

(53N) the first driver circuit and the second driver circuit each have an output transistor that switches an input power source to generate an output signal;
The game machine according to any of the preceding items, wherein the first driver circuit and the second driver circuit receive different voltages and independently generate different voltage signals that change at the same timing.

[16. Communication with various boards when executing the setting function]
As described above, in a game machine having a setting function, a setting function (confirmation of setting information (“setting confirmation”) and change (“setting change”)) can be executed when a specific operation unit is operated. The method of activating the setting function and the like are as described above, but the processing on the main control board side when the power is turned on and the timer interrupt processing will be explained with another example.

In this embodiment, when the gaming machine is powered on and the setting information is changed, main control recognition information, which is information for recognizing the main control board 1310, is transmitted to the ball information control board (payout control board 951). . The main control recognition information includes, for example, the chip ID number of the main control MPU 1311 . As a result, the ball information control board determines whether the main control MPU 1311 (main control board 1310) installed in the game machine is legitimate. The board can stop the operation related to the prize ball, and it is possible to prevent fraud such as falsification of the main control MPU 1311 (main control board 1310), and change the setting information on the main control board 1310 to the ball information control board. can be reflected at the appropriate time.

[16-1. Initialization process]
First, the initialization process (another example 5) in this embodiment will be described. 274 and 275 are flowcharts showing initialization processing of another example 5. FIG. The initialization process of Example 5 adds a process related to the setting function to the initialization process described in FIGS. 21 and 22, and omits the process related to the character ratio calculation. Processing related to character product ratio calculation need not be omitted, and is omitted for the sake of simplification.

When the gaming machine 1 is powered on, the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 performs power-on processing. Specifically, first, a stack pointer is set (step P10). 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 a temporary return address of this routine when returning to this routine after terminating a subroutine. It indicates the address stacked on the stack for storage, and the stack pointer advances each time the stack is stacked. At step P10, the initial address is set in the stack pointer, and from this initial address, the register contents, return address, etc. are stacked on the stack. Then, the stack pointer returns to the initial address by sequentially reading from the last stacked stack to the first stacked stack. The power-on processing corresponds to the processing of steps P10 to P52.

Following step P10, the main control MPU 1311 performs wait timer processing 1 (step P12), and determines whether or not a power failure warning signal has been input (step P14). Note that the voltage does not rise immediately after the power is turned on until it reaches the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, when there is a power failure or momentary power failure (a phenomenon in which the power supply suddenly stops temporarily), the voltage drops and when it becomes lower than the power failure warning voltage, a power failure warning signal is sent from the power failure monitoring circuit of the ball information control board as a power failure warning. It is output and input to the main control MPU. Similarly, when the voltage becomes smaller than the blackout warning voltage during the period from when the power is turned on until it rises to a predetermined voltage, a blackout warning signal is input from the blackout monitoring circuit of the ball information control board.

Therefore, the wait timer process 1 in step P12 is a process for waiting until the voltage becomes larger than the blackout warning voltage after the power is turned on and is stabilized. ms) is set. The decision in step P14 is made based on a power failure warning signal from the power failure monitoring circuit of the ball information control board. After the power is turned on, when the voltage becomes higher than the power failure warning voltage and becomes stable, the power failure warning signal from the power failure monitoring circuit is no longer output, and the process proceeds to step P16.

After proceeding to step P16, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the RAM clear switch (FIG. 76) is operated (step P16). This determination is made based on whether or not the RAM clear switch on the main control board 1310 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 is operated, and when the detection signal is not input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch is not operated.

When it is determined in step P16 that the RAM clear switch has been operated, the main control MPU 1311 sets the value 1 to the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG (step P18), and proceeds to step P30. When it is determined that the clear switch has not been operated, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to 0 (step P19), and the process proceeds to step P20.

This RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is stored in the RAM built in the main control MPU 1311 (hereinafter referred to as "main control built-in RAM".) This is a flag indicating whether or not to erase information, and is set to a value of 1 when game information is to be erased and a value of 0 when game information is not to be erased. The values of the RAM clear notification flags RCL-FLG set in steps P18 and P19 are stored in the general storage element (general purpose register) of the main control MPU.

Proceeding to step P20, the main control MPU 1311 executes combination authentication processing to determine whether or not the combination of the main control MPU 1311 and the MPU of the ball information control board is proper. The frame maker identification information output from the ball information control board is stored in the frame maker identification information storage unit of the main control MPU 1311, and it is authenticated whether proper frame maker identification information is output. If the authentication is properly performed, the process proceeds to step P30, while if it is determined that the authentication is not proper, an abnormality is reported using a speaker, a liquid crystal display device, or the like.

After shifting to step P30, the main control MPU performs wait timer processing 2 (step P30). In this wait timer process 2, the process waits until the system that controls the drawing of the liquid crystal display device 1600 by the liquid crystal control section of the peripheral control board 1510 is activated (booted). In this embodiment, 2 seconds (s) is set as the time until booting (boot timer).

When the wait timer process 2 (step P30) is completed, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not there is an operation to change the setting information (step P3031). The operation for changing the setting information is not an operation for confirming the setting information, but an operation for changing the setting information.

If there is an operation to change the setting information (the result of step P3031 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 will proceed with the game after the power is turned on based on the new setting information. In order to clear the game information, the processing after step P44 is executed.

On the other hand, if there is no operation to change the setting information (the result of step P3031 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is 0 or not, and clears the RAM. The process branches based on the value of the notification flag RCL_FLG (step P32). As described above, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to a value of 1 when the game information is erased, and is set to a value of 0 when the game information is not erased. If it is determined in step P32 that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is 0, that is, if the game information is not to be erased, a checksum is calculated (step P34). This checksum is calculated by regarding the game information stored in the main control built-in RAM as numerical values and calculating the total.

Subsequent to step P34, the main control MPU 1311 confirms that the calculated checksum value (sum value) matches the checksum value (sum value) stored in power-off processing (at power-off), which will be described later. It is determined whether or not there is (step P36). If they match, it is determined whether or not the backup flag BK-FLG is 1 (step P38). This backup flag BK-FLG indicates whether or not backup information such as game information, checksum value (sum value), and backup flag BK-FLG value is stored and held in the main control built-in RAM in power failure processing to be described later. is set to a value of 1 when the power-off process has been completed normally, and set to a value of 0 when the power-off process has not been completed normally.

When the backup flag determination process (step P38) ends, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not there is an operation to confirm the setting information (step P3038). If there is an operation to confirm the setting information (result of step P3038 is "YES"), setting confirmation information indicating that the setting information is being confirmed is set (step P3039). In order to prevent the game from continuing when the setting information is being confirmed, by setting the setting confirmation information, it is possible to control not to execute the processing related to the game and the prize balls. If there is no operation to confirm the setting information (the result of step P3039 is "NO"), or after setting the setting confirmation information (step P3039), the work area of the main control built-in RAM is set as when power is restored. (step P40). In this setting, in addition to setting the value 0 to the backup flag BK-FLG, the power recovery information is read from the ROM built in the main control MPU (hereinafter referred to as "main control built-in ROM"), and this power recovery The hour information is set in the work area of the main control built-in RAM. In addition, "recovery of power" refers to the state in which the power is turned on after the power has been cut off, the state in which the power is restored after a power failure or momentary power failure, and the state in which the high frequency radiation is detected and reset. It also includes the state after which it has returned.

Following step P40, the main control MPU 1311 performs power-on command creation processing (step P42). In this power-on command generation process, game information is read from the backup information, and various commands corresponding to this 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 P32 that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is not 0 (is 1), that is, when the game information is erased, or if the checksum value (sum value) matches in step P36. If not, or if it is determined in step P38 that the backup flag BK-FLG is not 1 (is 0), that is, if the power-off processing has not ended normally, the main control MPU 1311 The entire area of RAM is cleared (step P44). Specifically, the value "00h" is written in the main control built-in RAM (a predetermined value may be read from the main control built-in ROM and set as the initial value). In addition, 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 set when the RAM clear switch is operated to erase the game information, when the sum values do not match, or when the power supply is turned off. When the shutdown process is not normally completed, a unique ID code pre-stored in the non-volatile RAM of the main control MPU is retrieved, and a counter is fixed to update the random number for judging a big hit based on the retrieved ID code. An initial value derivation process is executed to always derive the same fixed value from the numerical range, and this fixed value is set as the initial value.

On the other hand, if the RAM clear switch is operated (RAM clear operation, result of step P32 is "NO"), information is not normally stored in RAM (RAM abnormality, result of step P36 is "NO", step If the result of P38 is "NO") and the setting is changed (the result of step P3031 is "YES"), the entire area of the main control built-in RAM is cleared (step P44). Specifically, the value "00h" is written in the main control built-in RAM (a predetermined value may be read from the main control built-in ROM and set as the initial value). In addition, 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 set when the RAM clear switch is operated to erase the game information, when the sum values do not match, or when the power supply is turned off. When the shutdown process is not normally completed, a unique ID code pre-stored in the non-volatile RAM of the main control MPU is retrieved, and a counter is fixed to update the random number for judging a big hit based on the retrieved ID code. An initial value derivation process is executed to always derive the same fixed value from the numerical range, and this fixed value is set as the initial value.

It should be noted that the area to be cleared in the main control built-in RAM may not be the entire area, but the area to be cleared may be changed according to each situation. For example, when the RAM is cleared, the work area other than the set values and settings (including some RAM areas related to game processing) is cleared, and when the RAM is abnormal, all areas in the RAM are cleared, and when the settings are changed, Only a part of the RAM area related to game processing may be cleared. In other words, all areas are cleared when the RAM is abnormal, but in other cases, the area corresponding to the operation is cleared. For example, the work area related to setting values and setting processing is cleared as long as it is not determined that the RAM is abnormal. try not to

In addition to setting "00h" to each area for clearing the area, an initial value that does not disadvantage the player or the game hall (hall) may be set. For example, if the set value is "00h", the setting (high setting) is most advantageous to the player, and when the RAM is cleared, 00h is set and the game starts from the high setting, which is advantageous for the player. However, since this is disadvantageous to the hall, the lowest setting (for example, "05h") is set when clearing the work area of the setting value.

When the process of step P42 or step P48 ends, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not there is setting processing, that is, whether or not there is setting confirmation or setting change (step P3048). If there is no setting process (result of step P3048 is "NO"), a setting is made to notify the ball information control board of the main control recognition information (step P3049). If there is a setting process (the result of step P3048 is "YES"), the process from step P50 onwards is executed without setting to notify the ball information control board of the main control recognition information. In this case, in the timer interrupt process, settings are made to notify the ball information control board of the main control recognition information after the completion of setting confirmation or setting change.

Also, the main control MPU 1311 clears the storage area for storing the information to be transmitted to the ball information control board when setting the notification of the main control recognition information. For example, if the area for storing unsent information is in the form of a ring buffer, the read counter and write counter indicating the read position and write position in the buffer are initialized (both set to 0). Also clear the buffer. If information remains in these buffers, the remaining information will be sent first when the power is restored. It is configured like this. When the sphere information control board receives the main control recognition information from the main control board 1310 , it executes corresponding processing and also transmits a response signal to the main control board 1310 . The main control board 1310 is in a standby state for receiving the main control recognition information response signal after setting the notification of the main control recognition information until receiving the response signal. When the response signal of the main control recognition information is received, the main control recognition information response signal reception standby state is canceled.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 permits execution of timer interrupt processing by executing interrupt-related processing (steps P50 and P52). In this embodiment, when the setting is made to notify the ball information control board of the main control recognition information, the process for performing the normal game is not executed until a response signal is received from the ball information control board. be. For example, it is determined whether or not a response signal has been received in timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, and if not received, the processing is skipped. With this configuration, it is possible to start a game after the ball information control board is reliably activated.

When execution of timer interrupt processing is permitted, the main control MPU 1311 executes main loop processing. Specifically, first, a value A is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step P54). The watchdog timer is cleared by setting value A, value B and value C in this watchdog timer clear register WCL in this order.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not a power failure warning signal has been input (step P56). As described above, when the power supply of the gaming machine 1 is cut off, or when a power failure or momentary power failure occurs, when the voltage drops below the power failure warning voltage, a power failure warning signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit of the ball information control board as a power failure warning. be done. The determination in step P56 is made based on this power failure warning signal.

When there is no power failure warning signal input in step P56, the main control MPU 1311 performs a non-hit-lose random number update process (step P58). In this non-win/lose random number update process, for example, the reach determination random number, the variable display pattern random number, the big hit symbol initial value determination random number, and the small winning symbol initial value determination random number are updated. In this way, in the non-hit-lose random number update process, the random numbers that are not related to the hit-lose determination (big hit determination) are updated. In addition, the random number for determining the normal symbol hit, the random number for determining the initial value for determining the normal winning symbol, the random number for the normal symbol variation display pattern, etc. are also updated by this non-hit-lose random number update process.

Following step P58, the process returns to step P54 to set the value A in the watchdog timer clear register WCL. At step P56, it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal has been input. For example, non-hit-lose random number update processing is performed in step P58, and steps P54 to P58 are repeatedly performed. The processing of steps P54 to P58 corresponds to "main loop processing".

On the other hand, when the power failure warning signal is input in step P56, the main control MPU 1311 performs interrupt prohibition setting (step P60). With this setting, timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is not performed, preventing writing to the main control built-in RAM and protecting game information from being rewritten.

Following step P60, the main control MPU 1311 controls the starting opening solenoid 2550, the big winning opening solenoid (attacker solenoid (first attacker solenoid 2113, second upper attacker solenoid 2553, second lower attacker solenoid 2556), special symbol display ( First special symbol indicator, second special symbol indicator) 1185, special symbol memory indicator, normal symbol indicator 1189, normal symbol memory indicator, game state indicator, drive signal output to round indicator, etc. is stopped (step P62).

After step P62, the main control MPU 1311 calculates the checksum and stores the calculated value (step P64). This checksum is calculated by considering the game information in the work area of the main control built-in RAM, excluding the storage area for the checksum value (sum value) and the value of the backup flag BK-FLG, as numerical values.

After step P64, the main control MPU 1311 sets the backup flag BK-FLG to 1 (step P66). This completes the storage of the backup information.

Following step P66, the main control MPU 1311 clears the watchdog timer (step P68). 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 P68, the main control MPU 1311 enters a loop process in which nothing is executed repeatedly. The processing of steps P60 to P68 and the loop processing are referred to as "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 time-out signal resets the main control MPU, after which the main control MPU performs the power-on process again from the beginning.

The game machine 1 (main control MPU 1311) is reset when a power failure or momentary power failure occurs, and then power-on processing is performed when power is restored.

In step P36, it is checked whether or not the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM is normal, and in step P38, it is checked whether or not the power failure processing has been completed normally. there is In this way, by double-checking the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM, it is inspected whether or not the backup information has been stored illegally.

[16-2. Timer interrupt processing]
Next, timer interrupt processing (another example 5) in the main control board 1310 will be described. 276 is a flowchart showing timer interrupt processing of another example 5. FIG. The timer interrupt processing of Example 5 is repeatedly performed at each interrupt cycle (4 ms in this embodiment) set in the power-on processing shown in FIG. 274 . In the timer interrupt processing in this embodiment, processing for confirming and changing setting information is added.

When the timer interrupt process is started, the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 first determines whether or not it is waiting for the main control recognition information response signal (step P3070). As described above, the main control recognition information response signal reception standby state is a state of waiting until a response signal output from the ball information control board is received after notification of the main control recognition information is set. If the main control MPU 1311 is in the main control recognition information response signal reception waiting state (the result of step P3070 is "YES"), the following processes are skipped and the timer interrupt process ends. In addition, in the process of step P3070, it is possible not only to determine whether or not the main control recognition information response signal reception standby state but also to perform the process of communicating with the ball information control board. For example, in the process of step P3070, various signals transmitted from the ball information control board are received, and if the main control recognition information response signal is included, the main control recognition information response signal reception standby state is canceled, and other In the case of the signal of , the processing corresponding to the received signal may be executed. When the standby state for receiving the main control recognition information response signal is canceled, the ball information control board receives a shooting permission signal, and the game ball can be shot from the hitting ball shooting device to start a game.

If the main control MPU 1311 is not in the main control recognition information response signal reception waiting state (the result of step P3070 is "NO"), it sets the value B to the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step P70). At this time, the value B is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL following the value A set in step P54 of the main loop processing.

Following step P70, the main control MPU 1311 clears the interrupt flag (step P72). The interrupt period is initialized by clearing the interrupt flag, and the next interrupt period is counted from the initial value.

Following step P72, the main control MPU 1311 performs switch input processing (step P74). In this switch input process, various signals input to the input terminal of the main control I/O port 1314 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

Following step P74, the main control MPU 1311 performs timer subtraction processing (step P76). In this timer subtraction process, for example, the special symbol indicator (first special symbol indicator, second special symbol indicator) 1185 lights up according to the variable display pattern determined by the special symbol and special electric accessory control process to be described later. Time, in addition to the time when the normal symbol display 1189 is lit according to the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern determined by the normal symbol and normal electric accessory control processing described later, various commands sent by the main control board 1310 (main control MPU) Time management such as ACK signal input judgment time set as a judgment condition when judging whether or not the ball information main ACK signal indicating that the ball information control board has normally received the ball information is input. Specifically, when the variation time of the variation display pattern or the normal symbol variation display pattern is 5 seconds, the timer interrupt cycle is set to 4 ms, so each time this timer subtraction process is performed, the variation time is subtracted by 4 ms. 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 this embodiment, the ACK signal input determination time is set to 100 ms. Each time this timer subtraction process is performed, the ACK signal input determination time is subtracted by 4 ms, and the subtraction result becomes 0, thereby accurately measuring the ACK signal input determination time. These 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.

Following step P76, the main control MPU 1311 performs win-loss random number update processing (step P78). In this win/lose random number update process, the above-described random number for judging a big win, random number for a big win design, and random number for a small win design are updated. Also, in addition to these random numbers, the random number for determining the initial value for the jackpot design and the initial The random number for value determination is also updated. These big-hit symbol initial value determination random numbers and small-hit symbol initial value determination random numbers are updated in the main loop process and this timer interrupt process, respectively, thereby enhancing the randomness. On the other hand, since the random number for judging a big hit, the random number for a big hit pattern, and the random number for a small hit pattern are random numbers related to the judgment of winning (big hit judgment), each counter is updated only each time this random number update process is performed. counts up. For example, the counter that updates the random number for judging a big hit is, as described above, an initial value update type counter that has a predetermined fixed numerical range ranging from the minimum value to the maximum value (in this embodiment, the minimum value is The value 32767) is updated from 0 to the maximum value, and the range from the minimum value to the maximum value is counted up by adding 1 each time this timer interrupt processing is performed. The random number for determining the initial value for judging a big win is counted up to the maximum value (value 32767), and then the random number for determining the initial value for judging a big hit is counted up from the minimum value (value 0). When the counter for updating the random number for judging a big win finishes counting up the range from the minimum value to the maximum value of the random number for judging a big win, the random number for determining the initial value for judging a big win is updated by the random number updating process. At this time, the updated value is always the same from the fixed value range of the counter that the main control MPU retrieves the ID code from its built-in non-volatile RAM and updates the jackpot determination random number based on the retrieved ID code. An initial value derivation process for deriving a fixed value of is executed, and this derived fixed value is set as an initial value. That is, the initial value determination random number for judging a big hit is always overwritten with the same fixed value derived based on the ID code by executing the initial value deriving process as the initial value. Incidentally, the above-described normal symbol hit determination random number and normal symbol hit determination initial value determination random number are also updated by this win/lose random number update process. The normal symbol hit determination random number and the like are the same as the above-described method for updating the big hit determination random number, and the description thereof is omitted.

When the win/lose random number update process of step P78 ends, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the process (setting process) related to the setting information is being executed (step P3080). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the setting information is being changed or confirmed. For example, it may be determined whether or not the setting confirmation information is set.

The main control MPU 1311 performs prize ball control processing when the processing related to the setting information is not being executed (the result of step P3080 is "NO") (step P80). In this prize ball control process, input information is read from the above-described input information storage area, and a prize ball command for transmission to the ball information control board is created based on this input information. Create a self-check command to check the connection status between boards. Then, the generated prize ball command and self-check command are transmitted to the ball information control board as main ball information serial data. For example, when one game ball enters the big winning hole, a prize ball command representing 15 prize balls is created and transmitted to the ball information control board, or this prize ball command is sent to the ball information control board. When the ball information main ACK signal, which informs that the reception has been completed normally, is not input within a predetermined time, a self-check command for checking the connection state between the main control board 1310 and the ball information control board is generated to control the ball information. send it to the board.

Following step P80, the main control MPU 1311 performs frame command reception processing (step P82). The sphere information control board transmits various 1-byte (8-bit) commands divided into status indications. In the frame command reception process of step P82, when these various commands are normally received as the ball information main serial data, the information for notifying the ball information control board to that effect is stored as the output information in the output information storage area of the main control built-in RAM. do. Also, the command normally received as ball information main serial data is shaped into a 2-byte (16-bit) command and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

Following step P82, the main control MPU 1311 performs fraud detection processing (step P84). In this fraudulent act detection process, an abnormal state regarding prize balls is checked. For example, when the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area, and when the detection signal from the count switch is input when it is not in the jackpot game state (when the game ball enters the big winning hole), etc. A prize-winning abnormality display command classified as a notification display as a state is created, and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

Following step P84, the main control MPU 1311 performs special symbol and special electric accessary product control processing (step P86). In this special symbol and special electric role product control process, the value of the counter for updating the above-mentioned big hit determination random number is taken out and it is determined whether or not it matches the big hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM (big hit It is determined whether or not to generate a game state (referred to as "special lottery")), and the value of the counter for updating the random number for the big hit pattern is taken out and used as the probability variable hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM. It determines whether or not they match (determines whether or not to generate probability variation). Here, "probability change" means that the probability of winning a big hit changes to a high probability (probability variable time) set higher than the normal time (low probability). In this embodiment, as the range of the above-described jackpot determination value (jackpot determination range), a value of 32668 to a value of 32767 is set for a low probability. ~ value 32767 is set and read from the probability variation time determination table. Thus, in the special symbol and special electric accessory control process of step P86, whether or not the value of the counter for updating the big hit determination random number matches the big hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM. When judging whether or not, it is determined whether or not the value of the counter for updating the big-hit judging random number is included in the big-hit judging range.

If these determination results are due to the first start sensor 2104, while creating various commands related to the special figure 1 tuning effect, if the lottery results are due to the second start sensor 2511, special FIG. 2 creates various commands related to tuning performance, stores them as transmission information in the transmission information storage area, and sends a command to the special symbol display 1185 to light the special symbol display 1185 according to the determined special symbol fluctuation display pattern. The output of the lighting signal is set and stored as the output information in the output information storage area described above.

In addition, depending on the game state to be generated, for example, when it becomes a big win game state, various commands classified as related to the big win are created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area, or the opening and closing member is opened and closed. Set the output of the drive signal to the winning opening solenoid and store it as output information in the output information storage area, or when the number of times (round) that the big winning opening changes from the closed state to the open state is two times, the round indicator Set the output of the lighting signal to the 2nd round display lamp so that the 2nd round display lamp is lit, and store it as output information in the output information storage area, or when the round is 15 times, the 15th round display on the round indicator Set the output of the lighting signal to the 15 round display lamp so as to light the lamp, store it in the output information storage area as output information, or send the game status indicator to light the occurrence of probability fluctuation in a predetermined color. The output of the lighting signal is set and stored as output information in the output information storage area.

Following step P86, the main control MPU 1311 performs normal symbol and normal electric accessary product control processing (step P88). In this normal symbol and normal electric accessary product control process, the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area, and the gate winning process is performed based on this input information. In this gate winning process, it is determined from the input information whether or not the detection signal from the gate switch 2352 has been input to the input terminal. Based on the result of this determination, when the detection signal is input to the input terminal, the value of the counter for updating the random number for determining per normal symbol is extracted as gate information, and the gate information storage area of the main control built-in RAM is extracted. memorize to

On the other hand, when the process related to the setting information is being executed (the result of step P3080 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 skips the process such as the prize ball control process (step P80) to proceed with the game. stop. Then, a setting change/confirmation process for changing or confirming the setting information is executed (step P3082). In the setting change/confirmation process, the setting information is displayed on the touch panel or the liquid crystal display device 1600, and the change of the setting information is accepted from the input device such as the touch panel.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the setting process (setting change/confirmation process) is completed (step P3083). If the setting process has not been completed (the result of step P3083 is "NO"), the subsequent processes are executed. On the other hand, when the setting change/confirmation process is completed (the result of step P3083 is "YES"), the main control recognition information is transmitted to the ball information control board (step P3084), and the processes after step P92 are executed. At this time, the storage area (work area) temporarily used for executing the setting process is initialized, and settings are made so that the setting process will not be executed after that, such as canceling the setting confirmation information. Thereafter, the main control board 1310 is in a standby state for receiving the main control recognition information response signal until it receives the response signal of the main control recognition information from the ball information control board.

As described above, when changing or confirming the setting information, the main control recognition information is transmitted to the ball information control board after the setting process is completed. to transmit the main control recognition information to the ball information control board (step P3039). Thus, in this embodiment, the main control recognition information is transmitted to the ball information control board only once when the power is turned on. Further, when the setting process is executed, the main control recognition information is transmitted to the ball information control board only once after completion. As a result, it is possible to prevent the processing related to the setting information from being unnecessarily executed a plurality of times in the ball information control board, and to reduce the load at the time of starting the gaming machine, so that the starting can be completed quickly. Further, since the main control board 1310 is in a standby state for receiving the main control recognition information response signal until it receives the response signal of the main control recognition information from the ball information control board (step P3070), the setting change is reliably notified. After that, it becomes possible to execute the processing on the main control board side.

Here, in the timer interrupt processing shown in FIG. 276, the processing from step P80 to step P90 was skipped during the setting processing, but the switch input processing (step P74), timer subtraction processing (step P76), hit/drop random number update The process (step P78) may be skipped. Alternatively, the port output process (step P90) may be skipped. Since the processing for playing the normal game is not executed while the setting processing is being executed, there is no hindrance to the subsequent game even if these processing are not executed. Therefore, the load on the game machine during the setting process may be reduced by skipping the random number-related process. , the random number may be updated to make the random number more random. Also, regarding switch input processing and port output processing, the load on the game machine may be reduced by skipping the processing during the setting change, or the setting processing may be skipped by continuing the processing even during the setting change. The result of the switch input accepted during the setting change may be immediately reflected after recovery, or the process at the output destination may be kept from being delayed by continuously performing the port output.

When the processing of step P88 or step P3084 ends, the main control MPU 1311 performs port output processing (step P90). In this port output process, output information is read from the output information storage area from the output terminal of the main control I/O port 1314, and various signals are output based on this output information. For example, when various commands from the ball information control board are normally received from the output terminal of the main control I/O port 1314 based on the output information, a main ball information ACK signal is output to the ball information control board, or a big hit is achieved. In addition to outputting a drive signal to the large winning opening solenoid for opening and closing the opening and closing member of the large winning opening when in the game state, and outputting a driving signal to the starting opening solenoid 2550 for opening and closing the movable piece, Games such as 15 round jackpot information output signal, 2 round jackpot information output signal, probability fluctuation information output signal, special symbol display information output signal, normal symbol display information output signal, time saving information output information, starting entrance winning information output signal Various information (game information) signals related to the ball are output to the ball information control board.

Following step P90, the main control MPU 1311 performs peripheral control board command transmission processing (step P92). In this peripheral control board command transmission process, the transmission information is read from the transmission information storage area described above, and this transmission information is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 as main peripheral serial data. This transmission information includes various commands classified into special figure 1 tuning effect related, various commands classified into special figure 2 tuning effect related, various kinds of jackpot related Commands, various commands categorized as power-on, various commands categorized as related to normal figure synchronization effects, various commands categorized as normal electric role effects related, various commands categorized as notification display, status display Various commands, various commands classified as test-related, and various commands classified as others are stored. One packet of the main circumferential serial data is composed of 3 bytes.

Specifically, the main peripheral serial data includes a status indicating a command type having a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), a mode indicating a variation of an effect having a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), and a status and a sum value calculated by considering the mode as a numerical value, and this sum value is created at the time of transmission. Incidentally, the processing of steps P74 to P92 will be referred to as "game control processing".

Following step P92, the main control MPU 1311 sets a value C in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step P94). By setting the value C in the watchdog timer clear register WCL in step P94, the value C is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL following the value B set in step P70. 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 P94, the main control MPU 1311 switches (restores) the register (step P96), and terminates this routine. Here, when the timer interrupt process, which is this routine, is started, the main control MPU 1311 stacks the contents of the general-purpose register on the stack and saves it. This prevents destruction of the contents of general-purpose registers used in initialization processing. In step P96, the contents saved in the stack are read out and written to the original register. It should be noted that the main control MPU 1311 sets interrupt permission after returning in step P96.

[16-3. Data transmission to sphere information control board]
In the gaming machine described above, transmission of data (main ball information serial data) from the main control board 1310 to the ball information control board was executed by port output processing of timer interrupt processing. As described above, the main ball information serial data includes information about prize balls (prize ball command) and information for checking the connection state (self-check command), and also includes main control recognition information in this embodiment. be

Since the timer interrupt processing is executed every 4 ms, the main ball information serial data is frequently sent to the ball information control board, but the total number of prize balls is correct and the player does not feel uncomfortable. It is not always necessary to pay out the prize balls in accordance with the winning order of the winning openings. When multiple types of winning holes are won in a short period of time, for example, after winning a winning hole set to the number of prize balls "4", a winning hole set to the number of prize balls "15" (Big Winning Port) Even if a prize is won, there is no problem if the number of prize balls is processed in the order of "15" and "4". Therefore, if a situation such as a jackpot game state occurs in which prize ball commands are frequently generated, there is a risk that the load will increase temporarily.

Here, in this embodiment, the interval at which data is transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the ball information control board is set to be longer than the execution interval (4 ms) of timer interrupt processing (for example, 100 ms), and the number of communications is set to By reducing, the load of transmitting data from the main control board 1310 to the sphere information control board is reduced. In addition, instead of generating a prize ball command for each winning, the load is further reduced by reducing the amount of data to be communicated by aggregating the prize ball information for each communication cycle to the ball information control board. Plan. A configuration example of prize ball data to be transmitted to the ball information control board will be described below.

FIG. 277 is a diagram for explaining an example of winning information transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the ball information control board. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 277, the number of winnings for each winning opening including gates is counted and stored as winning information. Then, each time a communication cycle arrives, the stored winning information is transmitted to the ball information control board. At this time, if the winning number is 0, it may not be transmitted.

When the ball information control board receives the winning information from the main control board 1310, it compares the winning ball number table shown in FIG. 278 to calculate the number of winning balls. In the example shown in FIGS. 277 and 278, the number of prizes won at the gate is 1, the number of prizes won at the upper start gate is 2, the number of prizes won at the general prize gate 1 is 1, and the number of prizes won at the general prize gate 2 is 1. 1 x 0 = 1 for gate prize balls, 2 x 3 = 6 for upper start prize balls, 1 x 1 = 1 for general prize balls 1, 1 x 1 = 1 × 1 = for general prize balls 1, and the total number of prize balls is 0+6+1+1=8.

Alternatively, the ball information control board may transmit the prize information including the number of prize balls without holding the number of prize balls table. Furthermore, as in the case of a general winning hole, if the number of winning balls is the same even if they are arranged in a plurality of game areas, they may be aggregated. FIG. 279 is a diagram showing an example when the number of winning balls is included in the winning information. This is the case when counting numbers. As a result, the ball information control board does not need to hold the winning ball number table, and the main control board 1310 can centrally manage it.

In the example explained in FIGS. 277 to 279, the winning order was generated by ignoring the winning order within the communication cycle. Ta. Here, FIG. 280 shows an example in which winning information is collectively transmitted for each communication cycle and information about the winning order is added. FIG. 280 is a diagram showing an example of storing winning information in order of winning.

In the example shown in FIG. 280, the order counter is incremented by 1 each time a game ball wins in a winning hole, and a record composed of order, winning type (winning hole), number of winning balls, and number of winnings is generated. The number of prize balls may be omitted if it is held by the ball information control board. Also, since the number of winning prizes is usually one, it may be omitted, but when winning occurs continuously in the same winning opening, the number of winning prizes may be added by the number of consecutive wins.

In the example shown in FIGS. 277 to 279, the winning number is incremented by 1 for each winning, and the winning information for transmission is created at the timing of transmitting the winning information to the ball information control board, but the example shown in FIG. 280 Then, each record of winning information is generated for each winning, and the generated winning information is transmitted for each communication cycle. In either case, the transmitted winning information is discarded, and the number of winnings is cleared to 0 in the examples shown in FIGS. Also, in the example shown in FIG. 280, the transmitted record may be deleted.

As in the examples shown in FIGS. 277 to 279, it is possible to reduce the processing load at the time of winning by ignoring the order of winning and counting only the number of winnings. On the other hand, as in the example shown in FIG. 280, by creating the winning information at the time of winning, it is possible to maintain the winning order, and at the time of transmitting the winning information, the winning information is generated without the need to create it again. Since the winning information can be transmitted as it is, the load at the time of transmitting the winning information can be reduced. In addition, by adding the number of winnings when winning the same winning slot consecutively, the number of records of winning information can be reduced. Normally, in a jackpot game state, a game ball is aimed at a big winning hole, and when a winning hole that can win only in a specific game state (for example, a variable probability state) is arranged, a specific game state is set. When , the game ball is shot aiming at this winning hole, so it is possible to suppress an increase in the number of winning information, especially in a state where the number of winnings increases.

The configuration for transmitting winning information from the main control board 1310 to the ball information control board has been described above. The information transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the ball information control board includes not only prize winning information (ball information, prize ball commands), but also game state signals and connections between the main control board 1310 and the ball information control board. A self-check command for confirming the state is transmitted, and further, in this embodiment, main control recognition information is transmitted at the time of power-on or setting processing (setting change/confirmation).

Here, it is necessary to transmit the game state signal to the ball information control board at least every time the game state changes. Therefore, the winning information is transmitted in the same communication cycle, and the winning information, the game state signal, and other information to be transmitted to the ball information control board are aggregated as game information in a common format, thereby standardizing the transmission process. Control can be simplified.

FIG. 281 is a diagram showing an example of game information transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the ball information control board, (A) being an example of winning information and (B) being an example of main control recognition information. In the example shown in FIG. 281, "data type" as a large classification and "type 1" and "type 2" as small classifications are defined in order to distinguish the types of data to be transmitted. Items for distinguishing data types may be changed as necessary. For example, by defining data types in detail, other types may be excluded, or more detailed classifications can be set. You may add items to In FIG. 281, the items for distinguishing the types of data are described with the names as they are for easy understanding, but in reality, coded information is set in advance. Also, in the example shown in FIG. 281, two types of data can be stored, and the size of each data is 1 byte.

FIG. 281A shows data corresponding to prize winning information, and "winning" (which may be "prize ball") is set as the data type to indicate that it is prize winning information (prize ball data). Further, the type 1 is set with the type of the winning opening, and the type 2 is set with information specifying the winning opening. At this time, one item may be left blank if only the information for specifying the winning slot is required to be set. In the example shown in FIG. 281, two types of data can be set, and in the example shown in (A), the number of prize balls and the number of winning prizes can be set. In addition, since the number of prize balls and the number of winning prizes do not actually exceed 100, the number of prize balls and the number of winning balls are set in the upper 4 bits and the number of winning balls in the lower 4 bits, and the number of prize balls and the number of winning prizes are set in one item. may be set. Further, if there is no winning, data indicating that there is no winning and that the number of winning balls is 0 may be transmitted.

FIG. 281(A) shows a case in which five types of prize ball information (prize ball commands) are transmitted in one data (command) transmission cycle, but more in one cycle (for example, 10 types) may be transmitted collectively. On the other hand, if the number of data (commands) to be transmitted becomes too large, such as when a large number of prize balls are generated, the unit time for the data (command) transmitting side (main control board 1310) and the receiving side (ball information control board 110) will increase. Since the load per hit becomes high, an upper limit may be set for transmission in one cycle. In this case, the data (commands) that could not be transmitted in one cycle (the amount exceeding the upper limit) is transmitted in the next cycle. When a large number of prize balls are generated, such as during a big hit, a time lag may occur between the actual winning and the addition of the prize balls, which may cause the player to feel uncomfortable. is 600 ms, and the data (command) transmission cycle is about 100 ms. Therefore, even if the upper limit is temporarily exceeded, the number is immediately reduced to less than the upper limit, which reduces the possibility that the player will feel uncomfortable. ing. Also, although the firing cycle (600 ms) is fixed, the command transmission cycle can be set arbitrarily. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of a time lag when the number exceeds the upper limit.

FIG. 281(B) is an example of transmitting a chip ID that identifies the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 included in the main control recognition information. Here, it is assumed that the data length of the chip ID is 4 bytes, and data for 2 records are stored. The chip ID is recorded in the main control MPU 1311, defined in a specific register, for example, and can be read from the program. In this embodiment, it is possible to transmit data (commands) of a plurality of data types in one cycle. , a priority may be set for each data type, and data (commands) having a high priority may be preferentially transmitted. For example, as described above, prize ball information is likely to be transmitted in a larger amount than other data, but as described above, even if some time lag occurs, the player is less likely to feel uncomfortable. Therefore, data (commands) of other data types may be preferentially transmitted. It should be noted that data (commands) may be transmitted up to the upper limit number in the order in which they are generated, regardless of the data type.

In the example shown in FIG. 281, since the size of data is fixed, there is a problem that the number of records increases when transmitting large-capacity data. For example, if the chip ID included in the main control recognition information shown in FIG. 281(B) is 9 bytes, it is necessary to transmit data for 5 records. There is a need. Therefore, by setting the data length for each record and making the data variable length, it is possible to deal with data of many types. FIG. 282 shows another example of game information transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the ball information control board.

In the example shown in FIG. 282, an item indicating data length is added, and data of any size within the allowable range can be stored in the item indicating data. In the example shown in FIG. 282, since there is no need to divide data, the number of items indicating detailed classification is reduced from two to one. In addition, since the data to be transmitted has a variable length and may increase in capacity, an item for checking such as a checksum may be added.

Next, communication between the main control board 1310 and the sphere information control board will be described. FIG. 283 is a diagram explaining communication between the main control board 1310 and the ball information control board when the game machine is started. In the gaming machine 1 of the present embodiment, when the power is turned on and the main control board 1310 is activated, the main control recognition information is notified to the ball information control board by initialization processing or timer interrupt processing (main control recognition information notification ). As described above, the main control recognition information is information for identifying the main control board 1310, and the ball information control board determines whether or not the received main control recognition information is normal. If the notification of the main control recognition information is not normal, for example, if the main control board 1310 is not normal and an illegal MPU is installed, the main control board 1310 is notified that it is abnormal.

Also, when the time from turning on the power to transmitting the notification of the main control recognition information exceeds a predetermined time (for example, 200 seconds), it is determined that an abnormality has occurred, and the occurrence of the abnormality is notified. At this time, the activation of the main control board 1310 may be continued as it is, and when the activation process is completed during the abnormality occurrence notification, the alarm output may be stopped at that point, or the notification may be continued as it is. good. In the case of continuing the notification as it is, an employee of the gaming facility or the like may check the situation and determine whether or not to continue using the gaming machine.

When the sphere information control board receives the main control recognition information notification from the main control board 1310 , it transmits a response signal (main control recognition information response notification) to the main control board 1310 . When the main control board 1310 receives the main control recognition information response notification from the ball information control board, the normal game can be started.

Thereafter, the main control board 1310 periodically transmits game information to the ball information control board (game information notification). The game information transmission interval is 100 milliseconds as described above. A specific example of the game information is prize ball information (prize ball command). When receiving game information from the main control board 1310 , the ball information control board transmits a response signal (game information response notification) to the main control board 1310 . In this way, by transmitting a response signal from the ball information control board in response to the game information notification from the main control board 1310, it is possible to ensure that communication is being performed normally. When notifying the main control board 1310 from the sphere information control board, the main control board 1310 also transmits a response signal to the sphere information control board.

Next, a case where an abnormality occurs in communication between the main control board 1310 and the sphere information control board will be described. FIG. 284 is a diagram showing a case where there is no response from the ball information control board to the notification from the main control board 1310 in communication between the main control board 1310 of the game machine and the ball information control board.

In the example shown in FIG. 284, game information is notified from the main control board 1310 to the ball information control board at a predetermined communication cycle, and an abnormality occurs when there is no response from the ball information control board for a predetermined number of times in succession. communication is interrupted assuming that it has occurred, and an abnormality occurrence is reported. Here, the predetermined number of times is set to 8 times, and the game information of the same content is notified up to 8 times. Even after the communication from the main control board 1310 is cut off, if a response signal is received from the sphere information control board, it is considered that the normal state has been restored, and the cutoff of communication is canceled, and the process is restarted. do. In the example shown in the figure, if the response signal cannot be received within one communication cycle, the notification is sent again. If the response signal cannot be received later, it may be determined that one communication has failed. By configuring in this way, it is possible to avoid missing response signals.

Further, when there is no response from the ball information control board, in addition to the case where the game information has not reached the ball information control board from the main control board 1310, the game information is sent from the main control board 1310 to the ball information control board. There is a case where the response signal does not reach the main control board 1310 from the sphere information control board even though it has arrived. Here, when the game information is prize ball information (prize ball command), in the latter case, there is a risk that prize balls will be paid out continuously based on the same prize ball information. There is a risk that there will be discrepancies in the number of awarded balls. Therefore, in order to avoid such a problem, an example will be described in which the next game information is transmitted without retransmitting the game information even when the response signal cannot be received normally.

FIG. 285 is a diagram showing another example in the communication between the main control board 1310 and the ball information control board of the game machine, in which there is no response from the ball information control board to the notification from the main control board 1310. FIG. Here, as in the example shown in FIG. 284, the game information is transmitted for each communication cycle, and the next game information is transmitted even if the response signal cannot be received. If the maximum number of transmissions (e.g., 8) of response signals are not received in succession, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred, the communication is cut off, and the occurrence of the abnormality is notified. By configuring in this way, it is possible to reduce the possibility of discrepancies occurring in the number of prize balls when the game information is prize ball information.

In addition, retransmission of the same game information may cause new game information generated in the process of progressing the game to stay in the buffer and become unable to be held, but this can be prevented. Only in the case of prize ball information that may generate a large amount of data, the next information is transmitted without retransmitting, while other information in which a relatively small amount of data is generated is shown in FIG. The processing may differ according to the data type, such as by retransmitting as shown. In this case, the number of times the response signal cannot be received continuously (the number of transmission failures) is counted, and when a predetermined number of times is reached, the communication is cut off and the occurrence of an abnormality is notified.

[17. Edge buffer for fraud judgment]
The gaming machine according to the present embodiment is configured to obtain a predetermined game value (a prize ball) by winning a game medium in a prize winning device. Winning of game media is detected by sensors and switches provided in the prize winning device, and detection results are input at predetermined intervals and stored in a predetermined storage area.

In addition, the winning of game media is provided with an effective period such as a period during which the winning device can accept the prize. On the other hand, in order to detect failures and fraudulent acts, the number of prizes won outside the valid period is also counted, and if the number of prizes won outside the valid period reaches a predetermined value or more, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred and a security signal is output to the outside. or reported anomalies.

In this way, when paying out prize balls, it is necessary to detect only winnings within the effective period, but when detecting an abnormality, it is necessary to detect winnings of game media regardless of the effective period. Therefore, there is a possibility that input determination processing for various signals input by sensors, switches, and the like may become complicated.

In this embodiment, a buffer 1 (first storage area) that constantly counts and stores various signals input by sensors, switches, etc., and a and a buffer 2 (second storage area, edge buffer for fraud judgment) for counting and storing various signals input through the counter. As a result, most of the processing associated with input determination can be made common only by switching the location for designating the area to be referred to according to the state when executing the input determination processing, and the entire processing associated with winning determination can be simplified. becomes possible.

[17-1. buffer structure]
First, the structure of a buffer that temporarily stores information for executing various processes will be described. This buffer is assigned to a RAM (main control built-in RAM) built into the main control MPU 1311 as an input information storage area. The input information storage area may be assigned to a RAM provided outside the main control MPU 1311 . The input information storage area stores various signals input to input terminals of various input ports of the main control MPU 1311 . In the main control built-in RAM, in addition to the input information storage area, backup flags and checksum information for determining whether the contents of the RAM are normal when the power is turned on, random values for various lotteries, peripheral control board 1510, an area for storing commands to be sent to the payout control board 951 and the like is allocated.

FIG. 286 is a diagram showing an example of a storage area allocated to the main control built-in RAM in game control by the game machine of this embodiment. Each storage area contains a backup flag area, a checksum area, an input level data area, an input edge data area, a prize ball determination area, etc. In addition to this, various random numbers used for lottery are stored, It contains an area for storing commands to be sent. Also, each area is divided in units of 1 byte to form a 1-byte or multi-byte area.

Next, the configuration of the input information storage area will be described. Here, the input information storage area for storing the input information indicating the detection of the winning of the game ball into the winning hole, specifically, the configuration of the input edge data 1 area (INPUT_EDG1) and prize ball determination area (PAY_JDG_AR) will be described. do. FIG. 287 is a diagram showing an example of the data area included in the input information storage area of this embodiment. (A) shows the input edge data 1 area (INPUT_EDG1), and (B) shows the winning ball determination area (PAY_JDG_AR). show.

The input edge data 1 area (INPUT_EDG1) is composed of 1 byte (8 bits) as shown in (A), and the input information of the switch (sensor) corresponding to each bit is stored. Specifically, Bit0 is the first starting hole sensor 2104 that detects the ball entering the first starting hole 2002, Bit1 is the second starting hole sensor 2511 that detects the ball entering the second starting hole 2004, Bit2 and Bit3 are general A general winning hole sensor 3015 that detects balls entering the winning holes 2001 and 2201, Bit 4 is a count switch (large winning hole sensor) that detects balls entering the big winning hole 2005, Bit 5 is unused, and Bit 6 is for entering the discharge hole. It is input information by the sensor that detects the ball. In addition, the gaming machine in this embodiment has a probability variable area (V area of V-AT) in addition to the start winning opening and the big winning opening, and Bit 7 is a sensor that detects the passage of the game ball through the probability variable area. It is input information by The probability variable area sensor is a sensor that only detects passage to the V area, and unlike other sensors, it is not a sensor that accompanies a prize ball. In addition, the arrangement of bits may be any arrangement. For example, bit 0 corresponds to the second starting opening 2004, bit 1 corresponds to the big winning opening 2005, and the sensor to be the object of determining whether it is within the valid period is continuous. can be arranged as follows.

Also, as shown in (B), the winning ball determination area (PAY_JDG_AR) is composed of 1 byte (8 bits), similar to the input edge data 1 area (INPUT_EDG1), and switches ( sensor) is stored. Each bit of the prize ball determination area corresponds to each bit of the input edge data 1 area, but the second starting opening (Bit1), the big winning opening (Bit4), and the variable probability area (Bit7) are valid during the valid period. is set to "1" (ON) only when the sensor detects That is, the input information from each sensor is set as it is in each bit of the input edge data 1 area. area) is set to "1" only when detected by the sensor within the valid period.

It should be noted that the valid period of the second starting port 2004 is, after the game ball passes through the gate portion 2003, the normal electric accessory is opened and the second starting port 2004 is in a state where it can accept the game ball. In addition to the period until the accessory is closed (ordinary electric accessory opening time), the validity determination period considering the time that the game ball stays inside the second start port 2004 after the normal electric accessory is closed. (OFF delay, eg 1000 ms) is set. As with the second starting opening 2004, the validity period of the big winning opening 2005 is determined by the time during which the big winning opening 2005 is opened (the opening time of the big winning opening 2005). A validity determination period (OFF delay, for example, 1994 msec) is set in consideration of the time lag until detection. On the other hand, in the probability variable area (V area of V-AT), the probability variable area valid period is set at the timing of opening the V attacker (large winning mouth), and the validity judgment period after the probability variable area valid period is not set. ing.

[17-2. Switch input processing]
Next, a procedure for setting data in the buffer described above will be described. FIG. 288 is a flow chart showing an example of a procedure of switch input processing for acquiring information detected by a sensor or the like provided in the gaming machine of this embodiment. The switch input process is executed in the process of step S74 in the timer interrupt process shown in FIG.

The procedure shown in FIG. 288 is an excerpt of the procedure for storing the winning information for the starting winning opening and the big winning opening in the input edge data 1 area (INPUT_EDG1, buffer 1) and the winning ball determination area (PAY_JDG_AR, buffer 2). It is possible to store information such as the detection signal of the magnetic detection sensor 4024 and the payer ACK signal from the payout control board 951 in the same way. Also, in the switch processing shown in FIG. 288, an example of processing data for one port (one byte) of the input edge data 1 area (INPUT_EDG1) and the winning ball determination area (PAY_JDG_AR) has been described, but it is not limited to this. First, if the input port of the switch is 2 bytes or more, the process is executed for the corresponding number of bytes.

The main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 first determines the change from OFF to ON corresponding to each switch from the switch input port and generates switch edge information (step P6001). Further, the generated switch edge information is stored in the input edge data 1 area (step P6002), and the winning validity determination count is set (step P6003). The switch edge information is data in which individual input information (switch input information) corresponding to each switch is put together in units of bytes. Also, the winning validity determination count may correspond to the number of switch input information included in the switch edge information, or may be the number of bits of the switch edge information.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the valid period of the switch corresponding to the winning determination is valid (step P6004), and clears the update of the switch input information outside the valid period. Specifically, if it is not within the validity period of the switch corresponding to the winning determination (the result of step P6004 is "no"), the switch edge information corresponding to the winning determination in the input edge data 1 area is cleared (step P6005). ).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 changes the switch input information to be determined after clearing the update of the switch input information outside the valid period or if it is within the valid period (result of step P6004 is "yes"). To do so, the winning validity determination count is updated by -1 (step P6006). Further, the validity period of the switch corresponding to the winning determination is updated by -1 (step P6007). As for the switch for which the effective period is not set, the process from step P6006 is executed without clearing the switch input information. In this case, the validity period may be determined by skipping the processing unconditionally if the switch input information does not have a validity period, or by setting a large value as the validity period. It may be within the period.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the winning validity determination count has reached 0, that is, whether or not the winning validity determination for all the switch input information included in the switch edge information has ended (step P6008). . If the winning validity determination for all switch input information has not been completed (the result of step P6008 is "no"), the process is executed again from step P6004. In this process, the timer for determining the valid period is updated after determining whether it is within the valid period or not. You may do so.

The main control MPU 1311 completes the winning validity determination of the switch input information for which the validity period is set among the switch input information included in the switch edge information, and when the winning validity determination count becomes 0 (step P6008 If the result is "yes"), the switch edge information reflecting whether or not the valid period is within the valid period for the switch input information with the set valid period is stored in the winning ball determination area (step P6009).

As described above, by storing the switch input information as it is in the input edge data 1 area and by storing the switch input information in the prize ball determination area in consideration of the effective period, the area corresponding to the process can be referred to. Processing can be simplified. For example, in the prize ball control process (step S80 of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 23)) executed when paying out the prize balls, when determining the presence or absence of the prize balls, the sensor that performs the prize balls only within the valid period It does not require processing such as judgment of whether or not it is a prize ball, and judgment of whether or not to execute a prize ball depending on whether it is valid or not, and when paying out a prize ball, the information of the prize ball judgment area is referred to. The prize balls can be paid out only by doing so, and the prize ball payout process can be simplified. Further, when counting the number of game balls entered outside the valid period for sensors that do not win outside the valid period by the fraud detection process (step S84 of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 23)), the input edge By referring to the information in the data 1 area, it is possible to detect fraudulent prize winning by counting the number of prizes won outside the valid period (the number considered to be fraudulent prize winning). Further, it is possible to count fraudulent winnings based on the difference between the number of winnings detected by the input edge data 1 area and the number of winnings detected by the winning ball determination area.

[17-3. Grand Prize Opening Processing]
Next, a description will be given of the large winning opening opening process for controlling the large winning opening 2005 that is opened by winning the lottery. In the big winning hole opening process, when a game ball enters the big winning hole 2005, it is detected by a count switch (big winning hole sensor), and the number of game balls entering the big winning hole 2005 is counted by the above-described switch input process. be. FIG. 289 is a flow chart for explaining the procedure of the big winning opening opening process of this embodiment. The big winning opening opening process is called from the special symbol/special electric accessory control process (step S86) in the timer interrupt process. In the special symbol/special electric accessary product control process, after executing each starting opening passage process, a process corresponding to the special symbol/electric accessary product operation number including the big winning opening opening process is called. In the big winning hole opening process, the number of game balls entering the big winning hole is counted based on the information of the big winning hole (count) switch generated in the above switch input process.

The main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 first acquires the number of winning prizes from the winning ball determination area (PAY_JDG_AR) (step P6011). Specifically, the number of large winning opening count switches is set as the number of loops, and 1 bit of the large winning opening count switch is set as the bit value for judgment. The presence or absence of winning is determined from the value of the large winning opening count switch in the winning ball determination area and the bit value for determination as many times as the number of loops, and the number of winning large winning openings is counted. Further, it is determined whether or not the obtained number of winning prizes for the large winning opening is less than the maximum number of winning prizes for the big winning opening (step P6012). The maximum number of prizes to be won from the big prize gate is a specified number of prizes to be won for the big prize gate 2005 to be opened and then closed in one round. Even if game balls for the maximum winning number of the big winning opening do not win, the big winning opening 2005 is closed after the lapse of a predetermined period.

It should be noted that, in the process of step P6011, the number of prizes won in the big prize opening is counted by looping by the number of count switches of the big prize mouth 2005. FIG. At this time, when the count switch is single, 1 is set as the number of loops, and the number of wins in the big win opening of the prize ball determination area is counted only once. Also, in a configuration having a plurality of big winning holes, the number of loops is set by the number of count switches, and the number of winning big winning holes in the prize ball determination area is counted by the number of loops. If there is a single count switch, the number of wins in the big win opening may be counted only once without being set as the number of loops. Therefore, it is necessary to provide two types of large winning opening opening processing, one for one count switch and one for multiple count switches. In order to achieve this, the number of loops is set to 1 even for a single case.

In addition, for over-winning during a big hit (a game ball entering the big winning opening 2005 exceeding the maximum winning number of the big winning opening), the value of the winning ball determination area is (Note that it is also possible to make a similar determination based on the value of the input edge data 1 area). On the other hand, since fraudulent winnings other than big wins (eg, fraudulent winnings to the big winning port 2005) cannot be counted by the value of the winning ball determination area, the value of the input edge data 1 area is used to determine fraudulent winning.

The main control MPU 1311 determines that when the number of prizes won in the big prize gate is equal to or greater than the maximum number of prizes won in the big prize gate (the result of step P6012 is "no"), the over win in the big prize gate is over. A large winning opening over winning flag is set in the flag (step P6013). It should be noted that the number of large winning openings is acquired from the buffer 2 (prizing ball determination area) to determine over winning, but the number of large winning opening winnings is counted in the buffer 1 (input edge data 1 area) to determine over winning. may be determined. In addition, even while the big winning gate 2005 is closed, the number of winning gates is continuously counted. Set a flag with an over winning prize. After that, the main control MPU 1311 sets "00H" to the big winning opening open state number, and then closes the big winning opening 2005 (step P6015).

On the other hand, the main control MPU 1311 refers to the value of the timer that measures the opening time of the big winning opening when the number of winning openings is less than the maximum winning number of the big winning openings (result of step P6012 is "yes"). , it is determined whether or not the opening time of the big winning opening has ended (step P6014). When the opening time of the big winning opening has not ended (the result of step P6014 is "no"), this processing is terminated and the reception of game balls to the big winning opening 2005 is continued.

The main control MPU 1311, when the opening time of the big winning hole 2005 has ended (the result of step P6014 is "yes"), makes settings for closing the open big winning hole 2005 (step P6015). In the process of step P6015, data necessary to close the big winning opening 2005 is set.

When the process of step P6015 is completed, the main control MPU 1311 sets the operation of the big winning opening 2005 (step 6016). Concretely, it acquires the big winning opening opening/closing time data from the selected big winning opening opening pattern, and sets it to the signal output timer during special electric operation. A time (effective period) for determining whether or not the special winning opening switch is effective is set in the special electric operation signal output timer. The valid period is the interval time between the opening of the big winning opening (closing time of the big winning opening) -α. It should be noted that if the effective period is longer than the closing time of the big winning opening, a longer time than the closing period is set. is set. At the start of opening of the big winning opening 2005, an opening time corresponding to the opening pattern of the big winning opening is set in the special electric operation signal output timer. For example, when the opening pattern of the big prize opening 2005 is 1 to 7 rounds, 9 to 16 rounds are 29 seconds, and 8 rounds are 5 seconds, the special electric signal output timer is 1 to 7 and 9 to 16 rounds. 29 seconds before the start of round 8 and 5 seconds before the start of round 8.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not to continue opening the big winning opening 2005, that is, whether or not it is the final round (step P6017). If the opening of the big winning opening 2005 is to be continued (not the final round) (the result of step P6017 is "yes"), this processing is terminated. If the opening of the big winning opening 2005 is not continued (it is the final round) (the result of step P6017 is "no"), the processing after the end of the jackpot, such as setting the ending command for setting the ending, is executed. (step P6018). In the processing after the end of the big win, a validity determination period (OFF delay period) corresponding to the ending in which the detection of the game ball by the count switch is validated after the big winning hole 2005 is closed is set. The validity determination period corresponding to the ending may be the same as the time of each large winning opening opening interval, but may be a different time (for example, the time corresponding to the ending period, etc.).

[17-4. Timing Chart (Grand Prize Entrance)]
Next, the process of detecting the winning of the game ball in the big winning hole 2005 will be described in chronological order. FIG. 290 is a timing chart for explaining the processing of each configuration when a game ball wins in the big winning hole 2005 in the gaming machine according to this embodiment. Note that the numerical information, time values, and the like described on the timing chart are examples, and the present invention is not limited to these values.

In the example shown in FIG. 290, the valid time is set at the start of the jackpot, as described above. The valid time is, for example, the opening time of the big winning opening when it is open, and the closing interval period -4 msec when it is closed. The fraud count value is set to a value (L) corresponding to the type of jackpot as an initial value, and when a game ball is detected to enter the big winning hole 2005 regardless of whether it is within or outside the effective period, it is subtracted sequentially and reaches 0. If it does, it will be deemed that fraud has occurred. The initial value of the illegal count value is, for example, 16 x (10 + 3) = 208 in the case of 16 rounds 10 count jackpot 1, and 4 x (9 + 3) = 48 in the case of 4 rounds 9 count jackpot 2. do. In addition, in the case of 12 rounds (actually 2 rounds 5 counts) of 3 jackpots, the value is 2×(5+3), and 10 rounds are determined as 26 in total assuming that at most one prize is won (10×1). The timing chart will be described below.

First, at time t1, there is a winning to the large winning opening 2005 during the effective period (winning sensor (count switch) OFF→ON), and the corresponding bit (large winning opening) of the buffer 1 (input edge data 1 area (INPUT_EDG1)) "1" is set to the count switch), and 1 is set to the corresponding bit (large winning opening count switch) of the buffer 2 (prizing ball determination area (PAY_JDG_AR)). At this time, based on the value of the buffer 2, "1" is added to the number N of winning prizes for the big prize opening. Further, "1" is subtracted from the illegal count based on the value of buffer 1 (M-1). In addition, it transmits to the peripheral control board 1510 an effect command relating to the winning of a large winning opening, such as a winning command of a large winning opening, and transmits to the payout control board 951 a command of the number of prize balls for winning of a large winning opening.

At time t2, similarly to time t1, a winning to the big winning opening occurs during the valid period, and the corresponding bit (large winning opening count switch) of buffer 1 and buffer 2 is set to "1". Further, based on the value of the buffer 2, "1" is added to the winning number of the big winning opening (N+2), and "1" is subtracted from the illegal count based on the value of the buffer 1 (M-2). Furthermore, it transmits commands corresponding to the peripheral control board 1510 and the payout control board 951 .

At time t3, the jackpot game ends, and the initial value (15) of the fraud count value is set. The valid time of the big winning opening 2005 is, as described above, the time during which winning detection is allowed in addition to the opening time of the big winning opening. The initial value of the fraud count may be set at the end timing of the jackpot ending, for example, the special symbol variation waiting process (not shown) in the special symbol and special electric auditors control process.

After that, at times t4 to t6, a game ball enters the big winning hole 2005 in a state other than a big win (big winning hole is not activated). The bit (large winning opening count switch) is set to "1" (valid, ON), while the corresponding bit (large winning opening count switch) of the buffer 2 corresponding to the prize ball determination area is set to "0" (invalid, ON). OFF). Then, based on the value of buffer 1, the fraud count is decremented by "1". The effect command and prize ball command are transmitted based on the value of the buffer 2. At this time, the value of the buffer 2 is "0" (invalid, OFF). prevents these commands from being sent.

At time t8, another fraudulent win occurs, and the fraudulent count reaches "0" by subtracting 1 from the fraudulent count. As a result, the output of the security signal (external output signal) is started (output for 30 seconds). Furthermore, it transmits a notification command to the peripheral control board 1510 in order to start fraud notification. Also in this case, the prize ball command is not transmitted. Note that either one of the fraud notification and the security signal may be output.

Further, at time t9, the number of illegal counts is set to 1. As a result, even if fraudulent prize winning continues to occur, the output of the security signal (external output signal) and the fraud notification can be continued. Time t8 and time t9 are executed within the same timer interrupt.

At time t10, another fraudulent winning occurs, and the fraud count is decremented by "1". Since the fraud count is set to "1" at time t9, the fraud count becomes "0" again, and re-output of the security signal (external output signal) is started (output for 30 seconds). Further, a notification command is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 to start the fraud notification again. If illegal winning is detected again while the security signal is being output, the output time is reset (extended) while the security signal is being output. Subsequently, at time t11, the fraudulent count number is set to "1" again. The processes at times t10 and t11 are executed within the same timer interrupt.

After that, at time t12, the result of the lottery is a big win, and the effective time and the illegal count number during the big win are set to the initial value (L). At time t13, similarly to time t2, a winning to the large winning opening occurs during the effective period, and the corresponding bits (large winning opening count switch) of buffer 1 and buffer 2 are set to "1". Then, based on the value of the buffer 2, "1" is added to the winning number of the big winning opening (1), and "1" is subtracted from the illegal count based on the value of the buffer 1 (L-1). Furthermore, it transmits a prize ball command to the peripheral control board 1510 and an effect command to the payout control board 951 .

In the gaming machine as described above, a large winning opening for paying out prize balls according to the result of the variable display of symbols by lottery based on the reception (passing) of the game ball (game medium) in the starting opening (starting area). 2005 (game medium receiving means) becomes capable of receiving game balls (game value providing means). A game ball received is detected by a count switch (large winning opening sensor, game medium detecting means) provided in the big winning opening 2005 and stored in an input information storage area (game medium detection information storing means). In the input information storage area, a buffer 1 (first storage means) for constantly storing input information (game medium detection information) when a game ball is received in the big winning hole 2005, and the result of symbol variation display (lottery result ) is assigned to a buffer 2 (second storage means) for storing input information (game medium detection information) when a game ball is received during an effective period (predetermined period) based on the above. With this configuration, it is possible to refer to the buffer 2 when paying out prize balls, to detect fraudulent winning (abnormal occurrence) by referring to the buffer 1 (and buffer 2), and to count the number of fraudulent winnings. becomes.

[17-5. Timing chart (2nd start port)]
In the above, the case where the game ball wins in the big winning hole 2005 has been explained. Subsequently, the process of detecting the winning of the game ball at the second starting port 2004 provided with the normal electric accessory will be described in chronological order. FIG. 291 is a timing chart for explaining the processing of each configuration when a game ball has won the second starting port 2004 provided with a normal electric accessory in the gaming machine according to this embodiment. Note that the numerical information, time values, and the like described on the timing chart are examples, and the present invention is not limited to these values.

First, at time t1, the effective time is set with the start of opening of the normal electric accessories. The valid time is, for example, the operating time (=opening time) of the normal electric accessory. Also, an initial value (for example, "15") of the fraudulent count is set. The initial value of the fraudulent count is, for example, the maximum number of prizes won when the normal electric accessory is activated +α.

At time t2, a winning to the second starting port 2004 occurs during the validity period, and the corresponding bit (second starting port switch) of buffer 1 (input edge data 1 area) and buffer 2 (prizing ball determination area) Set to "1". Further, based on the value of the buffer 2, "1" is added to the pending storage number N, and based on the value of the buffer 1, "1" is subtracted from the fraud count. Then, a lottery based on the occurrence of winning is executed, and based on the lottery result and the increase in the number of reservations, various production commands (eg, look-ahead command, number-of-retention increase command) are transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 . Furthermore, a prize ball command corresponding to the winning of the second starting port 2004 is transmitted to the payout control board 951 . At time t3 as well, since winning to the second starting port 2004 occurs during the valid period, it is treated as a normal winning in the same manner as at time t2.

At time t4, the valid time for accepting game balls at the second start port 2004 elapses (ends), and the initial value of the fraud count value (fraud determination number: "10") is set. The valid time for receiving the game ball at the second start port 2004 is, as described above, the operating time of the normal electric accessory, and the time during which winning detection is allowed after the normal electric accessory is closed. there is The number of fraud judgments is set to a different value when the normal electric accessory is opened and after it is closed, but it may be the same, and when the normal electric accessory is opened, a larger value than after closing is set. May be set. In addition, when there are multiple types of open times for normal electric accessories, the number of fraudulent winnings may be switched according to the open times. For example, the number of fraudulent winnings is set to 3 for a short opening and 15 for a long opening (or multiple openings).

After that, at times t5 to t8, due to illegal winning that the game ball wins the second start port 2004 when the normal electric accessory is not activated, the corresponding bit of the buffer 1 corresponding to the input edge data 1 area (second start port switch ) is set to “1” (valid, ON), and the corresponding bit (second starting switch) of the buffer 2 corresponding to the winning ball determination area is set to “0” (invalid, OFF). Then, based on the buffer 1, the fraud count is decremented by "1". At this time, since the illegality is judged based on the value of the buffer 1, the effect command and the prize ball command are not transmitted when the winning is not proper. That is, the winning to the second starting port 2004 is processed based on the value of the buffer 2 when judging validity, and the value of the buffer 1 when judging fraud (counting the fraudulent count). perform processing based on

As described above, when winning (normal winning) to the second starting port 2004 occurs within the valid period, the value of the corresponding bit (second starting port switch) of buffer 1 and buffer 2 is set to "1". Various commands are set and transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 and the payout control board 951 . In addition, when winning to the second starting port 2004 occurs outside the valid period, only the value of the corresponding bit in the buffer 1 is set to "1", and various commands that are normally transmitted are transmitted. update fraud counts without Instead of updating the fraud count when setting the value of each buffer, the fraud count may be updated based on the value of each buffer after updating the value of each buffer. This makes it possible to separate the module for updating the value of each buffer and the module for updating the illegal count, and the processing from switch input to setting of the corresponding buffer value can be shared. The update of the invalid count based on the value of each buffer may be performed, for example, when the values of the corresponding bits of the buffers 1 and 2 are both "1", or when the value of the corresponding bit of the buffer 1 is This may be done when the value of the corresponding bit in the buffer 2 is "1" and "0".

At time t9, another fraudulent winning occurs, and the fraudulent count reaches "0" by subtracting "1" from the fraudulent count. As a result, the output of the security signal (external output signal) is started (output for 30 seconds). Furthermore, it transmits a notification command to the peripheral control board 1510 in order to start fraud notification. Also in this case, the prize ball command is not transmitted. It should be noted that either one of the unauthorized notification and the output of the security signal may be used.

Further, at time t10, the fraudulent count number is set to "1". As a result, even if fraudulent prize winning continues to occur, it is possible to output the security signal (external output signal) and immediately notify the occurrence of fraudulent prize winning. It should be noted that it is not always necessary to set the fraudulent count number to "1", but it is desirable to set a value smaller than the initial value ("15") so that it can be recognized that fraudulent prize winning continues. Also, a value greater than "1" may be set in order to prevent frequent reporting of illegality due to erroneous detection of noise or the like even though it is not illegal. Time t9 and time t10 are executed within the same timer interrupt.

At time t11, another fraudulent winning occurs, and the fraud count is decremented by "1". Since the fraudulent count is set to "1" at time t10, the fraudulent count becomes "0" again, and re-output of the security signal (external output signal) is started (output for 30 seconds). Further, a notification command is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 to start the fraud notification again. If illegal winning is detected again while the security signal is being output, the output time is reset while continuing to output the security signal. Subsequently, at time t12, the fraudulent count number is set to "1" again. The processes at time t11 and time t12 are executed within the same timer interrupt.

After that, at time t13, similarly to time t1, the valid time is set with the opening of the normal electric accessory. The valid time is, for example, the operating time (=opening time) of the normal electric accessory. Also, an initial value (for example, "15") of the fraud count is set.

At time t14, similarly to time t2, winning to the second starting port 2004 occurs during the validity period, and the corresponding bits (second starting port switch) of buffer 1 and buffer 2 are set to "1". Based on the value of the buffer 2, "1" is added to the pending storage number N, and based on the value of the buffer 1, "1" is subtracted from the fraud count. Then, various production commands are transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 as the number of reservations increases. Furthermore, a prize ball command corresponding to the winning of the second starting port 2004 is transmitted to the payout control board 951 . At time t15, similarly to time t4, the valid time during which game balls can be accepted at the second starting port 2004 elapses, and the initial value ("10") of the fraudulent count value is set.

In addition, since the first start port 2003 can always accept game balls, when the game ball wins, bit 0 of buffer 1 (input edge data 1 area) and buffer 2 (prize ball determination area) is set to "1" as it is. It is only necessary to set it, and it is not necessary to count the fraudulent count. That is, among the starting openings, the big winning openings, etc., the winning openings having a valid period during which the prize can be won are set in the buffer 2 under the condition of whether or not it is an illegal winning. The contents may be set in the buffer 2 as they are, or the buffer 1 may be referred to as a reference destination.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, when a game ball (game medium) enters the starting hole, a lottery is executed based on the occurrence of winning. The lottery may be executed only when a prize is won within the valid period (in the case of normal winning). It may be determined whether or not to execute the lottery based on the value of the corresponding bit of 2. That is, after setting the value of the corresponding bit in each buffer, the lottery is executed by referring to the value of the corresponding bit in the buffers 1 and 2 without judging whether or not the prize is within the valid period. . A modification in which the lottery is executed based on the values set in each buffer will be described below.

First, if the values of the corresponding bits in the buffer 1 and the buffer 2 are different, it is considered as an invalid prize winning due to the occurrence of some abnormality (there is a high possibility that an abnormality has occurred). A dedicated command may be transmitted to the control board 1510 . When the peripheral control board 1510 receives this dedicated command, it can notify that there is a possibility that an abnormality has occurred in winning. In this embodiment, as described above, in order to notify the occurrence of fraud when multiple winnings occur outside the valid period, when the fraud count reaches "0", a command different from this dedicated command may be transmitted to clearly notify the occurrence of an abnormality. Also, the value of the fraud count may be included in the dedicated command. In this case, the peripheral control board 1510 determines whether or not the fraud count is "0". It is sufficient to clearly notify the occurrence of an abnormality.

Furthermore, one of the buffers may be prioritized, and the lottery may be executed when the value of the bit corresponding to the prioritized buffer is set to "1". For example, the lottery is executed based on the value of the buffer 2 (prioritizing the value of the buffer 2), placing importance on the effectiveness of the prize winning. On the other hand, the lottery may be executed based on the value of the buffer 1 (prioritizing the value of the buffer 1), emphasizing the fact that the game ball has entered the winning slot. At this time, a dedicated command may be sent to the peripheral control board 1510 to indicate that the values of the corresponding bits of the buffers 1 and 2 are different. If this dedicated command is received continuously for a predetermined number of times or more, or if it is received for a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined period, it may be assumed that an abnormality has occurred, and an abnormality notification may be made.

Also, the preferential buffer may be determined by a parameter or the like when the lottery process is executed. For example, a table containing information specifying priority buffers is held in advance, and the table is referred to when the lottery process is executed to specify the priority buffers. This allows the preferred buffer to be switched by changing the data values in the table without modifying the program code. By configuring in this way, for example, even if the priority buffer is different for each model, it is possible to use a common program code, and it is possible to improve the versatility of the program and improve the development efficiency. .

Further, to describe the procedure for designating the preferential buffer, the top address of the table storing the data value indicating the preferential buffer is stored in a predetermined register at the start of execution of the lottery process. A table is identified from the address stored in this predetermined register, necessary information is fetched, and a priority buffer is identified. The information stored in the table includes the address of the buffer 1 when the lottery is executed based on the value of the buffer 1, and the address of the buffer 2 when the lottery is executed based on the value of the buffer 2. Since the address of the buffer specified in the table is referenced when the lottery process is executed, it is possible to switch the reference destination simply by changing the data value stored in the table, and configure it as a common process. can be done. In addition, it is also possible to switch the reference destination depending on the game state etc. For example, in the game state in which the game ball can be accepted into the second start port 2004, there is a high possibility that the winning is effective, so the game ball is placed in the winning port. Priority may be given to the buffer 1 by emphasizing the fact that a prize has been won, and in a gaming state in which the game ball cannot be accepted into the second start port 2004, priority is given to the buffer 2 by emphasizing the effectiveness of the winning.

Also, if the lottery is executed with the values of the corresponding bits of the buffer 1 and buffer 2 different, commands based on the lottery results (fluctuation pattern command, symbol type command, etc., sent at the start of normal fluctuation (same as the command) is sent, and a dedicated command indicating the difference is sent to the peripheral control board 1510 . As for the order of transmission of the command based on the lottery result and the dedicated command, the command based on the lottery result may be transmitted first, or the dedicated command may be transmitted first. Also, instead of transmitting the dedicated command, information indicating that the values of the corresponding bits of the buffers 1 and 2 are different may be added to the command based on the lottery result. At this time, information indicating that the values of the corresponding bits in the buffer 1 and the buffer 2 are different may be added to all the commands based on the lottery result, or any one (part) of the commands may be added. It may be added only to the command (for example, the first command to be sent). The addition of information indicating that the values of the corresponding bits of the buffer 1 and the buffer 2 are different, for example, when the variation pattern command at normal (coincidence) is set to "3001h" to "30FFh", abnormal (difference) It is assumed that the variation pattern commands for the hour are "B001h" to "B0FFh". Specifically, by changing the leading bit of the variation pattern command, the upper 1 byte of the variation pattern command is changed from "30h" ("00110000b") to "B0h" ("10110000b").

Also, if the values of the corresponding bits of buffer 1 and buffer 2 are both set to "1" (valid), the (corresponding) information stored in buffer 1 is not used, and within the valid period A lottery is executed based on (corresponding) information stored in the buffer 2 which is set when a prize is won. As a result, the lottery can be executed based on the information whose validity is guaranteed. On the other hand, the lottery may be executed based on the (corresponding) information stored in the buffer 1 instead of the (corresponding) information stored in the buffer 2 . In this case, since only the minimum information related to the switch input needs to be held in the buffer 2, the necessary storage capacity can be reduced.

In the gaming machine as described above, a lottery is executed based on the acceptance (passing) of the game ball (game medium) into the starting port (starting area), and the variable display of the symbols is started (lottery executing means). , and shifts to a state (special game state) in which game value can be given to the player, such as paying out prize balls according to the result of the lottery. A game ball that has been received is detected by a starting port switch (game medium detecting means) provided at the starting port and stored in an input information storage area (game medium detection information storage means). In the input information storage area, a buffer 1 (input edge data 1 area, first storage means) for constantly storing input information (game medium detection information) when a game ball is received in the start opening, and a second start opening 2004 Buffer 2 (prize ball detection information) for storing input information (game medium detection information) within the period (effective period) during which game balls can be accepted only when the normal electric accessory is released (when the acceptance conditions for game balls are satisfied) judgment area, second storage means) are allocated. With this configuration, the lottery is executed based on the input information stored in the buffer 2, the buffer 1 (and the buffer 2) is referred to detect fraudulent winning (abnormal occurrence), and the number of fraudulent winnings is calculated. It becomes possible to count.

[17-6. Timing chart (probability variable area switch)]
In the above, the case where the game ball has won the second starting port 2004 has been described. Subsequently, when winning a prize at a specific timing (specific round) during a jackpot game, the process of detecting the winning of a game ball in the probability variable region that shifts to the probability variable state after the end of the jackpot will be described in chronological order. FIG. 292 is a timing chart for explaining the processing of each configuration when a game ball wins in the variable probability area (V-AT area) in the gaming machine according to this embodiment. Note that the numerical information, time values, and the like described on the timing chart are examples, and the present invention is not limited to these values.

First, at time t1, passage of the game ball through the probability variable area switch is detected. As a result, the probability variable region switch is turned from OFF to ON. At this time, since it is a specific round (V passable round) (effective period), the corresponding bit (probability variable area switch) of buffer 1 (input edge data 1 area (INPUT_EDG1)) is set to "1" , "1" is also set to the corresponding bit (probability variable area switch) of buffer 2 (prize determination area (PAY_JDG_AR)), and if 1 is set to the corresponding bit based on the value of buffer 2, the probability variable Set the judgment flag. After the end of the big hit, when the probability variation determination flag is set, the game shifts to the probability variation state. Further, when the same value is set in the corresponding bit of the buffer 1 and the corresponding bit of the buffer 2, the probability variation determination flag may be set. At this time, an AND value (logical product) may be calculated with the corresponding bit of the buffer 1 and the corresponding bit of the buffer 2, and when the value is 1, the probability variation determination flag may be set. At time t1, since it is determined to be normal, an effect command relating to the V passing effect is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510. FIG. The specific round (V passable round) ends at time t2, but a plurality of specific rounds may occur in one big win game.

Subsequently, at the time t3, similarly to the time t1, passage of the game ball through the variable probability area switch is detected. At this time, since it is not within the specific round (within the effective period), "1" is set to the corresponding bit (probability variable area switch) of the buffer 1 corresponding to the input edge data 1 area, corresponding to the prize ball determination area. "0" (invalid, OFF) is set to the corresponding bit of the buffer 2 (probability variable area switch). Since the corresponding bit of the buffer 1 and the corresponding bit of the buffer 2 are different values, it is determined that there is an abnormality, that is, V passing in a round other than a specific round, and there is no transition to a high probability (advantageous state) after a big hit. A security signal is output as V passage abnormality notification until time t4, and a V passage abnormality notification command is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 . Incidentally, the security signal may be the same as the signal at the time of abnormality in the big winning opening 2005 or the second starting opening 2004, or may be a different external output. Also, the output time may be a predetermined time, and does not need to be the same time as the big winning opening winning abnormality or the like. Furthermore, either one of the V passage abnormality notification and the output of the security signal may be used.

In addition, after detecting the passage of the probability variable region switch in a specific round, if the passage of the probability variable region switch is detected in other than the specific round, only the abnormality notification is executed (abnormal notification command is sent) at the time of passage other than the specific round However, it may be shifted to a high probability (advantageous state) after the big hit (the value of the probability variation determination flag is maintained), and it is not allowed to transition to a high probability (advantageous state) after the big hit (the value of the probability variation determination flag is cleared ). In addition, when the passage of the probability variable area switch is detected outside the specific round, the abnormality notification command is transmitted, but the security signal is not output, and the abnormality notification on the peripheral control board 1510 side such as a lamp or sound is sent. Alternatively, although the notification command is transmitted, the peripheral control board 1510 may not perform abnormality notification in response to the command.

In the timing chart shown in FIG. 292, the abnormality is determined by determining whether or not the corresponding bits of the buffer 1 and the buffer 2 match. A method of setting the number of counts in advance may be used. For example, the fraud determination counter is set to "2" at the start of a specific round, and the fraud determination counter is decremented based on the information in the buffer 1. Alternatively, it may be set to "1" at the end of a specific round, and if the result of subtracting the fraud count is 0, it may be determined as fraudulent. In addition, the initial value of the illegal count set at the start of a specific round does not need to be limited to "2" because it can be set to a value that cannot occur in normal times, and two or more game balls pass. If not, set 2. In addition, since it is necessary to determine that it is illegal when even one game ball passes through other than the specific round, "1" is set at the end of the specific round, the result of subtraction is "0", and "1" is reported after illegality is reported. set to

In the gaming machine described here, it shifts to the probability variable state under the condition that the game ball enters the probability variable region at a predetermined timing (during the specific round) during the big hit game. If the probability variable area is not in a state where the game ball can be accepted, the game ball is in a state where it is difficult (or impossible) to win a prize, and if the game ball is accepted in the probability variable area in such a state, it is illegal It will be judged as winning. Therefore, as described above, the bit corresponding to the variable probability area switch is provided with buffer 1 (input edge data 1 area) and buffer 2 (ball judgment area), and set to buffer 1 regardless of whether it is valid or invalid, Buffer 2 is set only if it is valid. As a result, the buffer 2 can be referred to without judging illegal winning in the process of shifting to the variable probability state, so the process can be simplified. On the other hand, by referring to the buffer 1 and the buffer 2, it becomes possible to determine the fraudulent winning and count the number of fraudulent winnings.

[17-7. Summary/Modifications]
As described above, the gaming machine of the present embodiment detects reception of a game ball (game medium) by a detection sensor (switch) at a big winning opening, a starting opening, etc. ) game medium detection means, and game medium detection information storage means (input information storage area) capable of storing detection information (game medium detection information) of these game balls (game media), and game medium detection information storage; The means comprises a buffer 1 (first storage means, edge buffer for fraud determination, input edge data 1 area) capable of always storing game medium detection information, and game medium detection information within an effective period (when a predetermined condition is satisfied). It has a buffer 2 (second storage means, prize ball determination area) for storing, for example, when a game ball wins within the valid period and the prize ball is paid out (execution of processing based on the establishment of a predetermined condition) If so), the processing is executed by referring to the game medium detection information stored in the prize ball determination area (second storage means).

In addition, if a valid period is set for receiving game balls in a winning opening or variable probability area, the number of times switch input information (game medium detection information) is stored only in buffer 1 (number of fraudulent winnings) is counted. By doing so, an abnormality can be determined. The number of fraudulent winnings may be counted by subtracting 1 each time a fraudulent winning occurs with the threshold value for determining abnormality as an initial value, and determining that it is abnormal when it reaches 0, or by setting the initial value to 0 and incrementing by 1. It may be determined that there is an abnormality when the sum is added and the threshold value for abnormality determination is reached.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, by switching the area to be referred to when executing the input determination process, it is possible to standardize the process associated with the input determination, thereby simplifying the entire process. As described above, it is possible to pay out prize balls based on information detected within the valid period, or to determine an abnormality by counting the number of game balls that have won outside the valid period. development efficiency can be improved. For example, when judging the winning of the big winning hole 2005, in the above-described embodiment, the judgment was made based on the value of the winning ball judgment area. The value of the input edge data area 1 may be used for determination, and the value of the prize ball determination area may be referred to only for the winning determination associated with the prize ball.

In this embodiment, the configuration having two types of buffers, ie, the buffer 1 that always stores inputs and the buffer 2 that stores inputs within a valid period, has been described. buffer.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described so far, the winning opening in which the valid period is set at the time of winning has been described, but the first start opening 2002, which can always accept game balls, determines the valid period when the game ball wins. Instead, set "1" (valid) to the corresponding bit (first start switch) of buffer 1 (input edge data 1 area) and buffer 2 (prizing ball determination area). Therefore, as for the first starting port 2002, the prize may be awarded based on the value of the buffer 1, or the prize may be awarded based on the value of the buffer 2 as in the case of the second starting port 2004. In addition, the value of the buffer 1 and the value of the buffer 2 match, and the result of the validity period determination processing in the second starting port 2004 is always normal. may be common to the processing of the prize ball of the second starting port 2004.

Buffer 1 and buffer 2 are included in the input information storage area allocated to the RAM (main control built-in RAM), but these buffers may be arranged in continuous areas or in separate areas. may When allocating buffer 1 and buffer 2 to consecutive areas, when storing values in each buffer, it is possible to set each buffer simply by executing the INC instruction/DEC instruction, which simplifies processing. can. On the other hand, when the buffers 1 and 2 are allocated to separate areas, the buffers can be freely arranged, so that the degree of freedom in designing the storage areas increases, and development efficiency can be improved.

[18. Bit transfer instruction]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent gaming machines, complicated game control is required in order to make the game more interesting. On the other hand, certain restrictions are added to the game control device that actually controls the game in order to ensure the fairness of the game and to prevent excessive gambling, and the game is performed within a predetermined framework. ing.

For this reason, there is a risk of problems such as troubles occurring due to the complexity of the program structure in order to realize complicated game control. Therefore, the simplification of the program was attempted by converting the game control into data. For example, the structure of the program is simplified by sequentially processing the data that defines the control content, and it becomes easier to respond to specification changes by changing the data.

On the other hand, the use of data for game control has increased dependence on data, and the complication of the specifications of game machines has led to an increase in data capacity. In addition, since the capacity for storing data for controlling the game machine is limited, it is necessary to suppress the increase in the data capacity.

The gaming machine of the present embodiment has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and in order to suppress an increase in the data volume used in the gaming machine, it is possible to reduce the data volume by compressing and storing the data. The purpose is to provide a gaming machine that

According to the gaming machine of the present embodiment, by compressing the data, it becomes possible to hold more data, and it becomes possible to provide a game incorporating complicated specifications, thereby enhancing the interest of the game. becomes possible. In addition, by further advancing the data of game control, it becomes possible to simplify the program, suppress the complication of game control, and reduce the probability of occurrence of defects. Furthermore, it becomes easier to adapt to changes in the specifications of the game machine, and by replacing some data, it becomes possible to easily provide various variations of the game machine.

Specifically, in the gaming machine according to the present embodiment, by improving the instruction to read the game data, the flexibility of the structure of the table holding the game data can be improved, and the process of reading the game data can be simplified. This compresses the amount of game data and simplifies game control involving reading of data. The configuration and procedure for reading data in this embodiment will be described below.

[18-1. Overview of Bit Transfer Procedure]
First, an overview of the configuration and procedure for reading data in this embodiment will be described. In the data transfer procedure of this embodiment, data can be read in bit units from a specified bit position in the table instead of reading data in byte units from a specified address.

FIG. 293 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the bit transfer procedure of this embodiment. The bit transfer procedure according to the present embodiment is configured to identify a position (address) from which data is read based on an index (index information) that designates a data read source, and read data for the specified number of bits. there is When executing this procedure, an index, extraction designation information corresponding to the number of bits of data to be read, and a storage destination of the read data are designated as parameters. For the index, a register storing index information may be designated, or a value may be directly designated.

The index in this embodiment consists of 2 bytes (16 bits). The upper 13 bits store information indicating the top address of the data table (table position information), and the lower 3 bits indicate the position where data is read from the specified data table (data relative position information). ing. In the present embodiment, by correcting the designated index, the address of the designated data table is specified, and the data reading position of the data table is obtained. Specifically, the high-order 13 bits of the index before correction are set to the low-order 13 bits, and "000" is added to the high-order to form 2 bytes (16 bits), thereby creating the index after correction.

Next, the reference address (N) of the data obtained by adding the value set in the "TP (register)" indicating the reference address of the data storage position (placement of the table) and the corrected index. is calculated, and the storage position (address) of the table is specified. Furthermore, the reading position (reading start bit position) of the data of the reference address (N) is specified from the value of the lower 3 bits of the index before correction. In the example shown in FIG. 293, the value of the lower 3 bits of the index before correction (the hatched portion slanting to the left) is the read start bit position of the reference address (N). When "100" is set, the read start bit position of the reference address (N) is the 4th bit ("100").

As described above, in this embodiment, since the address of the area where the data is stored can be specified by adding the value set in the TP register to the index value, it is sufficient to specify the lower address of the data storage location. , the area for storing the upper address can be used for other purposes. Specifically, it is used as an area (lower 3 bits of the corrected index) for designating the data read start bit position. With the configuration as described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to specify the address of the data storage area and the read start bit position of the data with a 2-byte index. In other words, it is possible to specify the data storage location in bit units and read the data without increasing the capacity compared to reading data by specifying an address like a conventional load instruction. It's becoming

In addition, in the bit transfer procedure of the present embodiment, extraction designation information corresponding to the number of bits of data to be read is specified as a parameter during execution. A value obtained by subtracting 1 from the number of bits of data to be acquired is set in the extraction designation information. In the example shown in FIG. 293, data for 6 bits (when extraction designation information=5) from the 5th bit of the table indicated by the reference destination address (address N) is read and stored in the designated storage destination.

In this embodiment, the value obtained by adding the corrected index to the value of the head address (reference address) of the data area set in advance in the TP register is the address where the data is actually stored. Also, when the CPU is reset when the power is turned on or the like, the value set in the TP register is set to the top address of the data area as a default value (initial value). Furthermore, the TP register can be rewritten to any value by a program. With this configuration, by appropriately rewriting the value of the TP register according to the game state, etc., it is possible to change the data reference destination without changing the program code, simplifying the program code and improving the game performance. Machine development efficiency can be improved. Details of the bit transfer procedure will be described later with reference to FIG. 299 and subsequent figures.

The TP register is a dedicated register for designating an index which is a reference address among the registers of the CPU. General-purpose registers used for calculations and the like are composed of two or more banks, but the TP register does not have a bank configuration like the flag register, but is configured as a single register. Note that a TP register may be provided for each bank like a general-purpose register, and the TP register of one bank may be made available each time the bank is switched, as with the general-purpose registers. For example, when bank 0 is used for initialization processing and general-purpose registers in bank 1 are used for timer interrupt processing, the TP register used for initialization processing uses the TP register set as bank 0, and the timer interrupt processing The TP register used in , uses the one set as bank 1. As a result, the value of the TP register can be switched according to the process, and for example, the data reference destination can be switched for each process. Even if a TP register is provided for each bank, it can be rewritten by a program in the same way as when the TP register is not provided for each bank, and a default value is set at reset. Also, the default value may be a common value regardless of the bank, or a different value may be set for each bank.

[18-2. Types of bit transfer instructions]
Next, an instruction code (command) for executing the above procedure (bit transfer instruction) will be described. In this embodiment, the case of executing a bit transfer instruction with an assembler (mnemonic) will be described, but the same applies to other development languages. FIG. 294 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an instruction code for executing a bit transfer instruction in this embodiment.

A bit transfer instruction is composed of an instruction code "RBT" and a parameter. The parameters are extraction designation information corresponding to the storage destination of the data to be referenced, the index indicating the reference destination address, and the number of bits of the data to be extracted. In this embodiment, the register is used as the storage destination of the data to be referred to, but the data may be written directly to the storage area on the RAM. The index value designates the address of the table storing the data to be read and the position of the data to be read, as in the example shown in FIG.

Next, an example of actually using the instruction code will be described. FIG. 295 is a diagram showing an example of types of bit transfer instructions according to this embodiment. As described above, the instruction code is "RBT" and the acquired data is stored in register r. For the register r, for example, a W register, A register, B register, C register, D register, H register, and L register, which are general-purpose registers, are designated. When the data to be read is 2 bytes, a pair register such as a WA register, a BC register, and a DE register may be specified.

Also, parameters (storage destination of data to be referenced, reference destination address, and extraction designation information) may be specified by directly specifying the index (address) value mm or by specifying the register rr for address specification. . When register rr is specified, the value stored in the register is read and processed. Since a 2-byte value is stored in the addressing register rr, it corresponds to the DE register, HL register, index register (IX register, IY register), and the like. An example of the bit transfer instruction code shown in FIG. 295 will be described below.

"RBT r, (mm).n" directly designates the address mm of the data storage table, reads out the data for the number of bits based on the extraction designation information n, and stores it in the register r. The extraction designation information n directly designates a number in the range of 0-7 or 0-15, or designates a register A. When register A is specified, data corresponding to the number stored in register A is read.

Furthermore, to describe the specific operation (procedure) of "RBT r, (mm).n", as described with reference to FIG. Therefore, mm/8 corresponds to the corrected index. The value set in the TP register is added to the corrected index to calculate the actual address of the table to be referenced. Furthermore, the lower 3 bits of the index mm are extracted (mm∧07H), and the bit position at which to start reading data from the table to be referred to is specified. Then, data for n+1 bits of the extraction designation information is extracted from the specified position and stored in the register r. At this time, the number of cycles for processing the instruction is 11, and the capacity for storing the instruction is 5 bytes. Further, even after execution of the instruction, the J flag and Z flag in the flag register become zero, and the other values are held before the instruction execution. It should be noted that the change of the flag register is the same for the instruction codes described below.

"RBT r, (rr).n" designates the register rr storing the address of the table, reads the data for the number of bits based on the extraction designation information n from the table, and stores it in the register r. Other parameters are the same as those of "RBTr, (mm).n". Specifically, the address of the table to be referenced is stored in the HL register, and "RBT A, (HL).n" is used when the read data is stored in the A register. The specific operation of "RBT r, (rr).n" is the same as when the address mm of "RBT r, (mm).n" is replaced with the value stored in register rr. Although omitted, the detailed procedure will be described later with reference to FIG. At this time, the number of cycles for processing the instruction is 9, and the capacity for storing the instruction is 3 bytes. If the target to be read is larger than 8 bits (1 byte), the storage destination is a register such as the DE register, HL register, index register (IX register, IY register). increments to 4 bytes. A detailed procedure of the bit transfer instruction in this case will be described later with reference to FIG.

"RBT r, (rr+).n" is executed in the same operation as "RBT r, (rr).n" and then adds n+1 to the value of the address stored in register rr. At this time, the number of cycles for processing the instruction is 10, and the capacity for storing the instruction is 3 bytes. As a result, it becomes possible to read out the specified area continuously. For example, after executing "RBT A, (HL+).n", by executing "RBT W, (HL).m", from the specified position of the table of addresses initially stored in the HL register After n-bit data is read and stored in the A register, m-bit data can be read from the next area and stored in the W register. In this way, by continuously executing "RBT r, (rr+).n", a plurality of data can be read from a continuous area. It is possible to simplify the processing when reading a record (data group) composed of data of the number of bits. A detailed procedure for reading a plurality of data from continuous areas will be described later with reference to FIG.

"RBT r, (rr+d).n" reads data from a position obtained by adding the value d to the table address stored in the register rr. As a result, it is possible to specify arbitrary data in the specified table and read the data. At this time, the number of cycles for processing the instruction is 10, and the capacity for storing the instruction is 4 bytes.

"RBT r, (rr+W).n" reads data from a position obtained by adding the value stored in register W to the table address stored in register rr. As a result, it is possible to specify arbitrary data in the specified table and read the data. In addition, by updating the value of the register W, data can be read from the positions continuously designated by the common code. "RBT r, (rr+A).n" can be processed in the same way only by changing from register W to register A. The cycles to process these instructions will be 10 and the capacity to store the instructions will be 3 bytes.

[18-3. Program example]
Next, an application example of the bit transfer instruction "RBT" described above will be described. FIG. 296 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart of processing using the bit transfer instruction "RBT" in this embodiment. FIG. 297 is a diagram showing an example of a program corresponding to the flowchart (FIG. 296) of processing using the bit transfer instruction "RBT" in this embodiment. The corresponding flowchart steps are described as program comments. The processing shown in FIGS. 296 and 297 is processing for reading data from the table in units of 6 bits. This processing is executed by the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 .

The main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 first sets a value obtained by subtracting the start address of the data area from the start address of the reference table as an initial value of the reference destination address as an index value (step P8001). Specifically, as shown in the program in FIG. 297, the address of the table to be referenced is stored in the HL register (“LD HL, table_Top”). The address of the table to be referenced is specified by the label "table_Top", and the contents of the table are defined at the end of the program. This table stores four data (“25, 48, 32, 63”) with the number of bits assigned to one data (the total number of bits of the basic configuration block) being 6. As for the starting address of the data area, since the "starting address of the data area" is set in the TP register as a default value each time a reset signal such as when power is restored, when the TP register is not rewritten, that is, If the start address of the data area is still stored, the value of the TP register may be subtracted instead of the value of the start address of the data area.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 extracts the pointer information (pointa_a) of the data to be referenced from the reference table (step P8002). As shown in the program, the address of the pointer information is stored in the A register ("LD A, (pointa_a)").

The main control MPU 1311 multiplies the extracted pointer information by the total number of bits of the basic configuration block of the reference table (step P8003). A basic configuration block indicates an area for storing one unit of data (record) stored in a reference table. The total number of basic configuration blocks is the number of bits in the data storage area, and corresponds to the data capacity of each record. For example, in a table that stores integer values ranging from 0 to 30, the total number of basic configuration blocks is 5 because a 5-bit area is required to store each data. In this embodiment, the total number of bits of the basic configuration block is six. The result of the multiplication is stored in the A register ("MUL A, 6") as shown in the program.

The main control MPU 1311 divides the multiplied value by the number of basic units (step P8004). The number of basic units of data handled by the arithmetic unit (main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310) of the game machine of this embodiment is 8 (bit number of 1 byte). The calculation result is stored in the WA register (“LD C,8→DIV WA,C”) as shown in the program. When the "DIV" instruction is executed, the quotient is stored in the A register and the remainder is stored in the W register.

The main control MPU 1311 adds the quotient of the division result calculated in step P8004 to the index value (step P8005). As shown in the program, the index value is stored in the HL register and is added to the value stored in the WA register ("ADD HL, WA"). In addition, referring to the program, before adding the value stored in the WA register to the value stored in the HL register, the WA register is saved in the stack area by executing "PUSH WA". This is because the value of the W register storing the remainder is cleared ("XOR W"), and then the value of the remainder is used as the operation value ("POP WA->LD A, W->...").

Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 multiplies the calculation result of the process of step P8005 by N (8 in this embodiment) (step P8006). Programmatically, the value of the HL register is multiplied by 8 by left shifting (SLA HL) three times (shifting by 3 bits).

The main control MPU 1311 adds the remainder value of the division in step P8005 to the calculation result of the processing in step P8006, and sets the result as reference destination address information (step P8006). The remainder value stored in the W register is the starting bit position for reading the reference data from the leading address of the reference table. In the program, the remainder value is calculated (“POP WA” → “LD A, W” → “XOR W”), and the remainder value (the value stored in the WA register) is stored in the HL register where the index value is stored. adding ("ADD HL, WA"). By these processes, the index (pre-correction index) shown in FIG. 293 can be created.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 specifies the extraction designation information based on the number of information to be acquired (the number of bits of the data to be referenced, 6 in this embodiment), and stores the reference data by the bit transfer instruction from the reference address information. Set first (step P8009). In the program, the value stored in the HL register is used as the pre-correction index, and data for the number of bits (6 bits) corresponding to the extraction designation information n is stored in the A register (“RBT A, (HL).n” ).

[18-4. Modification]
As described above, the procedure for executing a bit transfer instruction in this embodiment consists of (1) specifying data to be referenced, (2) creating an index (pre-correction index), and (3) reading/storing data. ing. Here, a modification will be described for simplifying the structure of the program by making the process that can be executed independent of the process of executing the bit transfer instruction independent as a subroutine.

(1) Designation of data to be referenced is to set information for specifying data (reference data) necessary for the process being executed. In the flowchart of FIG. This corresponds to the process of designating information and designating information corresponding to the data reading position in step P8002. These processes are specialized for the content being executed (caller) and are individually specified when various functions are executed. (3) The same applies to the process of reading/storing data, which is executed in subsequent processes based on the acquired data.

On the other hand, in (2) creation of an index (pre-correction index), in addition to the address of the reference destination table specified in (1) and the pointer information of the reference position of the data, the total number of bits of the basic configuration block is specified. Thus, the pre-correction index can be created independently of the process being executed. Therefore, (2) the index creation process can be made into a subroutine.

FIG. 298 is an example of a flowchart in which the index creation process in this embodiment is subroutined, where (A) is the caller process of the index creation process, and (B) is the subroutineed index creation process. The flowchart shown in FIG. 298(A) executes the same processing as in FIG. The flowchart of index creation processing in FIG. 298B is a subroutine of the processing from step P8003 to step P8008 in FIG. By making the index creation process a subroutine in this way, it is possible to simplify the process of the caller and improve development efficiency.

The input parameters for the index creation process are the "index value" which is the top address of the reference table, the "pointer information" of the data to be referenced, and the "total number of bits of the basic configuration block" of the stored data. In this embodiment, the result of subtracting the start address of the data area from the start address of the reference table is set as the "index value" in the HL register (step P8001), and "pointer information" is set in the A register (step P8002). ). Furthermore, the "total number of bits of the basic configuration block" is set as a parameter (step P8013). Therefore, when setting the "index value" and "pointer information" as input parameters for the index creation process, they are set (specified) in registers that are treated as "index values" and "pointer values" in the index creation process. . As for the "total number of bits of the basic configuration block", the numerical value itself may be specified, or it may be set (specified) in a register treated as the "total number of bits of the basic configuration block".

[18-5. Compressed data]
In a conventional data read command, since data storage is managed in a predetermined basic unit (byte unit), it was necessary to read data from the table in this unit. In the conventional table structure managed in units of 1 byte (8 bits) as in the gaming machine of this embodiment, even data that does not require a capacity of 1 byte (8 bits) is stored in units of bytes. had to store. For example, if it is a numerical value in the range from 0 to 63, it is necessary to allocate a capacity of 1 byte to each data and hold it, although it is sufficient to secure a capacity of 6 bits for each data.

On the other hand, with the bit transfer instruction of the present embodiment, it is possible to read data of the specified number of bits from the specified position of the table to be referred to. Therefore, it is only necessary to allocate data areas as much as necessary, and data can be compressed and held. A structure for compressing and holding data will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 299 is a diagram illustrating an example of the table structure in this embodiment. The table shown in FIG. 299 holds four records (data) “25, 48, 32, 63”. These data are "19h, 30h, 20h, 3Fh" when converted to hexadecimal numbers, and "00011001b, 00110000b, 00100000b, 00111111b" when converted to binary numbers (bit conversion). Since the number of basic units of data handled by the arithmetic unit of the game machine is 8, the conventional table structure holds data in units of 8 bits, such as the 4771 area indicated by the dotted line. The bit was "0".

With the bit transfer instruction described above, data can be read from any bit of the specified address. Therefore, in this embodiment, 6-bit data of each record, that is, the data contained in the area 4772 is stored continuously. By doing so, it becomes possible to arrange the data as shown in area 4773 . As a result, "19h, 0Ch, FEh" is stored.

As described above, the conventional table structure requires a capacity of 4 bytes (32 bits). bits). As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to minimize the area for holding data and save the storage capacity. As a result, more data can be managed, and more detailed game control can be performed.

[18-6. Detailed procedure of bit transfer instruction]
Next, representative patterns of the detailed procedure of the bit transfer instruction of this embodiment will be described. Here, when reading a single specified data (RBT A, (HL).5), when reading data continuously from the table ([1] RBT A, (HL+).5 → [2] RBT B, (HL).5) and the case of reading data having a capacity larger than 1 byte (RBT DE, (HL).9) will be described. In the example described below, the value of the TP register is assumed to be "8000h", which is the head address of the data area.

[18-6-1. Reading of single data]
FIG. 300 is a diagram for explaining the detailed procedure of a bit transfer instruction according to this embodiment, and is a diagram for explaining a case where single data is read from a table to be referred to. The table to be referred to is the same as the table shown in FIG. Also, the bit transfer instruction to be executed is "RBT A, (HL).5".

As shown in FIG. 300, the HL register stores the pre-correction index “4C6E”. The address of the table to be referred to is "898Dh", and the example described here shows the case of transferring the data (30h) stored second in the table to be referred to. As described above, the total number of bits of the basic configuration block of the table to be referred to is 6, and the basic unit is 8 bits (1 byte). The pre-correction index “4C6E” can be calculated by executing the index creation process (FIG. 298(B)) based on these pieces of information.

When the bit transfer instruction "RBT A, (HL).5" is executed, first, a reference address for reading data is specified. Specifically, the reference destination address (“898Dh”) can be calculated by dividing the pre-correction index “4C6E” by the number of basic units (8) (“098Dh”) and adding TP “8000h”. .

Furthermore, by calculating the logical product of the pre-correction index "4C6E" and "07h", the lower 3 bits ("110b") are acquired, and the read start position (bit) of the reference address is specified. In the example shown in FIG. 300, it is the 6th (=“110b”) bit of the reference address. By extracting 6(n+1) bits of data from the 6th bit of the reference address “898Dh”, “110000b” (=48(“30h”)) can be obtained. The acquired value is complemented with "00" in the upper 2 bits according to the number of basic units (8) and stored in the A register.

[18-6-2. Continuous reading of data]
FIG. 301 is a diagram for explaining the detailed procedure of a bit transfer instruction according to this embodiment, and is a diagram for explaining the case where data is continuously read from a table to be referred to. The table to be referred to is the table shown in FIG. 299, as in the case of FIG. Also, a case where bit transfer instruction [1] "RBT A, (HL+).5" is executed and then [2] "RBT B, (HL).5" is executed will be described. Note that [1] and [2] correspond to the execution order of each bit transfer instruction, and correspond to the arrows of the reference destination addresses in FIG.

The execution process of the bit transfer instruction "RBT A, (HL+).5" is the same as that of "RBT A, (HL).5" (Fig. 300) until the data to be transferred is stored in the A register. In the bit transfer instruction "RBT A, (HL+).5", after storing the acquired data in the A register, the value of the extraction designation information n+1 (5+1) is added to the index value "4C6Eh" stored in the HL register. do. Note that the value (index before correction) stored in the HL register should not be changed from the value set before executing the bit transfer instruction even after executing the bit transfer instruction (after reading the data). It has become. By executing the index updating process for updating the index value to the storage position of the next data in this way, the storage position of the data next to the read data can be specified. In the example shown in FIG. 301, it is "4C74h".

After that, the reference address and the read start position (bit) are specified in the same manner as in the case of reading the single data described in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 301, 6-bit data is read from the 4th (=“100b”) bit of the reference address “898Eh” and stored in the B register.

In this way, when data is continuously read from a specified table, the index value is calculated by first executing the index creation process, and thereafter the number of bits of the read data is added to the index value. The index values can be updated sequentially by .

If each record in the table consists of a combination of data with different numbers of bits, data can be acquired for each record by specifying extraction specification information according to the number of bits that make up the record. It becomes possible. For example, if a record consists of 4-bit, 6-bit, and 10-bit data, specify 4, 6, and 10 as the extraction specification information and sequentially execute bit transfer instructions to acquire data for one record. can do. At this time, when configured with 4-bit, 6-bit, and 10-bit data, the total number of basic configuration blocks (the number of bits) is 20 (=4+6+10). In this case, for example, the program configuration is such that bit transfer instructions are executed in the order of "RBT A, (HL+).4", "RBT B, (HL+).6", and "RBT DE, (HL).10". By doing so, it is possible to acquire each data that constitutes the record. With the above configuration, it is not necessary to acquire data while creating individual index values, so the program for acquiring data in units of records can be simplified and the execution time can be increased.

[18-6-3. Readout of data larger than 1 byte]
302A and 302B are diagrams for explaining a bit transfer instruction for data having a size larger than 1 byte according to this embodiment, FIG. be.

The table shown in FIG. 302(A) stores values from 0 to 1000, and holds three records (data) "55, 258, 942" as an example. These data are "37h, 102h, 3AEh" when converted to hexadecimal numbers, and "0000110111b, 0100000010b, 1110101110b" when converted to binary numbers (bit conversion).

However, since the table shown in FIG. 302A has an upper limit of 1000, it can be stored in 10 bits. As mentioned above, since the number of basic units of data handled by the arithmetic unit of the game machine is 8, it is necessary to store data in units of 8 bits (1 byte). I needed a minute capacity. Therefore, conventionally, a table structure such as 4801 indicated by a dotted line was used, and "0" was assigned to the upper 6 bits of each unused record. 299, 10-bit data of each record, that is, the data of the area 4802 are stored continuously, thereby arranging the data as indicated by 4803. FIG. As a result, "37h, 08h, E4h, 3Ah" is stored. In this way, it is possible to similarly compress and hold data having a capacity exceeding 8 bits (1 byte).

For the total number of basic configuration blocks, the number of bits of the maximum value of the configured data may be specified. For example, as in the above example, if the upper limit of configured data is 1000 (3E8h), the total number of basic configuration blocks is 10, which is the number of bits. Also, if the total number of basic configuration blocks is 10, the range of values that can be stored is from 0h to 3FFh (1023). Further, as described above, when each record of the table is composed of a combination of data with different numbers of bits (for example, first data, second data, and third data), the maximum value of the first data is The number of bits, the number of bits of the maximum value of the second data, and the number of bits of the maximum value of the third data are the total number of basic configuration blocks of the first data, the total number of basic configuration blocks of the second data, and the basic configuration of the third data. total number of blocks.

As described above, FIG. 302B is a diagram for explaining the procedure for executing a bit transfer instruction for data larger than 1 byte. do. The HL register stores the pre-correction index "4C72h". The top address of the referenced table is "898Dh", and an example of transferring the second data of the referenced table is shown. The total number of bits of the basic configuration block of the table to be referred to is 10, and the basic unit is 8. The pre-correction index “4C72h” can be calculated by executing the index creation process (FIG. 298(B)) based on these pieces of information.

The reference destination address is specified in the same manner as the procedure shown in FIG. 300, and "898Eh" is calculated. Further, the reading start position (“010b”) of the reference destination address is specified by the same procedure. Then, by extracting the 10(n+1)-bit data from the 2nd (“010b”) bit, which is the read start position of the reference address “898Eh”, “0100000010b” (=258 (“102h”)) is obtained. be able to. Since the obtained value exceeds the number of basic units (8), the upper 2 bits ("01b") of the obtained value are extracted, and the upper 6 bits of the extracted value are complemented with "000000". ("00000001b") and stored in the D register. Furthermore, the remaining lower 8 bits ("00000010b") are stored in the E register.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, even data requiring a capacity exceeding 8 bits (1 byte) can be compressed and stored, and data can be read out in a simple procedure. It becomes possible.

[18-7. Application example]
Then, in game control, the example which applies the bit transfer instruction of this embodiment is demonstrated. Here, a process of extracting a random number and selecting a variation pattern of symbol variation display (dynamic display) in game control based on the extracted random number will be described as an example. In this process, the extracted random number is sequentially compared with the threshold value obtained from the variation pattern table, and when the extracted random number is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the variation pattern number corresponding to this threshold value is selected as the lottery result. 303 to 305 are referred to in the following description.

[18-7-1. Configuration of fluctuation pattern table]
First, the variation pattern table in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 303 is a diagram for explaining an application example of the bit transfer instruction of this embodiment, (A) is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the variation pattern and the corresponding range, (B) is a program code showing a variation pattern table, (C) is a diagram for explaining an example of the structure of a table before compression and a table after compression with respect to the fluctuation pattern table corresponding to (B).

In this embodiment, the range of random numbers to be extracted is 0 to 63 (integer value), and as shown in FIG. is selected. In this embodiment, variation patterns from pattern 1 (PT1) to pattern 5 (PT5) are defined. , pattern 4 for 55-60, and pattern 5 for 61-63. In addition, the larger the pattern number, the higher the degree of expectation that the player will shift to an advantageous state (the lottery result will be a big win). It should be noted that instead of arranging patterns in such a way that the higher the pattern number, the higher the expectation, the lower the pattern number, the higher the expectation may be. You may do so.

Also, as shown in FIG. 303(B), the fluctuation pattern table (hp_table) is defined as a set of random number threshold value and pattern number and one record. Random number thresholds and variation pattern numbers are held consecutively in the same table.

As mentioned above, the random number to be sampled ranges from 0 to 63, and the threshold requires a maximum capacity of 6 bits. Similarly, since the variation pattern number is defined in the range of 1 to 5, it requires a maximum capacity of 3 bits (0 to 7). When data is stored by a conventional method, the gaming machine of this embodiment requires a capacity of 1 byte (8 bits) to store one piece of data. Thus, if the number of records composed of random number thresholds and variation pattern numbers is 5, a total of 10 bytes of capacity is used. On the other hand, as shown on the right side of FIG. Therefore, if the number of records is 5, the data can be stored with a total capacity of 45 bits (6 bytes), and the capacity can be reduced by 40% or more.

Note that the table shown in FIG. 303 is an example, and the compression rate of the table changes according to the threshold of random numbers, the range of variation pattern numbers, and the like. For example, if the random number threshold capacity is in bytes (8 bits), data cannot be compressed. In addition, the capacity can be reduced from 8 bits by fractional bits. In particular, when the data capacity is 1 bit, such as 9 bits or 17 bits, the capacity can be reduced by 7 bits for one data, and the maximum effect can be obtained.

[18-7-2. Procedure for selecting a variation pattern]
Next, an outline of the procedure for selecting a variation pattern in this embodiment will be described. In addition. When a plurality of types of variation pattern tables are defined, the variation pattern table is selected in advance according to the game state and the like.

First, random numbers in the range of 0 to 63 are extracted as random numbers for lottery of variation patterns. Next, from the fluctuation pattern table, the random number threshold value and the fluctuation pattern number are sequentially acquired in record units from the top of the table. Further, the obtained random number threshold is compared with the extracted random number, and if the value of the random number is greater than or equal to the obtained threshold, the corresponding variation pattern is selected as the lottery result. On the other hand, if the value of the random number is less than the obtained threshold, the next record is obtained from the fluctuation pattern table, and a fluctuation pattern is selected by comparing it with the threshold in the same procedure. Thus, the threshold corresponds to the lower limit of the range of random numbers for selecting the corresponding variation pattern. Moreover, since the threshold value of the last record of the variation pattern table is 0, the variation pattern is always selected in the last record. To give a numerical example for the variation pattern selection procedure, if the extracted random number is "48", it is less than the threshold when compared with the threshold "60" corresponding to the first record of the table, so the next record is compared with the threshold "54". Similarly, when compared with the threshold "45" of the next record, the extracted random number "45" is greater than or equal to the threshold, so the same pattern "PT3" (fluctuation pattern number 3) on the corresponding end right side is selected.

Here, the procedure for acquiring the variation pattern number from the variation pattern table (variation pattern selection process) will be specifically described. FIG. 304 is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure for selecting a variation pattern in this embodiment. FIG. 305 is a diagram showing an example of a program for selecting variation patterns in this embodiment. The flowchart in FIG. 304 corresponds to the program in FIG. This processing is executed by the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 .

The basic procedure of the variation pattern selection process is to first identify a variation pattern table for selecting a variation pattern (number). Next, an index is created to acquire data from the specified variation pattern table by the bit transfer instruction in this embodiment. Next, a random number is extracted for selecting a variation pattern. Finally, the random number threshold and the corresponding variation pattern number are obtained from the variation pattern table using the bit transfer instruction, and the variation pattern number is selected by comparing the random number threshold and the random number.

The main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 first acquires the address (Hp_no_table) of the variation pattern table (step P8021). In this embodiment, one variation pattern table is defined, but if a plurality of variation pattern tables are defined according to the gaming state, etc., the variation pattern table is specified at this timing.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 sets index creation parameters for executing the bit transfer instruction RBT of this embodiment (step P8022). The procedure for creating an index is performed according to the procedure described in FIGS. 296 and 297 and the like.

Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 first sets a value obtained by subtracting the start address of the data area from the start address of the variation pattern table specified in the process of step P8021 as the initial value of the index in the HL register as an index value. (“LD HL, Hp_no_table-9000h”, “9000h” corresponds to “TP” in the program code shown in FIG. 297 and is the value stored in the TP register).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 sets parameters for index creation (step P8022). Specifically, first, the pointer information of the data to be referred to (record of the variation pattern table) is extracted and set as a parameter. Since the data is acquired from the head of the fluctuation pattern table here, the pointer information of the data is 0. Furthermore, the total number of basic configuration blocks is set as a parameter. The total number of basic configuration blocks corresponds to the data capacity of the area for storing one unit of data (record) stored in the reference table, as described above. In this application example, the random number threshold is 6 bits and the variation pattern number is 3 bits.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes index creation processing for creating an index for executing the bit transfer instruction RBT based on the set parameters (step P8023). In the index creation process, first, the pointer information (0) of the data to be referenced (variation pattern table) is multiplied by the total number of bits (9) of the basic configuration block. The result of the multiplication is 0, which is stored in the A register.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 clears the W register (stores 0) and divides the value of the WA register by the number of basic units (8). At this time, the quotient is stored in the A register (0) and the remainder is stored in the W register (0). Further, the main control MPU 1311 clears the W register and adds the value of the WA register to the HL register. As described above, the value before clearing the W register is previously saved in the stack area for use in subsequent operations. Further, the main control MPU 1311 left-shifts the value of the HL register by 3 bits (multiplies by 8). Furthermore, the saved value of the W register is added to the HL register to complete the creation of the index.

When the creation of the index is completed and the preparation for acquiring the variation pattern number from the variation pattern table is completed, the main control MPU 1311 acquires a random number for drawing a variation pattern (step P8024). The extracted random number is a 6-bit integer from 0 to 63, as described above, and stored in the D register (LD D, (Rnd)).

Subsequently, a process of identifying a variation pattern number by comparing the extracted random number value with the threshold value stored in the variation pattern table is performed. The main control MPU 1311 first acquires a random number threshold from the fluctuation pattern table based on the index created in the process of step P8023 by the bit transfer command (step P8025). Specifically, 6-bit data is acquired from the position specified by the index and stored in the A register (RBT A, (HL+).5). Furthermore, the variation pattern numbers stored in the continuous area are acquired by a bit transfer command (step P8026). The variation pattern number is 3 bits and stored in the W register (RBT W, (HL+).2).

Next, when the main control MPU 1311 obtains the random number threshold value and the variation pattern number from the variation pattern table, it determines whether the threshold value is 0 (step P8027). In this embodiment, since the threshold value of the final record of the variation pattern table is set to 0, the determination of whether the threshold value is 0 determines whether the final record has been detected (AND A, FFh → JR Z, hp_select_2). When the threshold value is 0 (the result of step P8027 is "yes"), the main control MPU 1311 ends this process with the variation pattern number acquired in the process of step P8026 as the lottery result (step P8029).

On the other hand, the main control MPU 1311, when the random number threshold is not 0 (the result of step P8027 is "no"), determines whether or not the random number threshold is smaller than the variation pattern selection random number (step P8028). If the random number threshold is greater than the random number for selecting the variation pattern (the result of step P8028 is "yes"), the next record is selected, and the threshold and the corresponding variation pattern number are obtained, the process of step P8025 back to

In addition, the main control MPU 1311, if the random number threshold is less than the random number for selecting the variation pattern (the result of step P8028 is "no"), the variation pattern number obtained in the process of step P8026 is used as the lottery result and the process ends. (step P8029).

In the variation pattern selection process of the present embodiment, by looping the processing from step P8025 to step P8028, the variation pattern is determined by sequentially comparing the threshold value of the first record to the last record of the variation pattern table with the acquired random value. It is configured to specify, and exit from the loop when the variation pattern is specified. On the program, as shown in FIG. 305, processing from tag "hp_select_1" to tag "hp_select_2" corresponds to this loop.

In addition, in the variation pattern selection process of the present embodiment, an index is created with the top address of the table as the data reading start position, and bit transfer instructions "RBT A, (HL+).5" and "RBT W, (HL+). 2” are executed sequentially. As a result, data reading is started from the top of the table, and the next data can be read continuously without recalculating the index. In this way, data can be obtained without resetting parameters even when data is obtained continuously, so that the program can be simplified.

[18-8. Other application examples]
Here, the application example shown in FIG. 303 uses the bit transfer instruction in this embodiment for the table for selecting the variation pattern, but there is no need to limit the application to this, and other It can also be applied to the usage table. For example, it is a table for specifying input information from various ports of the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310, and for each port, it is composed of port addresses, logic correction values, mask values, data area addresses, etc. It can also be applied to At this time, the effect of the data transfer instruction in this embodiment can be obtained unless all the data constituting the table are in units of bytes.

As another example, the present invention can also be applied to data for creating commands to be transmitted to various substrates, such as data specifying parameters of commands to be transmitted. Specifically, in the case of a prize ball command specifying the number of prize balls to be paid out, if the number of prize balls is 1 to 15, it can be specified with a capacity of 4 bits. At this time, a capacity of 5 bits may be secured in order to be able to specify the number of prize balls of 16 or more. The number of prize balls may be designated by the lower 4 bits.

As yet another example, it can be applied to a table for specifying areas for storing various data. Specifically, it is a table made up of records including information for specifying data (information for identifying data) and information for specifying the address of the area in which the data is stored. The information specifying the address of the data storage area does not store the address itself, but stores the reference address in advance in a separate area, and stores the difference value (differential address) from the reference address in the table. You may make it This makes it possible to reduce the capacity for storing addresses. In addition, it is possible to flexibly cope with the case where the number of data or the data volume is large, or the case where the data volume changes.

As another example of a table for specifying an area for storing various data, an address (2 bytes) of an area for storing data is specified by combining an upper address (1 byte) and a lower address (1 byte). It may be configured to In this case, the upper address may be stored in advance as reference address information in another area, and only the lower address may be stored in the table. The data capacity can be reduced by making it possible to store the lower address in an area smaller than 1 byte. In addition, since the address where the data is stored can be specified without calculation (or by simple calculation), the process for specifying the address can be simplified. Furthermore, since the address where the data is actually stored can be easily identified by referring to the table, maintenance can be facilitated, for example, when reviewing the address where the data is stored.

In addition, the data compression technique according to the present embodiment makes it possible to acquire data of a specified number of bits, as described above, so it can be applied even when data of different sizes are stored continuously. However, when data of different sizes are stored continuously, it is necessary to specify the size of each data, and it is not possible to efficiently reduce the data capacity by keeping the size of each data individually. there is a possibility. Therefore, by allocating an area with a data capacity corresponding to the maximum value of a series of data and storing each data, it is possible to acquire data without specifying the size of each data, simplifying the entire process. be able to. As described above, when storing multiple types of data as one record in a table, first, the size of each data that constitutes the record is specified, and then the size of the table is determined based on the size of the specified data. By acquiring each record, it is possible to both reduce the data volume and simplify the processing.

Also, if the tables have the same structure, compressed data can be obtained by common processing, so it is preferable to share the structure of similar tables. For example, in the case where a plurality of variation pattern tables are defined according to the gaming state, a common structure is used even if it is possible to reduce the amount of data for each table for reasons such as a small number of variation pattern types. By doing so, it becomes possible to acquire data from the variation pattern table by common processing without depending on the game state, and the entire processing can be simplified.

[18-9. effects, etc.]
As described above, by reading data using the bit transfer instruction of the present embodiment, unnecessary bits can be deleted and a compressed table structure can be created. Therefore, the area for holding data can be minimized. It becomes possible. As a result, more data can be managed, and more detailed game control can be performed.

In addition, since it is possible to make the process of creating an index for executing the bit transfer instruction of the present embodiment independent, it is possible to suppress the original game control from becoming complicated. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the increase in the data capacity while suppressing the complication of the conventional game control.

Further, according to the present embodiment, by continuously executing bit transfer instructions while incrementing the index, it is possible to read a plurality of pieces of data from continuous areas. It is possible to simplify the processing when reading only data or when reading a record (data group) composed of data of a plurality of types of bit numbers.

Further, according to the present embodiment, even data requiring a capacity exceeding 8 bits (1 byte) can be compressed and stored, and the data can be read out in the same procedure as data of less than 8 bits. Therefore, it is possible to provide a highly versatile data reading means.

The data structure that can be read by the bit transfer instruction of this embodiment is effective when the data size is not in units of bytes. Therefore, it is particularly useful when there are many types of defined data such as data used for processing related to special symbols and normal symbols, such as variation patterns. It should be noted that if the data consists of data in units of bytes, it is more efficient to use a normal load instruction ("LD") or the like. On the other hand, the bit transfer instruction of this embodiment requires more procedures for reading data than the load instruction. is small, the load instruction may be preferentially used instead of the bit transfer instruction of this embodiment. In this way, when controlling the game based on a wide variety of data such as control related to variable display of special symbols and normal symbols, the data capacity can be obtained using bit transfer instructions that can acquire data in bit units can be reduced. On the other hand, when routine procedures need to be processed quickly, processing can be simplified by using load instructions that can directly access data stored at specified addresses without the need to create an index. Alternatively, the speed may be increased.

[19. Improvement of the instruction to call the process]
The means for reducing the capacity by compressing the area for storing data has been described above. Subsequently, by shortening the word length of the instructions (commands) that make up the program, the procedure (number of clocks, number of steps) processed by the arithmetic means (main control MPU 1311) can be reduced to speed up the processing, or to frequently combine A means for simplifying a program by collectively executing instructions that are executed together will be described. Here, an instruction that is an improved version of an instruction (INV instruction) for executing a predefined process will be described. Since the execution frequency of the INV instruction is very high, speeding up the execution of the INV instruction makes it possible to speed up the entire game control process. Also, by implementing an instruction that integrates the processes that are executed in combination when the INV instruction is executed, it is possible to simplify the program.

[19-1. INV instruction]
First, an outline of a normal INV instruction will be explained. The word length of the INV instruction varies depending on the type of MPU (processor), but is 4 bytes in the main control MPU 1311 mounted on the main control board 1310 of the game machine in this embodiment.

The INV instruction specifies the address where the process to be executed is stored. At this time, a return address is stored in the stack area as a return destination for returning to the calling process after the execution of the called process is completed. As a result, by executing the return instruction in the called process, the value of the program counter is rewritten to the return address stored in the stack area, the process returns to the call source, and the process continues from the instruction following the executed INV instruction. be able to.

Also, since the INV instruction can specify all addresses in the storage area, it is possible to call all processes stored in the memory. Therefore, the arrangement of programs and data can be freely set. On the other hand, due to the high degree of freedom, the procedure for calling the process (the number of clocks required) may increase and overhead may occur.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-described problem, in order to reduce the load of calling processes with high execution frequency, a table that stores the addresses of the processes to be called is defined in advance, and the processes are arranged based on the table. A prior art has been proposed that makes it possible to call processing while reducing the load for identification (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-174833). The following is an overview of the INVD instruction, which has similar functionality to the prior art.

[19-2. INVD instruction]
In the INVD instruction, as described above, a process address table containing addresses storing frequently executed processes is created in advance, and a process to be called when the INVD instruction is executed is specified based on the process address table. An index (1 byte) is assigned to each process in the process address table, and it is possible to call a specific process simply by specifying the index (1 byte) without directly specifying the address (2 bytes). Become. As a result, it is possible to shorten the word length of the instruction to speed up the processing and to simplify the program structure. In addition, even if the program allocation (processing storage destination) in memory is changed, the data defined in the processing address table can be changed. Therefore, even if the program allocation or configuration is changed, It is also possible to flexibly respond to various situations, and the efficiency of program development can be improved.

Here, the configuration of the storage area for storing the processing address table will be described. FIG. 306 is a diagram showing an example of an address map showing the configuration of the storage area of the main control board 1310 of the gaming machine of this embodiment. Storage areas are provided by RAM 1312 and ROM 1313 .

The area accessed by the game control in the main control board 1310 of the game machine of this embodiment includes the RAM area (0000h to 03FFh), the internal function register area (1300h to 13DFh, 1400h to 14DFh), the ROM area (8000h to C12Fh). ) and extended ROM area (C130h to FDFFh). Areas other than these are unused areas (outside use area), and access by the game control program is prohibited in principle.

Each area will be explained. The RAM area is an area for temporarily storing data to be read and written during program execution. The internal function register area stores set values of various registers for controlling internal functions. Although the internal function register areas are arranged in two places in this embodiment, they may be arranged in one area or divided into three or more areas. The internal function register area is similar to the RAM area in terms of storing information, but unlike the RAM area, values are not stored in the process of calculation of the main control MPU 1311, and the main control MPU 1311 executes It specifies the function for In other words, once the values in the internal function register area are set at the timing of turning on the power, the set information will not be changed unlike the information stored in the RAM area.

The ROM area includes a program/data area (8000h-BFFFh), a ROM comment area (C000h-C07Fh), a processing address table area (C080h-C0FFh), and a HW parameter area (C100h-C12Fh). The program/data area stores read-only data and programs. Data such as the program title and version are set in the ROM comment area. The process address table area stores data relating to processes (subroutines) called when a specific process call instruction (for example, an INVD instruction to be described later) is executed. Hardware-related parameters for executing internal functions of the main control board 1310 are set in the HW parameter area.

The expansion ROM area (C130h to FDFFh) is allocated as an unused (access prohibited) area in normal (mass production) gaming machines, while it can be allocated as a program/data area in development gaming machines. It is assigned to a ROM different from the ROM in which the program/data is stored. By doing so, the mass-produced game machine does not have an expansion ROM, so that the programs/data arranged in the expansion ROM area for development erroneously stop functioning.

The extended ROM area may be stored in the same ROM as the ROM in which the program/data is stored. Even if the program/data for development remains in the expansion ROM area by mistake, the HW parameter should be set so that the program/data does not function.

Next, the configuration of the processing address table will be described. FIG. 307 is a diagram showing a program implementation example of a processing address table in which processing (subroutine) addresses are stored. In the implementation example shown in FIG. 307, in addition to the INVD instruction processing address table storing the addresses of the processing executed by the INVD instruction, an interrupt processing address table storing the addresses of the processing executed when various interrupts occur is also included. may be In the following description, "processing address table" refers to the INVD instruction processing address table used in the INVD instruction unless otherwise specified.

The process address table stores the addresses of processes that are frequently executed and used for general purposes. The frequently executed processing includes, for example, timer interrupt processing and processing executed within the main loop processing of the initialization processing in the main control board. Further, the general-purpose processing includes processing of reading a signal from a designated port, processing of performing a predetermined operation on a designated numerical value, and the like, which will be specifically described later. In order not to impair versatility, these processes are very simplified compared to processes specialized for game control (eg, jackpot determination processing and variation pattern selection processing) (eg, program capacity less processing, processing with a short processing time, etc.).

Also, the processing address table is stored in an area different from the area where the program is stored, as shown in FIG. As described above, the processing called by the INVD instruction is highly versatile, and may be used as common processing even in the development of other gaming machines. By arranging the areas separately in this way, it becomes possible to manage the program separately from the machine-dependent processing program, and the development efficiency of the game control program can be improved. In addition, since the ROM comment area is located between the area that stores the processing address table and the area that stores the program, if a problem occurs during program execution, the process will be interrupted beyond the program/data area. Even if executed, unexpected processing is executed without reaching the area stored in the processing address table because the ROM comment area contains data that does not match the program code, such as the program title. can be prevented.

In the example shown in FIG. 307, 16 types of processing INVD0 to INVD15 are defined. For example, INVD0 includes port reading processing (PORT_RD) and INVD1 includes data setting processing (DAT_SET). When the INVD instruction is executed, a number (process index) corresponding to the process to be called may be specified.

Here, the processing index will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 308 is a diagram showing an example of program code defining an index for identifying a process stored at an address stored in the process address table. In the program code shown in FIG. 308, processing indexes that can be called by the INVD instruction are defined in advance. In the program, a variable corresponding to the process name (function name) should be specified instead of directly specifying the numerical value. For example, when executing port read processing (PORT_RD), the label (_PORT_RD) may be used instead of directly specifying the constant "0". Thereby, the readability of the program is improved, and the development efficiency of the game control program can be improved.

Further, in the prior art (JP-A-2016-174833) mentioned above, the upper address is set in advance and the lower address is specified. not something to do. Therefore, when the address of the process is changed, it is necessary to modify the instruction for executing the process each time, so development efficiency cannot be improved compared to the case of designating the number.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the processing index is 0 to 15 and the number of processing defined in the processing address table is 16, the capacity of the index is 4 bits. This makes it possible to reduce the storage capacity required to specify the processing to be executed by the INVD instruction compared to specifying the (lower) address. Furthermore, since the instruction part (opcode) of the INVD instruction is composed of 4 bits, it can be composed of a total of 8 bits (1 byte) together with the capacity of the index (operand). Therefore, the word length of the INVD instruction is 1 byte, and the number of clocks for the main control MPU 1311 to call the process specified by the INVD instruction can be reduced compared to when the process is called by a normal call instruction (INV instruction). In addition, it is possible to reduce the program capacity.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the INVD instruction is frequently used in the process executed when the power is turned on and the process during game continuation (main control side main process, timer interrupt process, etc.). It is becoming less frequent. This is to prevent an increase in overhead at the time of calling a process due to increasing the number of reference locations in the memory while the power is shut off, and to suppress power consumption as much as possible. In addition, the power-off process is performed less frequently than the process during game continuation, the specifications are not changed frequently, and there is a limit to the number of processes that can be called by the INVD command. , the processing called when the power is turned off is configured not to be executed by the INVD instruction, except for general-purpose processing. In this way, the power-off processing is configured to simplify the control and reduce the processing execution load rather than using the INVD instruction to reduce the program capacity.

Next, a procedure for executing processing by an INVD instruction will be described. FIG. 309 is a diagram for explaining the operation when the INVD instruction is executed in this embodiment. FIG. 309 describes changes in the program counter and stack pointer when the INVD instruction stored at address "80A4h" is executed.

When the INVD instruction is executed, first, the return address after completion of the process executed by the INVD instruction is saved in the stack. In the example of FIG. 309, the INVD instruction stored at the address "80A4h" is executed and the word length of the INVD instruction is 1 byte, so the value saved in the stack is "80A5h".

Next, the 2-byte length data (call destination address) corresponding to the number (operand, process index) specified by the INVD instruction is retrieved from the process address table. The fetched 2-byte data (call destination address) is set in the program counter and the specified process is called. Here, a procedure for calling a designated process will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 310 is a diagram explaining the procedure for identifying the process called by the INVD instruction in this embodiment. Here, a procedure for executing port read processing (PORT_RD) will be described. As shown in FIG. 307, the port read process (PORT_RD) is defined at the top (0th) of the process address table.

The number designated by the INVD instruction shown in FIG. 310 is "_PORT_RD", and referring to the INVD instruction processing address number definition, the actual value of "_PORT_RD" is "0". Then, refer to the processing address table to identify the instruction corresponding to the designated number. Specifically, "PORT_RD" is specified. Note that the left column of the processing address table in FIG. 310 corresponds to the number of rows and is added for explanation. As shown in FIG. 307, it is not included in the actual processing address table. The INVD instruction identifies the instruction corresponding to the designated number. "PORT_RD" is a label indicating the processing address ("80D4h").

When the address of the process specified by the INVD instruction is identified, the program counter is updated to the address of the specified process. Returning to the description of FIG. 309, when the INVD instruction is executed, the program counter is updated to "80D4h" which is the top address of the port read processing "PORT_RD". At this time, the value of the stack pointer moves by 2 bytes because the address at the time of return from the caller is stored in the stack area, and is updated from "01F8h" to "01F6h".

After that, the callee process (port read process "PORT_RD") is executed, and the instructions are sequentially executed from the callee address ("80D4h"). After that, in order to return to the caller with a return instruction, the return address saved in the stack area is returned to the program counter, and subsequent processing is executed sequentially. At this time, the value of the program counter is updated from the address "80E8h" of the return instruction to the address "80A5h" saved in the stack area. Furthermore, by changing the stack pointer from "01F6h" to "01F8h", the area in which the address of the return destination of the stack area was stored becomes usable again. After returning to the calling process, the process is executed sequentially from address "80A5h".

As described above, the INVD instruction in this embodiment can call a process with fewer clocks, that is, at a higher speed than a normal process call instruction, and furthermore, the program capacity can be reduced. In particular, as described above, it is possible to increase the speed of the entire control process by structuring such that frequently called processes can be called by the INVD instruction. In this embodiment, 16 types of processing are defined as defined in the processing address table (FIG. 307). Specifically, port read processing (PORT_RD), data setting processing (DAT_SET), work area setting processing 1 (WORK_AD), work area setting processing 2 (WORK_AD_INC_HL), 2-byte data search processing (LD_HLA_HL), command buffer setting processing 1 (CMBF_SET1), command storage processing (COM_SET), output determination common processing 1 (OHAN_SUB1), output determination common processing 2 (OHAN_SUB2), output port data setting processing (PORT_DAT_SET), variation information number search processing (TI_SRCH), fraud notification They are setting processing (ILG_OUTSET), data search processing (HLA_SRCH), multiplication value addition address acquisition processing (MUL_WA_HL), and SPI 2-byte output processing (SPI_TX__WA).

Each process executed by the INVD instruction in this embodiment will be described below. 311 to 324 show examples of programs (modules) for each process. The comments at the beginning of each program describe the input registers, output registers, protection registers and callers. An input register is a register in which a value to be set by the calling module is stored. The called module is executed using the values set in the input registers. The output register is a register that stores the value set by the called module. The execution result of the process is stored. A protected register is a register whose use is restricted in the called module. Note that if the values at the start and end of execution of the called module are the same, they can be used. It is permissible to use A caller is a module that calls the module. It can be recognized that the higher the number of modules listed here, the higher the frequency of use. Since the actual number of times of execution depends on the calling frequency of the calling module itself, even if the number of modules is small, the frequency of use is not necessarily low.

FIG. 311 is a diagram showing a program example of the port reading process (PORT_RD) of this embodiment. Port read processing is processing for reading an input signal of a designated port. Specifically, the port read process (PORT_RD) reads the input signal of the port corresponding to the port address specified in the W register (input register) and outputs the port data to the A register (output register). At this time, the input signal of the port is read multiple times, and depending on whether the acquired signals match, a predetermined flag (for example, J flag, Z flag) included in PSW (processor status word, status register; output register) is set. Update. This makes it possible not only to read the input signal from the designated port, but also to determine whether the signal is being input normally.

FIG. 312 is a diagram showing a program example of the data setting process (DAT_SET) of this embodiment. The data setting process is a process of collectively setting a series of data defined in a table specified by a set data address set in the HL register to a work area (eg, DE register). In addition, the number of data settings (the number of data in the table) is defined in the first data (record) of the table specified in the data setting process, and the subsequent data (records) are (lower) in the work area that stores the setting values. It consists of an address and a set value stored in the work area. The setting values are sequentially read out by calling work area setting processing 2 (WORK_AD_INC_HL) described later with the INVD instruction. As described above, when the data setting process is started, first the number of data settings stored in the address specified in the input register is obtained, and then the data (records) for the number of data settings are obtained. It is possible to acquire a series of data without depending on the number.

FIG. 313 is a diagram showing a program example of work area setting processing 1 (WORK_AD) according to this embodiment. Work area setting processing 1 is processing for setting a work area that is temporarily used during program execution. In this embodiment, the address of the working area is stored in the DE register. The address of the work area is determined by the table data specified by the address stored in the HL register. The work area setting process 1 (WORK_AD) is also called from processes executed by other INVD instructions. Thus, the processing executed by the INVD instruction consists of a very short program that implements general-purpose functions and can be called multiple times. Thereby, speeding up of the game control as a whole can be realized by combining and configuring the processing called by the INVD instruction. Also, since duplication of program codes can be avoided, the program capacity can be reduced.

FIG. 314 is a diagram showing a program example of work area setting processing 2 (WORK_AD_INC_HL) of this embodiment. In the work area setting process 2, after the work area setting process 1 is executed, the specified setting data address is set to the next address, thereby simplifying the process of setting the work area continuously. Become.

Here, for an example of using data setting processing, work area setting processing 1, and work area setting processing 2, along with the data setting processing program shown in FIG. A process of acquiring data from a table configured with stored setting values and storing the data in the work area will be described.

In the data setting process, the number of records stored in the first row of the table specified by the set data address is acquired, and the work area is set by the work area setting process 2 for the number of records, and the data in the work area is set. Repeat settings (loop processing). In the loop processing, first, the setting data address is updated (incremented) to move to the next line, and then the work area setting processing 2 is called by the INVD command.

In the work area setting process 2, the work area is set by the address specified by the setting data address in the work area setting process 1. FIG. Subsequently, by updating (incrementing) the setting data address, it is updated to the address of the data storage area. After that, the process returns from the work area setting process 2 to the data setting process, and the data specified by the set data address (the value set in the HL register) is stored in the work area (the value set in the DE register). When data corresponding to the number of records in the table are set in the corresponding work area, the loop processing is exited and the data setting processing is terminated.

With the above configuration, the data setting process, the work area setting process 2, and the work area setting process are hierarchically called by the INVD command, thereby simplifying the program structure and reducing the program capacity.

FIG. 315 is a diagram showing a program example of 2-byte data search processing (LD_HLA_HL) of this embodiment. The 2-byte data search process is a process of selecting an address set in the data table specified by the HL register (input register) and setting it in the HL register. Since the address value is 2 bytes, by doubling (adding 2) the selected value of the A register (input register), the address of the target data table is specified, and the address is set to the HL register (output register). Reset. For example, when shifting to various processes in the special symbol/special electric accessary product control process, it is used when executing the process of selecting the destination address by the job number (selection value) based on the jump table.

FIG. 316 is a diagram showing a program example of jackpot information command setting processing (TDINF_CMBF_SET), command buffer setting processing 1 (CMBF_SET1), and command storage processing (COM_SET) of this embodiment. Normally, in a process called by an INVD instruction or the like, a return (BK) instruction or the like is arranged at the end to return to the calling process. In the jackpot information command setting processing (TDINF_CMBF_SET) and command buffer setting processing 1 (CMBF_SET1) shown in FIG. , the command buffer setting process 1 is subsequently executed, and then the command storage process is executed. Then, the return instruction placed at the end of the command storage process returns to the caller process.

When trying to call the command buffer setting process 1 with the INVD instruction in the jackpot information command setting process, as described with reference to FIG. can be omitted by arranging , and the program capacity can be reduced. In addition, since the stack area is not used, it is possible to obtain the effect of reducing the amount of memory used.

The big-hit information command setting process (TDINF_CMBF_SET) is a process of setting a big-hit information command specifying an operation when a big hit occurs. A jackpot information command corresponding to the opening/closing operation of the jackpot in the jackpot state is set according to the situation. After that, it is transmitted from the transmission buffer to the transmission destination by the command buffer setting process 1 and the command storage process which are continuously executed.

In command buffer setting processing 1 (CMBF_SET1), the command to be actually transmitted is specified by the reference command data (MODE value) and the command addition data for specifically specifying the command, and the command is stored in the transmission buffer by the command storage processing described later. Store. Commands stored in the transmission buffer are sent to the destination as appropriate. "Reference command data" is composed of 2 bytes. ). When the variation pattern 5 (05h) is selected as the variation pattern of the special figure 1, the result obtained by adding the value of the variation pattern 5 (05h) to the lower 8 bits of the reference command "1001h" ("1006h" ) is the command to be sent.

The command storage processing (COM_SET) is processing for storing commands and the like in the transmission buffer. As a specific procedure, first, the state of the transmission buffer is determined to determine whether or not there is an empty space equal to or greater than a predetermined number of bytes. If there is no free space in the transmission buffer, the processing is terminated. If there is free space in the transmission buffer, the status and mode constituting the command stored in the HL register are set in the transmission buffer. Furthermore, the sum value obtained by adding the value of the H register and the value of the L register is set in the transmission buffer. In the case of the command "1006h" that selects the variation pattern 5 (05h) as the variation pattern of the special figure 1 described above, "10h" + "06h" = "16h" is the sum value. Note that the sum value does not necessarily have to be set in the transmission buffer.

Also, the command stored in the transmission buffer consists of 2 bytes (excluding the sum value). The eye indicates a specific operation for the type (specific variation pattern number if the variation pattern type).

The transmission buffer is a serial communication FIFO memory built in the main control MPU 1311 and is a separate memory from the RAM 1312 . The transmit buffer is configured to store multiple bytes of information (having a capacity of 64 bytes). The commands stored in the transmission buffer are serially output to the transmission destination by the hardware in the order in which they were stored first.

FIG. 317 is a diagram showing a program example of output determination common processing 1 (OHAN_SUB1) of the present embodiment. The output determination common processing 1 obtains data from the information determination output data (the value indicated by the HL register), and determines whether or not a flag is set in the work area (lower address) set in the information determination output data. , if a flag is set, the information set corresponding to the flag (work area) is set in the A register (port output calculation value). By looping the above operation the number of times set in the information determination output data, the value to be output to the port is stored in the A register. For example, when the information determination output data is "solenoid information determination output data", 3 is set as the number of loops, the content of the big winning opening 1 solenoid flag (DSOL1_FG) is first determined, and 1 (flag value ) is set, _TDSOL1_PB (large winning opening solenoid 1-bit data) set corresponding to DSOL1_FG is set as an output value (this value is output so that the large winning opening solenoid 1 turned ON). Such processing is repeated for the number of times (three times) set in the solenoid information determination output data.

FIG. 318 is a diagram showing a program example of output determination common processing 2 (OHAN_SUB2) of the present embodiment. The output determination common processing 2 acquires data from the state determination output data and processes the port output value of the LED and the like. Like the information determination output data, the status determination output data has a table structure, the number of records in the table is acquired, and data corresponding to the number of records are processed.

FIG. 319 is a diagram showing a program example of output port data setting processing (PORT_DAT_SET) according to the present embodiment. The output port data setting process is a process for setting the information of the I/O area to the output port or internal register. ) to output the setting value set corresponding to

FIG. 320 is a diagram showing a program example of variation information number search processing (TI_SRCH) of this embodiment. The variation information number search process is a process of searching a predetermined data area for an information number that matches a specified comparison value, and is used when selecting variation pattern information based on a variation pattern random number. For example, the comparison value is stored in the W register, the address of the data area is stored in the HL register, and the search result is written in the A register. Specifically, the contents of the W register (random value, etc.) are compared with the information set in the table specified by the HL register (a value to be compared with the random number (determined value)), and a condition (for example, random value < The process is repeated until the determination value) is satisfied, and when the condition is satisfied, the information (search result (eg, variation pattern number, etc.) set corresponding to the determination value is stored in the A register and returned to the caller.

FIG. 321 is a diagram showing a program example of the fraud notification setting process (ILG_OUTSET) of this embodiment. The fraud notification setting process is a process for notifying when an abnormality occurs. Specifically, the specified abnormality display command is set by the command storage process, and the time for the fraud notification is set.

FIG. 322 is a diagram showing a program example of data search processing (HLA_SRCH) of this embodiment. The data search process is a process of searching for specified data from specified search data. In the data search process, first, data that matches the comparison value is searched from the area (address) storing the designated search data. At this time, the data to be searched is the address of the area to be searched next. Further, a search is performed based on the designated selection value from the searched address area. The data search process is executed by combining a plurality of search processes, and subsequent search processes are executed based on the search results of the preceding search processes. In this embodiment, the first search is performed by the 2-byte data search process (LD_HLA_HL), and the next search is performed by the variation information number search process (TI_SRCH). As a result, it is possible to specify a plurality of tables defined according to the game state or the like in the first search, and to acquire a specific variation information number in the next search. By implementing in this way, it is possible to facilitate the execution of multistage searches, and to reduce the amount of data by storing data in stages.

As described above, in this embodiment, one process is configured by combining a plurality of processes that can be called by an INVD instruction whose word length is shorter than that of other call instructions. By calling the processing configured in this way with the INVD instruction, it is possible to speed up the entire processing while reducing the program capacity. In addition, if the process is executed in multiple stages, it can be applied not only to the data search process. processing can be realized.

FIG. 323 is a diagram showing a program example of multiplication value addition address acquisition processing (MUL_WA_HL) according to the present embodiment. The multiplication value addition address acquisition process is a process of multiplying a specified base value by a multiplication value and adding the result to the specified base address value. It is a collection of routine operations that are frequently executed, and can simplify programs.

FIG. 324 is a diagram showing a program example of SPI 2-byte output processing (SPI_TX__WA) of this embodiment. SPI 2-byte output processing is processing for setting output data to an SPI port when outputting 2-byte data through SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) communication. SPI communication is used to transmit data to a light emitter such as an LED or a driver such as a motor/solenoid.

As described above, the process called by the INVD instruction in this embodiment is composed of a short process of several to several tens of bytes, which increases versatility, and the INVD instruction can call the process with a word length of 1 byte. Therefore, it is possible to increase the speed of the entire game control program and reduce the program capacity.

[19-3. INVS instruction]
In the INVD instruction, the procedure for calling a process (subroutine) is made efficient by pre-storing the address in the process address table. However, since only predefined processes can be called, when adding or changing a new process to be called, the contents of the process address table and the definition information of the process address table number must be updated. Ta. In addition, the word length was reduced to 1 byte by limiting the number of types of processing that can be called by the INVD instruction to 16 types. There was a risk that the effect of using the

Therefore, in this embodiment, the INVS instruction, which has a shorter word length than the normal INV instruction and has a higher degree of freedom than the INVD instruction, is proposed. By storing the process (subroutine) in a specific area, the INVS instruction reduces the overhead (procedure, number of clocks) for calling the process, and can achieve the same process with a smaller word length than the INV instruction. . Further, if the processes are stored in the specific area, any number of processes (subroutines) can be defined, so the degree of freedom can be higher than that of the INVD instruction. The specific area (third area) is included in the program/data area of the ROM area described with reference to FIG.

Next, the INVS instruction will be further described. FIG. 325 is a diagram showing a part of the program for calling the process by the INVS instruction of this embodiment. (C) shows a program example (part) of a motor drive process. The program example shown in FIG. 325 consists of "address", "program", "mnemonic" and "comment". "Address" is where the program is stored. A "program" is a so-called machine language, and is an instruction that the main control MPU 1311 can directly interpret and execute. A "mnemonic" is an abbreviated memory symbol for facilitating programming of machine language (a string of numbers) for executing a program. The "program" value corresponds to the "mnemonic" value. A "comment" is an explanation to make the program easier to read, and is ignored during execution of processing.

In the example shown in FIG. 325, the solenoid drive process ("89A6h") and the motor drive process ("89CCh") are called by the INVS instruction. In the INVS instruction, the upper 4 bits (“Ch”) constitute an instruction to access the first area (8000h to 8BFFh) of the specific areas, and the lower 12 bits indicate the address of the process to be called. Specifically, the lower 12 bits (“9A6h”) of the program “C9A6” that calls the solenoid drive process specify the address where the solenoid drive process is stored, and the upper 4 bits of the first area are fixed “ 8***h", the address of the storage location for the solenoid driving process in combination with the lower 12 bits of the program is "89A6h" as shown in FIG. 325(B). Similarly, since the lower 12 bits of the motor driving process are "9CCh", the address of the storage location is "89CCh". As described above, in this embodiment, the process (procedure, number of clocks) until specifying the process to be called is reduced by storing the process in the specific area, and the process stored in the first area with a 2-byte length instruction Allows processing to be performed.

Also, the second area (8C00h to 93FFh) of the specific area can be accessed. Since the byte is the call destination address, the instruction is 3 bytes long.

The game control program is designed with address 8000h as the starting address, and the frequency of accessing the first area is much higher than the frequency of accessing the second area. Therefore, by shortening the word length when accessing a frequently used area, it is possible to compress the program capacity and reduce the processing time (number of clocks) for the instruction.

On the other hand, for an INV instruction that executes a process stored in an arbitrary area in memory, the upper 2 bytes are the INV instruction code information (opcode) and the lower 2 bytes are the callee address (operand). It is a byte-long instruction. Therefore, in this embodiment, by using the INVS instruction for executing the processing stored in the specific area, the processing is performed with a smaller word length than the INV instruction for executing the processing stored in any area in the memory. can be executed.

In this embodiment, frequently called processes (subroutines) are placed in the specific area (especially the first area), and less frequently called processes (for example, error processing and test signals) are placed in areas other than the specific area. processing for output, etc.) and arranging data, it is possible to speed up the entire processing. Note that if there is a limit to the capacity of the program code due to rules or the like, the program is arranged preferentially in the first area. If possible, all processes called by the INVS instruction are stored in the first area, such as when the capacity of the program code is smaller than the capacity of the first area. Alternatively, all processes (programs) called by the INVS instruction may be stored in the first area, and no programs may be stored in the second area. By clearly defining the area for storing programs, the configuration can be simplified and management can be facilitated.

In addition, in the first area, at least processing directly related to game control is arranged, and error processing and display of the role ratio monitor (base monitor), which are not directly related to game control, are arranged in the second area. As mentioned above, by arranging frequently called processes in the first area, it is possible to speed up the entire game control process. They may be arranged for efficiency. Since the processes that can be invoked by the INVS command can be freely arranged within a specific area, for example, when there are multiple specifications for the same model, the controls common to each specification are aggregated in a predetermined area, and each specification Processes with different controls (depending on specifications) are aggregated and arranged in separate areas. Specifically, special figure-related processing, special electric auditors-related processing, normal diagram-related processing, normal electric auditors-related processing, etc. are not arranged in a distributed manner, but related processing (for example, fluctuation start processing, fluctuation Medium processing, design decision processing, special figure related processing such as fluctuation stop processing) are aggregated and arranged. Further, the programs may be arranged in an order according to the execution timing even within the collectively arranged area, for example, in accordance with the control executed in the normal game. Specifically, in the special-figure related process, it may be arranged in the order according to the timing such as the time of start winning, the time of start of variation, and the time of end of variation.

On the other hand, even game machines of different models can be used universally, and error processing that is not affected by game specifications, display processing of the role ratio monitor (base monitor), etc. are also consolidated and arranged. Since these processes may be used in multiple types of models, it is convenient to manage them separately. For example, if there is a team that develops multiple types of machines in parallel, the processes that depend on the game specifications mentioned above can be shared within the team, while the common processes between these machines can be shared among the teams. It is possible to improve the development efficiency of the entire game machine development. In addition, processing that depends on game specifications may differ from machine to machine even if the upper limit of capacity is fixed. By arranging it in two areas, it is possible to share the address even when the process is called from the game control programs of different models.

As described above, the INVS command enables a program (module) to be arranged in a specific area according to development efficiency and management efficiency (maintenance efficiency). As a result, in order to limit the number of processes that can be defined with the INVD instruction, general-purpose processes such as port reading and data reading were defined with priority, but processes that depend on game content are arranged together. This makes it possible to facilitate management by aggregating processing for each function and improve development efficiency.

It is also possible to execute processing by means of the INVD instruction within a module called by the INVS instruction. By configuring in this way, it is possible to further increase the speed of the process called by the INVS instruction and reduce the program capacity, and furthermore, it is possible to increase the speed of the entire game control program and reduce the program capacity. becomes. Note that it is also possible to call a module with an INVS instruction within a module called with an INVD instruction. Since there is a limit to the number of processes that can be defined in the process address table, it is possible to call highly versatile processes that could not be defined in the process address table using the INVS instruction. In this way, the modules called from the INVD instruction and the INVS instruction are configured to mutually call processes.

In addition, while processing that is executed at a predetermined interval like timer interrupt processing and that is executed very frequently is placed in a specific area (first area), even if it can be called from timer interrupt processing like processing at the time of setting operation A process that is actually called less frequently should be placed outside the range of the specific area. By configuring in this way, the capacity of the specific area can be secured without lowering the processing speed.

Further, the program may be arranged only in the first area where the speed-up effect of the INVS instruction is exhibited more effectively, and the INVS instruction may not access the second area. This makes it possible to simplify storage area management such as program allocation. For example, by locating a program that defines a process that can be shared between different models, not in the second area but outside a specific area with fewer restrictions, the degree of freedom in arranging the program increases, and when sharing the program, the program Constraints caused by differences in capacity and the like can be reduced. In addition, even if the specification of the INVS instruction is changed due to the specification change of the main control MPU 1311, if the area accessible by the INVS instruction is single, it becomes easy to deal with it, and the basic configuration of the game control program Since there is no need to make major changes, existing programs and data can be used, improving development efficiency.

[19-4. INVI instruction]
So far, the aspect of speeding up the instruction that calls the process has been described, but the means for simplifying the program by implementing the instruction that integrates the processes that are frequently combined and executed will be described.

When executing a specific program when executing game control, if information in the memory is rewritten by other processes executed in parallel, progress of the game may be hindered. Therefore, in order to prevent information stored in an area that is commonly accessed by a plurality of processes from being rewritten, means for prohibiting interrupts until the process is completed is generally used. In particular, a procedure of disabling interrupts when executing specific processing and canceling the disabling of interrupts after the specific processing is completed is frequently performed.

In game control, procedures such as prohibiting interrupts, calling processes, and canceling interrupt prohibition are frequently executed, but since the size of the program area is limited, the common procedure is omitted and the size of the program is reduced. It was desired to make it smaller. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the INV instruction for calling a process is extended to propose an INVI instruction for prohibiting interrupts before the process is called.

Since the INVI instruction designates and executes the process to be called, the execution procedure is the same as that of the INV instruction. However, as internal processing when the INVI instruction is executed, necessary data is stored in the stack area and interrupts are disabled before the program counter is moved to the specified address. After that, the called process is executed. At the end of the called process, a BKI instruction is executed to return to the calling process while returning to the interrupted state before calling the process. That is, if the interrupt state of the INVI instruction is the interrupt disabled state, the interrupt disabled state is maintained, and if the interrupt state of the INVI instruction is the interrupt enabled state, the interrupt disabled state is released. A series of procedures for the INVI instruction will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 326 is a diagram explaining the procedure of the INVI instruction in this embodiment. The procedure for executing the INVI instruction stored at address "8200h" will be described.

Since the storage destination of the process specified by the INVI instruction is "A800h", the value of the program counter changes from "8200h" to "A800h". At this time, the address "8202h" indicating the return position after executing the process (the address next to the caller, the return address after the process of the callee is completed) and the PSW (Program Status Word) at the time of calling the process are stored in the stack area. do. Therefore, the stack pointer changes from "01F8h" to "01F5h". In the example of FIG. 326, the return address is stored in "01F6h" and "01F7h", and the PSW is stored in "01F8h".

PSW is a control word (status register) for controlling the execution order of instructions in the main control MPU 1311 and for indicating and holding the state of the computer system related to a specific program. The status of control MPU 1311 is also included. In addition, the contents of the flag register, interrupt status, etc. are collectively stored in one byte. PSW will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 327 is a diagram showing an example of the PSW of this embodiment, (A) is the configuration of the PSW, and (B) is a description of each configuration. PSW includes jump status flag (JF), zero flag (ZF), carry flag (CF), half carry flag (HF), sign flag (SF), overflow flag (VF), register bank flag (RES), interrupt master enable. Consists of flags (IMF).

A jump status flag (JF) is a flag used to determine operating conditions of jump instructions and subroutine instructions. ZF or CF is set depending on the executed instruction.

The zero flag (ZF) is set to 1 when the operation result or transfer data is "00H (0000H)" and is cleared to 0 otherwise. In the bit/flag manipulation instruction, if the specified bit is 0, 1 is set, and if the specified bit is 1, it is cleared to 0.

A carry flag (CF) sets carry/borrow at the time of carry flag operation. Also, in a shift/rotate instruction or a bit/flag manipulation instruction, the content of instruction execution is set. A half carry flag (HF) sets the 4th bit carry/borrow for 8-bit operations.

A sign flag (SF) is set to 1 when the MSB (maximum number of significant bits) of the operation result is 1, and cleared to 0 otherwise. If the most significant bit indicates a positive or negative sign, the sign can be identified by the sign flag. The overflow flag (VF) is set to 1 when an overflow occurs in the operation result, and is cleared to 0 otherwise.

A register bank flag (RES) indicates a selected bank of general-purpose registers. 0 is set for bank 0, and 1 is set for bank 1.

The interrupt master enable flag (IMF) disables interrupts when IMF=0, and allows interrupts when IMF=1. Also, when a DI (disable interrupt) instruction is executed, IMF=0 and interrupts are prohibited. Also, when an EI (enable interrupt) instruction is executed, IMF=1 and interrupts are permitted. An interrupt whose generation can be prohibited/permitted in this way is called a maskable interrupt.

Now, return to the description of FIG. When the INVI instruction is executed, the value of IMF contained in PSW is set to "0" to disable interrupts. At this time, interrupts are disabled along with the execution of the INVI instruction without executing the interrupt disabling instruction (DI instruction). Furthermore, the value of the program counter is set to "A800h", and the processing is executed sequentially from address "A800h". Then, when the processing is executed up to the address "A80Eh", the BKI instruction for returning to the calling source is executed. The BKI instruction sets the return address stored in the stack area to the value of the program counter, and restores the contents of the PSW to the contents of the PSW saved in the stack area. Specifically, the value of the program counter is set from "A800h" to "8202h" which is the return destination address. In order to return the contents of the PSW to the contents of the PSW before the execution of the INVI instruction, if the value of the IMF (interrupt master permission flag) before the execution of the INVI instruction is 1 (interrupt permitted), the interrupt prohibition is released. Since the value stored in the stack area is erased when the INVI instruction is executed, the value of the stack pointer is set from "01F5h" to "01F8h".

As described above, when processing is executed by the INVI instruction, it is possible to disable interrupts until the designated processing is completed without explicitly executing the interrupt disabling instruction (DI instruction). Furthermore, by returning to the calling source by executing the BKI instruction, if the interrupt is enabled before the INVI instruction is executed, the interrupt disable instruction (EI instruction) is not explicitly executed. If the prohibition can be released and the interrupt is enabled before the INVI instruction is executed, the interrupt disabled state is maintained. It should be noted that this is not limited to the execution of the INVI instruction, but can also be used when returning to the original process after executing the process in a state in which interrupts are prohibited by the DI instruction or the like. In addition, the BKI instruction is not an instruction that directly releases the interrupt prohibition, but simply restores the interrupt master enable flag (IMF) to the value before the INVI instruction is executed by returning the PSW to the state before the INVI instruction is executed. If it is in the interrupt enabled state before the execution of the instruction, the interrupt disabled state is returned to the interrupt enabled state. Also, since there is no need to execute an interrupt disable instruction and an interrupt disable release instruction, control can be simplified and the program capacity can be reduced. As a result, processing can be executed without data being changed by other processing.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, areas (usage area, game area) in which programs can be implemented are defined in advance, and execution of programs outside the use area is basically prohibited. However, some processing such as test signal processing is allowed to be executed outside the use area because it is not directly related to game control. In addition, since the role ratio monitor (base monitor) and error processing are not directly related to the game control, they are allowed to be executed outside the use area. When such processing is executed, the influence on other processing can be suppressed by prohibiting interrupts with the INVI instruction and saving the PSW (status register) before executing the processing.

Also, when calling a process stored in an area outside the use area by the INVI instruction, it is possible to specify the storage destination using the process address table like the INVD instruction described above. Since the process directly specifies an address outside the area and calls the process, there is a possibility that an inconvenience may occur. Therefore, a temporary area that must be passed through for executing the INVI instruction may be set. In this case, the processing called from the INVI instruction is defined in a limited temporary area (for example, the range from "A800h" to "A8FFh"). However, since it is not possible to define all processing within this limited range, the address within the temporary area is specified from the calling process, but the processing that is actually stored outside the use area from that address is Execute. Specifically, it moves from the specified address in the used area to the address where the specified process is stored by a jump instruction or the like. A specific example is shown in FIG.

FIG. 328 is a diagram showing a program example for explaining the arrangement of the processing called by the INVI instruction of this embodiment. Here is an example program. Here, the area up to the address "A8FFh" is the used area, and the area after the address "A900h" is outside the area.

As shown in FIG. 328(A), a process called by an INVI instruction is defined by a set of a label indicating the process and a jump instruction (JP). For example, when the INVI instruction calls the performance display monitor process, it is described as "INVI_EX_MONITOR_OUT". The label "_EX_MONITOR_OUT" is predefined in another area. The value of "_EX_MONITOR_OUT" is "A900h".

When the instruction "INVI_EX_MONITOR_OUT" is executed, the value of the program counter is updated to the address "A800h" corresponding to the defined label, and the PSW is saved in the stack area. Furthermore, the value of IMF (interrupt master enable flag) of PSW is set to 0 (interrupt disabled). After that, the performance display monitor process ("EX_MONITOR_OUT") defined at the address "A900h", which is the jump destination set in the operand of the jump instruction, is executed.

Since the performance display monitor process is a process outside the used area, the contents of the register are saved so as not to affect the process within the used area (register saving process within the used area). After that, the main body of performance display monitor processing is executed. Finally, the contents of the saved register are restored, and the BKI instruction returns to the caller processing and the interrupt state before the execution of the processing.

By configuring as described above, it becomes easy to separate the processing outside the use area, and the management of the program becomes easy. In addition, since interrupts are prohibited when the INVI instruction is executed, interrupts are prohibited while processing outside the usage area is being executed. can be ensured. In the example described with reference to FIG. 328, the area for storing the process called by the INVI instruction is limited, but this does not have to be the case. As a result, it is possible to simplify the calling of the process to be executed with interrupts disabled for the process stored in an arbitrary area.

[19-5. Application example of extended process call instruction]
A specific application example of various instructions (INVD instruction, INVS instruction, INVI instruction) for calling the processing (subroutine) described above will be described. Here, it is applied to timer interrupt processing executed by the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 . An application example of a specific process call instruction will be described together with the program code for the game stop time process included in the timer interrupt process.

FIG. 329 is a flow chart showing timer interrupt processing using various process call instructions of this embodiment. The basic functions of timer interrupt processing are the same as those described above.

The main control MPU 1311 first designates the register bank 1 (step P101). The main control MPU 1311 has two types of register groups, bank 0 and bank 1, as described above, and switches banks to use either one. Bank 1 is used for timer interrupt processing, and bank 0 is used for main processing on the main control side. Note that it is not always necessary to switch banks in timer interrupt processing. For example, it is possible to save register values in a stack area and restore them after processing is completed.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes switch input processing (step P102). In the switch input process, as described above, various signals input to the input terminals of various input ports of the main control MPU 1311 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the main control built-in RAM 1312 . Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes setting value confirmation processing to determine whether the value in the setting state management area is within the normal range (step P103).

When the setting value confirmation process ends, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the gaming machine is in a playable state (step P104). If it is not possible to play (the result of step P104 is "NO"), that is, if a setting operation is to be performed (setting change mode, setting confirmation mode), a setting operation process is executed (step P105).

In the setting operation processing, processing for changing or confirming the setting of the game machine is executed. Loads setting data for setting operations and sets them to the corresponding output ports. Specifically, the power failure clear signal is turned OFF and the ACK output port is cleared. Furthermore, the LED common port and the LED cathode port are turned OFF, the motor port and the solenoid port are cleared, and the security signal is output. After that, setting display processing and setting confirmation/change processing are executed.

On the other hand, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not there is a game stop factor when the gaming machine is in a playable state (result of step P104 is "YES") (step P106). If there is a game stop factor (the result of step P106 is "YES"), the game stop process is executed (step P107). In the game stop processing, processing necessary to stop the gaming machine is executed. Details will be described later with reference to FIG.

Further, when there is no game stop factor (the result of step P106 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 executes a game-enabled time process (step P108) in order to advance the game. The playable time process is a process for playing a normal game. Specifically, switch input special processing, timer update processing, prize ball control processing, frame command reception processing, fraud detection processing, command output processing when passing through a switch, performance display monitor processing, special symbol / special electric accessory control processing , solenoid drive processing, motor drive processing, and output data setting processing. Each process is as described above.

When the game-enabled time process or the game-stopped time process ends, the main control MPU 1311 executes the display LED output process (step P109). Further, after the display LED output process or the setting operation process is completed, the test signal output process is executed (step P110). In the test signal output process, a process for outputting a test signal to be output to an inspection device connected to the gaming machine is performed. Finally, the main control MPU 1311 executes processing such as setting a predetermined value (18H) in the watchdog timer clear register WCL to clear the watchdog timer (step P111) and resetting the register bank to 0. , terminate the timer interrupt processing.

The outline of timer interrupt processing has been described above. Next, processing using various processing call instructions will be described. As described above, the game stop processing of the timer interrupt processing will be extracted and explained. First, the procedure of the game stop processing will be described, and application examples of various processing call instructions will be described as appropriate with reference to the program code.

FIG. 330 is a flow chart showing the procedure of game stop time processing in the timer interrupt processing of this embodiment. FIG. 331 is the program code of the game stop time process in the timer interrupt process of this embodiment. The game stop processing is processing for stopping the game when an abnormality such as a magnetic abnormality or vibration abnormality is detected, or when a setting change is performed. In addition to magnetic anomalies and vibration anomalies, door/body frame opening, radio anomalies, and winning anomalies may occur, and settings may be being checked in addition to changing settings. Depending on the type of game machine, only error notification is given or the game is stopped. In particular, in the case of a type in which a jackpot can be obtained by passing through a specific area (V area) in the accessory, the jackpot can be obtained by fraudulent winning. be.

When the game stop processing is started, the main control MPU 1311 first sets a game stop command (step P121). The game stop command is a command for notifying the outside that the game machine is to be stopped. Referring to the program code, the game stop command is set by first adding the command addition value (game stop factor; In this state, after setting the reference command data (_ILG_MAG2_CM-1) in the HL register, command buffer setting processing 1 (CMBF_SET1) is executed.

The command buffer setting process 1 is a process called by the INVD instruction. The variable "_CMBF_SET1" specified by the INVD instruction is a number corresponding to the address of the command buffer setting process 1 (CMBF_SET1) defined in the process address table, and is "4" (INVD4) in this embodiment. there is When the number of the processing address table is designated by the INVD instruction, the main control MPU 1311 refers to the processing address table and executes the processing corresponding to the designated number. As a result, it is possible to execute processing without directly specifying an address, so that it is possible to speed up the calling of processing and to compress the program capacity.

In the command buffer setting process 1, as described above, the game stop command is specified based on the reference command data (the value of the HL register) and the command addition data (the value of the A register, the value corresponding to the game stop factor), It stores it in the transmission buffer by the command storage process, and outputs the game stop command.

After storing the game stop command in the transmission buffer, the main control MPU 1311 executes external output processing (GAIB_OUT) for outputting external output information (step P123). The external output information includes, for example, design determination data, starting gate data, big winning gate winning data, main winning ball data, security data, and the like.

External output processing (GAIB_OUT) is executed by the INVS instruction. With the INVS instruction, by storing the processing in a specific area, as described above, the processing can be called more quickly than when it is stored at an arbitrary address. The external output process (GAIB_OUT) is stored in a specific area because it is frequently called from the output data setting process (PORT_SET) during a game (when the game is possible). In addition, in the output data setting process (PORT_SET), in addition to the external output process (GAIB_OUT), output determination common process 1 (OHAN_SUB1), output determination common process 2 (OHAN_SUB2), etc. are performed in order to speed up the entire process. It is configured so that many processes called by the INVD instruction defined in the process address table and the INVS instruction stored in the specific area are called.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes SPI communication processing for outputting various signals for transmission to driving bodies such as solenoids and the outside via SPI communication (step P124). In the SPI communication processing, after setting data to be output to the WA register and setting the address to which the data set in the WA register is to be output to the E register, SPI 2-byte output processing (SPI_TX__WA) is executed. The SPI 2-byte output process (SPI_TX__WA) is a process called by the INVD instruction like the command buffer setting process 1 (CMBF_SET1), and the variable "_SPI_TX__WA" specified by the INVD instruction becomes "14" (INVD14). there is

Further, the main control MPU 1311 sets game stop data for stopping the game (step P125). Further, an output port data setting process (PORT_DAT_SET) for setting the set game stop data to the output port is executed (step P126). The game stop data is, for example, data for turning off a power failure clear signal, an LED common port, an LED cathode port, and the like, and clearing a motor port, an ACK output port, and the like.

The output port data setting process (PORT_DAT_SET), like the command buffer setting process 1 (CMBF_SET1), is a process called by the INVD instruction, and the variable "_PORT_DAT_SET" specified by the INVD instruction becomes "10" (INVD10). ing.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 executes performance display monitor processing for displaying various information about the game on the performance display monitor (step P127). The performance display monitor process only displays various information, and processes directly related to game control are not executed, and the performance display monitor itself is not intended to be referred to by the player. Therefore, the performance display monitor process of the present embodiment is stored outside the use area, interrupts are prohibited while the process of displaying performance information on the performance display monitor by the INVI instruction is executed, and the game control process is independent. can be run At the end of the performance display monitor process, the BKI instruction returns to the interrupt state before the process was called, and then returns to the caller. It is not necessary to cancel the interrupt disable with

Also, since the test signal output process in the timer interrupt process is not a normal game but a process of outputting game information by being called during a test, it is stored outside the use area. Initialization processing and backup processing for executing processing when the power is turned off and processing outside the use area may be stored outside the use area.

When executing interrupt processing such as timer interrupt processing, interrupts may be disabled in order to prevent multiple interrupts. An interrupt-enabled state may be set in the interrupt process. Since the INVI instruction of this embodiment returns to the interrupt state before the execution of processing, it can be used without any problem regardless of whether multiple interrupts are permitted or not.

[19-6. Arrangement of Program Called from Extended Process Call Instruction]
Next, the arrangement of programs defining processes to be executed by various call commands in the game control of the gaming machine of the present embodiment will be described in detail. Programs are stored in a program/data area (8000h to BFFFh) included in the ROM area of the storage area provided by the main control board 1310. FIG.

FIG. 332 shows an example of a memory map of an area relating to programs/data in the ROM area shown in FIG. The left side of FIG. 332 shows the configuration of the program/data area, and the right side of FIG. 332 shows the details of the configuration of the first area of the program/data area.

Areas related to programs/data in the main control board 1310 of the gaming machine of this embodiment include a first area (8000h to 8BFFh) and a second area (A800h to BFFFh) (left in FIG. 332). Areas other than these are unused areas (outside use area), and access by the game control program is prohibited in principle. In addition, 00H data is set as unused data in this area, and 00H is a NOP (non-operation instruction) as a CPU instruction. It is no longer running. It should be noted that when the area is erroneously accessed, a reset signal is input to the CPU so that the game processing can be immediately resumed.

As shown in FIG. 332, the first area is arranged on the top address side of the program/data area, and the second area is arranged on the last address side of the program/data area. An unused area (outside the used area) is allocated. As will be described later, in the first area is arranged a program that defines processing for executing main game control including processing related to the result of the game, and in the second area, error processing, test firing test processing, role Programs are arranged that define processes that are not directly related to game results, such as processes related to product ratio calculation. By placing an unused area between the first area and the second area, the independence of each area can be enhanced. For example, even if the first area is expanded, by ensuring enough unused area that the address of the second area does not need to be changed, it is possible to minimize the impact of the specification change.

Subsequently, each area will be described. The first area stores processes (programs) related to game control including processes (programs) called by various calling instructions. As shown in FIG. 332 (right), the start processing is arranged at the beginning of the address (8000h) in the first area. The start process is a process that is executed when the gaming machine is started, and is a process that does not easily depend on the model. Specifically, it corresponds to power-on processing (FIG. 213, etc.). Also, if the start process is arranged at the head of the area and the initial value of the program counter is set to "8000h", the start process can be automatically started at the time of initialization. The time of initialization is when a reset signal is input to the core of the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 . Specifically, when a reset signal is input from the reset terminal of the main control MPU 1311 when the power is turned on, a defect inside the main control MPU 1311 (execution of an illegal instruction, access outside the designated area of ROM/RAM, watchdog timer etc.) when a reset signal is input.

The area for storing the start process is followed by an area for storing the process group called by the INVD instruction. Since the area that stores the start process has a small capacity, the area that stores the process group called by the INVD instruction is an area close to the top address of the first area (relatively low address). The processing group called by the INVD instruction is the processing defined in the processing address table, and the entity (program) of the processing defined in the processing address table is stored in this area. It is preferable that all the processes called by the INVD instruction are concentrated in the area where the process group called by the INVD instruction is stored. may be included.

As described above, the processing group called by the INVD instruction is general-purpose processing, and is model-independent (hardly dependent) processing, similar to the start processing. In this embodiment, the first address (8000h) of the first area than the area for storing model-dependent processes such as game control processes to be described later is used to store model-independent processes such as start processes and processes called by the INVD instruction. By arranging it in an area close to , it is possible to use a common arrangement (address) even for different models. This makes it easy to reuse these general-purpose processes, making it possible to improve the development efficiency of gaming machines. In addition, by specifying the contents and arrangement (address) of general-purpose processing at the early stage of development of the game machine, it is possible to improve the efficiency of creating development materials and advance the start timing of game control processing for each model. Furthermore, even when multiple teams develop a game machine, each process (program) can be easily shared, and the development period can be shortened.

The remaining area of the first area following the area for storing the process group called by the INVD instruction is an area for storing the program defining the game control process, and is the area on the final address side of the first area. ing. The game control process is various processes for controlling the progress of the game, and includes machine-dependent processes. Specifically, the process called from the timer interrupt process (FIG. 190, FIG. 329, etc.) that controls the game, for example, the control of the variable display (dynamic display) of the symbol (special symbol/special electric accessory control Processing (TOK_JOB; step S2089 in FIG. 190), normal symbol/normal electric accessory control processing (FUT_JOB; step S2090 in FIG. 190), etc.) are included.

It should be noted that the program defining the process called by the INVS command is included in the area where the program defining the game control process is stored. As described above, by calling the processing based on the program placed in the specific area with the INVS instruction, it is possible to execute with a word length (2 or 3) smaller than the word length (4) of the normal INV instruction. Become. Note that the word length refers to the total length of the opcode and operands that make up the instruction. The opcode is the part that is decoded by the instruction decoder after being fetched by the processor, and is the part that specifies the type of operation to be performed. An operand is a part that specifies a value or variable to be manipulated.

The second area (A800h to BFFFh) stores processes that are not directly related to the results of the game (variation display/dynamic display of symbols), such as error processing, test firing test processing, and processing related to character ratio calculation. . The processing not directly related to the game result includes, for example, timer interrupt processing (FIGS. 190, 191, 329, etc.). It includes test signal processing (step S2067 in FIG. 190, step P109 in FIG. 329) and performance display monitor processing for displaying various information about the game on the performance display monitor. The performance display monitor process is called and executed in the playable time process (step P108 in FIG. 329) and the game stop time process (step P107 in FIG. 329, step P127 in FIG. 330). Also, the role product ratio calculation/display process (step S89 in FIG. 23) in the timer interrupt process (FIG. 23) is included in the process that does not directly affect the game result. In the role ratio calculation/display process, the role ratio is calculated by referring to the number of prize balls stored in the role ratio calculation area 13128, and the calculated role ratio is displayed on the role ratio display 1317. Thus, the gambling nature of the gaming machine can be confirmed. Although there are differences in terminology between the performance display monitor process and the character ratio display process, they are common in that they display information for confirming the gambling nature of the gaming machine. information. For example, in a pachinko machine, the base (total number of balls entered into the winning slot during non-time saving (excluding balls released during big hits) / total number of shots during non-time saving) is displayed, Then display the role ratio.

Also, when calling another process from the process stored in the second area, only the INV instruction is used. The INV instruction (4 bytes) has a longer word length than the extended process call instructions (INVS instruction (2 bytes), INVD instruction (1 byte), INVI instruction (2 bytes)). While the specification of the process call instruction may differ depending on the arithmetic unit (main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310), the INV instruction, which calls the specified process without special restrictions, can be reliably used even if the arithmetic unit is changed. compatibility is maintained. Therefore, by constructing a program by using only the INV instruction when calling other processes in the process defined in the second area, the independence of the process defined in the second area is ensured, To facilitate reuse of a program even when there is a major specification change of a game machine such as a hardware update such as a change of an arithmetic unit as well as a model change (update).

On the other hand, the processes stored in the first area are programmed using not only the INV instruction but also improved process call instructions such as the INVD instruction, the INVS instruction, and the INVI instruction. Also, the processing called by the INVD instruction and the INVS instruction is arranged in the first area only. For this reason, in the process called by the INVS instruction, it is possible to call the process by the INVS or INVD instruction as needed (any number of times), thereby further increasing the speed of processing and simplifying the program. can be done.

For example, in the setting operation process (step P105 in FIG. 329) for executing the process for changing or confirming the setting of the game machine, as described above, the setting data for setting operation is loaded and sent to the corresponding output port. 192) and setting display processing (SET_DISPLAY, FIG. 193). Setting confirmation/change processing and setting display processing constitute a program so as to be called by an INVS command from game control processing (timer interrupt processing; FIG. 190, etc.).

In the setting confirmation/change processing (setting processing, SET_PROCESS), when the setting key 971 returns from the ON position to the OFF position without detecting a RAM abnormality, the INVS command is used to determine the state at the start of the game. The program is configured to call the setting process (step S2104 in FIG. 192, FIG. 194, etc.).

In the power-on setting process, the program is configured so that the command buffer setting process (CMBF_SET1, FIG. 316) is executed by the INVD instruction in order to set the power-on operation command (step S2120 in FIG. 194). Subsequently, in order to initialize the work in the game area, the program is configured so that the initial data at power-on specified by the data setting process (DAT_SET, FIG. 312) is collectively set in the work area by the INVD command. (step S2123 in FIG. 194). If it is in the game start state, the data at the time of game start at the time of RAM initialization or the data at the time of game start at the time of power restoration are designated, and the command buffer setting processing ( CMBF_SET1, FIG. 316) is configured to be set (steps 2124 and 2125 in FIG. 194). Furthermore, the program is configured to execute setting value command transmission processing for transmitting the setting value command by the INVS instruction (step 2126 in FIG. 194).

In the setting display processing (SET_DISPLAY), first, it is determined whether or not the setting state is abnormal. ), and if there is an abnormality, the error is set to be displayed on the base display 1317 (step S2112 in FIG. 193). After that, the LED common signal is output to the LED common output port (step S2113 in FIG. 193), and the display data (segment signal) corresponding to the set value or error display is output to the base display 1317 (step S2114 in FIG. 193). . In the process of outputting to the base display unit 1317, first, in order to acquire the LED port output value (LED common signal) based on the LED state determination output data address table, the INVD command is used to acquire the output determination common process 2 (_OHAN_SUB2; FIG. 318). Furthermore, in order to send output data to the base display unit 1317 by setting the LED common signal to the SPI port (LED common output port) through SPI communication, the INVD command executes SPI 2-byte output processing (SPI_TX__WA; Fig. 324). Configure the program to do so.

In timer interrupt processing, in addition to the aforementioned setting confirmation/change processing (setting processing, SET_PROCESS) and setting display processing (SET_PROCESS), various types of processing are executed by extended processing call instructions. The processes called by the timer interrupt process are listed below. Note that the timer interrupt processing shown in FIG. 329 is partially consolidated, so the timer interrupt processing will be described in association with the timer interrupt processing shown in FIGS.

The processing executed by the INVS command includes switch input processing 1 (SW_INPUT; step S2062), random number update processing 1 (R_ATAR_K; step S2063), peripheral board command transmission processing (SCM_JOB; step S2070), setting processing (SET_PROCESS; step S2068), setting display processing (SET_DISPLAY; step S2069), switch input processing 2 (SW_INPUT2; step S2080), timer update processing (TIM_DEC; step S2081), prize ball control processing (PAY_JOB; step S2082), frame command reception processing ( WK_CM_JOB; step S2083), switch passing command output processing (SW_COMSET_JOB; step S2085), special symbol/special electric accessory control processing (TOK_JOB; step S2089), normal symbol/normal electric accessory control processing (FUT_JOB; step S2090) , output data setting processing (PORT_SET; step S2091). These processes are modules that require a relatively large amount of processing and are processes that cannot be reused due to the specifications of the game machine.

In the processing executed by the INVS instruction, as described above, various types of processing are executed internally by the INVS or INVD instruction to reduce the program capacity and increase the processing speed.

In addition, the processing executed by the INVI instruction includes processing for outputting a test signal (KENIG_OUT; step S2067), fraud detection processing (ILG_ACT_JUDG; step S2084), and base display output processing (EX_MONITOR_OUT; step S2087). . The programs that define these processes are stored in the second area as described above, and the processes based on the programs stored in the second area are configured so that they cannot be called by the INVS or INVD instructions. there is These processes are easily reusable regardless of the specifications of the gaming machine, and are processes that do not affect the results of the game.

As described above, the program is configured so that the process called by the INVS instruction and the process called by the INVI instruction coexist within one timer interrupt process. By configuring in this way, it is possible to simplify the structure of the program code while reducing the program capacity. A program may be constructed by consolidating the process call by the INVS instruction and the process call by the INVI instruction. Alternatively, they may be collectively arranged at a specific location. Since the INVI instruction returns to the pre-execution interrupt state, by concentrating the calls of the processing by the INVI instruction to a specific location in the program, while the processing concentrated in the specific location is being executed, Since the interrupt state is maintained, it becomes easier to grasp the interrupt state, which facilitates debugging. In addition, since the process called by the INVI command is a process that does not affect the result of the game, by concentrating the call of the process by the INVI command at a specific place in the program, the process called at that specific place can be performed by the game. It is possible to easily determine whether or not the process is related to the result of .

As for the power-on process (start process), the program is configured so that various processes are executed by an extended process call instruction in the same manner as the timer interrupt process. 213 and 214, the processing executed by the INVS command includes a setting value confirmation processing (SET_LV_CHK; step S2209) and a setting processing at power-on (INITIAL_SET; step S2239). . In addition, the processing executed by the INVI command includes power-on outside game area RAM confirmation processing (EX_RWMSUMCK; step S2211) and power-on outside game area RAM abnormality processing (EX_INITIAL_RWM; step S2233; FIG. 217). there is

In this way, the program is configured so that various processes are called by the INVS, INVD, and INVI instructions not only in the timer interrupt process but also in the power-on process (start process). In particular, it becomes possible to compress the capacity of the entire game control program by using the general-purpose processing called by the INVS instruction in the timer interrupt processing etc. in the power-on processing (start processing), and it is possible to compress the capacity of the entire game control program, rather than executing it by the INV instruction. Since the processing can be performed at high speed, it is possible to speed up the startup of the gaming machine. Also, even if interrupts are prohibited in order to ensure that various initialization processes are executed when the game machine is started, there is no need to add interrupt control to the program code using the INVI instruction. Program readability can be improved.

All of the INV, INVS, and INVD instructions return to the caller processing by the BK instruction, but the INVI instruction returns to the caller processing by the BKI instruction and returns to the interrupt state before the execution of the processing. That is, if the interrupt state is the interrupt disabled state when the INVI instruction is executed, the interrupt disabled state is maintained, and if the interrupt state is the interrupt enabled state when the INVI instruction is executed, the interrupt disabled state is released. The BKI instruction is a return instruction that can also be used when returning from timer interrupt processing, and maintains the interrupt enabled/disabled state before execution of timer interrupt processing. For example, when the power is turned on, the outside game area RAM abnormality processing (EX_INITIAL_RWM; step S2233) is called by the INVI command in the power-on processing, so as shown in FIG. , and by calling the RWM initialization process (EX_EXRWMCLR) outside the use area with the INV instruction, it is configured to perform processes other than game control. Furthermore, by returning by the RET instruction (equivalent to BKI instruction) after executing the processing of step S2289, it is configured to return to the interrupt state before calling the power-on game area RAM abnormality processing (EX_INITIAL_RWM). there is

Even in the processing (FIG. 221, etc.) executed subsequent to the start processing, the processing is called by the INVS instruction or the INVI instruction. In the main loop that repeats the processing of steps S2310 and S2311, the random number update processing (R_OTHE_K; step S2311) is repeatedly executed by the INVS command, and the next timer interrupt processing is started. In addition, in the power failure processing (processing after step S2312), the INVI command executes the power OFF processing (EX_POWER_DOWN), and the INVS command calls the checksum calculation processing (S2317). Calls the processing (processing when the power is turned off) located in the second area, and checks the sum of the work RAM used for processing outside the game area and the work RAM used for processing inside the game area by the INVS command. It is possible to execute a process (locate in the first area) for calculating (inspection value of work RAM). Thus, in the power failure process, the process based on the program placed in the first area and the process based on the program placed in the second area can be called as needed. Since it becomes easy to configure a program by combining processing and processing not related to games, the degree of freedom in arranging programs increases, and management efficiency can be improved.

In addition, the processing for calculating the checksum within the game area and the processing for calculating the checksum outside the game area are provided separately, the processing for calculating the checksum within the game area is provided in the first area, and the processing for calculating the checksum outside the game area The process of calculating the checksum may be arranged in the second area. In this case, after calling the process for calculating the checksum in the game area placed in the first area by the INVS instruction, and calling the power OFF process by the INVI instruction, it is placed in the second area by the INV instruction. You may call the process which calculates the checksum outside the game area where it is. By configuring in this way, it is possible to increase the independence of processing for areas outside the game area.

Also included in the game control process is the process of selecting a variation pattern when executing the variable display (dynamic display) of the symbols, and is called by the INVS command within the timer interrupt process. In the variation pattern selection process (Hp_select), the variation pattern number is specified by using the bit transfer instruction described above. FIG. 333 is a diagram showing an example of program code for variation pattern selection processing (Hp_select). The processing by the program code shown in FIG. 333 realizes the same function as the processing by the program code shown in FIG. Similar to the program code shown in FIG. 305, it corresponds to the flowchart of the variation pattern selection process shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 333, when selecting a variation pattern, first, it is necessary to specify a variation pattern table corresponding to parameters such as special symbols (kind of result of dynamic display) and game state (step P8021). To explain the process of step P8021 in more detail, first, the identification information of the special symbol (result of dynamic display) is set as the selection value, the address of the selection data address table is used as the search data address (step P8021-1), The 2-byte data search process (LD_HLA_HL in FIG. 315) is configured to be executed by the INVD instruction (step P8021-2). A selection data address table corresponding to the identification information of the special symbol (result of dynamic display) is specified by the 2-byte data search process, and the specified selection data address table is used as a search table (step P8021-3), and as a selection value. Set the status flags. After that, by executing the 2-byte data search process with the INVD instruction (step P8021-4), the variation pattern selection table can be specified.

Furthermore, an index for using a bit transfer instruction is created by executing index creation processing (step S8023; GEN_IDX) for creating a data transfer index based on the specified address of the variation pattern selection table. At this time, the index creation process is configured to be executed by the INVS instruction. Finally, using a bit transfer command, obtain a variation pattern number corresponding to the variation pattern selection random number extracted from the specified variation pattern selection table (step P8028). In this way, by configuring a program by combining extended process call instructions (INVD instruction, INVS instruction) and bit transfer instructions, it is possible to increase the processing speed and reduce the capacity.

Note that the processing that uses a combination of the extended process call instruction and the bit transfer instruction is not limited to the process of selecting the variation pattern, and may be any process stored in the first area. In addition, by configuring the program so that the index creation process necessary for executing the bit transfer instruction is defined in the processing address table and called by the INVD instruction, it is possible to achieve both compression of the data volume and speeding up of processing. becomes. In this way, it is possible to use bit transfer instructions for general purposes by grouping the processes necessary for executing the bit transfer instructions.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the processing stored in the second area is prohibited from being interrupted when the processing is called. For example, this is to prevent the progress of the game from being stopped when an error occurs, or to prevent an accurate role ratio from being calculated due to a change in the number of acquired balls during the calculation of the role ratio. For this reason, in the present embodiment, by constructing the program so that the process stored in the second area is called by the INVI instruction, interrupt control (interrupt is prohibited during process execution, interrupt before process execution is state) is simplified. In addition, when the INVI instruction is executed, the PSW including interrupt prohibition/permission information is stored and saved in the stack area, and when returning from the called process, the PSW stored in the stack area is returned to the state before returning. Since it is necessary to use instructions to individually save/restore the PSW to/from the stack area, the control can be simplified. By configuring in this way, processing that is not directly related to the result of the game (fluctuation display/dynamic display of symbols) is aggregated and stored in a specific area, thereby simplifying the game control while managing the program layout. can be planned.

[19-7. Usage frequency of the program called from the extended process call instruction]
Although there is concern that game control will become more complex and program capacity will increase as a result of improving game interest, it is possible to compress program capacity by means of extended process call instructions. In particular, the INVD instruction has a shorter word length than the INVS and INVI instructions, and the most compact program capacity can be expected by replacing it with the INV instruction. However, since the number of processes that can be called by the INVD instruction is limited to 16 that can be defined in the process address table, in this embodiment, processes with particularly high frequency of use are defined. Therefore, in this embodiment, the program is constructed so that the frequency of use of the three types of extended process call instructions is the highest. For example, in the game control process in this embodiment, the frequency of use of the extended process call instruction in the program code (the number of lines of the process call instruction / the total number of lines of the program) is about 8% for the INVD instruction and about 8% for the INVS instruction. 4%, and the INVI instruction is about 0.3%. The frequency of use of the extended process call instruction differs depending on the model of the game machine, and is not limited to the above numerical values, but the frequency of use is set to increase in the order of the INVD instruction, the INVS instruction, and the INVI instruction. , it is possible to compress the data volume and speed up the processing.

On the other hand, the usage frequency of extended process call instructions in the program code (number of lines of process call instructions/total number of lines of program) differs from the frequency of extended process call instructions during program execution (execution count). For example, if it is used in a process with a large number of calls, such as timer interrupt processing that is executed periodically, the actual execution frequency will be high because it will be executed repeatedly even if the frequency of use in the program code is low. . In the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 329) of this embodiment, the execution frequency of the INVD instruction within one cycle is higher than the execution frequency of the INVS instruction. In this way, by increasing the number of times the INVD instruction, which has a shorter word length than the INVS instruction, is executed, it is possible not only to compress the program capacity but also to speed up the processing of the program.

As described above, the process that can be called by the INVD instruction is highly versatile and consists of a program with a relatively small number of bytes (short number of steps) compared to the process called by the INVS instruction. A program with a small number of bytes reduces the overhead of execution by an arithmetic unit and can speed up processing, so calling it with the frequently used INVD instruction can speed up the entire game control.

On the other hand, the process called by the INVS instruction has restrictions on the storage area of the program, but compared to the process that can be called by the INVD instruction, there are fewer restrictions on the number of processes and capacity. High processing. Since the INVI instruction calls the processing stored in the second area, the program is configured so that the INVI instruction is used less frequently than the INVD instruction and the INVS instruction.

[19-8. Summary of process call instructions]
In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the main control MPU (CPU) 1311 of the main control board 1310 controls the progress of the game by executing a program stored in the ROM 1313 . The program defines processes for realizing various functions necessary for controlling the game machine, and is executed by process call instructions. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, a plurality of types (four types) of process call instructions are implemented.

Unlike the other process call instructions, the INVD instruction, which is the first process call instruction (first specific process execution instruction), is not a value directly indicating the address where the process to be called is stored, but identification information from 1 to 16. is set as an operand. The INVD instruction calls a process (first specific process) selected from the process address table based on identification information set as an operand when executed.

The processing address table used in the INVD instruction is information stored in the same ROM (storage means) as the program/data area. stored in an area different from the program/data area. Specifically, it is stored in an area (C080h to C0FFh) having a larger address than the program/data area (8000h to BFFFh).

The INVS instruction, which is a second process call instruction (second specific process execution instruction), is an instruction to call a process (second specific process) designated by identification information set as a parameter. The INVS instruction is an instruction whose word length changes to 2 or 3 depending on the area in which the program defining the process to be called is stored. has a word length of 2 bytes, and addresses 8C00h to 93FFh have a word length of 3 bytes.

The INVI instruction, which is the third process call instruction (third specific process execution instruction), stores and saves the PSW including the interrupt disable/enable information in the stack area when the instruction is executed, sets the interrupt disabled state, and then , is an instruction to call the process (third specific process) specified by the identification information set as a parameter.

Furthermore, unlike other process call instructions, the INVI instruction uses the same return instruction (BKI instruction) as when executing the timer interrupt process when returning from the called process, so that the interrupt disabled/enabled state can be set by the INVI instruction. You can revert to the state before execution. Specifically, after saving the interrupt disable/enable information (PSW in FIGS. 326 and 327(B)) stacked in the stack area when the INVI instruction is executed, the IMF value of the PSW is set to 0 (interrupt disabled). , and by restoring the PSW that was saved when the BKI instruction was executed, the interrupt disabled/permitted state can be returned to the state before the INVI instruction was executed.

An INV instruction, which is a fourth process call instruction, is an instruction to call a process specified by identification information set as a parameter. The INV instruction has a longer word length than the INVS instruction.

The game control program of the gaming machine in this embodiment uses at least first to third process call instructions (INVD instruction, INVS instruction, INVI instruction). Also, the word length of the INV instruction is longer than the word length of any of the INVD, INVS, and INVI instructions. With this, it is possible to reduce the program capacity, speed up the process call, and improve the development efficiency of the game machine by simplifying the program code.

The program process (module) called by the INVD instruction, which is the first process call instruction, is placed on the side of the relative top address (number 8000h) in the program/data area (8000h to BFFFH). there is The INVD instruction is a process that does not easily depend on the model, and by arranging it in an area close to the start address of the program storage area, it is possible to use a common arrangement (address) even in different models. This makes it easy to reuse these general-purpose processes, making it possible to improve the development efficiency of gaming machines. In addition, by specifying the contents and arrangement (address) of general-purpose processing at the early stage of development of the game machine, it is possible to improve the efficiency of creating development materials and advance the start timing of game control processing for each model. Furthermore, even when multiple teams develop a game machine, each process (program) can be easily shared, and the development period can be shortened.

Also, unlike the program processing called by the INVD instruction, the program processing (module) called by the INVS instruction, which is the second processing call instruction, can be placed at any position in the program/data area. Furthermore, as described above, the INVS instruction has a word length of 2 or 3 depending on the area in which the program defining the process to be called is stored. can be done. Therefore, the INVS instruction allows a program to be arranged more flexibly than the INVD instruction, and can be called at a higher speed than the INV instruction, thereby increasing the processing speed and reducing the capacity.

The program processing (module) called by the INVI command, which is the third processing call command, is a command for calling the processing that is not related to the game results placed in the second area as described above. Development efficiency can be improved when new game machines are developed. Therefore, if the program that defines the process called by the INVI instruction is placed relatively to the end address (BFFFh number) side of the program/data area (8000h to BFFFh), it will be ported to another model. even with minimal impact. Also, in order to maintain compatibility even when the hardware configuration of the game machine is changed, the program is constructed so that the process is called by the INV instruction rather than the extended process call instruction such as the INVD instruction. By configuring in this way, the program can be easily reused even when the specifications of the gaming machine are changed.

On the other hand, in the processing stored in the first area (the area on the top address side), it is possible to use not only the INV instruction but also the INVD instruction, the INVS instruction, and the INVI instruction, which are improved process call instructions. It is possible. Also, the processing called by the INVD instruction and the INVS instruction is arranged in the first area only. For this reason, in the process called by the INVS instruction, it is possible to call the process by the INVS or INVD instruction as needed (any number of times), thereby further increasing the speed of processing and simplifying the program. can be done.

In the game control program of the present embodiment, the INVD instruction that is the first process call instruction, the INVS instruction that is the second process call instruction, and the INVI instruction that is the third process call instruction are the INVD instruction, the INVS instruction, and the INVI The program is configured so that the frequency of use (number of times of use; number of times of execution) increases in order of instruction. Since the INVD instruction has the shortest word length among these process call instructions, it is possible to compress the program capacity and speed up the processing of the program by configuring in this way.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to speed up the entire game control process and reduce the program capacity by improving the existing command that calls the defined process. Also, by implementing an instruction such as the INVI instruction that integrates the interrupt control and process call instruction, it is possible to simplify the program.

[20. Arrangement of electronic components on the main control board]
The procedure of SPI communication in the game stop processing has been described above. By the way, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, by adopting serial communication such as SPI communication for signal transmission within the main control board 1310, wiring of the data bus can be reduced. That is, the circuit pattern can be simplified by eliminating a large number of data buses connected to a plurality of parallel interface circuits and performing communication with a small number of signal lines including control lines. As a result, on the main control board 1310, it is easy to arrange various electronic components such as a main control MPU 1311, a connector for outputting external information, and a serial/parallel conversion circuit (first electronic component) for serial communication. can be An arrangement example of electronic components on the main control board 1310 will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 334 is a diagram showing an example of a mounting diagram of the main control board 1310 of the gaming machine of this embodiment. Note that the mounting diagram shown in FIG. 334 corresponds to the circuit diagrams shown in FIGS. 93, 259, etc., and the symbols and descriptions of the respective electronic components are as described above.

In the main control board 1310 of this embodiment, a main control MPU 1311 is arranged near the center of the board. The main control board 1310 has a first area 6100 around the main control MPU 1311 and a second area 6200 other than the first area (outside the first area). The arrangement of the main control MPU 1311 should ensure a predetermined distance from the end of the main control board 1310 and ensure the first area 6100 and the second area 6200 .

The first area 6100 includes a non-mounting area 6101 in which electronic parts other than the main control MPU 1311 such as logic parts (logic ICs, integrated circuits) and discrete parts are not arranged, and discrete parts that need to be arranged close to the main control MPU 1311. There is a component mounting area 6102 in which is arranged. A discrete component is an electronic component that basically has one circuit function. By providing a non-mounting area 6101 around the main control MPU 1311, heat generated by the operation of the main control MPU 1311 affects other electronic components, and heat generated by other electronic components affects the operation of the main control MPU 1311. can be prevented.

Various logic components (logic ICs, integrated circuits) are arranged in the second area 6200 . Components that need to be placed near the main control MPU 1311 (for example, components that are susceptible to noise) are placed in a region close to the main control MPU 1311 in the second region 6200, and other logic components are further outside. placed in the area. A representative arrangement of the electronic components mounted on the main control board 1310 will be described below.

The reset circuit 1335 is arranged in an area of the second area 6200 close to the main control MPU 1311 (an area close to the component mounting area 6102 of the first area 6100). Specifically, it is placed as close as possible to the main control MPU 1311, and the number of electronic parts placed between it and the main control MPU 1311 is reduced so as not to intersect with other wiring. As a result, it is possible to prevent an erroneous signal from being input due to factors such as the generation of noise due to crosstalk. It is possible to prevent significant trouble from occurring.

Clock oscillator 1336 (second electronic component) is arranged in component mounting area 6102 of first area 6100 . If the wiring distance between the main control MPU 1311 and the clock oscillator 1336 is long, or if it crosses other wiring, noise is likely to occur, and the frequency of the clock signal output from the clock oscillator 1336 will vary. , There is a risk that the progress of the game will be hindered. On the other hand, if the distance between the main control MPU 1311 and the clock oscillator 1336 is too close, the clock oscillator 1336 may not operate normally due to heat generated by the main control MPU 1311 and the like, and the frequency may vary. Therefore, in the main control board 1310 of the present embodiment, a non-mounting area 6101 around the main control MPU 1311 is provided to suppress the influence of the heat generated by the main control MPU 1311. 1336 suppresses separation between the main control MPU 1311 and the clock oscillator 1336, thereby suppressing noise generation.

As described above, the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 includes game ball detection switches (start winning opening, large winning opening count switch, normal winning opening, specific area switch, normal symbol gate switch, game board ejection switch) and photosensors. and other signals are input, and mainly detects game balls flowing down the game area 5a. Since the switches and sensors that output these input signals are distributed in the game area, a plurality of parallel/serial conversion circuits 1341 are provided (in this embodiment, the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341a ~1341c). These input signals are once input to a buffer and input to the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 . The parallel-to-serial conversion circuit 1341 is arranged in the second area 6200, and receives a signal for giving a game value such as detection of winning to a starting winning opening or a large winning opening, so that the influence of noise is reduced. It is arranged so that it is difficult to receive it as much as possible.

The serial/parallel conversion circuit 1342 and the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343 output signals for lighting the LEDs (function display unit 1400, base display 1317) as described above. Since the displays on the function display unit 1400 and the base display 1317 do not directly affect the results of the game, they can be positioned relatively far from the main control MPU 1311, increasing the degree of freedom in arrangement. For example, the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343 is arranged on the end side of the main control board 1310 . Further, a drive circuit 1344 is provided in the subsequent stage of the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343, and the drive circuit 1344 once receives the signal and then outputs it to the LED (function display unit 1400, base display 1317).

The base display 1317 is arranged in the outer region of the second region 6200 (end side of the main control board 1310), that is, in a position relatively distant from the main control MPU 1311. FIG. The base value is displayed on the base display 1317, but even if the base value is displayed incorrectly due to the influence of noise or the base value is not displayed, the display of the base value itself affects the game result. does not give Also, it is possible to output base value information from the external terminal board 784 to a hall computer installed in the game hall, or to display the base value on a liquid crystal display device. Therefore, in order to preferentially arrange other logic components (first logic component) near the main control MPU 1311, which may affect the game if malfunction occurs, the base display 1317 is removed from the main control MPU 1311. placed in a distant position. In addition, logic components (serial/parallel conversion circuit 1342 and serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343, second logic component) that output signals to the base display 1317 and which do not easily affect the game are positioned away from the main control MPU 1311. , and placed in the vicinity of the base display 1317 .

In the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345, as described above, the external terminal plate 784 is connected to the channel A output port (PA0 to PA7), and various solenoids are connected to the channel B output port (PB0 to PB7). . The various solenoids include a large winning opening solenoid and the like, which affect the game value given to the player. placed in As a result, the signal line connecting the main control MPU 1311 and the serial/parallel conversion circuit can be shortened. Furthermore, since the solenoid drive signal from the main control board 1310 is sent and received through serial communication (SPI communication), the number of data lines can be reduced, making it easier to lay out data lines when arranging electronic components. It is possible to reduce the possibility of malfunction due to the influence of noise or the like.

In addition, since the serial/parallel conversion circuit that outputs the signal for controlling the motor other than the solenoid directly outputs the output signal without passing through the buffer, the transistor, etc., the main control MPU 1311 and the connector of the output destination (for example, It must be placed near the connector 13103).

As described above, the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346 has an inspection terminal 1348 connected to the output port of channel B, and signals output from the inspection terminal 1348 (for example, a special electric accessory open signal, a normal electric role object release signal, etc.) is output. The serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346 is arranged in an inspection component mounting area (inspection circuit placement area) 6300, and in addition to the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346, an interface circuit 1347 and an inspection terminal 1348 are provided. The electronic components provided in the inspection component mounting area 6300 are mounted only in game machines that are inspected by an inspection agency, and are not mounted in general marketed game machines. However, although no components are mounted in the inspection component mounting area 6300, a printed pattern (for example, a data bus connected to the interface circuit 1347) is provided, so noise may be induced in the data bus and cause malfunction. Therefore, it is arranged at a position away from other electronic components (first logic component) that affect the game. For example, a serial/parallel conversion circuit 1342 and a serial/parallel conversion circuit 1343 that perform LED display are more suitable for inspection than a serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345 that outputs a signal for controlling a solenoid for opening and closing the big prize opening. It is arranged at a position close to the mounting area 6300 (serial/parallel conversion circuit 1346).

In the main control board 1310 shown in FIG. 334, the setting key 971 is provided on the main control board 1310 and arranged at the end of the main control board 1310 (outside the second area). Since the setting key 971 is directly operated by a game employee, etc., various electronic components such as the main control MPU 1311 and the serial/parallel conversion circuit that performs the main control of the game ( (first logic component). In addition, since the control based on the signal input by operating the setting key 971 includes changing the settings of the gaming machine, etc., there is a possibility that the progress of the game will be directly affected. Therefore, the number of wires between the setting key 971 and the main control MPU 1311 is reduced to reduce the influence of noise.

As described above, in the main control board 1310 of the game machine in this embodiment, by specifying the layout for each area according to the function and characteristics of each electronic component, the basic guideline for circuit design is clarified. can be As a result, it is possible to maintain and improve quality without lowering development efficiency even when the system is changed due to the design of new game machines or the transfer of developers.

[21. Control of serial communication (SPI communication)]
Here, the serial communication function (SPI communication) for outputting signals from the main control board 1310 in the gaming machine of this embodiment will be further described. The serial communication function has been described with reference to FIGS. 257 to 263, but here, the SPI communication procedure will be described in more detail with reference to the program code.

As described above, the gaming machine of this embodiment uses serial communication for signal transmission within the main control board 1310 . Typical examples of serial communication include I2C communication and SPI communication. SPI communication has the advantage of higher communication speed than I2C communication, although the number of signal lines increases. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, SPI communication is used when the main control MPU 1311 receives signals from various switches and when the main control MPU 1311 transmits control signals for various LEDs, solenoids, and the like.

It should be noted that not all signals are input/output via SPI communication, but some signals, such as signals for detecting fraudulent activity in the game machine during initial setting processing when the power is turned on, are mainly processed via parallel communication. It is input to the control MPU 1311 . For example, signals such as "setting key switch", "main RWM erasure/setting change signal" and "blackout warning signal" are directly input from general-purpose input terminals of the main control MPU 1311 by parallel communication. The "setting key switch", "main RWM deletion/setting change signal" and "blackout warning signal" are confirmed in the initial setting process (for example, the initialization process shown in Figs. 21 and 22) when the game machine is powered on. It is a necessary signal, and if an input signal is taken in via an SPI circuit, it takes time to take in and judge it, so it is taken in by parallel communication. In this way, since parallel communication can communicate at a higher speed than serial communication, it is possible to speed up the initial setting process compared to the case where various signals are sent and received only by serial communication. can be shortened.

In addition, some signals are input and output by parallel communication, and other signals are transmitted by serial communication (SPI communication). Since it is necessary to acquire signals from a plurality of locations including the main control board 1310 and the input/output board 1351, deterrence against fraud can be enhanced.

SPI communication outputs signals based on information stored in SPI communication buffer registers. For example, when outputting a stop signal to the solenoid in the game stop processing in the timer interrupt processing, such as when outputting a signal to the LED cathode port or LED common port in the display LED output processing and setting display processing, in the present embodiment In the gaming machine, signals transmitted from the main control MPU 1311 through SPI communication are mainly signals for controlling light emitters such as LEDs and drivers such as motors and solenoids.

In addition, signals input from various sensors through SPI communication are input to an arithmetic unit such as the main control MPU 1311 . For example, when a game ball wins in the starting winning opening, winning is detected by the starting opening switch, and a signal is input to the main control MPU 1311 . The configuration and procedure for transmitting/receiving signals input/output to/from the main control MPU 1311 by SPI communication will be described below.

[21-1. Control configuration of serial communication (SPI communication)]
First, a configuration for realizing SPI communication will be described. The basic configuration is as described with reference to FIGS. , the startup procedures such as initialization of various parameters at the start of SPI communication are also supplemented.

FIG. 335 is a block diagram of the configuration for performing SPI communication with the main control MPU 1311 of the gaming machine of this embodiment. In the game machine of this embodiment, the main control MPU 1311 constitutes a master for controlling communication, and various ICs arranged on the main control board 1310 constitute slaves. Specifically, the slaves are the serial/parallel conversion circuits (1342, 1343, 1346, 1349) and the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 . Note that some of the slaves may be arranged not on the main control board 1310 but on a relay board connected to the main control board 1310 .

In this embodiment, two types of communication are possible from the master (main control MPU 1311) by SPI transmission/reception (CHA) and SPI transmission (CHB). Communication by SPI transmission/reception (CHA) is performed with slaves 1-4. Communication by SPI transmission and reception (CHA) is basically communication for performing normal game control, inputting signals from various switches and sensors, controlling solenoids that open and close the big winning opening, and emitting various LEDs. A signal for control is output. On the other hand, communication by SPI transmission (CHB) is performed with respect to the slave 5 and is mainly used for communication for outputting test signals.

In communication by SPI transmission/reception (CHA), it is possible to start communication with all slaves (1 to 4) at the same time. At this time, communication is started with each slave in a predetermined order. In this case, the start of communication (“1”) is set in the enable settings of all slaves (SPENBAn; n corresponds to an individual slave). If no data is stored in the communication (transmission) buffer, the next slave communication is started without the corresponding slave communication.

It is also possible to specify slaves individually and start communication. By setting the start (“1”) and fixing the enable settings of the slaves 2 and 4 to (“0”), the communication of the slave 3 is started after the communication of the slave 1 is completed.

As described above, each slave is capable of inputting and outputting signals, and takes in input signals when outputting output signals. Further, each slave may be controlled by limiting (specifying) the function as output-only or input-only. is for input only. For this reason, an input-only slave is configured to receive an input signal while transmitting dummy data. A procedure for the master (main control MPU 1311) to take in the signal received from the slave will be described later.

Next, the SPI communication of this embodiment will be further described. As described above, in the SPI communication in the main control MPU 1311 of the gaming machine of this embodiment, there are two channels of SPI transmission/reception (CHA) and SPI transmission (CHB). The number of channels for SPI transmission/reception (CHA) is four. Also, the communication speed can be set for each channel, and a 16-byte transmission/reception buffer is provided for each channel. There are four types of SPI communication operation modes, which are common to each channel. The bit direction can be set to LSB first or MSB first, and can be set for each channel. LSB first starts communication with the least significant bit, and LSB first starts communication with the most significant bit. Also, SPI transmission (CHB) is dedicated to transmission and has one channel. Other settings are the same as those for SPI transmission/reception (CHA), but all reception-related settings are unused (fixed to "0"). Registers for setting operation modes and parameters will be described below with reference to FIGS. 336 and 337. FIG.

First, the operation mode of SPI communication will be described. FIG. 336 is a diagram for explaining the operation modes of SPI communication in the gaming machine of this embodiment. Four types of operation modes are defined for SPI communication, and as shown in FIG. It is specified by whether it is "at the time of rise" or whether the sampling timing is "at the time of fall" or "at the time of rise". The initial state of the clock is a state in which communication has not started, and 1-bit data is transmitted between the timing of data change and the timing of sampling. The operation mode is set according to the specifications of the slave (serial/parallel conversion circuit), and the master (main control MPU 1311) outputs a signal according to the set operation mode.

Next, the configuration of registers for setting parameters for controlling SPI communication in this embodiment will be described. Although the case of SPI transmission/reception (CHA) will be described here, the same applies to the case of SPI transmission (CHB). FIG. 337 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of various registers for setting SPI communication in the gaming machine of this embodiment. ) and (C) are prescaler registers (SPICPSA0, SPICPSA1, SPICPSA2, SPICPSA3).

The control register 1 shown in (A) consists of 8 bits and includes bit shift setting (SPBSFAn), operation mode (SPMODA) and initialization setting (SPRSTA). The bit shift setting (SPBSFAn) and operation mode (SPMODA) are set when the power is turned on (initialization), and the initialization setting (SPRSTA) is set when the power is turned on or when communication cannot be performed normally in each slave. If so, initialize all slaves. Note that when the initialization is executed, the bit shift setting (SPBSFAn) and the operation mode (SPMODA) are reset. As a result, even if an abnormality occurs in the SPI communication circuit, it is possible to recover from the abnormality at an early stage, and it is possible to prevent the progress of the game from being hindered.

The bit shift setting (SPBSFAn) specifies whether data is transmitted from the most significant bit (“0”: MSB first) or data is transmitted from the least significant bit (“1”: LSB first). The bit shift setting (SPBSFAn) can be specified for each slave, and in this embodiment, 4 bits corresponding to the number of slaves are assigned and can be set individually (bits 6 to 3). Specifically, bit 6 corresponds to slave 4 , bit 5 to slave 3 , bit 4 to slave 2 , and bit 3 to slave 1 .

The operation mode (SPMODA) designates one of the four operation modes described above, and is commonly set for each slave. Since there are four types of operation modes, a 2-bit area is allocated, and "00" is mode 1, "01" is mode 2, "10" is mode 2, and "11" is mode 4 ( bits 2,1).

The initialization setting (SPRSTA) has different functions for reading and writing, and is set in common for each slave. The initialization setting indicates that the initialization is completed when the set value is "0" at the time of reading, and indicates that the initialization is being performed when the set value is "1". On the other hand, when "1" is written in the initialization setting, control is performed so that SPI communication is initialized, and when "0" is written, control is continued without doing anything in particular. For example, when it is determined that communication cannot be performed normally, "1" is written in the initialization setting and initialization is executed. In addition, the communication circuit can be initialized by writing "1" to the initialization setting regardless of the communication state, such as whether or not communication is in progress. When the communication circuit is initialized, it is necessary to reset various parameters.

When reading the initialization setting (SPRSTA), it is possible to determine whether or not initialization is in progress. Initialization may be performed or communication may be initiated. The initialization time when the initialization setting (SPRSTA) is initialized (bit 0 is set to (“1”)) is shorter than the execution of one instruction. When the next instruction is executed later, the initialization is completed. Therefore, if the initialization setting (SPRSTA) is still being initialized ("1") after setting the initialization, it is possible that some kind of abnormality has occurred in the SPI communication circuit. Therefore, in that case, the main control MPU 1311 may be reset (reset by the watchdog timer) by forcibly shifting to game stop, abnormality notification, and power interruption processing. As a result, even if the SPI communication circuit becomes abnormal, it can be quickly restored.

It should be noted that since each slave is started in an initialized state when the power is turned on, there is no need to initialize it. On the other hand, at the time of reset due to watchdog timer reset, illegal opcode reset, out-of-area access reset, etc., the state before reset is maintained. Therefore, even if the program is started by any reset factor such as system reset, watchdog timer reset, illegal opcode reset, or out-of-area access reset, initialization is performed without initializing the SPI circuit. I'm trying to make an initial setting other than the setting. In addition, if a watchdog timer reset, illegal opcode reset, or out-of-area access reset occurs, it is possible that the game processing is not being executed normally, and that the SPI circuit settings may have been changed. . Therefore, when a program is started from a reset, after determining whether any of the watchdog timer reset, illegal opcode reset, or out-of-area access reset has occurred, watchdog timer reset, illegal opcode reset, If it is determined that it has been reset by any of the out-of-area access resets, the SPI circuit initialization setting (writing "1" to SPRSTA) is performed to improve the stability of the game control after the reset. It is possible to improve it and suppress as much as possible hindrance to the progress of the game.

The control register 2 (SPICNA1) shown in (B) consists of 8 bits and is set each time communication is started. The control register 2 contains the reception status (SPRVSAn) and enable (SPENBAn) of each slave. The reception status is set for each slave (bits 7 to 4), and "1" is set when there is reception data, and "0" is set when there is no reception data.

Enable is set for each slave, and has different functions for reading and writing (bits 3 to 0). At the time of reading, "1" is set if communication is in progress, and "0" is set if communication has ended. On the other hand, when "1" is written to enable, communication of the corresponding slave becomes possible and communication is started. By acquiring the enable value at the start of communication, it is possible to determine the communication state. If the value is "0" (end of communication), "1" is set to start communication, In the case of 1" (during communication), it is possible to perform control such as waiting until the end of communication.

The prescaler register shown in (C) consists of 16 bits and is provided for each slave. The prescaler register consists of a 5-bit transmit buffer status (bits 15-11) and a 10-bit baud rate setting (bits 9-0) (bit 10 is an unused bit).

The transmission buffer status stores the number of transmission data. If "00h", there is no transmission data, and if "01h" to "10h", the transmission data in the transmission buffer is 1 to 16 bytes. indicate. The transmit buffer status can also be used to check the number of remaining data in the transmit buffer. If the value of the transmission buffer status is "10h", all the data is stored in the transmission buffer (full state), so data writing is ignored. Whether communication is in progress or not can be determined by referring to the enable value of the corresponding slave in the control register 2 .

The baud rate setting corresponds to the communication speed at the time of communication, and is set once when the power is turned on. The set value can be set from "000h" to "3FFh", and in this embodiment, the actual baud rate can be calculated by system clock (20 Mhz)/(set value×4). If the set value is "000h", it is calculated as "001h". When the SPI communication is initialized (when "1" is set in the initialization setting of the control register 1), it is necessary to set again.

[21-2. Control when SPI communication starts]
Next, a description will be given of control from when the game machine is activated (initialized) until SPI communication can be started. FIG. 338 is a time chart showing the state after the gaming machine of this embodiment is initialized until SPI communication can be started.

In FIG. 338, at time a, the game machine is activated (initialized) by inputting a reset signal by turning on the power of the game machine. When the game machine is started (initialized), before the user program such as the initial setting process is executed (started), it is checked whether unauthorized devices have been installed or unauthorized modifications have been made. Perform security checks to inspect (Period A).

When the security check ends, the main control MPU 1311 executes an initial setting process, which is a user program (time b). The initial setting process includes processes unique to the model of the gaming machine, and executes processes necessary for enabling a game to start (period B).

The initialization process includes initialization of various parameters set in SPI communication. Specifically, control register 1 (SPICNA0, SPICNB0) shown in FIG. 337A is set (time c). In the control register 1, as described above, the bit shift setting of each slave and the operation mode common to each slave are set.

When setting the operation mode, the clock initial state is set according to the set operation mode. In the example shown in FIG. 338, the signal level of the clock terminal is set to "1" (High) when the power is turned on. ” (Low). Signal changes at the clock terminal in each mode are as shown in FIG. The bit shift setting is appropriately set according to the specifications of the slave. Since the SPI circuit is automatically initialized when the game machine is started, it is not necessary to initialize the SPI circuit (write "1" to SPRSTA) when setting the mode by the initialization process. As a result, there is no need to implement initialization processing in the user program, and the program capacity can be reduced and the load at the time of initialization can be reduced.

After that, when the initialization setting process ends (time d), the game process starts (period C). The start of the game process corresponds to the start of the main loop process (steps S36 to S40 in FIG. 22) in the initialization process (FIG. 21, etc.), enabling execution of the timer interrupt process. When timer interrupt processing is executed (time e), processing for SPI communication such as switch input processing is executed (time f).

In addition, the reset when the reset signal is not input from the reset terminal of the main control MPU 1311 (user reset, watchdog timer reset, illegal opcode reset, out-of-area access reset) Unless otherwise specified, these resets are In the case of "user reset"), the program starts immediately after the reset is released, and regardless of whether it is a system reset or a user reset, the settings related to SPI communication are performed by the same process. ing. As a result, the same SPI communication settings can be made without distinguishing between system reset and user reset, thereby reducing the program capacity and the load at the time of initialization.

Also, the period from reset cancellation to operation mode setting (period from time a to time c) is longer in the case of system reset than in the case of user reset. Since there is a high possibility that a restart due to power-on causes a security problem, various function checks of the main control MPU 1311 can be reliably completed by restarting after power-on.

[21-3. Control when sending output signal in SPI communication]
SPI communication is performed by various processes called from timer interrupt processing and initialization processing. For example, timer interrupt processing includes switch input processing for processing signals input from various switches and sensors via SPI communication, display LED output processing for outputting signals for lighting control of various LEDs via SPI communication, and external output processing. signal is output to the external output terminal by SPI communication, etc., when the game is stopped. Here, a procedure for outputting a signal through SPI communication in the game stop processing will be described. The gaming machine of this embodiment attempts to simplify the process for executing SPI communication while using the process call instruction such as the INVD instruction described above.

An outline of the procedure for transmitting a signal by SPI communication is to set data to be transmitted in a predetermined SPI communication buffer register and execute SPI 2-byte output processing (SPI_TX__WA) called by the INVD instruction described above. Here, the SPI communication processing of step P124 of the game stop processing (Fig. 330) is taken as a specific example, and the program code (Fig. 331) of the game stop processing and the program code (Fig. 324) of the SPI 2-byte output processing (SPI_TX__WA) are The procedure will be explained with reference to it.

As shown in the program code of FIG. 331, when the game stop time process is started, the main control MPU 1311 stores the game stop command in the transmission buffer, and executes the external output process (GAIB_OUT) for outputting the external output information. This is executed (step P123), and external output information to be output is set in the A register.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 loads (stores) the value stored in the A register in the W register (“LD W, A”), thereby setting the external output information set in the A register in the W register. Then, by setting the contents of the A register to "0" ("XOR A, A"), the solenoid signal output when the game is stopped is set to OFF.

Then, the address value of the SPI communication B buffer register (_SPIBFB0) is set in the E register, and the SPI 2-byte output process (SPI_TX__WA) called by the INVD instruction and the output port data setting process (PORT_DAT_SET) called from the SPI 2-byte output process (SPI_TX__WA) ), the external output information set in the WA register and each solenoid signal are set in the SPI communication B buffer register (_SPIBFB0) indicated by the E register, and output by SPI transmission (CHB). The contents of the SPI communication B buffer register (_SPIBFB0) will be described with reference to FIG.

The SPI communication B0 port corresponds to the parallel output port of address DA and is connected to the external terminal board 784 and various solenoids via the serial/parallel conversion circuit 1345 (FIG. 257). FIG. 339 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the SPI communication B buffer register in this embodiment. The SPI communication B buffer register is 16 bits, and consists of ports (PB0 to PB7) for external information output and ports (PA0 to PA7) for outputting data (driving signals) to solenoids each of 8 bits.

Signals output from the external information output port include security signals, ball pay-out signals, and the like. Various signals output from the external terminal board 784 are detected by the hall computer. The hall computer accumulates signals received from each gaming machine and monitors the game played by the player by grasping the number of game media paid out by the gaming machine, game information, and the like.

339, the output port PA1 corresponds to the solenoid 1, the output port PA2 corresponds to the solenoid 2, and the output port PA3 corresponds to the solenoid 3. As shown in FIG. Other ports are not used in this embodiment, and the number of output ports increases or decreases depending on the model. The solenoid includes a solenoid for opening and closing the big prize winning opening, etc. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. The second big prize-winning port 2006 is composed of two big prize-winning ports, a second upper big prize-winning port 2006a and a second lower big prize-winning port 2006b, which are arranged in one channel through which game balls circulate. These ports are output destinations for solenoid drive signals.

Also, each solenoid is associated (connected) with one output port, but may be configured with a plurality of bit outputs (for example, 2-bit output). For example, the output ports PA0 and PA1 are solenoids for opening and closing the first big prize opening 2005, the output ports PA2 and PA3 are solenoids for opening and closing the second upper big prize opening 2006a, and the output ports PA4 and PA5 are the second upper big prize opening 2006b. may be configured to correspond to (connect to) a solenoid that opens and closes the . In this way, by bundling a plurality of output ports (output terminals) and outputting a driving current to be connected to one solenoid, it is possible to prevent the driving current from becoming insufficient and to reliably drive the solenoid. On the other hand, when the drive signal is output from one output port (output terminal), the drive signal may be amplified by an amplifier circuit arranged on the main control board 1310 or the relay board.

Returning to the explanation of the program code of the processing at the time of game stop in FIG. (SPI_TX__WA) is called by the INVD instruction to initiate SPI communication. SPI 2-byte output processing (SPI_TX__WA) is called in each processing of game stop processing (Play_Stop), setting display processing (SET_DISPLAY), output data setting processing (PORT_SET), LED_DISPLAY (display LED output processing). This is a process called when communication (SPI communication) is executed.

Next, details of the SPI 2-byte output process (SPI_TX__WA) will be described with reference to FIG. When the SPI 2-byte output process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first outputs the contents of the W register to the SPI communication B buffer set in the E register (“OUT (E), W”). As described above, the W register stores the port output value created in the external output process (step P123) of the game stop process. Further, it loads the contents of the A register into the W register ("LD W, A") and outputs the contents of the W register to the SPI communication B buffer ("OUT (E), W"). By the above processing, the data for the solenoid (driving signal) can be set after the data for external information output is set.

Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 sets definition information for performing SPI communication (“LDT HL, SPI_COMTX_B-_OFS_TP”). SPI_COMTX_B is a table defining setting data for output by SPI communication (SPI common output setting data), and _OFS_TP is an initial value address of an area in which various tables are defined. The SPI common output setting data will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 340 is a diagram showing an example of SPI common output setting data (SPI_COMTX_B) according to this embodiment. In the SPI common output setting data (SPI_COMTX_B), the number of data settings is defined first, and then it is defined that communication is possible for SPI transmission/reception (CHA) and SPI transmission (CHB).

The number of data settings is the number of records defined in the table, and data for a total of two records is defined: setting data for SPI communication by SPI transmission/reception (CHA) and setting data for SPI communication by SPI transmission (CHB). Therefore, the actual number of data settings is 2. In order to flexibly correspond to the table structure (increase or decrease in the number of records in the table), the number of data settings is configured to be calculated based on information such as the end address of the table.

SPI communication is initiated by writing the SPI communication enable bit to the SPI communication control register. Setting data for SPI transmission/reception (CHA) and SPI transmission (CHB) are defined in the SPI common output setting data (SPI_COMTX_B). Each setting data defines the setting address of the SPI communication control register 1 and the setting value of the SPI communication enable bit. Specifically, for SPI transmission/reception (CHA), the set address (_SPICNA1) of SPI communication A control register 1 and the set value (_SPI_SPENBA_PB) of the SPI communication A enable bit, and for SPI transmission (CHB), SPI communication B control The set address (_SPICNB1) of the register 1 and the set value (_SPI_SPENBB_PB) of the SPI communication B enable bit. _SPI_SPENBA_PB is set with communication start information for slaves that execute communication in SPI transmission/reception (CHA). Since the lower 4 bits corresponding to slave 4 are "1", "0FH" ("00001111B") is set. Note that _SPI_SPENBB_PB is set with communication start information for a slave that executes communication in SPI transmission (CHB).

Here, since the slave 4 is used as an input, it is not necessary to start communication with the slave 4 at the output timing. However, even if the enable signal of the slave 4 is set to start communication, the buffer of the slave 4 does not have data for communication, and as a result, the communication of the slave 4 is not started. The reason why the enable signal of the slave that does not need to start communication is set to start communication is that the table can be used in common during SPI communication. By doing this, it becomes possible to execute the setting at the time of starting the SPI communication and to execute it with one table, and it is possible to reduce the capacity of the program (data). It should be noted that, instead of allowing all slaves to communicate, the table may be configured separately so that only slaves that require communication are enabled. By doing so, although the program (data) capacity increases, it is possible to avoid erroneous communication in a slave that does not originally need to communicate.

After that, the main control MPU 1311 starts SPI communication by executing the output port data setting process (PORT_DAT_SET) by the INVD command (“INVD_PORT_DAT_SET”). Further description will be made with reference to the program code shown in FIG.

First, the main control MPU 1311 stores the data setting number in the B register (“LD B, (HL+)”). The HL register stores a table "SPI_COMTX_B" (Fig. 340) containing SPI communication definition information in the SPI 2-byte output process that calls the output port data setting process. will be stored in the B register.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 starts SPI communication for SPI transmission/reception (CHA). Specifically, the address corresponding to the SPI communication A control register is set in the W register (“LD W, (HL+)”), and the set value of the SPI communication A enable bit is set in the A register (“LD A, (HL+)"). Thereafter, by setting the SPI communication A enable bit in the SPI communication A control register, SPI communication by SPI transmission/reception (CHA) is started (“OUT (W), A”). Furthermore, it is determined whether or not the loop for the number of data settings has been completed (“DJNZ P?ORTDAT_SET_1”), but since SPI communication by SPI transmission (CHB) has not started, communication by SPI transmission/reception (CHA) is not started. Similarly, after setting the SPI communication B enable bit in the SPI communication B control register, the output port data setting process ends.

In the processing of "LD B, (HL+)", the data of the address indicated by the HL register is loaded into the B register and then the value of the HL register is incremented by +1. This eliminates the need to execute a process (INC HL) that increments the HL register by 1 when successively reading out the data at the address indicated by the HL register, making it possible to compress the program capacity.

When the SPI communication process of step P124 ends, the main control MPU 1311 sets game stop data for stopping the game (step P125). Further, an output port data setting process (PORT_DAT_SET) for setting the set game stop data to the output port is executed (step P126). Finally, performance display monitor processing for displaying various information about the game on the performance display monitor is executed (step P127), and the processing of the calling source (timer interrupt processing) is returned to.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, in order to execute SPI communication, the INVD instruction calls SPI 2-byte output processing (SPI_TX__WA) and output port data setting processing (PORT_DAT_SET). It is possible to reduce the overhead for executing and speed up processing.

[21-4. Control when receiving an input signal in SPI communication]
Next, the configuration and procedure for receiving signals from various sensors and switches in SPI communication will be described. First, a configuration for receiving an input signal by SPI communication will be described. Note that the slave that receives the input signal corresponds to the slave 4 in the block diagram shown in FIG. As shown in the main board mounting diagram of FIG. 334, the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 is actually composed of three ICs (1341a to 1341c).

[21-4-1. Configuration for receiving an input signal by SPI communication]
FIG. 341 is a circuit diagram centering on the configuration for receiving signals by SPI communication in the gaming machine of this embodiment. The parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 receives signals from each switch and sensor via each connector at Q/D1 to 8 terminals. Also, the clock signal output from the SPICK terminal of the main control MPU 1311 serving as the master is received from the CK terminal. In addition, the signal output from SPITX of the main control MPU 1311 is not taken in, and the data "0" is output from SPITX, so that a LOW level signal is input to the CLR/LOAD terminal, Q/D8 to A signal connected to the Q/D1 terminal is input to the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 . The specific timing for fetching data is based on the operation mode and is as described with reference to FIG. 336 and the like.

The parallel signal input to the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314 is converted to a serial signal and input to the SPIRX terminal of the main control MPU 1311 . The signals input to each parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314 are output sequentially (for example, in the order of parallel/serial conversion circuits 1314c, 1314b, and 1314a). The parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314a outputs the converted signal from the Q8' terminal and inputs it to the SI terminal of the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314b. The parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314b outputs the signals input to the Q/D1 to 8 terminals from the Q8' terminal, and then outputs the signal input to the SI terminal from the Q8' terminal. The signal output from the Q8' terminal of the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314b is input to the SI terminal of the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314c. The parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314c outputs the signals input to the Q/D1 to 8 terminals from the Q8C terminal, and then outputs the signal input to the SI terminal from the Q8C terminal. A signal output from the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314 c is input to the SPIRX terminal of the main control MPU 1311 .

Next, signals input from various switches and sensors for each parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 (1341a to 1341c) will be described. In this embodiment, each parallel/serial conversion circuit (1341a to 1341c) is the same hardware.

The parallel-to-serial conversion circuit 1314a receives, via the connector 13101, signals output from the normal winning opening switches 1-3 and the big winning opening switches 1-3. Further, the input of the signal outputted from the starter switch 2 through the connector 13107 and the signal outputted from the starter switch 1 through the connector 13108 is accepted. A signal input from each switch passes through an interface (IF) circuit 13105a before being input to a parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314a.

The interface circuit 13105a can detect disconnection, short circuit, power failure, and the like in the input signal. When an abnormality is detected, an error signal is output from the E terminal. Interface circuit 13105a also receives an input of a signal detected by the proximity sensor. The proximity sensor outputs a voltage of about 9 V when the sensor does not pass (when not detecting), and outputs a voltage of about 0.8 V when the sensor passes. Therefore, inside the interface circuit 13105a, when the input signal is 0V, it is determined as disconnection, and when it is 12V, it is determined as short circuit. Since the E terminal of the interface circuit 13105a and the E terminal of the interface circuit 13105b (described later) are directly connected by a wiring pattern, it seems impossible to determine whether the interface circuit 13105a has an abnormality or the interface circuit 13105b has an abnormality. It has become. This is because even when an abnormality occurs in any of the sensors, the progress of the game is hindered, so there is no need to detect the abnormality individually. The abnormality may be detected individually for each interface circuit by connecting the E terminal of each interface circuit. The error signal is input to the main control MPU 1311 from the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341 in the same manner as other input signals. If it is judged as an error, a command is sent to the peripheral control board to notify the switch abnormality, and the switch abnormality occurs in the lamp (LED), sound, liquid crystal display device, etc. It is designed to notify you of what you have done.

The parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314b receives signals output from the OUT switch and the safe switch via the connector 13104, and receives signals output from the starting switch 3 via the connector 13106. Further, through the connector 13101, inputs of signals output from the general purpose input, the outlet switch, the specific area switch, the interlocking operation gate switch, and the general map gate switch are accepted. A signal input from each switch passes through an interface (IF) circuit 13105b before being input to a parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314b. The interface circuit 13105b has the same function as the interface circuit 13105a, and receives the input of the signal detected by the proximity sensor. As described above, the wiring from the E terminal of the interface circuit 13105b is connected to the E terminal of the interface circuit 13105a, and input to the main control MPU 1311 via the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314c.

The parallel-to-serial conversion circuit 1314c receives input of signals output from the vibration detection sensor, the magnetic detection switch, the specific area fraud prevention switch, and the starting port fraud prevention switches 1-3 via the connector 13101. FIG. Further, the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314c receives an error signal (SW-E) input from the E terminals of the interface circuits 13105a and 13105b. The specific area tampering prevention switch and the starting port tampering prevention switches 1 to 3 are photo-type sensors that output a voltage of 12 V when the sensor does not pass (when not detected) and outputs a voltage of 0 V when the sensor passes. Also, the vibration detection sensor and the magnetism detection switch are not photo-type sensors, but similarly, they output a voltage of 12 V when no vibration or magnetic anomaly is detected (at the time of non-detection). is detected (during detection), a voltage of 0V is output. The voltages at the time of detection and at the time of non-detection may be reversed, and a voltage of 0V may be output at the time of non-detection and a voltage of 12V may be output at the time of detection. Unlike the proximity sensor, the ON/OFF voltage is different, so the transistor 13109 converts the voltage to 5V and outputs the signal without using the interface circuit. The transistor 13109 used at this time has a removal circuit (resistor) built in the input stage of the transistor for preventing erroneous detection due to noise or the like when a signal is input.

A pull-up resistor 13109 b is connected between the interface circuit 13105 and the transistor 13109 and the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314 . Besides the pull-up resistor 13109b, a capacitor 13109c is connected between GND and the signal line for noise removal. Furthermore, a pull-up resistor 13109d is connected between the connector 13101 and the interface circuit 13105 and the transistor 13109a. While these pull-up resistors (13109b, 13109d), capacitor 13109c, interface circuit 13105 and transistor 13109a are arranged relatively near the connector 13101, the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314 need not be arranged near the connector 13101. . That is, the electronic components arranged near the connector 13101 are specific circuits (pull-up resistors (13109b, 13109d), capacitors 13109c, An interface circuit 13105 and a transistor 13109a). This is because the output from the interface circuit 13105 and the transistor 13109a has a high drive capability and is less susceptible to noise even if the distance from the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314 is large. Further, when a signal is received from the outside of the main control board 1310, the routing of wiring patterns within the board may affect the wiring patterns of other signals. Electronic parts such as the connected pull-up resistors (13109b, 13109d) and capacitor 13109c must be arranged near the connector.

[21-4-2. Procedure for receiving an input signal by SPI communication (switch input processing)]
Next, a procedure for inputting data input from various switches provided in the gaming machine to the main control MPU 1311 through serial communication (SPI communication) will be described. Specifically, switch input processing of step S74 in the timer interrupt processing of FIG. 23 will be described. As for the switch input processing, FIG. 288 describes the processing of detecting the winning of a game ball such as a starting hole and storing the switch edge information in the prize ball determination area. A procedure for receiving input signals from various sensors and inputting the signals to the main control MPU 1311 by SPI communication will be described.

FIG. 342 is a flow chart showing an example of a switch input process procedure for acquiring information detected by a sensor or the like provided in the gaming machine of this embodiment. FIG. 343 is a diagram showing an example of program code for switch input processing according to this embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. Details of the switch input processing will be described below with reference to FIGS. 342 and 343, showing procedures for receiving signals input to the main control MPU 1311 through SPI communication. As described above, in this embodiment, an input signal is received using the third channel (slave 4, A3 channel) of SPI transmission/reception (CHA). When describing the processing of the program, "slave 4" will be described as "A3 channel".

When the switch input process is started, the main control MPU 1311 sets transmission dummy data (8 bytes) in the A3 channel communication buffer (_SPIBFA3) (step P6001). Specifically, first, the head address of the SPI input setting data (see FIG. 344) is set in the HL register. At this time, by setting the value obtained by adding the test pointer address (fixed to 9000H; rewritable by the program) + the value of the second operand to the HL register using the LDT instruction, a 3-byte word length instruction (LD HL , SPI_SWRX_B), the word length can be set to 2 bytes, and the capacity of the program can be reduced. The value of the second operand is the difference value from the first data address of the data to be set. By adding the value of the second operand to the value indicated by the test pointer, the first data address of the data to be set is the HL register (first operand ). As described above, in this embodiment, when an input signal is received from the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1314 (slave 4), the input signal is controlled every time dummy data is transmitted. The dummy data set at the time of data reception is defined in the setting data at the time of SPI input. Hereinafter, the contents of the setting data at the time of SPI input will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 344 is a program code example of setting data (SPI input setting data; SPI_SWRX_B) when starting to receive an input signal through SPI communication according to the present embodiment. In the SPI input setting data, data indicating the number of data settings is defined at the top, followed by the address of a transmission (communication) buffer and the transmission data (dummy data) stored in the transmission buffer. In the example shown in FIG. 344, dummy data is set in the transmission (communication) buffer (SPIBFA3) for the A3 channel. At this time, the transmission data of the 1st and 5th bytes are used as input signal load data (latch data; LOAD signal for SPI reception (_SPI_LOAD_SIG=FEH)), and the others (2nd to 4th and 6th to 8th bytes) is dummy data (SPI general-purpose reception signal (SPI_COMM_SIG=FFH)). This is because the input port of the switch is allocated for 3 bytes and the same amount of transmission data is required. One set consists of a total of 4 bytes of data, ie, 1 byte of load signal and 3 bytes of dummy data. In this embodiment, the 8th bit of the load data is set to "0". may be set to "0". Also, instead of outputting the load signal through serial communication, the load signal may be output from the input/output port.

In the case of a configuration that transmits load data via serial communication, the wiring pattern for outputting the load signal, the configuration for noise elimination, and the placement of the input/output port are more difficult than when outputting the load signal from the input/output port. Ware (circuit) costs and software costs such as program processing for turning ON/OFF the load signal can be reduced. On the other hand, when the load signal is output from the input/output port, there is no need to send the load data, and there is no need to discard the data captured at the timing of the load data without sending the load data. Processing can be simplified. When outputting data by SPI communication, the SPITX signal may output data of "0" (low level signal). However, since the transmission buffer for the A3 channel is empty, the SPI communication on the A3 channel will not start. The signal is updated when the load signal is output in the input process, and is consequently discarded.

In the SPI communication of this embodiment, in order to prevent the game from progressing with erroneous data due to the influence of noise, etc., the signal input from the switch or the like is read twice, and normal communication is performed when they match. The accuracy of communication is improved by determining that the In the gaming machine of this embodiment, two sets of 4-byte data (a total of 8 bytes) consisting of a 1-byte load signal and 3-byte dummy transmission data are transmitted, and the two sets of received data are compared. to determine whether communication was successful. Since the 1st and 5th bytes of the transmission data are used as load signals, they are not taken in as input signals at the time of transmission, and the input data becomes invalid data. In addition, when the 2nd byte and the 6th byte, the 3rd byte and the 7th byte, and the 4th byte and the 8th byte of the transmission data correspond to each other, communication is performed when the corresponding input signals match. (Read twice) Edge data is created as a success, and the game is controlled.

When the SPI input setting data is set in the HL register, the main control MPU 1311 executes the output port data setting process (PORT_DAT_SET) by the INVD command. As a result, the 8-byte transmission data defined in the SPI input setting data is set in the communication buffer for the A3 channel. , the 8-byte dummy data stored in the communication buffer (_SPIBFA3) of the A3 channel is transmitted.

In addition, when starting communication limited to a specific slave, such as only communicating with the slave 4 for input, individual processing and setting data are required. By configuring, it becomes possible to achieve commonality of processing and data.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 sets the monitoring time until SPI communication is completed (step P6002). If the communication is not completed by the set start time, it is determined that the communication has failed.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not communication is in progress (communication is continuing) (step P6003). Specifically, first, the value set in the SPI transmission/reception (CHA) control register 2 (SPICNA1; SPI communication A control register 1; see FIG. 339(B)) is stored in the A register. Then, referring to the enable bit from the value stored in the A register, it is determined whether or not communication is in progress. If communication is in progress (result of step P6003 is "YES"), it waits until communication is completed or the monitoring time elapses (step S6004).

The main control MPU 1311 initializes the communication circuit (step P6005) when the monitoring time has passed while the A3 channel is in communication (result of step P6004 is "YES"). Further, instead of the input data, communication error data is set in a predetermined register (step P6006). After that, by executing the processing after step P6008, control is performed so that the edge data in which the signal changes from OFF to ON (the switch is not determined to be ON) is not created.

Here, the initialization setting in step P6005 will be described. FIG. 345 is an example of program code of setting data (SPI restart setting data; SPI_RESTART_B) when initializing the communication circuit for SPI communication of this embodiment. In the SPI restart setting data, data indicating the number of data settings is defined at the top, followed by setting data for initializing the communication circuit. First, by setting "00000001B" in the control register 1 (SPICNA0) for SPI transmission/reception (CHA), SPRSTA is set to "1" and the communication circuit is initialized. The setting values of the control register 1 for SPI transmission/reception (CHA) are as described with reference to FIG. Further, the bit shift setting of slave 1, slave 3, and slave 4 is set to "1" (LSB first), and the operation mode is set to "0" (mode 0). In addition, the baudlets of slave 1 (_SPIPSA0), slave 2 (_SPIPSA1) and slave 4 (_SPIPSA3) are set. Since the slave 3 (A2 channel) is unused, it is not set.

The "communication error data" set in step P6006 is set to "FFH" (when the input signal is (same value as the value of ). In this embodiment, when all the signals are Low, it is judged to be ON. Therefore, the communication abnormality data is the same "FFH" so that all the signals are High. Therefore, for example, if it is determined that the input signal is ON when the input signal is High, the communication error data to be set is "00H" instead of "FFH".

On the other hand, when the main control MPU 1311 is not in communication (when the communication of dummy data is completed) (the result of step P6003 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 receives the input data from the SPI communication A3 buffer register along with the transmission of the dummy data. It is fetched as input data and set in a predetermined register (step P6007). Describing the processing of step P6007 in detail, as described above, data is fetched from the SPI communication A3 buffer register for 8 bytes ((load data + dummy data x 3) x 2 times = 8 bytes). do First, the 1st byte data is fetched, but the fetched data is discarded due to invalid data fetched with the transmission of the load data, and the 2nd byte fetched data and the 3rd byte data are stored in the pair registers (2 It is temporarily stored in the WA register, which can be used as a byte register, and then transferred to the BC register. Furthermore, the data of the 4th to 6th bytes are fetched. As described above, the 5th byte data is discarded because it is invalid data taken in with the transmission of the load data, the 4th byte data and the 6th byte data are temporarily stored in the WA register, respectively, and then Move to DE register. Finally, the fetched data of the 7th byte and the data of the 8th byte are respectively stored in the WA registers.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 creates edge data from the input data stored in the predetermined register (step P6008). In the processing of step P6008, edge data is created based on the data captured in each register, regardless of whether or not communication has been completed normally. This is because when a communication error occurs, "communication error data" is set in a predetermined register in the processing of step P6006, so edge data for capturing input data (changes from OFF to ON) is not created. . As a result, even if communication is abnormal, edge data can be created by the same processing as when communication is normal, and the control structure of the program can be simplified.

Specifically, the processing of step P6008 will be described first. First, the values of the W register and the D register are exchanged, and the head address of the SPI switch input information data is set in the HL register. In this embodiment, three types of SPI switch input information data 1, SPI switch input information data 2, and SPI switch input information data 3 are defined, and the specific configuration is shown in FIG.

FIG. 346 is a diagram for explaining an example of SPI switch input information data according to this embodiment. The SPI switch input information data is composed of adjustment data, mask data and level area address.

The adjustment data is defined by a 1-byte bit string, and is data for adjusting input data. The adjustment data is for setting the value to 1 when the received input signal is ON. In FIG. 346, since the adjustment data is "00h", when the fetched value is "1", it is turned ON and the level data of the switch becomes "1". On the other hand, when it is "0", the level data of the switch becomes "0" as OFF.

The mask data, like the adjustment data, is defined by a 1-byte bit string, and is data for specifying data to be compared as needed. By constructing the mask data with bits used as input signals being "1" and bits not being used being "0", even if unused input bits are erroneously ON ("1"), the mask data will turn them OFF. It can be set to (“0”).

The level area address is the address of the area that stores the level data created from the input data. Since the edge data is stored after the level data is stored, the area for storing the edge data is set to be an area continuous with the area for storing the level data. is not set for the address that stores the Also, areas for storing level data and edge data have the same configuration. If the area for storing the level data and the area for storing the edge data are not stored in a continuous area, the area for storing the edge data may be set (held). In this case, if the high-order bytes of the address of the area that stores the level data and the area that stores the edge data are fixed (common), setting only the low-order byte of the address is better than holding the address of each area as it is. Data capacity can be reduced.

FIG. 347 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of areas for storing level data and edge data according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 347, the level area address of the SPI switch input information data 1 is "0006h", the first bit (BIT0) is the start SW (switch) 1, the second bit (BIT1) is the start SW2, 3 Bit 2 (BIT2) is big prize opening SW1, 4th bit (BIT3) is big prize opening SW2, 5th bit (BIT4) is big prize opening SW3, 6th bit (BIT5) is normal prize opening SW1, 7th bit (BIT6) is a normal prize winning opening SW2, and the 8th bit (BIT7) is a normal winning prize opening SW3. The area (edge area address) for storing the edge data corresponding to the SPI switch input information data 1 is "0007h", which is continuous with the area for storing the level data. With this configuration, there is no need to define the edge data storage area again, so the capacity of the program and data can be reduced. processing efficiency can be improved while simplifying the

Here, the description returns to the processing of step P6008 in FIG. 342 (FIG. 343). After setting the SPI switch input information data in the HL register, the input data is checked, and SPI double reading processing (TWICE_SPI) for creating level data and edge data is executed. Details of the SPI double read processing (TWICE_SPI) will be described with reference to FIGS. 348 and 349. FIG.

FIG. 348 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of SPI double read processing (TWICE_SPI) according to this embodiment. FIG. 349 is a diagram showing an example of the program code of the SPI double reading process (TWICE_SPI) of this embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG.

When the SPI read twice process is started, the main control MPU 1311 saves the value of the DE register to the stack area since the DE register may be used in subsequent processes (step P6101). Next, the level area address is specified from the address of the SPI switch input information data stored in the HL register storing the level data, and stored in the index register (step P6102). After level data and edge data are generated by level/edge data generation processing (MAKE_LEV_EDG), which will be described later, the data generated based on the address stored in the index register is stored. Also, after the processing of step P6102, the value of the HL register is subtracted and adjusted for subsequent processing. The level/edge data creation process (MAKE_LEV_EDG) is called to create edge data for a general-purpose IO switch (input signal from a parallel port) that does not rely on SPI communication as well as input via SPI communication. At this time, since the switch input information data for inputting the signal from the general-purpose IO switch is larger than that for SPI communication, the address of the switch input information data is adjusted by subtracting the value of the HL register (“DEC HL”). are doing. Data not included in the switch input information data for SPI communication is, for example, the number of times data is read and the address of the input port.

The main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the input data read twice match (whether the data to be compared match) (step S6103). Data to be compared are stored in the W register and the A register, and are compared by the CP instruction. As described above, immediately after the input data is fetched from the communication buffer, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th fetched input data are stored in the B, C, D, E, W and A registers (predetermined ), but since the values of the W and D registers are exchanged before executing the first SPI double read processing, the fourth and eighth data are stored in will be compared. After that, when the SPI read twice process is executed, the data to be compared is changed by exchanging the value of the register that stores the data to be compared in the caller process (switch input process) as necessary. It is possible to execute processing without being conscious of the byte number of the data, and the SPI double reading processing (TWICE_SPI) can be highly versatile processing.

If the input data read twice do not match (the result of step P6103 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 stores "00H" as edge data in the edge data area (step P6105). Furthermore, the saved DE register is returned from the stack area (step P6106), and this processing ends.

The main control MPU 1311 executes level/edge data creation processing (MAKE_LEV_EDG) by an INVS command (step P6104) when the input data read twice matches (result of step P6103 is "YES"). Create level data and edge data corresponding to the input data. The level/edge data creation processing will be described with reference to FIGS. 350 and 351. FIG.

FIG. 350 is a flow chart showing the procedure of level/edge data generation processing according to the present embodiment. FIG. 351 is a diagram showing an example of a program code for level/edge data generation processing according to the present embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG.

The main control MPU 1311 first creates level data from the input data based on the adjustment data and mask data contained in the switch input information table (step P6201). Specifically, the value of each bit of the input data stored in the A register is adjusted based on the adjustment data so that the value of each bit becomes "1" when the input signal is ON and "0" when it is OFF. . Furthermore, level data is created so that bits other than the bits used as input signals are not set to ON (“1”) by the mask data. Furthermore, the calculated level data is saved in the E register.

The main control MPU 1311 calculates the level data and the XOR value (intermediate data) at the time of the previous interruption (step P6203). This sets a 1 only for ON or OFF edges. Next, the main control MPU 1311 stores (updates) the current level data in the level data area (address stored in the index register) (step P6204). Further, the AND value of the intermediate data (the value of the A register) and the level data created by this interrupt is calculated to create edge data (step P6205). At this time, "1" is stored if it is an ON edge, and 0 is stored otherwise. Finally, the main control MPU 1311 stores the edge data stored in the A register in the edge data area (area contiguous to the level data area) (step P6206).

After creating the level data and edge data, the main control MPU 1311 returns the saved DE register from the stack area (step P6106), and ends this process.

Here, returning to the switch input processing of FIG. 342 (FIG. 343), the processing after step P6008 will be described. When the level data and edge data of the first input data are created and stored, the main control MPU 1311 exchanges the values of the C and E registers and stores the value of the DE register in the WA register. By exchanging the values of the C and E registers, the DE register stores the seventh input data and the third input data, which are stored in the WA register. The level data and the edge data of the input data are created by comparing the input data that is taken in seventh and the input data that is taken in third. Subsequent processing is the same as the first procedure for processing the fourth input data and the eighth input data. In addition, the 2nd and 6th input data are stored in the BC address, which are stored in the WA register and processed in the same way to process 3 bytes of input data. completed, and the acquisition of the signal input from the serial port is completed.

After that, the main control MPU 1311 takes in the data input from the parallel port and calls the level/edge data creation process (MAKE_LEV_EDG) with the INVS command to create the edge data of the input signal taken in at the parallel port (step P6009). End this process.

[21-4-3. Procedure for receiving an input signal by SPI communication (time chart)]
The procedure for receiving an input signal through SPI communication in the gaming machine of the present embodiment has been described above with reference to the flowchart and program code. Next, the process of receiving an input signal through SPI communication will be described in chronological order with reference to the time charts of FIGS.

FIG. 352 is a time chart showing, in chronological order, the process from the start of the switch input process of this embodiment to the completion of data transmission by SPI communication. FIG. 353 is a time chart showing, in chronological order, the process from the completion of data transmission by SPI communication to the start of switch input processing by the next timer interrupt in the switch input processing of this embodiment.

When a timer interrupt occurs, timer interrupt processing shown in FIG. 23 is executed. The timer interrupt interval (CTC setting) is set when the main control MPU 1311 is initialized, as described above, and can be set not only to arbitrary values such as "0000h" to "FFFFh", but also to fixed values (1ms, 2 ms, 4 ms, 1,489 ms). CTC can be set to any fixed value. Of the fixed values, the first setting, second setting, and third setting are set so as to have a multiple relationship, and the fourth setting is set to the first to third setting values. It has a function that allows settings that are not related to multiples of 3 settings. In this embodiment, a timer interrupt is generated every 4 ms by setting the third set value. Any of the first, second, and fourth set values may be used to generate a timer interrupt without being limited to the third set value. , output signal output, timing update reference time, random number update cycle, etc.), the value is set to be an appropriate value as the specifications of the gaming machine. In particular, sampling of input signals is important, and the period of timer interruption is set in correspondence with the pulse width of the ON signal output when the switch detects the passage of the game ball. When the switch detects the passage of the game ball, the pulse width changes according to the falling speed, and the faster the falling speed, the shorter the pulse width. Therefore, the shorter the pulse width (the faster the falling speed), the shorter the sampling period. If the sampling period is too short, the processing cannot be completed in one timer interrupt period. Therefore, the timer interrupt period is set according to the amount of processing and the shortest pulse width from the switch.

When the switch input process is started, first, 8 bytes of dummy transmission data are set in the communication buffer (SPIBFA3) for the A3 channel according to the SPI input setting data (SPI_SWRX_B; FIG. 344) (step P6001). . As described above, the transmission data consists of the latch load signal (“FEH”; _SPI_LOAD_SIG) in the 1st and 5th bytes, and the dummy data (“FFH”; _SPI_COMM_SIG) in the 2nd to 4th bytes and the 6th to 8th bytes. ) is set. Note that the dummy data value is not limited to "FFH" and may be any value.

At the start of SPI communication, the enable terminal (SPENBA3) is updated from OFF (“0”) to ON (“1”), and a clock signal is output from the clock terminal (SPICK) at predetermined intervals. A load signal is output from the transmission terminal (SPITX) of the main control MPU 1311 . At this time, since there is no input data corresponding to the load signal and it is ignored by the receiving side, the state of the receiving terminal (SPIRX) is undefined.

When the load signal is received, it changes from ON (“1”) to OFF (“0”) at the eighth clock signal. The input signal for bytes is latched by the parallel-serial conversion circuit 1341, and the main control MPU 1311 sequentially receives the input data from the parallel-serial conversion circuit 1341 as a serial signal from the reception terminal SPIRX. Specifically, the first byte of input data is received from the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341c when the second byte of the transmission data is transmitted. Subsequently, when the 3rd byte of the transmission data is transmitted, the 2nd byte of the input data is received from the parallel/serial conversion circuit 1341b. Receive the input data of the byte. Subsequently, data for double reading (checking) (second time) is received. As in the first data reception, the load signal is output first, and after the 3-byte input signal is latched again in the parallel-serial conversion circuit 1341, the input data of the 4th to 6th bytes is converted to the 6th to 8th bytes. The data is sequentially received from the reception terminal (SPIRX) in accordance with the transmission timing of the second transmission data, and then the data transmission is terminated. At this time, the reception status of the A3 channel is set to "received" ("1"), and the enable (SPENBA3) of the slave 4 of the CHA control register 2 (SPICNA1) changes from communicating ("1") to end of communication ("1"). "0").

When receiving the next data, the main control MPU 1311 confirms that the SPI communication A enable bit (_SPI_SPENBA_PB) has become the communication end (“0”), and starts reading input data from the communication buffer (SPIBFA3). (from step P6007). At this time, a monitoring time is set, and if it cannot be confirmed that communication has ended within the monitoring time, the SPI communication circuit is initialized (steps P6002 to P6005). The contents of the communication buffer are cleared in order each time the data is read out, and the buffer becomes empty when all the data are read out. After that, until the next timer interrupt process is started, the setting of dummy data to the communication buffer and the reception of input data are repeated. When the next timer interrupt process is started, switch input process is executed from the beginning.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the serial communication (SPI communication) makes it possible to reduce data wiring on the main control board 1310, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in board design. Also, by adopting SPI communication, the number of wirings is increased compared to I2C communication, but the communication speed can be increased.

In this embodiment, the slaves (parallel-serial conversion circuit 1341, serial-parallel conversion circuit 1342, etc.) controlled by the master (main control MPU 1311) are dedicated to reception (input) or transmission (output), thereby managing electronic components. can be facilitated, and the degree of freedom in arranging the electronic components can be increased. This makes it possible to shorten the wiring distance between electronic components, making it easier to separate the wiring that outputs the clock signal from the wiring that transmits and receives data, thereby eliminating the effects of noise and stabilizing communication. can.

Further, the main control MPU 1311 enables synchronous serial communication and asynchronous serial communication as serial communication, and has a plurality of channels for synchronous serial communication and asynchronous serial communication. The communication format of asynchronous serial communication is 8 bits. In asynchronous serial communication, each channel is fixed for either reception or transmission, and each channel is provided with storage means (communication buffer) capable of storing communication data. Multiple types of communication buffer capacities can be defined. For example, among the communication buffers, the one with the maximum size (for example, 512 bytes) is used for command transmission to the peripheral control board 1510, which has a large amount of data to be transmitted. do. On the other hand, a small size (for example, 128 bytes) may be used for command transmission to the payout control board, and a general-purpose buffer may be prepared. By performing asynchronous communication, data transmission and reception can be performed in parallel with other processing, and the efficiency of the entire processing can be improved.

[22. switch-related control]
The serial communication function (SPI communication) for inputting/outputting signals to/from the main control board 1310 in the gaming machine of the present embodiment has been described above. A signal is input to the main control board 1310 by a switch, a sensor, or the like for detecting winning of a game ball, as described above. The input data (signal) is taken in by switch input processing (step P102) in timer interrupt processing (FIG. 329). Further, if the game is ready to play, various processes based on the input signal are executed in the switch-related control process (step 01TKS0010 in FIG. 354; FIG. 357) included in the playable time process (step P108; FIG. 354).

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, detection signals (detection signals) from various switches and sensors are input to the main control board 1310 . The main control MPU 1311 outputs commands to various control boards (eg, peripheral control board 1510, payout control board 951, etc.) based on the input signal, and controls driving bodies such as motors and solenoids and light emitting bodies such as LEDs. or In this way, the input signals include many kinds of signals, such as those relating to the progress of the game and those for detecting fraud and abnormalities. Therefore, since it is necessary to execute processing corresponding to each signal, there is a possibility that the program for controlling the game becomes complicated or the program capacity increases.

Therefore, the present embodiment provides a game machine that can execute control corresponding to an input signal in a general-purpose procedure by making data relating to control processing of the input signal have a specific structure. As a result, game control can be simplified, an increase in program capacity can be suppressed, and development efficiency of game machines can be improved.

The configuration for storing data required for switch-related control processing that performs processing based on signals and the procedure for controlling a game using these data will be described below.

[22-1. Processing when playable]
First, before explaining the switch-related control process, the game-enabled time process for calling the switch-related control process will be explained. As described above, the playable time process is a process that is executed in a state in which a normal game can be played after the gaming machine is started. Specifically, in the timer interrupt process (FIG. 329), it is executed when the game is available and there is no game stop factor (step P108). An outline of the procedure of the game-enabled time processing will be described below.

FIG. 354 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the playable time process executed in the timer interrupt process of this embodiment. FIG. 355 is a diagram showing an example of the program code of the playable time process of this embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG.

When the playable time process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first executes the switch-related control process (step 01TKS0010). In the switch-related control process, data is created based on signals input from various switches and sensors provided in the game machine, and processes corresponding to the input signals are executed. Details will be described with reference to FIG. 357 and subsequent drawings.

After the switch-related control process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes the variable probability area passage determination process (step 01TKS0020). In the probability variable area passage determination process, it is determined whether the game ball has passed through the probability variable area when the timer set in the special symbol/special electric auditors control process (step 01TKS0080) is valid, and depending on the determination result It is a process of changing the probability state by In addition, the valid timer is set in the special symbol/special electric auditors control process (step 01TKS0080), and is updated by the next interrupt. Since it is determined that the probability variable area has passed by the switch input in , it is called at the start of the interrupt of the timer interrupt process (before the execution of the special symbol/special electric auditors control process).

After the variable probability area passage determination process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes the timer update process (step 01TKS0030). In the timer update process, various timers necessary for the progress of the game are updated. These timers include 1-byte timers and 2-byte timers depending on the time to be measured.

After the timer update process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes the prize ball control process (step 01TKS0040). In the prize ball control process, input information is read from the input information storage area, and the number of game balls (prize balls) to be paid out is calculated based on the read input information. Also, based on the calculation result of the number of prize balls, a prize ball command for paying out game balls is created and transmitted to the payout control board 951 . In addition, processing such as confirmation of the connection state between the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 is executed.

After the prize ball control process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes the frame command reception process (step 01TKS0050). In the frame command reception process, the received command is stored as information for transmission to the payout control board 951 or the peripheral control board 1510, or a command is generated.

After the frame command reception process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes fraud detection process (step 01TKS0060). In the fraudulent act detection process, an abnormal state of a prize ball or the like is checked. For example, it includes a large winning opening winning abnormality detection process, a magnetic detection abnormality detection process, a random number abnormality detection process, a normal electric accessory winning abnormality detection process, and the like.

After the fraud detection process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes the performance display monitor process (step 01TKS0070). The performance display monitor process is a process of displaying various information. As described above, processes directly related to game control are not executed, and the performance display monitor itself is not intended to be referred to by the player. Therefore, in this embodiment, the performance display monitor process is stored outside the use area, and can be executed independently of the game control process by the INVI command.

After the performance display monitor process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes a special symbol/special electric accessary product control process (step 01TKS0080). In the special symbol/special electric accessary product control process, after executing each starting opening passage process, the process corresponding to the special symbol/electric accessary product operation number including the big winning opening opening process is called. After the special symbol/special electric auditors control process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes the normal symbol/normal electric auditors control process (step 01TKS0090). The normal symbol/normal electric accessary product control process performs processing such as lottery as to whether or not the second starting port 2004 is to be opened when the game ball passes through the gate portion 2003 .

After the normal symbol/normal electric accessory control process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes the solenoid drive process (step 01TKS0100). In the solenoid drive process, an electrical drive source such as a solenoid is driven based on the drive data. Since the index register (IY register) is updated in the process of executing the solenoid driving process, the index register is saved in the stack area before executing the solenoid driving process and is restored from the stack area after the end of the solenoid driving process.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 executes the output data setting process (step 01TKS0110), and outputs the output information set in each process from the output terminals of various output ports. Thereafter, the game-enabled time processing is terminated, and the timer interrupt processing is returned to while maintaining the interrupt state.

[22-2. Overview of switch-related control processing]
Next, an overview of the switch-related control process will be described. Some input signals among signals input from various switches are stored in chronological order as history monitoring switch data. The history monitoring switch data includes a predetermined number of signals from the last input signal, and is configured such that when a new signal is input, the oldest signal is discarded. The main control MPU 1311 executes predetermined processing based on the history monitoring switch data. Some of these input signals include, for example, signals input from a contact detection sensor (touch sensor) or a firing stop switch (fire stop button).

Before explaining the switch-related control process, first, an outline of the configuration for receiving the input of the signal output from each switch will be explained, and then the basic procedure of the switch-related control process will be explained. After that, a detailed procedure of the switch-related control process and a structure for storing used data will be described.

[22-2-1. Configuration for executing control based on input signal]
A configuration for inputting signals output from the contact detection sensor (touch sensor) 509 and the firing stop switch (fire stop button, stop button) to the input port of the main control MPU 1311 will be described. FIG. 356 shows an example of a circuit diagram extracting the configuration up to inputting the signal output from the contact detection sensor (touch sensor) and the firing stop switch (fire stop button) to the main control MPU 1311 in the gaming machine of this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing;

A contact detection sensor (touch sensor) and a firing stop switch (fire stop button) are included in a handle unit 500 provided on the body frame 4 . The contact detection sensor 509 is a sensor for detecting whether or not the palm or fingers are in contact with the handle lever 504, and when the handle lever 504 is in contact, the game ball can be shot. A shooting stop switch (shooting stop button, stop button) detects whether or not the shooting of the game ball is forcibly stopped by the player's will. Detection signals from the contact detection sensor (touch sensor) and the firing stop switch (fire stop button) are input to the firing control input circuit included in the payout control board 951 and then to the firing timing control circuit. A signal input to the firing timing control circuit is input to the input port of the main control MPU 1311 via the connector 13104 of the main control board 1310 .

[22-2-2. Overview of procedure of switch-related control processing]
Next, an overview of the procedure of the switch-related control process will be described. FIG. 357 is a flowchart showing the procedure of switch-related control processing according to this embodiment.

The main control MPU 1311 first acquires the signal level from the area where the input signal is stored (input level data area), and executes the history monitoring switch data creation process for creating/updating the history monitoring switch data (step 01TKS0110). ). The history monitoring switch data is, as described above, data that holds a predetermined number of values of signals input to the main control MPU 1311 in chronological order. For example, if the history monitoring switch data is 1 byte (=8 bits), the value of the input signal for 8 times is stored. Details of the history monitoring switch data creation process will be described with reference to FIG. 358 and subsequent drawings. Objects for which history monitoring switch data is created include door opening information and proximity switch error signals in addition to the touch sensor signals and firing stop switches described above.

After executing the history monitoring switch data creation process, the main control MPU 1311 executes disconnection/short circuit abnormality determination process (step 01TKS0120). The disconnection/short-circuit abnormality determination process acquires a proximity switch error signal from the history monitoring switch data created in the history monitoring switch data creation process, and determines whether or not an error has occurred. If an error has occurred, send a disconnection/short circuit error command.

After executing the disconnection/short-circuit abnormality determination process, the main control MPU 1311 executes a non-operating big winning opening winning ball prohibiting process (step 01TKS0130). The non-operating big winning hole prize ball prohibiting process determines whether or not the winning to the big winning hole is valid, and stores the prize ball determination data in the prize ball determination area if it is valid. In addition, if the gaming machine is provided with a plurality of large winning openings, determination is made for all the large winning openings.

After executing the non-operating big winning mouth prize ball prohibiting process, the main control MPU 1311 executes switch history command transmission determination process (step 01TKS0140). In the switch history command transmission determination process, a command is generated based on the history monitoring switch data created in the history monitoring switch data creation process. For example, the history monitoring switch data is referred to, and the command is transmitted when the signal value is determined to be ON.

In this embodiment, a set (series) of information for acquiring a signal to be determined (information specifying an area in which the value of an input signal is stored), command information, and information for determining an input signal By structuring and defining the data as , it is possible to process input signal determination and command generation in a general way. The data structure and specific example for executing the switch history command transmission determination process will be described with reference to FIGS. 364 and 365. FIG. A detailed procedure of the switch history command transmission determination process will be described with reference to FIGS. 367 and 368. FIG.

After executing the switch history command transmission determination processing, the main control MPU 1311 executes switch passage command transmission/safe switch abnormality determination processing including switch passage command transmission processing and safe switch abnormality determination processing. The switch passage command transmission process generates a command for the winning determination of the winning opening. The procedure for generating the command can be executed by common processing regardless of the winning gate. In the safe switch abnormality determination process, the number of winning prizes (safe It is determined whether or not there is an abnormality in the number of balls).

In addition, in the switch passing command transmission / safe switch abnormality judgment processing, information for specifying the winning opening to be judged, command information, count information for counting the number of safe balls, etc. are structured and defined as a set of data. By doing so, it is possible to perform common processing regardless of the type of the winning opening. The structure and specific examples of data for executing the switch passing command transmission/safe switch abnormality determination process will be described with reference to FIGS. 367 and 368. FIG. A detailed procedure of the switch passing command transmission/safe switch abnormality determination process will be described with reference to FIGS. 369 to 372. FIG.

The outline of the switch-related control processing has been described above. Next, detailed procedures and data structures of each process constituting the switch-related control process will be described.

[22-3. History monitoring switch data creation process]
When the switch-related control process is started, a history monitoring switch data creation process is executed to create history monitoring switch data from the received input signal. As described above, in the history monitoring switch data creation process, the history monitoring switch data is created based on the history area creation data having a common data structure regardless of the signal type. A configuration for creating history monitoring switch data will be described below. Specifically, first, the data structure of history area creation data will be described, and then specific history area creation data will be described. Next, a detailed procedure will be described with reference to a flowchart and program code of history monitoring switch data creation processing.

[22-3-1. Configuration of history area creation data]
FIG. 358 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of history area creation data according to this embodiment. The history area creation data is information for creating history monitoring switch data corresponding to the input signal. Specifically, for one type of input signal, the lower address of the reference destination (input level data area), the switch bit number, the lower address of the area for storing the history monitoring switch data (input signal history area) (history management RWM lower addresses) are configured as one set. Since the capacity for storing each piece of data is 1 byte, the history area creation data can be sequentially referenced by adding one address at a time from the start address ("XXXXh") of the history area creation data. can be done.

The lower address of the reference destination (input level data area) is the lower address of the area in which the value of the signal input to the input port of the main control MPU 1311 (history management switch input level data) is stored. Since the upper address is specified in advance, it is sufficient to specify only the lower address, thereby reducing the required area (capacity) to 1 byte. In addition, instead of setting only the lower address, 2-byte address data including the upper address may be set.

A signal input to the input port of the main control MPU 1311 is stored as 1-byte input level data by aggregating a plurality of predetermined types of signals. In this embodiment, since the input level data consists of 1 byte (=8 bits), a maximum of 8 types of input signals are assigned to one input level data. The switch bit number is information for specifying which bit of the input level data corresponds to the signal for which history monitoring switch data is created. A value from 0 to 7 is set for the switch bit number. A specific configuration will be described later with reference to FIG.

A signal that constitutes the input level data is a signal fetched from the input port of the main control MPU 1311 by serial communication or parallel communication. For example, the proximity switch error signal is captured by SPI communication (serial communication). For the proximity switch error signal input to the main control MPU 1311, level data is generated based on the adjustment data and mask data included in the SPI switch input information data (Fig. 346) and stored in "INPUT_LEV3".

As with the input signal reference destination (input level data area), the upper address of the area for storing the history monitoring switch data (input signal history area) is specified in advance, so only the lower address needs to be specified. As a result, the required area (capacity) can be suppressed to 1 byte.

Next, a specific example of history area creation data will be described. FIG. 359 is a diagram showing an example of history area creation data according to this embodiment. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, as described above, the input signals for which history monitoring switch data is created include the door open information signal, the touch sensor signal, the firing stop switch, and the proximity switch error signal. Here, the history area creation data for the firing stop switch will be described as an example.

The input signal of the firing stop switch is stored in the input level data "INPUT_LEV4", and the lower address (".LOW.INPUT_LEV4") of the storage location of "INPUT_LEV4" is set as the reference destination (input level data area). (history management switch input level data lower address).

Here, the area in which the input level data is stored will be explained. FIG. 360 is a diagram showing the configuration of an area for storing signals for which history monitoring switch data is to be created, among areas (data areas) for storing signals input to the main control MPU 1311 of this embodiment. Since the frame open information signal is stored in "INPUT_LEV5" and its address is "000Eh", the history management switch input level data lower address is "0Eh". Similarly, the touch sensor signal and the firing stop switch signal are stored in "INPUT_LEV4", and since the address is "000Ch", the history management switch input level data lower address is "0Ch". Further, since the proximity switch error signal is stored in "INPUT_LEV3" and its address is "000Ah", the history management switch input level data lower address is "0Ah".

The corresponding switch bit number "_DOOR_SW_BIT" of the frame open information signal is set to "5", and the value of the 5th bit of "INPUT_LEV5" is specified. In "INPUT_LEV5", the "frame release information signal" is stored in the 5th bit, and the other bits are unused.

Similarly, the corresponding switch bit number "_HASSYA_TCH_BIT" of the touch sensor signal is set to "2", and the value of the second bit of "INPUT_LEV4" is specified. "INPUT_LEV4" has 0th bit "setting key switch", 1st bit "payer ACK input signal", 2nd bit "touch sensor signal", 3rd bit "fire stop switch signal", 4 bits. A "main RWM erase/setting change signal" is stored in the first row, and bits 5 to 7 are unused. Also, the corresponding switch bit number "_HASSYA_STP_BIT" of the firing stop switch signal is set to "3", and the value of the third bit of "INPUT_LEV4" is specified.

Furthermore, the corresponding switch bit number "_SW_ERR1_BIT" of the proximity switch error signal is set to "6", and the value of the 6th bit of "INPUT_LEV3" is specified. "INPUT_LEV3" stores "magnetism detection switch" in the 4th bit, "proximity switch error signal" in the 6th bit, and the other bits are unused.

As described above, the input of the frame open information signal can be specified by the history management switch input level data lower address and the corresponding switch bit number.

Returning to the description of the history area creation data in FIG. The address of the area (firing stop switch signal history area “HS_STP_HIST”) in which history monitoring switch data of the firing stop switch is stored is, for example, “002Ch”. At this time, "2Ch", which is the lower address (".LOW.HS_STP_HIST") of the firing stop switch signal history area, is used as the lower address (history management RWM lower address) of the area (input signal history area) for storing the history monitoring switch data. " is set.

At the end of the area in which the history area creation data is defined, the number of history monitoring switches ("_HIST_SW_CNT"), which is the number of switches subject to the history area creation data, is defined. Specifically, the number of bytes from the address of the start area of the history area creation data to the address where the number of history monitoring switches is stored is divided by 3. Since the history area creation data is composed of three types of 1-byte data for one switch, it can be defined without directly storing numerical values. By defining in this way, even if the number of switches to be monitored increases or decreases, it becomes possible to cope with the situation without changing the program, and the possibility of program troubles such as occurrence of bugs can be reduced.

In the above example, the data for creating the history monitoring switch data for the door open information signal, touch sensor signal, firing stop switch, and proximity switch error signal has been described, but other signals are not limited to these signals. It may be managed by history monitoring switch data. For example, a signal from a position sensor of a character (driving body) controlled by the main control board 1310 may be managed by history monitoring switch data to determine whether or not the character has returned to its normal position. Further, switches and sensors such as gate switches that determine only ON/OFF switching of an input signal may also be managed by history monitoring switch data.

[22-3-2. Procedure of history monitoring switch data creation process]
In the history monitoring switch data creation process, the history monitoring switch data of the signal input to the main control MPU 1311 is created based on the information defined in the history area creation data. The procedure of history monitoring switch data creation processing will be described below with reference to a history monitoring switch data creation processing flowchart and program code.

FIG. 361 is a flowchart showing the procedure of history monitoring switch data creation processing according to this embodiment. FIG. 362 shows an example of program code for history monitoring switch data creation processing according to this embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG.

When the history monitoring switch data creation process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first sets the head address of the history area creation data (FIG. 359) (step 01TKS1010). The top address of history area creation data is set in the HL register. At this time, by setting the difference value from the first data address of the history area creation data to the second operand of the LDT instruction and executing the , which would normally be a 3-byte word length instruction, can be reduced to a 2-byte word length, making it possible to reduce the capacity of the program.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 sets the number of history monitoring switches (“_HIST_SW_CNT”) as the number of repetitions of the history monitoring switch data creation process (step 01TKS1020). The number of history monitoring switches is stored in the B register, for example. When the address setting of the history area creation data and the setting of the number of history monitoring switches are completed, and the preparation for creating the history monitoring switch data is completed, the history monitoring switch data for the number of history monitoring switches is created, and each switch (input signal) create (update) the history monitoring switch data stored in the input signal history area corresponding to .

The main control MPU 1311 acquires the address of the area (input level data area) storing the input signal for which history monitoring switch data is to be created (step 01TKS1030). Specifically, an area (input level data area, specifically "INPUT_LEV4") where the input signal is stored is selected from the value of the history management switch input level data lower address (for example, the value of ".LOW.INPUT_LEV4"). , and stores it in a predetermined storage area (eg, DE register).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 creates and updates history monitoring switch data based on the input level data area specified in the process of step 01TKS1030.

First, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the corresponding switch bit number and stores it in a predetermined storage area (for example, A register) (step 01TKS104). A value in the range of 0 to 7 is set for the corresponding switch bit number.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the input signal for history monitoring switch data creation from the bit corresponding to the switch bit number, and stores it in a predetermined storage area (step 01TKS1050). At this time, the predetermined storage area may be a register or a temporary area allocated to RAM. Since the signal has a binary value of ON (“1”) or OFF (“0”), in this embodiment, among the data of the address indicated by the DE register, the bit information indicated by the A register is expressed as CF (carry flag). For example, in the case of the door open information signal, the bit information (5) of "_DOOR_SW_BIT" of "INPUT_LEV5" is acquired, and if the fifth bit of "INPUT_LEV5" is "1", "1" (carry flag), and if it is "0", set CF (carry flag) to "0". In this way, a series of processes from acquiring arbitrary bit information from a specific address to setting the acquired information in the CF (carry flag) can be executed with one instruction. By configuring in this way, it is possible to reduce the program capacity. A specific configuration will be further described with reference to FIG.

Further, the main control MPU 1311 sets an area (input signal history area) for storing history monitoring switch data (step 01TKS1060), and specifies history monitoring switch data to be updated. Specifically, by the processing of step 01TKS1060, the contents stored in the DE register are updated from the address of the input level data area to the address of the history monitoring switch data (history management RWM address).

The main control MPU 1311 updates the specified history monitoring switch data to be updated based on the value of the newly acquired input signal (step 01TKS1070). As described above, the history monitoring switch data of this embodiment is 1 byte (=8 bits), and can store the history of input signals for eight times. As a specific process for updating the history monitoring switch data, the history monitoring switch data stored in the input signal history area is shifted left by 1 bit by the ROLC command, and the value of the input signal acquired in the process of step 01TKS1050 is changed. bit 0 is set to the value of the carry flag (CF) in which is stored. By implementing in this way, it is possible to simplify the program code and suppress an increase in program capacity. In addition, the ROLC instruction is a 2-byte word length instruction, and the word length is shorter than that for calculating the history monitoring switch data before update, so that the processing can be speeded up.

The main control MPU 1311 executes the processing from step 01TKS1030 to step 01TKS1070 for all input signals for which history monitoring switch data is to be created (step 01TKS1080). After the creation of the history monitoring switch data is completed (the result of step 01TKS1080 is "YES"), this processing is terminated.

By configuring as described above, history monitoring switch data can be created in a common procedure regardless of the type of signal, simplifying game control and reducing program capacity. .

[22-3-3. History monitoring switch data creation flow (summary)]
The procedure of the history monitoring switch data creation process has been described above. Here, the flow of data until the input signal is reflected in the history monitoring switch data will be mainly described. FIG. 363 is a diagram for explaining the process of creating history monitoring switch data according to this embodiment, and shows the process until the touch sensor signal is reflected in the history monitoring switch data.

The uppermost part of FIG. 363 shows a timing chart showing changes in the touch sensor signal input from the contact detection sensor (touch sensor) 509, and time elapses from left to right. In this embodiment, the touch sensor signal input to the input port of the main control MPU 1311 is periodically captured at predetermined intervals. The predetermined interval (sampling cycle) is the timer interrupt cycle (4 milliseconds). In FIG. 363, the touch sensor signals are captured in the order of “1”→“1”→“1”→“0”→“1”→“1”→“1”→“1”. It shows the state in which the sensor signal "1" is captured. The captured touch sensor signal is converted as necessary and stored in BIT2 of the input level data area "INPUT_LEV4" (address "000Ch") as shown in FIG.

When the switch-related control process (history monitoring switch data creation process) is executed and the history monitoring switch data of the touch sensor signal is updated, first, the input level data stored in the input level data area "INPUT_LEV4" is subjected to history management. Acquired as switch input level data. Before the update, the history management switch input level data is "0000110", and the switch bit number corresponding to the touch sensor signal is "2" (Fig. 359). Acquire the signal "1" and temporarily store it in the carry flag.

The program code for acquiring the value of the bit designated by the corresponding switch bit number from the input level area to be referenced can be realized by a single instruction "LD CF, (DE).A" as shown in FIG. It is possible. The DE register stores the address of the input level area to be referenced, and the A register stores the value corresponding to the corresponding switch bit number. The above instruction stores in the carry flag (CF) the value obtained from the value stored in the input level area indicated by the DE register based on the value specified by the A register.

Further, the history monitoring switch data is acquired based on the history monitoring switch data storage destination (HS_TCH_HIST) lower address (history management RWM lower address) of the history area creation data of the touch sensor signal. Input signals are stored in the history monitoring switch data from BIT0 to BIT7 in the order of newest, and the storage destination of the history monitoring switch data is "11101111" according to the above timing chart.

Updating the history monitor switch data shifts the values of BIT0 through BIT6 to BIT1 through BIT7. Furthermore, the input signal stored in the carry flag is stored in BIT0. A program code for updating the history monitoring switch data can be realized by a single command "ROLC (DE)" as shown in FIG. The ROLC instruction shifts (rotates) a specified value to the left by one bit and stores the value of the carry flag (CF) in BIT0. An SLA instruction (shift instruction) may be used instead of the ROLC instruction. By executing the "ROLC (DE)" instruction, new history monitoring switch data shifted to the left by one bit is updated to the value of the history management RWM address indicated by the DE register.

[22-4. Switch history command transmission determination process]
When the non-operating big winning mouth prize ball prohibiting process ends, the main control MPU 1311 executes switch history command transmission determination process (step 01TKS0140). As described above, in the switch history command transmission determination process, it is determined whether or not to transmit a command based on the switch history command transmission determination data and the history monitoring switch data created in the history monitoring switch data creation process. Send a command defined according to

Whether or not to transmit a command is determined by detecting a change in the input signal from history monitoring switch data, and determining to transmit the corresponding command when a change is detected. For example, the history monitoring switch data of this embodiment stores the history of input signals for a predetermined number of times (eight times in this embodiment). is different, it can be determined that the input signal has changed.

A configuration for determining command transmission based on history monitoring switch data will be described below. First, the data structure of switch history command transmission determination data for general processing of a plurality of types of input signals will be described, and then specific switch history command transmission determination data will be described. Next, a detailed procedure will be described with reference to a flowchart and program code of the switch history command transmission determination process.

[22-4-1. Configuration of switch history command transmission determination data]
FIG. 364 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of switch history command transmission determination data according to this embodiment. As described above, in this embodiment, in order to determine whether or not to transmit a command based on an input signal by common processing for a plurality of types of input signals, a common data structure is used for each command to be transmitted. defines judgment data (command transmission judgment target data).

Individual data of the command transmission determination target data is composed of a detection target history monitoring switch data address (lower address), a transmission command value, a detection mask value, and a detection determination value. In addition, the number of data for one set (one block) of switch history command transmission determination data (the number of data in one block of switch input data) is defined. Furthermore, a command transmission determination object number m, which is the total number of defined switch history command transmission determination data, is defined. Note that the setting order of each data is not limited to this. For example, the command transmission determination target number m may be defined at the beginning of the switch history command transmission determination data, and the order of individual data in the command transmission determination target data may not be the same order as in the above example.

The detection target history monitoring switch data address is the address of the area in which the history monitoring switch data created by the history monitoring switch data creating process is stored. Since the upper address of the area for storing the monitoring switch data is specified in advance, only the lower address needs to be specified. As a result, the required area (capacity) can be suppressed to 1 byte. The transmission command value is a value corresponding to the command to be transmitted, and consists of 2 bytes. This is because the packet that sends the command is 2 bytes. If the packet that sends the command is 3 bytes, it will be updated to 3 bytes, and a different size will be set according to the command size for one packet. do.

The detection mask value is a value for extracting data necessary for determining whether or not to send a command from history monitoring switch data. Bits necessary for determining whether or not to transmit a command are set to "1", and unused bits are set to "0". The detection determination value is data for determining whether or not to transmit the command created from the transmission command value by comparing with the masked history monitoring switch data.

Next, a specific example of switch history command transmission determination data will be described. FIG. 365 is a diagram showing an example of switch history command transmission determination data according to the present embodiment. A contact detection sensor (touch sensor, handle sensor) 509 for detecting whether the palm or fingers are in contact with the handle lever 504 is turned ON/OFF as a target for determining whether or not to send a command based on the history monitoring switch data. Determination of OFF switching, ON/OFF switching of the firing stop switch, and determination of door open/close switching are included. First, switch history command transmission determination data for determining ON/OFF switching of the contact detection sensor 509 of the handle lever 504 will be described.

The switch history command transmission determination data regarding the contact detection sensor 509 of the handle lever 504 includes data for detecting switching from OFF to ON by the contact detection sensor 509 and data for detecting switching from ON to OFF.

The same address (“.LOW.HS_TCH_HIST”) is set for the detection target history monitoring switch data address because the same area is referred to regardless of whether switching from ON to OFF or switching from OFF to ON is detected. ing.

For the transmission command value, a value corresponding to each rising edge (switching from ON to OFF) and falling edge (switching from ON to OFF) of the contact detection sensor (handle sensor) 509 is defined.

A signal change of the contact detection sensor (handle sensor) 509 is detected by comparing history data (signal values) for the latest four times. Therefore, the detection mask value is set to "00001111B" to specify the latest 4-bit data. It should be noted that the same value is set because the target bit is common regardless of whether switching from ON to OFF or switching from OFF to ON is detected.

It is determined that the contact detection sensor (handle sensor) 509 has changed from OFF to ON when the signal value has been continuously ON three times after switching from OFF to ON. In this case, the detection determination value is "00000111B". Since the first four bits (“0000B”) are masked by the detection mask value, it is determined that the contact detection sensor (handle sensor) 509 has changed from OFF to ON when the latter four bits (“0111B”) match. be done. Similarly, regarding the change from ON to OFF, since it is determined that the signal value has been switched from ON to OFF and has continued to be OFF three times consecutively, the detection determination value is "00001000B". Note that the detection determination value is not limited to the example shown in FIG. may

Also, between the switch history command transmission determination data for detecting switching from OFF to ON of the contact detection sensor (handle sensor) 509 and the switch history command transmission determination data for detecting switching from ON to OFF, defines the number of switch input data 1 block data (_SW_HIST_1BLOCK). The number of pieces of data in one block of switch input data is calculated by setting the difference between the start address and the end address of the switch history command transmission determination data for detecting switching of the contact detection sensor (handle sensor) 509 from OFF to ON. there is The number of data in one block of switch input data in this embodiment is 5 (bytes).

Next, switch history command transmission determination data for determining ON/OFF switching of the firing stop switch of the handle lever 504 will be described. Similar to the contact detection sensor 509, the switch history command transmission determination data regarding the firing stop switch includes data for detecting switching from OFF to ON and data for detecting switching from ON to OFF.

The same address (".LOW.HS_STP_HIST") is set for the detection target history monitoring switch data address because the same area is referred to regardless of whether switching from ON to OFF or switching from OFF to ON is detected. ing. For the transmission command value, a value corresponding to each rising edge (switching from ON to OFF) and falling edge (switching from ON to OFF) of the firing stop switch is defined.

Similar to the contact detection sensor 509, the change in the signal of the firing stop switch is detected by comparing the history data (signal values) for the latest four times. The detection mask value and the detection determination value are the same as those of the contact detection sensor 509, and the determination of signal change is also the same.

Finally, switch history command transmission determination data for determining ON/OFF switching of the door opening information signal will be described. Similar to the contact detection sensor 509, the switch history command transmission determination data related to the door opening information signal includes data for detecting switching from OFF to ON and data for detecting switching from ON to OFF.

The same address (“.LOW.DOOR_SW_HIST”) is set for the detection target history monitoring switch data address because the same area is referred to regardless of whether switching from ON to OFF or switching from OFF to ON is detected. ing. For the transmission command value, a value corresponding to each rising edge (switching from ON to OFF) and falling edge (switching from ON to OFF) of the door open information signal is defined.

Unlike the contact detection sensor 509 and the firing stop switch, the signal change of the door opening information signal is detected by comparing the two most recent history data (signal values). That is, it is determined that the signal has changed when a signal different from the previous signal is received. The detection mask value is set to "00000011B" because it specifies the latest 2-bit data. Further, the detection determination value for determining switching from ON to OFF is "00000001B", and the detection determination value for determining switching from OFF to ON is "00000010B".

Note that the history data to be determined is not limited to the one shown in the figure. For example, the change in the signal of the contact detection sensor 509 may be determined based on two history data. It may be more than once (for example, eight times). In the case of 8 times, all bits are masked fixedly, and signal changes of a specific pattern can be strictly detected. Furthermore, when comparing history data for the latest four times, the lower 4 bits are fixed and masked, but the upper 4 bits may be fixed and masked. By configuring in this way, it is possible to provide a predetermined time interval until the processing that is executed after the detection of the signal change is started.

As for the signal changes of the contact detection sensor 509, the firing stop switch, and the door open information signal, the switch history command transmission determination data is defined for the change from ON to OFF and the change from OFF to ON. Switch history command transmission determination data may be defined to detect a change in only. For example, when performing notification for a certain period of time, the notification is terminated after the certain period of time has elapsed regardless of changes in the signal, so the notification command may be transmitted only when the signal changes from OFF to ON.

Furthermore, the number of command transmission determination targets is defined at the end of the switch history command transmission determination data. The number of command transmission determination targets is calculated by dividing the difference from the top address of the area in which the switch history command transmission determination data is defined to the address of the last data by the number of data in one block of switch input data. To minimize modification of a program code even when the data structure and the number of data fluctuate by calculating the number of data in one block of switch input data and the number of objects for command transmission determination from the defined data addresses. can be done.

If the data structure and the number of data do not change, a numerical value may be directly defined in advance at the beginning of the switch history command transmission determination data. Further, the switch history command transmission determination process may be terminated when the final data of the switch history command transmission determination data is detected without defining the number of command transmission determination targets.

In addition, although the switch history command transmission determination data of the present embodiment targets signals for which input processing is performed as history information (history monitoring switch data) such as touch sensor signals, determination is made based on edge information such as winning signals. Even signals are applicable. It can also be applied when targeting the winning determination of the starting winning opening (for example, the middle starting opening switch). An application example will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 366 is a diagram showing an example of applying the switch history command transmission determination data of the present embodiment to a switch that processes an input signal as edge information. The area for storing the input signal of the middle starting switch is BIT0 of the input edge data 1 "INPUT_EDG1" (Fig. 360). Therefore, the lower address ("LOW.INPUT_EDG_1") of "INPUT_EDG1" is set as the address of the area for storing the input signal. At this time, by setting the detection mask value to "00000001B", the input signal of the middle starting switch corresponding to BIT0 becomes the determination target. By setting the detection determination value to "00000001B", the command ("_SID_ON_CM") defined as the transmission command value is transmitted when BIT0 of the input edge data 1 is "1".

By configuring as described above, commands can be sent in the same procedure not only to input signals managed as history information (history monitoring switch data), but also to input signals processed as edge information. can be shared to improve development efficiency and reduce program capacity.

[22-4-2. Switch history command transmission determination process procedure]
In the switch history command transmission determination process, a signal change is detected from the history monitoring switch data based on the information defined in the switch history command transmission determination data. A procedure for detecting a change in a signal will be described below with reference to a flow chart and program code of history command transmission determination processing.

FIG. 367 is a flowchart showing the procedure of history command transmission determination processing according to the present embodiment. FIG. 368 shows an example of program code for history command transmission determination processing of this embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG.

When the switch history command transmission determination process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first sets the top address of the switch history command transmission determination data (FIG. 365) (step 01TKS2010). The start address of the switch history command transmission determination data is set in the DE register.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 sets the command transmission determination target count (“_SW_HIST_ALLBLOCK”) as the number of repetitions of the switch history command transmission determination process (step 01TKS2020). The command transmission determination target number is set in the B register. When the setting of the switch history command transmission determination data address and the setting of the command transmission determination target number are completed, the history monitoring switch data to be detected is acquired, and it is determined whether or not to transmit the command.

The main control MPU 1311 first acquires history monitoring switch data to be detected (step 01TKS2030). Specifically, the detection target history monitoring switch data address is acquired from the switch history command transmission determination data, the history monitoring switch data to be detected is specified, and stored in the W register.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the transmission command value from the switch history command transmission determination data (step 01TKS2040). The transmission command value is 2 bytes and is stored in the HL register.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the switch signal value has changed based on the history monitoring switch data acquired in the process of step 01TKS2030 (step 01TKS2050). Specifically, first, the acquired history monitoring switch data is masked with a detection mask value (step 01TKS2050-1). Furthermore, by comparing with the detection judgment value (step 01TKS2050-2), a change in the signal value is judged (step 01TKS2050-3). If the history monitoring switch data after masking matches the detection determination value, it is determined that the signal value has changed.

When the main control MPU 1311 determines that the signal value has changed (the result of step 01TKS2050 is "YES"), the command storage process is executed for the transmission command value acquired in the process of step 01TKS2040 and stored in the HL register. By doing so, it is stored in the transmission buffer (step 01TKS2060).

If the main control MPU 1311 determines that the signal value has not changed (result of step 01TKS2050 is "NO"), or after execution of the command storage process (step 01TKS2060), has the determination of all target commands been completed? It is determined whether or not (step 01TKS2070). When the determination for all commands is completed, the history command transmission determination process is terminated.

With the configuration as described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, by changing the mask value and the detection determination value, not only the ON/OFF change of the signal value but also the switch history command transmission determination data can be added or corrected. It is also possible to detect a specific change pattern simply by doing so. For example, if you know the pattern of signal changes that are likely to occur in the event of a fraudulent act or failure/abnormality, all you need to do is set a value corresponding to this signal change pattern. It is possible to easily add or delete data simply by registering data without increasing the program capacity, thereby increasing the possibility of discovering a problem in advance.

[22-5. Example of application to information stored in the internal function register (built-in register)]
In the above-described configuration, history monitoring switch data is created for signals input from various switches or sensors to the main control MPU 1311, and processing such as command transmission is performed based on the history monitoring switch data. On the other hand, the history monitoring switch data creation process and the switch history command transmission determination process of this embodiment can also specify the internal function register of the main control MPU 1311 . Hereinafter, means for applying history monitoring switch data creation processing and switch history command transmission determination processing based on information stored in the internal function register will be described.

[22-5-1. Creation of history monitoring switch data]
FIG. 369 is a diagram showing an example of an internal function register for storing random number errors of the main control MPU 1311 of this embodiment. In the main control MPU 1311 of this embodiment, in addition to general-purpose registers, it is possible to provide internal function registers that can store calculation results and random numbers, and can store error details during random number generation. It has become. FIG. 369 shows an example of internal function registers that store random number errors, and addresses are defined for each register. For example, a random number clock error indicating an error in which an abnormality occurs in the cycle (clock) for generating random numbers is stored in BIT2 of register "_RDER3", and is set to "1" when an error occurs. Also, an address "111Ah" is set in the register "_RDER3".

Here, a procedure for creating history monitoring switch data for random number clock errors will be described. FIG. 370 is a diagram showing an example of history area creation data for random number clock errors stored in the internal function register of the main control MPU 1311 of this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 370, instead of the lower address of the history management switch input level data, the address "_RDER3" of the internal function register is set as the reference address. Further, "_RND_CLK_ERR_BIT" is set to the corresponding switch bit number, and the random number clock error is stored in BIT2 of register "_RDER3", so the value of "_RND_CLK_ERR_BIT" is "2". Finally, the lower address of the area in which the created history monitoring switch data is stored is set. By defining the history area creation data in this way, it is possible to create history monitoring switch data by processing signals in the same manner as signals input from various switches and sensors. Further, by executing switch history command transmission determination processing based on the created history monitoring switch data, it becomes possible to transmit the corresponding command. If a 2-byte value including the upper address is specified when the work area setting process (_WORK_AD_INC_HL; step 01TKS1030) is executed, the upper address may be set in the DE register as it is without complementing it. Also, even if the high-order address of the internal function register is different from the high-order address of the RAM, the corresponding high-order address may be interpolated in the work area setting process. With the configuration described above, history monitoring switch data can be created by common processing, whether it is signals input from various switches or sensors, or information stored in internal function registers. becomes. As a result, it is possible to integrate programs for creating history monitoring switch data, and to reduce program capacity.

[22-5-2. Command transmission without history monitoring switch data]
Here, switch history command transmission determination data for executing switch history command transmission determination processing without using history monitoring switch data will be described. The procedure for executing the switch history command transmission determination process without using the history monitoring switch data is the same as the procedure for transmitting the command based on the edge information such as the prize winning signal described above.

FIG. 371 is a diagram showing an example of applying the switch history command transmission determination data of this embodiment to the internal function register (random number clock error). The information used as an application example is a random number clock error as in the example of creating history monitoring switch data.

Referring to FIG. 371, an internal function register "_RDER3" for storing a random number clock error state is set so as to correspond to an area for storing history monitoring switch data. Furthermore, by setting the detection mask value to "00000100B", the random number clock error state corresponding to BIT2 becomes the determination target. By setting the detection determination value to "00000100B", the command ("_RND_CLK_ERR_CM") defined as the transmission command value is transmitted when the random number clock error state is "1 (error present)". By configuring in this way, it becomes possible to transmit a command in the same procedure as when history information is created without creating history information (history monitoring switch data).

As described above, it is possible to apply the present embodiment to the information stored in the internal function register. Even if there is, it is possible to transmit a command based on the detection mask value and the detection determination value by common processing. As a result, as in the case of creating history monitoring switch data, it is possible to integrate programs for sending commands, thereby reducing program capacity.

Further, according to this embodiment, it is also possible to select history monitoring switch data according to the type of information or command to be determined. For example, if you want to stop the game immediately when the random number clock occurs, you can directly refer to the register value and send the command without referring to the history monitoring switch data corresponding to the random number clock abnormality (Fig. 371 data configuration), after that, if the random number clock error continues for a predetermined period, history monitoring switch data corresponding to the random number clock abnormality is created, and history corresponding to the random number clock abnormality is created as switch history command transmission determination data. By using the monitor switch data as a reference address, a command for continuation of random number abnormality, a detection mask value (00011111b) as a predetermined period, and a detection determination value (00011111b) may be set.

In this way, the reason for dividing into two stages is that the bit information of the random number clock error in the built-in register is erroneously determined to be abnormal due to the influence of disturbance noise, etc., even though the random number clock error is not. It is assumed that whether or not it has continued for a predetermined period is provided as insurance.

When a command is issued when a random number clock error is resolved, the history monitoring switch data corresponding to the random number clock error is used as the reference address for the switch history command transmission determination data for determining when the random number clock error is resolved. , a command for canceling the random number abnormality, a detection mask value (for example, "0001111b") and a detection determination value (for example, "00001000b") as a predetermined period may be set.

It should be noted that switching whether or not to create history monitoring switch data according to the application is the same for various switches and sensors. By defining the switch history command transmission determination data, even if the command transmission is determined based on the history monitoring switch data, the command transmission is determined without creating the history monitoring switch data. Also, the switch history command transmission determination process can be made common, the program can be shared, and the program capacity can be reduced.

[22-6. Switch passage command transmission/safe switch abnormality judgment processing]
When the switch history command transmission determination process is completed, the main control MPU 1311 executes the switch passage command transmission/safe switch abnormality determination process (step 01TKS0150). As described above, in the switch passing command transmission/safe switch abnormality determination process, when winning is detected, a command is transmitted and the number of safe balls (safe determination count value) is counted based on the switch passing command data.

Switch pass command data and switch pass command transmission/safe switch abnormality determination processing will be described below. First, the data structure of the switch passing command data for enabling general-purpose processing of winnings (signals from switches/sensors that detect winnings) of multiple types of winning openings (starting openings) will be described, and then , specific switch passing command data will be described. Next, a detailed procedure will be described with reference to a flow chart and program code of the switch passage command transmission/safe switch abnormality determination process.

[22-6-1. Configuration of Switch Passing Command Data]
FIG. 372 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of switch passing command data according to this embodiment. As described above, in the present embodiment, switch passing command data is defined with a common data structure for each winning opening (switch) in order to universally process winning to multiple types of winning openings.

As for the switch pass command data, first, the data setting number (the number of winning openings (switches) for which the switch pass command data is defined) is defined. Subsequently, individual data for each winning opening is defined for each input edge. The individual data for each winning hole is composed of edge data reference destination information, command value, and safe count number. Note that the number of data settings is the number of blocks when individual data for each winning hole is defined as one block.

The edge data reference destination information stores information indicating the reference destination of the input edge data of the switch/sensor that detects winning. The edge data reference destination information includes the identifier of the input edge data storage area and the bit information in the input edge data of the switch to be referred to.

The command value is the value of the command that is transmitted when winning is detected (when the switch is determined to be ON). The command value consists of 2 bytes and is stored in the transmission buffer by the command storage process.

The safe count number is defined by a counter corresponding to the winning opening (switch) that detected winning and a value for increasing or decreasing the counter. For example, when a game ball wins in the general winning hole, the safe determination count value (safe ball number) is added. On the other hand, when the safe switch (switch provided at the place where the game ball is collected after entering the winning hole with the prize ball (safe hole)) detects the passage of the game ball, the safe judgment count value is subtracted. do. A game ball that has passed through a winning hole with prize balls passes through a safe hole, so the safe determination count value becomes 0 under normal conditions. Therefore, considering measurement errors and the like, if the safe judgment count value is greater than the upper threshold value (eg, 100) or smaller than the lower threshold value (eg, −100), there is a possibility that some kind of abnormality has occurred. can be determined to be high. In addition, a safe count number is set so that the safe judgment count value is not increased or decreased when a game ball passes through a winning opening or a gate where no prize balls are generated. Also, the upper limit threshold value and the lower limit threshold value are not limited to the examples described above, and appropriate values are set according to the structure of the gaming machine and the content of the game.

Next, a specific example of switch passing command data will be described. FIG. 373 is a diagram showing an example of switch passing command data according to the present embodiment. As for the switch pass command data, the number of data settings is defined first, and then the individual data for each prize winning opening is defined. As described above, the number of data settings is the total number of individual data for each defined winning hole. It is calculated based on the amount of data that

Regarding the individual data for each winning hole, taking the medium starting hole (starting hole 1) as an example, the edge data reference destination information is the bit ("_TSHID1_BIT") corresponding to the starting hole 1 of the input edge data 1 ("_SWCM_P1"). ). The value indicating the input edge data corresponds to the upper 4 bits, and the bit data corresponding to the start port corresponds to the lower 4 bits. In this embodiment, a value indicating input edge data (for example, corresponding to "_SWCM_P1") is extracted by performing a predetermined operation on the edge data reference destination information, and based on the extracted value, the switch address data " The input edge data (eg, input edge data 1 (“INPUT_EDG1”)) is specified from “SW_ADD_W” (FIG. 372B).

Here, the configuration of the switch address data "SW_ADD_W" will be explained, and the procedure for identifying the input edge data will also be explained. FIG. 374 is a diagram showing an example of switch address data according to this embodiment. The switch address data defines information for specifying input edge data (for example, "_SWCM_P1") and corresponding input edge data (for example, input edge data 1 ("INPUT_EDG1")). Referring to FIG. 374, “_SWCM_P1” is set to “00h” and _SWCM_P2 is set to “08h”. "_SWCM_P3" and "_SWCM_P4" are spares for dealing with an increase in the number of target switches.

Next, a procedure for identifying input edge data will be described using a safe switch as an example. The step numbers given in the following description correspond to the step numbers given to the program code in FIG. 377 (the process of acquiring the data of the target bit).

As a specific procedure, first, edge data reference destination information is acquired (step 01TKS3040-3). At this time, the edge data reference destination information is "_SWCM_P2 (08h)+_EX_SAFE_SW_BIT (06h)" and "0Eh (14)". Next, a predetermined operation is performed on the edge data reference destination information. Specifically, it divides by 8 (step 01TKS3040-4) and doubles the division result (excluding the remainder) (step 01TKS3040-5). Further, the obtained value is added to the head address "9138h" of the switch address data stored in the HL register (step 01TKS3040-6). Since the operation result is "2" in the case of the safe switch, the value of the HL address is "913Ah". Input edge data 2 (“INPUT_EDG2”) can be identified by referring to the address “913Ah”.

By configuring as above, the edge data reference information can be implemented in 1 byte, and the data capacity can be reduced. As shown in FIG. 375, the edge data reference destination information may be defined separately for the input edge data area and the corresponding bit. By configuring in this way, the developer can easily grasp the reference destination of the edge data from the program code, and the readability of the program is improved. will increase.

The command value defines a value corresponding to a command transmitted when the edge data reference destination information is set to ON. The command value consists of 2 bytes. The command value of the medium start switch is set to the start 1 command ("_SID1_ON_CM"), and when the edge data reference destination information is set to ON, the start 1 command is transmitted. On the other hand, the command value of the right big winning hole count switch is set to "no command" ("_NO_CM"), so that even if a game ball wins the right big winning hole, the command will not be sent. there is

In this embodiment, it is possible to use a common data structure even if a command is not transmitted at the time of winning by allowing "no command" ("_NO_CM") to be set as the command value. By configuring in this way, regardless of the presence or absence of a command at the time of winning determination, it is possible to achieve commonality of processing such as data calling and calculation, and control can be simplified.

Also, by defining "0" as the command value "_NO_CM" indicating not to transmit the command, when the command value is set in the HL register ("LD HL, (DE+)"; step 01TKS3050), the Z flag is set to "1". As a result, execution of condition determination and processing, more specifically, command transmission determination ("NZ" (true when Z flag is not "1", that is, when command value is not "_NO_CM"); step 01TKS3070) and command transmission (execution of command storage processing "COM_SET"; step 01TKS3080) can be realized by one command ("INV NZ, COMSET"). With the configuration as described above, the generalization of processing related to command transmission at the time of winning is realized.

The safe count number of the medium start switch is a value indicating that it is added to the safe judgment count value (additional count when passing the winning opening; "_INC_SAFE_CNT"; "1 (01h)") because the prize balls are paid out when winning a prize. is set. Also, as described above, the safe count number of the safe switch is set to a value indicating that it is subtracted from the safe determination count value (subtraction count when passing through a winning opening; "_DEC_SAFE_CNT"; "-1 (FFh)"). there is Furthermore, when the game ball is discharged from the out port without winning a prize, the safe count number of the out switch is set to a non-addition count when passing the switch ("_NON_SAFE_CNT"; "0 (00h)"), and a safe judgment count. The value is neither added nor subtracted. In addition, the safe judgment count value can be updated by adding the defined safe count number regardless of whether it is added, subtracted, or not updated, so it can be implemented with a common instruction. Program structure can be simplified.

[22-6-2. Switch pass command transmission process procedure]
The switch passing command transmission/safe switch abnormality determination process is configured to call the safe switch abnormality determination process in a state in which the switch (winning hole) to be processed is specified when the switch passing command transmission process is executed. First, the switch passing command transmission process will be described, and then the safe switch abnormality determination process will be described.

FIG. 376 is a flow chart showing the procedure of switch passing command transmission processing according to the present embodiment. FIG. 377 shows an example of program code for the switch passing command transmission process of this embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG.

In the switch pass command transmission process, the target switch (award winning slot) to which the command is to be sent is specified based on the edge data reference destination information of the switch pass command data, and the specified command is sent when the signal value of the switch is ON. do.

When the switch passing command transmission/safe switch abnormality determination process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first acquires the current safe determination count value (step 01TKS3010). The safe determination count value is stored in the C register. Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 sets the start address of the switch passing command data (Fig. 373) (step 01TKS3020). The start address of the switch passing command data is set in the DE register. Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the number of data settings (step 01TKS3030). The data setting number is stored in the B register. When the processing of step 01 TKS3030 is completed, command transmission determination and safe switch abnormality determination processing are executed for each switch.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 specifies the switch to be processed and acquires the signal value (target bit) of the specified switch (step 01TKS3040). Specifically, first, a switch address data table is set. The switch address data table stores data for specifying the input edge data containing the target bit, and the address of the input edge data can be obtained. Furthermore, edge data reference destination information is obtained from the switch passing command data. Finally, the value of the target bit is specified based on the edge data reference destination information and the switch address data table, and the target bit information (“0” or “1”) is stored in a predetermined area (carry flag; CF).

Specifically, the edge data reference destination information acquired from the switch passing command data is set in the A register (steps 01TKS3040-1 to 3), and the calculation shown in the program code is performed (steps 01TKS3040-4 to 6). As a result, a value indicating input edge data (for example, "_SWCM_P1") is extracted. The input edge data address (for example, "INPUT_EDG1") corresponding to the edge data reference destination information is defined in the address obtained by adding the extracted value from the top address of the switch address data table "SW_ADD_W". address) is specified, and the address of the specified input edge data is stored in the HL register (step 01TKS3040-7).

The "LD CF, (HL).A" instruction obtains the contents specified by the lower 3 bits of the A register from the value stored in the HL register. The address of the specified input edge data is stored in the HL register, the edge data reference destination information is stored in the A register as described above, and the lower 4 bits of the edge data reference destination information are subject to judgment. It is bit data corresponding to the mouth. Since the value of the target bit is in the range of 0 to 7, if the value of the lower 3 bits is specified, the specified bit data is acquired from the input edge data specified by the "LD CF, (HL).A" command, and CF ( carry flag). By configuring in this way, it is possible to implement the information specifying the input edge data and the information specifying the bit corresponding to the starting point to be determined in 1 byte. Furthermore, when the input edge data and the corresponding bit are specified, the specified bit information is acquired from the input edge data, and a series of processing up to setting the acquired information in the CF (carry flag) is executed with one instruction. This makes it possible to reduce the program capacity.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 acquires a command value from the switch passage command data (step 01TKS3050). Further, it is determined whether or not the value of the target bit is ON (step 01TKS3060).

If the value of the target bit is ON (the result of step 01TKS3060 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 executes command storage processing unless the command value is no command ("_NO_CM") (step 01TKS3080). Commands are stored in the transmission buffer by executing the command storage process. After that, the main control MPU 1311 executes safe switch abnormality determination processing (step 01TKS3090). The safe switch abnormality determination process will be described later with reference to FIGS. 378 and 379. FIG.

In this embodiment, determination of a target command value and execution of command storage processing are realized by one instruction. In the process of step 01 TKS3050, when the command value is loaded into the HL register by the "LD HL, (DE+)" instruction, if there is no command to be transmitted, the command value "_NON_CM" is set. The command value "_NON_CM" is "0", and a value other than "0" is set when there is a command to be transmitted. Therefore, the Z flag is set to "1" when the command is transmitted, and is set to "0" when the command is not transmitted. At this time, the "INV NZ, COM_SET" instruction determines whether or not to transmit the command by the Z flag. It is realized by the command of As a result, it is possible to reduce the program capacity without executing the determination of whether or not to transmit the command and the processing corresponding to the determination result (command storage processing) by separate instructions.

After executing the safe switch abnormality determination process, or if the value of the target bit is not ON (if it is OFF) (the result of step 01TKS3060 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 completes the process for all switches. (Step 01TKS3100). If the processing has not been completed for all switches (the result of step 01TKS3100 is "NO"), the processing from step 01TKS3040 is executed for the next switch. If the processing has been completed for all switches (the result of step 01TKS3100 is "YES"), this processing ends.

[22-5-3. Procedure of Safe Switch Abnormality Judgment]
FIG. 378 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the safe switch abnormality determination process of this embodiment. FIG. 379 is an example of program code for the safe switch abnormality determination process of this embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG.

In the safe switch abnormality judgment process, the safe judgment count value is updated for the switch (winning gate) specified based on the edge data reference destination information of the switch passing command data in the switch passing command transmission process, and illegal winning occurs. Check for abnormalities such as whether or not

When the safe switch abnormality determination process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first adds the safe count number obtained from the switch passage command data to the safe determination count value stored in the C register (step 01TKS4010). Subsequently, the updated safe judgment count value is stored in the total safe judgment count area (step 01TKS4020).

Three types of safe count numbers are defined in this embodiment. FFh)”), there is a case where neither addition nor subtraction is performed (“_NON_SAFE_CNT”; “0(00h)”). When 1 is added, it is a case where a winning ball is generated. The case of subtracting 1 is the case where the game ball is detected by the safe switch as described above. If neither addition nor subtraction is performed, it means that a switch that does not generate prize balls (for example, a normal gate) detects winning (passing). Also, the safe judgment count value can be updated by adding the defined number of safe counts regardless of whether it is added, subtracted, or not updated. In any case, common instructions can be used for implementation, and efficiency in program development and reduction in capacity can be achieved.

When the safe determination count value is updated and stored in a predetermined area, it is determined whether or not the safe determination count value is within the normal range (whether or not it is an abnormal value) (step 01TKS4030). Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 first compares the safe determination count value stored in the C register with the lower limit threshold value (“_ILG_SAFE_JDG1”) (step 01TKS4030-1). If the safe determination count value is greater than or equal to the lower limit threshold (and less than or equal to 0) (the result of step 01TKS4030 is "NO"), the safe determination count value is normal, so this processing ends.

In addition, the main control MPU 1311 compares the safe judgment count value with the upper limit value when the safe judgment count value is equal to or less than the lower limit threshold value or equal to or more than the lower limit threshold value and greater than 0 (step 01TKS4030-2). If the safe determination count value is equal to or less than the upper limit value (and is equal to or greater than 0) (the result of step 01TKS4040 is "YES"), the safe determination count value is normal, and this processing is terminated.

The main control MPU 1311 sets the game stop factor number to safe when the safe determination count value is abnormal, that is, when the safe determination count value is less than the lower limit threshold or greater than the upper limit threshold (the result of step 01TKS4030 is "NO"). It is set in the game stop setting data when the switch is abnormal (step 01TKS4040). Furthermore, the safe determination count value is cleared (step 01TKS4050). To clear the safe judgment count value, "00H" is stored in all safe judgment count areas (step 01TKS4050-1) and the C register is cleared (step 01TKS4050-2).

With the configuration as described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, even if the control is different for each winning hole, it is possible to deal with common processing, and it is possible to simplify the program code. Become. Further, by additionally correcting the switch passing command data, it becomes possible to easily cope with the change in the specifications of the game machine, so that the development efficiency of the game machine can be improved.

It should be noted that values are stored in various registers during execution of processing by the program code shown in the drawings, but these are only examples, and the registers that store values are not limited to the registers shown in the drawings, and any value can be stored. may be stored in the registers of

In this specification, the inventions of typical viewpoints, including the inventions described in the scope of claims, are listed below.

(1) A gaming machine comprising game control means for controlling the progress of a game,
The game control means is
computing means for executing a program for controlling the progress of the game;
an input signal storage means capable of storing an input signal input to the computing means;
Input signals are periodically acquired from the input signal storage means, and input signal history information in which the input signals are arranged in chronological order can be created based on history information creation data defined for each type of the input signal. history information creating means;
history information storage means capable of storing the input signal history information;
with
The history information creation data is
first information indicating an area in which the input signal is stored;
second information indicating an area for storing input signal history information corresponding to the input signal;
including
The history information creation means acquires an input signal from the input signal storage means based on the first information regardless of the type of the input signal, and creates the input signal history information from the acquired input signal. and storing the generated input signal history information in the history information storage means based on the second information.

(2) A gaming machine comprising game control means for controlling the progress of a game,
The game control means is
computing means for executing a program for controlling the progress of the game;
an input signal storage means capable of storing an input signal input to the computing means;
Input signals are periodically acquired from the input signal storage means, and input signal history information in which the input signals are arranged in chronological order can be created based on history information creation data defined for each type of the input signal. history information creating means;
history information storage means capable of storing the input signal history information;
with
The history information creation data is
first information capable of specifying the input signal storage means indicating the area in which the input signal is stored;
second information capable of specifying the history information storage means indicating an area for storing the input signal history information corresponding to the input signal;
third information specifying the position of the input signal acquired from the input signal storage means specified by the first information;
including
The history information creating means is
identifying an input signal that is executed at a predetermined cycle and obtained from the input signal storage means that is identified based on the first information and the third information; obtaining the identified input signal as input information; arithmetically processing the information stored in the history information storage means specified based on the second information, and storing the acquired input information at a predetermined position in the history information storage means;
A gaming machine characterized in that the input signal history information can be created by common processing regardless of the type of the input signal.

In the game machines (1) and (2), it is possible to create history information in which signals input from various switches and sensors provided in the game machine to the arithmetic means (main control MPU 1311) are arranged in chronological order. . At this time, even if there are differences in the types of input signals, a series of processes such as acquisition of input signals, creation and storage of history information can be realized by common processing, simplifying the program structure and reducing program capacity. reduction can be realized.

(3) A gaming machine comprising game control means for controlling the progress of a game,
The game control means is
computing means for executing a program for controlling the progress of the game;
input information storage means capable of storing a plurality of types of input information input to the computing means;
input information determination means for determining a pattern of the input information based on input information determination data corresponding to the input information;
with
The input information determination data is
first information capable of specifying the input information storage means indicating an area in which the input information is stored;
second information specifying a range for determining a pattern of the input information;
third information for determining a pattern of the input information;
including
The input information determination means is
acquiring the input information from the input information storage means specified based on the first information, extracting the input information corresponding to the range specified based on the second information from the acquired input information; determining the pattern of the extracted input information based on the third information;
A gaming machine characterized in that the pattern of the input information can be determined by common processing regardless of the type of the input information.

In the gaming machine of (3), not only input information but also information stored in a predetermined storage means in chronological order, such as values extracted periodically and results of predetermined calculations performed periodically. is also applicable. It can also be applied when comparing patterns of combinations of a plurality of related information. According to the game machine of (3), it is possible to detect an abnormality at an early stage by judging whether the change in continuously accumulated information conforms to a specific pattern. In addition, since it is possible to identify patterns in which information changes in common processing, it is possible to simplify game control and reduce program capacity.

(4) further comprising command transmission means capable of transmitting a command for controlling the game;
the input information determination data further includes fourth information corresponding to a command based on the pattern of the input information;
The gaming machine according to (3), wherein the command transmission means transmits a command corresponding to the fourth information based on the determination result of the pattern of the input information.

In the gaming machine (4), in addition to the configuration of the gaming machine (3), it is possible to transmit a command according to the pattern of the input information. For example, by detecting a pattern when an abnormality occurs, it is possible to transmit an abnormality notification command.

(5) A gaming machine comprising game control means for controlling the progress of a game,
The game control means is
computing means for executing a program for controlling the progress of the game;
a processing information storage means capable of storing a plurality of types of processing information that can be processed by the computing means;
processing information determination means for determining a change in the processing information based on processing information determination data corresponding to the processing information;
with
The processing information storage means includes internal storage means provided in the computing means and external storage means capable of reading and writing processing information by the computing means,
The processing information determination data is
first information capable of specifying the processing information storage means indicating an area in which the processing information is stored;
second information specifying a range for determining a change in the processing information;
third information for determining a change in the processing information;
including
The processing information determination means is
acquiring the processing information from the processing information storage means specified based on the first information, extracting the processing information corresponding to the range specified based on the second information from the acquired processing information; determining a change in the extracted processing information based on the third information;
A gaming machine characterized in that change in the extracted processing information can be determined by common processing regardless of whether the processing information is stored in the processing information storage means of the internal storage means and the external storage means. .

In the game machine of (5), the same effect as in the game machine of (3) can be obtained, and even if the processing information storage means are different storage means, a pattern in which the processing information changes can be specified by common processing. As a result, not only processing information stored in a general RAM, but also processing information stored in internal registers of arithmetic means such as the main control MPU 1311 is subjected to common processing to determine changes in information. be able to. Therefore, even if the storage means is changed due to a change in the specification of the game machine, it can be dealt with by simply updating the processing information determination data, and the development efficiency of the game machine can be improved. Since the storage means hardware that constitutes the ogari, it is possible to simplify the game control and reduce the program capacity.

(6) a plurality of game media receiving means capable of receiving game media;
game medium detection means capable of detecting that the game medium receiving means has received a game medium;
game medium counting means capable of individually counting the number of game media detected by the game medium detecting means;
A gaming machine comprising
The game medium counting means can count the game media based on winning detection data corresponding to the game medium receiving means,
The winning detection data is
first information indicating a storage location of the detection information of the game medium;
second information for counting based on the detection of the game medium;
including
The game medium counting means performs processing for acquiring the detection information of the game media based on the first information in a common process regardless of the game medium receiving means that has received the game media, and the second information. A gaming machine, wherein the processing for counting the game media based on is performed by common processing regardless of the game medium receiving means that has received the game media.

The game machine of (6) is provided with a plurality of game medium receiving means (for example, start winning opening, big winning opening, etc.), and common processing for each game medium receiving means detects game media and wins. It becomes possible to count the number of game media. As a result, it becomes possible to standardize the programs that implement these functions, and it is possible to reduce the program capacity. In addition, since it is possible to easily deal with specification changes such as an increase or decrease in the number of game medium receiving means by updating the winning detection data, configuration management of the game machine becomes easier and the development efficiency of the game machine is improved. can be improved.

(7) a plurality of game media receiving means capable of receiving game media;
game medium detection means capable of detecting that the game medium receiving means has received a game medium;
Ejected game medium detection means capable of detecting game media ejected from the game medium receiving means;
game medium counting means capable of individually counting the game media detected by the game medium detection means or the discharged game medium detection means;
A gaming machine comprising
The game medium counting means can count the game media based on winning detection data,
The winning detection data is
first information capable of specifying a storage location of the game medium detection information detected by the game medium detection means or the discharged game medium detection means;
second information for counting based on the detection of the game medium;
including
The game medium counting means obtains detection information of the game medium based on the first information, and counts the game medium based on the obtained detection information and the second information,
A gaming machine, wherein a process of acquiring the detection information of the game medium is a common process whether it is the detection information by the game medium detection means or the detection information by the ejected game medium detection means.

In the gaming machine of (7), regarding the process of acquiring the detection information of the game medium, the information detected by the game medium detection means (for example, the start winning opening switch, the big winning opening switch, etc.) and the discharged game medium detection means (for example, It is possible to perform common processing without distinction from information detected by a safe port switch). As a result, it is possible to detect game media not only by a plurality of types of game medium detection means but also by the discharged game medium detection means by common processing, and the program capacity is reduced by common processing including counting. becomes possible.

(8) the process of counting the game media is common to both the information detected by the game medium detection means and the information detected by the discharged game medium detection means;
Based on the counting result of the game media detected by the game medium detecting means and the counting result of the game media detected by the ejected game medium detecting means, it is determined whether the game medium receiving means is normally receiving the game media. The gaming machine of (7) for determining whether or not there is.

In the gaming machine of (8), the same effect as that of the gaming machine of (7) can be obtained, and the count result of the game media detected by the game medium detection means and the discharged game medium detection means eject from the game medium detection means. It is possible to detect an abnormality in the game medium detection means or the discharged game medium detection means by comparing the results of counting the game media. In addition, it is possible to reduce the program capacity by making it possible to count by common processing without depending on the game medium detection means and the discharged game medium detection means.

(9) the process of counting the game media is common to both the information detected by the game medium detection means and the information detected by the discharged game medium detection means;
Each time the game media are counted by the game medium counting means, it is determined whether or not the game media are normally received by the game medium receiving means based on the counting result of the game media (7). game machine.

In the game machine (9), the same effect as in the game machine (7) can be obtained, and counting can be performed by common processing without depending on the game medium detection means and the discharged game medium detection means. It is possible to reduce the program capacity. By comparing the counting result of the game media detected by the game medium detecting means and the counting result of the game media discharged from the game medium detecting means by the discharged game medium detecting means, the game medium detecting means and the discharged game media are detected. Abnormality of the detecting means can be detected, and abnormality determination is performed each time the number of game media is counted.

(10) the second information is set to any numerical value of 1, 0 or -1;
The gaming machine according to (7), wherein the counting of the game media is executed by a common command to add the second information to the number of the game media.

In the game machine of (10), the same effect as that of the game machine of (7) can be obtained, and the variation of the count can be increased by making it possible not only to add the count of the game media but also to subtract or not to perform calculations. can be done. For example, even for a game medium detection means without prize balls, such as a normal game gate, by executing a common instruction to add the value of the second information to the number of prize balls, the number of prize balls can be detected without executing exception processing. can be counted. This simplifies the program structure and improves the maintenance efficiency of the game control program.

[23. Disconnection/reconnection of wiring]
As described above, the gaming machine of the present embodiment has a setting function capable of changing the set value (set value information) that affects the operating ratio (lottery probability) of the condition device. In the above example, the basic operation of the setting function was explained, and furthermore, the control when a power failure occurred while the setting function was being executed was also explained.

Since the settings of the gaming machine affect the game value (profit) given to the player in the game, if the player can check the settings, there is a risk of interfering with the fair game. It is natural for players to want to play games on a gaming machine that is set to have a high possibility of obtaining a large amount of gaming value (profit), and once the settings are confirmed, it is possible to obtain gaming value. The operating rate of gaming machines with settings that are less likely to be played will drop significantly. In addition, if it is possible to check or change settings by means of fraud (so-called fraud), it is expected that some people will attempt to do so. For example, it is conceivable to try to clear the settings by cutting off the power supply to the main control board 1310, or to check the settings by the behavior of the game machine when restarting.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the wiring connected to the main control board 1310 is disconnected and reconnected, or the power supply is temporarily cut off while the wiring is connected by an illegal method using an illegal device. To propose a game machine which induces a malfunction of the game machine and prevents illegal confirmation or change of settings.

[23-1. Connection form of various control boards]
FIG. 380 is a block diagram showing an example of a connection form of connection lines that supply power to various boards that control the game machine of this embodiment. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, power is supplied from the power supply board 931 to various control boards. Further, the main control board 1310, the peripheral control board 1510, and the payout control board 951 are supplied with power from the power supply board 931 through separate systems (different wiring). Therefore, even when the power supply between the main control board 1310 and the power supply board 931 is cut off (the wiring related to the power supply is cut), the power supply to the peripheral control board 1510 and the payout control board 951 is continued. be.

In addition, the main control board 1310 is supplied with power from a backup power supply capable of supplying power for a predetermined time when the power supply from the outside is interrupted such as when a power failure occurs, and the information stored in the main control RAM 1312 is supplied. can continue to hold. The backup power supply is, for example, an electric double layer capacitor (“capacitor”), and may be mounted on the power supply board 931 or may be mounted independently.

Various information stored in the main control RAM 1312 is completely erased (cleared) from the RAM 1312 when the RAM clear switch 954 provided on the main control board 1310 is operated when the power is turned on. The operation signal (detection signal) of the RAM clear switch 954 is also output to the payout control board 951 .

In addition, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, a wiring for supplying normal power to the main control board 1310 and a wiring for supplying backup power to the main control board 1310 are provided separately so that the supply of the backup power along with the normal power is not interrupted. There is. As a result, even if the supply of normal power is interrupted, the supply of backup power is continued, and various information stored in the main control RAM 1312 is maintained. As another example, when the supply of the normal power supply is cut off, the supply of the backup power supply may also be cut off. also cuts off the supply of backup power. Specifically, the backup power supply is provided on the power supply board 931, the wiring for supplying the normal power supply and the wiring for supplying the backup power supply are consolidated, and the wiring between the power supply board 931 and the main control board 1310 is If the connection is interrupted by physical disconnection or disconnection of the connector that connects the boards, the supply of the backup power as well as the normal power is interrupted.

The main control board 1310 bi-directionally communicates with the payout control board 951 . For example, the main control board 1310 transmits to the payout control board 951 various kinds of information (game information) about games and various commands about payouts. On the other hand, the payout control board 951 transmits to the main control board 1310 a response signal to the command transmitted from the main control board 1310 (for example, a payer ACK signal for the prize ball command, etc.) and various commands related to the state of the gaming machine. . Therefore, when only the supply of power to the main control board 1310 is cut off, the payout control board 951 can recognize that the supply of power to the main control board 1310 is cut off, error LED display Abnormality can be notified by a device or the like.

Furthermore, the main control board 1310 transmits various commands related to the control of the game effects executed by the main liquid crystal display device 1600 and the like and various commands related to the state of the pachinko machine 1 to the peripheral control board 1510 via the main control I/O port 1314. Send to Communication between the main control board 1310 and the peripheral control board 1510 is unidirectional communication from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510 . Therefore, when only the power supply to the main control board 1310 is interrupted, the peripheral control board 1510 cannot recognize that the power supply to the main control board 1310 is interrupted. While waiting for the command to be sent, the effect and screen display being executed will continue.

[23-2. setting function]
The gaming machine of this embodiment has a setting function as described above, and the setting function will be explained again. The setting function includes a setting change function and a setting confirmation function. The setting change function is a function for changing the setting values of the game machine, and the setting confirmation function is a function for referring to the setting values.

The setting function (change/confirmation of set values) is normally not executed during a game, but is executed when the gaming machine is activated (before the game is started) or after the game is interrupted. In addition, in order to prevent the player from grasping the setting values, at least a part of the operation units necessary for executing the setting functions are arranged on the back side of the game machine, and cannot be operated unless the main body frame 4 is opened. It's like The setting function in the gaming machine of this embodiment is started by performing predetermined operations on the setting key 971, the RAM clear switch 954 and the power switch 932. FIG.

FIG. 381 is a diagram showing an operation example for executing the setting function of the gaming machine of this embodiment. The setting confirmation is started by activating the gaming machine through the setting confirmation operation of turning the RAM clear switch 954 "OFF", the setting key 971 "ON", and the power switch 932 "ON". The setting change is started by activating the gaming machine through the setting change operation of turning the RAM clear switch 954 "ON", the setting key 971 "ON", and the power switch 932 "ON".

[23-3. Control at power-on]
Next, the control when the game machine is powered on will be described. Here, functions related to settings when the gaming machine is powered on will be mainly described, and descriptions of the processes that have already been described will be omitted.

[23-3-1. Power-on processing]
FIG. 382 is a flow chart of power-on processing of the gaming machine of this embodiment. The power-on process is a process that is executed first when the gaming machine is powered on.

When the gaming machine is powered on, the main control MPU 1311 first executes RAM protection permission setting (step 02TKS0010). An access-prohibited area is set in the storage area of the main control RAM 1312, and if a program is executed during a game to access the prohibited area, a reset is executed assuming that an abnormality has occurred. Considering the possibility that the power supply may not be stable immediately after the power is turned on, the prohibition of access to the main control RAM 1312 is lifted until the initialization of the game machine is completed until the game starts. The RAM protection permission setting is set so that an arbitrary area of the main control RAM 1312 can be accessed. Further, the watchdog timer is cleared and a power failure clear signal is set (set to ON and then to OFF).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes activation confirmation processing at power-on (step 02TKS0020). In the power-on startup confirmation process, first, the power failure warning signal is read to confirm whether or not a power failure is occurring (main power failure warning signal confirmation process before wait at power-on). Subsequently, the signal levels of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are read from the PF port and stored in a predetermined register (setting-related switch acquisition processing before power-on wait). After that, it waits for a predetermined time (wait processing at power-on), reads out the power failure warning signal, and confirms again whether or not there is a power failure (main power failure warning signal confirmation process before wait after power-on). When it is determined that the power failure is occurring, it waits until the power supply voltage of the gaming machine stabilizes. Finally, it is confirmed whether or not the board (wiring) connected to the main control board before the power shutdown has been reconnected. Details of the activation confirmation process at power-on will be described with reference to FIG.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes RAM clear determination processing (step 02TKS0030). In the RAM clear determination process, the information stored in the main control RAM 1312 when the power is turned on is confirmed, and it is determined whether the contents of the main control RAM 1312 when the power is turned off are normally held. For example, it is determined whether the setting information of the game machine and the contents of the main control RAM 1312 before the power failure are normally stored. Details of the RAM clear determination process will be described with reference to FIG.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes setting operation determination processing (step 02TKS0040). In the setting operation determination process, transition to a setting change mode or a setting confirmation mode, confirmation of RAM abnormality, clearing of the main control RAM 1312, and the like are performed as necessary. Details of the setting operation determination process will be described with reference to FIG.

Next, when the setting operation determination process ends, the main control MPU 1311 executes random number setting activation process (step 02TKS0050). In the random number setting activation process, initial settings such as CTC (Counter/Timer Circuit) defining interrupt timing are executed, and interrupts are permitted. Furthermore, the hardware random number (for example, win-lose random number) generation circuit built in the main control MPU 1311 is activated.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes game start determination processing (step 02TKS0060). In the game start determination process, it is determined whether or not a game can be started, a command to be transmitted when the power is turned on (for example, an operation command when the power is turned on) is set, or initial data when the power is turned on is set. Furthermore, it is set to permit execution of interrupt processing such as timer interrupt (step 02TKS0070).

The main control MPU 1311 executes the main control side main processing (step 02TKS0080, step 02TKS0090) when execution of interrupt processing is permitted. In the main processing on the main control side, first, a power failure warning signal is acquired, and whether or not a power failure has occurred is determined based on whether the power failure warning signal is ON (step 02TKS0080). If the power failure warning signal is not ON, the power is normally supplied, so random number update processing is executed (step 02TKS0090). In the random number update process, random numbers other than the random numbers for judging wins are mainly updated in special lotteries and ordinary lotteries.

On the other hand, when the main control MPU 1311 detects the power outage warning signal, the main control MPU 1311 executes a power failure process (step 02TKS0200). In the power failure process, a process of backing up data for restoring the state before the power failure occurred is executed. Specific processing is the same as the processing described in FIG.

[23-3-2. Startup confirmation process at power-on]
Next, the activation confirmation process at power-on (step 02TKS0020) will be described. In the startup confirmation process when the power is turned on, in addition to confirming the main power failure warning signal and acquiring switch-related input information when the power of the game machine is turned on, the disconnection/reconnection of the wiring was performed before the power was cut off. to confirm. In particular, it detects the disconnection/reconnection of wiring that interrupts the progress of the game. Disconnection/reconnection of the wiring that allows the game to proceed (for example, connection with the peripheral control board 1510) is confirmed by disconnection/short-circuit abnormality determination processing called by the timer interrupt processing (FIG. 392).

FIG. 383 is a flow chart showing the procedure of activation confirmation processing at power-on according to this embodiment.

When the main control MPU 1311 starts the startup confirmation process at power-on, the main control MPU 1311 executes the main power failure warning signal confirmation process before wait at power-on to read the power failure warning signal and confirm whether or not there is a power failure (step 02TKS0110). Subsequently, the signal levels of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are read from the PF port and stored in a predetermined register before power-on wait setting related switch acquisition processing is executed (step 02TKS0120).

After that, the main control MPU 1311 executes power-on wait processing to wait for a predetermined time (step 02TKS0130). The predetermined time is set at least at the peripheral control board 1510 for the time required until drawing control by the effect display control section can be executed. Further, the main control MPU 1311 executes a main power failure warning signal confirmation process before waiting after turning on the power for reading the power failure warning signal and confirming again whether or not the power failure is in progress (step 02TKS0140). At this time, if it is determined that the power failure is occurring, the game machine waits until the power supply voltage is stabilized.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the main control board 1310 is reconnected to other boards, sensors, etc. (step 02TKS0150). Whether or not it is reconnected is determined based on the information stored in the game control area of the main control RAM 1312 . For example, it may be determined based on information when an error occurs due to failure to receive a response signal from the payout control board 951, or may be determined based on error information such as a proximity switch error. Further, it may be determined based on the wiring connection failure flag is set in the backed up game control area.

If the wiring connecting the main control board 1310 to other boards, sensors, etc. is disconnected before the power is cut off and reconnected when the game machine is started (the result of step 02TKS0150 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 ), and sets a wiring reconnection flag (step 02TKS0160). After setting the wiring reconnection flag, the wiring connection failure flag is cleared (step 02TKS0170).

Also, the main control MPU 1311 notifies an incorrect setting confirmation error based on the wiring reconnection flag being set. As described above, the illegal setting confirmation error is caused by disconnecting and reconnecting the wiring connected to the main control board 1310, thereby illegally cutting off/restarting the power supply to the main control board 1310, and furthermore, This indicates the possibility of fraudulent actions such as unauthorized access to the inside of the gaming machine to change or confirm setting value information due to an unauthorized setting change operation or setting confirmation operation. Therefore, when an illegal setting confirmation error occurs, it is desirable to stop the functions of various detection sensors, stop the start or continuation of new games, check the settings, and inspect other abnormalities in the gaming machine. . The illegal setting confirmation error notification is performed by lighting indicators such as the function display unit 1400 and the setting indicator 974, which are composed of LEDs and lamps, in a specific manner, or by displaying an error screen on the liquid crystal display device. In addition, a command is output from the main control board 1310 to the payout control board 951, and an error LED indicator (not shown) provided in the payout control board 951 may be notified by displaying in a specific manner. .

[23-3-3. RAM clear determination process]
Next, the details of the RAM clear determination process (step 02TKS0030) in the power-on process will be described. FIG. 384 is a flowchart showing the procedure of RAM clear determination processing according to this embodiment. FIG. 385 is an example of program code for RAM clear determination processing in this embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. In the RAM clear determination process, as described above, the information stored in the main control RAM 1312 at power-on is confirmed, and it is determined whether or not the contents of the main control RAM 1312 at power-off are normally held. Specific contents of the processing will be described below.

When starting the RAM clear determination process, the main control MPU 1311 first executes the setting value confirmation process (step 02TKS0210). In the set value confirmation process, set value information (set value) that affects the lottery probability of the game is acquired, and if abnormal, an abnormal value is set for the set state and set value. Specific processing will be described with reference to FIG.

When the confirmation of the set value information is completed, the main control MPU 1311 executes a RAM confirmation process outside the use area when power is turned on, and the information of the area not used for the game (RAM outside the use area) of the storage area of the main control RAM 1312 is abnormal. (Step 02TKS0220).

After confirming the RAM outside the use area, the main control MPU 1311 calculates the checksum of the game control area (the area where the game information is stored) of the main control RAM 1312 (step 02TKS0230).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 provisionally sets the abnormal state (RAM abnormality determination value) as the state of the game control area (step 02TKS0240). Hereinafter, the state of the game control area is specified based on the result of processing from step 02TKS0210 to step 02TKS0230.

The main control MPU 1311 determines whether the checksum value calculated in step 02TKS0230 is a normal value (step 02TKS0250). If the checksum value is not a normal value (the result of step 02TKS0250 is "NO"), the game control area is in an abnormal state, so this process is terminated, and if necessary, the content of the game control area is to clear.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the value of the backup flag set before power failure is a normal value (step 02TKS0260). If the value of the backup flag is not a normal value (the result of step 02TKS0260 is "NO"), it is not possible to confirm that the game control area is normal, so this process is terminated, and if necessary game control is performed in subsequent processes. Clear the contents of the region.

The main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the state outside the use area of the main control RAM 1312 confirmed in step 02TKS0220 is normal (step 02TKS0270). If the state outside the use area of the main control RAM 1312 is not normal (the result of step 02TKS0270 is "NO"), the game control area is assumed to be in an abnormal state, and this process ends, and if necessary, in the subsequent process Clear the contents of the game control area.

Main control MPU1311, the value of the checksum and backup flag is a normal value, and when the state outside the use area of the main control RAM1312 is normal, set the RAM normal determination value as the state of the game control area (Step 02TKS0280), the setting state is set to the state before the power interruption (Step 02TKS0290). The state of the main control RAM 1312 is set (stored) in the C register, and the state before power failure is set (stored) in the B register.

[23-3-4. Set value confirmation process]
Next, the set value confirmation process of step 02TKS0210 of the RAM clear determination process will be described. In the setting value confirmation process, the setting information (setting value) of the gaming machine is acquired, and if there is an abnormality, an abnormal value is set for the setting state and the setting value. FIG. 386 is a flow chart showing the procedure of setting value confirmation processing according to the present embodiment. FIG. 387 is an example of program code for setting value confirmation processing of this embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG.

When the setting value confirmation process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first acquires the setting state from the setting state management area (VALID_PLAY; setting state storage means) (step 02TKS0310). The setting state management area is a 1-byte area as shown in FIG. The values that can be set in the setting state management area are the playable state (“0”; _SETST_NON), the setting confirmation state (“1”; _SETST_CHK), the setting change state (“2”; _SETST_CHG), and the RAM error state (“3 ";_SETST_ERR) is set (Fig. 389). It should be noted that an invalid setting confirmation error (“4”;_SETST_CHER) may be settable to distinguish it from the RAM abnormal state. The illegal setting confirmation error does not necessarily mean that the set value is an abnormal value, but considering the possibility that the set value has been tampered with, it is handled in the same way as the RAM abnormal state.

The main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the setting state acquired from the setting state management area is set to an abnormal value, specifically, a value other than the settable values defined in FIG. 389 (step 02TKS0320 ). As a program implementation, the value of the setting state is compared with the setting state management area abnormality determination value (_VALID_PLAY_CK), and if it is smaller than the setting state management area abnormality determination value, the value is determined to be normal. The value of the setting status management area abnormality determination value is a value obtained by adding 1 to the maximum value that can be set (in this embodiment, RAM abnormality = "3"). If there is, it is determined as normal.

Subsequently, when the setting state acquired from the setting state management area is not an abnormal value (the result of step 02TKS0320 is "NO"), that is, when the setting state is a normal value, the main control MPU 1311 changes the setting value ( set value information) is obtained (step 02TKS0330). A set value (set value information) is stored in a set value area (SETTEI_AR; set value information storage means; FIG. 388) which is a 1-byte area. In this embodiment, the set value is set to a value from "0" to "5".

Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the value of the acquired set value (set value information) is within a predetermined range, ie, a value from "0" to "5" (step 02TKS0340). Since only positive numbers can be set in the set value area, the upper limit value (set value upper limit judgment value; _SETTEI_LIM=“5”; FIG. It is sufficient to determine whether or not the number is larger than the added number.

When the value of the set value (set value information) is within the predetermined range (the result of step 02TKS0340 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 executes this processing because the set state and set value are set normally. Terminates and returns to the calling process (RAM clear determination process).

On the other hand, if the setting state is an abnormal value (the result of step 02TKS0320 is "YES") or if the setting value is an abnormal value (the result of step 02TKS0340 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 returns to the setting state. The RAM abnormal state "3" is set (step 02TKS0350). Finally, the set values are initialized (step 02TKS0360), and the process of the calling source (RAM clear determination process) is returned to.

Since the set values are not erased (initialized) even if the RAM clear operation is executed, if an abnormality occurs in the set values, they are initialized by the set value confirmation process. This is to enable the state of the gaming machine to be initialized while maintaining the set values, such as when returning the high probability state to the normal state by clearing the RAM.

[23-3-5. Setting operation determination process]
Next, the details of the setting operation determination process (step 02TKS0040) in the power-on process will be described. FIG. 390 is a flow chart showing the procedure of setting operation determination processing according to the present embodiment. FIG. 391 is an example of program code for setting operation determination processing of this embodiment, and corresponds to the flowchart in FIG. In the setting operation determination process, as described above, transition to the setting change mode or the setting confirmation mode, confirmation of RAM abnormality, initialization (clearing) of the main control RAM 1312, and the like are performed.

When the setting operation determination process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first temporarily sets a value (_SETST_ERR) indicating RAM abnormality in the setting state management area (set value information storage means) (step 02TKS0410).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not a setting change operation was performed when the power was turned on (step 02TKS0420). Specifically, the levels of the signals of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are read out from the external input port (_PINSTS) immediately after the power is turned on to determine.

When the setting change operation has not been executed when the power is turned on (the result of step 02TKS0420 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the setting state before the power failure was the setting change, that is, the setting change mode. It is determined whether or not a power failure occurred during the period (step 02TKS0430). The setting state before the power interruption is stored in the B register by the processing of step 02TKS0290 of the RAM clear judgment processing.

If the setting state before the power failure was not a setting change (the result of step 02TKS0430 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the setting state before the power failure was a RAM abnormality (step 02TKS0440). ). If the setting state before the power failure was the RAM abnormality (the result of step 02TKS0440 is "YES"), this process is terminated and the caller process (power-on process) is returned to.

The main control MPU 1311 initializes the setting state management area (step 02TKS0460) when the setting state before power failure is not RAM abnormal (the result of step 02TKS0450 is "NO"). Further, it is determined whether or not the RAM clear switch 954 was ON when the power was turned on (step 02TKS0470).

If the RAM clear switch 954 is not ON when the power is turned on (the result of step 02TKS0470 is "NO"), that is, if it is OFF, the main control MPU 1311 restores the state before the power failure occurred. The game state at the time when the power failure occurred is stored in the power-on state buffer (step 02TKS0480). Further, it is determined whether or not the setting key is OFF (step 02TKS0490). If the setting key is not OFF (the result of step 02TKS0490 is "NO"), that is, if it is ON, it means that the setting confirmation operation is being executed, so the setting state is set to the setting confirmation state (step 02TKS0500). ).

When the setting key is OFF (the result of step 02TKS0490 is "YES") or when the setting confirmation state is set, the main control MPU 1311 executes door state confirmation processing (step 02TKS0510). In the door state confirmation process, the open/closed state of the door frame 3 is confirmed, and if it is open, corresponding settings are made. When the door state confirmation process ends, the process returns to the caller process (power-on process).

The main control MPU 1311, if the setting change operation was executed when the power was turned on (the result of step 02TKS0420 is "YES"), or if the setting state before the power failure was the setting change (the result of step 02TKS0430 is "YES"), the setting state is changed to the setting change state (step 02TKS0520). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the RAM outside the use area is normal (step 02TKS0530). If the RAM outside the usage area is not normal (result of step 02TKS0530 is "NO"), that is, if an abnormality occurs in the RAM outside the usage area, the RAM outside the usage area is restored to a normal state. Abnormality processing is executed (step 02TKS0540).

If the RAM clear switch 954 is ON (the result of step 02TKS0470 is "YES"), or if the RAM outside the use area is normal (the result of step 02TKS0530 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 When the execution of the RAM abnormality processing is completed, the RAM initialization processing is executed (step 02TKS0550), and the work area is cleared (step 02TKS0560). After that, this processing is terminated, and the processing of the calling source (power-on processing) is returned to.

As described above, in the present embodiment, setting value information is obtained when the gaming machine is powered on, and setting value-related control is performed according to the operation input when the power is turned on and the setting state before the power is turned off. For example, if the setting state before turning off the power is "setting change", regardless of the presence or absence of operation input and the setting state, the game can be played smoothly by starting the setting change mode and continuing the setting change when the game machine is started. restart. In this case, there is a possibility that a RAM abnormality occurs because the set value is not fixed, and the set value may not be the one intended by the setter.

On the other hand, even if the setting state before power-off is "setting confirmation", if there is no operation input (setting confirmation operation) for starting the setting confirmation mode when the power is turned on, the game machine is started without continuing the setting confirmation. This is because, unlike the setting change mode, the game can be started because the set value is maintained without being changed, and if reconfirmation is required, the operation input can be performed again. In addition, by not automatically shifting to the setting confirmation mode at startup, it is possible to prevent unauthorized confirmation of setting values by intentionally restarting the gaming machine.

Also, if the setting state is "RAM abnormal", the game cannot be started normally, so the activation of the game machine itself is stopped without clearing the RAM. If the setting status is "RAM error", it is necessary to reset the setting value information by changing the setting. By preventing the game from starting until the setting is made, the possibility of cheating is reduced. Furthermore, if the setting state can be set to "unauthorized setting confirmation error", similar to "RAM abnormality", by controlling so that the game cannot be started normally, unauthorized third parties It is possible to prevent the game from being restarted by falsifying the set value.

[23-3-6. Disconnection/Short Circuit Abnormality Judgment Processing]
Here, the disconnection/short-circuit abnormality determination process (step 01TKS0120) including the process of confirming that the wiring disconnected during the game is reconnected will be described. The disconnection/short-circuit abnormality determination process is a process executed in the switch-related control process (step 01TKS0010; FIG. 354) in the game-enabled time process (step P108; FIG. 329) of the timer interrupt process. FIG. 392 is a flow chart showing the procedure of disconnection/short-circuit abnormality determination processing according to the present embodiment.

The main control MPU 1311 acquires connection error history information (switch error history information) when starting disconnection/short circuit abnormality determination processing (step 02TKS0610). Further, it is determined whether or not the connection error history information includes error information of wiring to be detected (step 02TKS0620). In this embodiment, the wirings to be detected in the connection error history information are all of the plurality of wirings connected to the main control board 1310, but not all of the plurality of wirings. You may make it target only. In addition, if only some of the plurality of wirings are targeted, it is desirable that at least the wiring related to the power supply to the main control board 1310 is targeted.

When the connection error history information contains the error information of the wiring to be detected (the result of step 02TKS0620 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 waits for a predetermined time (step 02TKS0630), and sets the wiring connection failure flag. is set to ON (step 02TKS0640). Further, a disconnection/short-circuit abnormality command is transmitted (step 02TKS0650), and this processing ends. The wiring connection failure flag may be set to ON for each wiring, or may be a common flag for all wirings, and when a disconnection or short circuit is detected in any of the wirings to be detected, one wiring connection is turned on. A defect flag may be set to ON. Also, a wiring connection failure flag may be stored in the game control area, and the wiring reconnection flag may be set to ON in the startup confirmation process at power-on by referring to the wiring connection failure flag when the gaming machine is restarted. .

The main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the wiring connection failure flag is set when the connection error history information does not include the wiring error information to be detected (result of step 02TKS0620 is "NO"). (step 02TKS0660). If the wire connection failure flag is not set (the result of step 02TKS0660 is "NO"), the gaming machine is operating normally without any abnormality such as disconnection, and this process is terminated.

On the other hand, when the wire connection failure flag is set (the result of step 02TKS0660 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 sets the wire reconnection flag to ON because the disconnected wire has been reconnected ( step 02TKS0670). After the wiring reconnection flag is set to ON, the disconnection or short circuit is eliminated, so the wiring connection failure flag is cleared (set to OFF) (step 02TKS0680). Note that the wiring reconnection flag is canceled (set to OFF) when normal setting changes performed when the power switch 932 is turned from OFF to ON are executed and the game is normally started.

According to the above procedure, it is possible to detect that the abnormality is resolved by reconnection after a connection abnormality such as disconnection or short circuit occurs in the wiring. It is unnatural for a connection abnormality such as a disconnection or short circuit to be resolved without restarting the game machine. Information may have been changed or confirmed. Therefore, as described above, an illegal setting confirmation error is generated based on the fact that the wiring reconnection flag is set ON, the continuation of the game is suppressed, and illegal exploitation of the game value is prevented.

Since the start-up confirmation process at power-on is a process executed when the game machine is started up, the wiring reconnection flag is set in the start-up confirmation process at power-on, and if an invalid setting confirmation error occurs, the start of the game is stopped. I was trying to On the other hand, even if the wire reconnection flag is set to ON in a process that is executed during the continuation of the game, such as the disconnection/short circuit abnormality determination process, and an illegal setting confirmation error occurs, the game value is illegally set. should stop playing to prevent exploitation. However, if an illegal setting confirmation error occurs due to a fraudulent act, the game may be continued to the extent that no actual harm is done to the hall side in order to identify the person who has committed the fraudulent act. For example, even during the period from the occurrence of a connection abnormality such as a disconnection or short circuit in the wiring to the reconnection (while the fraudulent act is being performed), the production device such as the liquid crystal display device and movable accessories To continue performance as usual for a predetermined period. At this time, by suspending the game control for giving new game value (new lottery, awarding of prize balls, etc.), illegal exploitation of game value is prevented. In addition, the function display unit 1400, the setting display 974, and the like notify an illegal setting confirmation error to such an extent that it cannot be seen from the front of the game machine, so that the person who has committed the illegal act is hard to recognize that the error has occurred. By masquerading, it is possible to ensure sufficient time for the hall side to collect evidence and the like without immediately leaving the person who has committed the fraudulent act, thereby making it easier to identify the whole picture of the fraudulent act.

[23-4. Control when invalid setting check error occurs]
Next, by disconnecting and reconnecting the wiring to the main control board 1310, consideration will be given to dealing with cheating that induces malfunction of the gaming machine. As an example of fraud assumed in the present invention, a malfunction may be induced by forcibly cutting off the wiring that supplies power to the main control board 1310, or during a restart due to disconnection or reconnection of the wiring. It is an act of illegally gaining profit by outputting a special command (for example, a setting command) in an illegal way.

As a means for forcibly cutting off the power supply to the main control board 1310, it is conceivable to physically cut off the wiring connected to the power board. It is conceivable that the game may be continued illegally by temporarily removing the wiring connector by some method and reconnecting it. Detection of possible fraudulent behavior such as disconnection or reconnection of the wiring connected to the main control board 1310 can be performed by the disconnection/short circuit abnormality determination process procedure described above.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, by detecting the reconnection of the wiring rather than the disconnection of the wiring, an incorrect setting confirmation error occurs as described above. Further, if an illegal setting confirmation error occurs, the progress of the game is stopped. That is, in a state where an illegal setting confirmation error has occurred, the game cannot be restarted unless a specific return operation is performed. Since the specific return operation can be performed only on the hall side, it is desirable to use a specific operation unit that can be operated from the back side of the game machine. In order to simplify the configuration of the gaming machine, the setting change operation is configured to serve as a specific return operation (details will be described later). In addition, by executing a setting change operation as a specific return operation, even if there is a possibility that the setting value has been illegally confirmed or altered, the game can be safely restarted by setting a new setting value on the hall side. can be done.

Hereinafter, control for preventing fraud when disconnection and reconnection of the wiring of the main control board 1310 of the main control board 1310 is detected will be described with reference to a timing chart.

[23-4-1. When executing the setting confirmation operation after reconnecting the wiring]
First, the case of executing the setting confirmation operation after detecting reconnection of the wiring connected to the main control board 1310 will be described. FIG. 393 shows an illegality such as disconnecting the wiring connected to the main control board 1310 of this embodiment, thereby cutting off the power supply, and executing the setting confirmation operation when restarting the power supply after reconnecting the wiring. 10 is a timing chart for explaining control when a setting confirmation action is performed;

Referring to FIG. 393, the main control side power is continuously supplied until time t11, the power switch 932 is "ON", the setting key 971 is "OFF", and the RAM clear switch 954 is "OFF". there is Since the wiring connection state is normal, the wiring connection failure flag and the wiring reconnection flag are canceled.

The setting display 974 is in a non-display state (based on the setting display 974) in which the setting values are not displayed because the game state is the normal game state and the setting functions such as setting confirmation and setting change are not executed. When it also serves as the display 1317, it is in a state where a predetermined base display is performed). In addition, the function display unit 1400 displays a mode indicating the normal game state, and the special symbol display device included in the function display unit 1400 performs variable display of special symbols. The main control board 1310 transmits to the peripheral control board 1510 a command for instructing the start of variation as well as information for determining the aspect of the variation display of the performance symbols when the variation of the special symbols is started. Furthermore, since communication is normally performed between the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951, the error LED indicator provided on the payout control board 951 is lit in a manner indicating normality.

In addition, power is supplied to the effect side power supply as well as the main control side power supply. When the peripheral control board 1510 receives the command for instructing the start of variation, it starts the variable display of the performance symbols, and based on the variation start command, the characters etc. are displayed on the liquid crystal display device according to the variable display of the performance symbols. is executed, and furthermore, the production is executed by production devices such as movable accessories, LEDs, and lamps.

Time t11 represents the case where the wiring related to the power supply to the main control board 1310 is illegally disconnected while the ON setting of the power switch 932 is maintained. Only the power supply to the As a result, the game state becomes power cut, the game control by the main control MPU 1311 is interrupted, and the power cut processing is executed. In the present embodiment, as described above, in view of the possibility that some kind of fraudulent action is being taken in response to such behavior, the wire connection failure flag is set to ON during the process of executing such power interruption processing (time t11). The wiring connection failure flag is set to ON based on, for example, the mode of voltage change.

Further, if the wiring related to the power supply to the main control board 1310 is illegally disconnected, the signal from the main control board 1310 is interrupted, so the functions of the function display unit 1400 stop. At this time, the LEDs and 7 segments included in the function display unit 1400 may be extinguished, and if power is supplied through a system different from the main control board 1310, an error may be displayed. In addition, since the error LED indicator provided on the payout control board 951 cannot receive the signal from the main control board 1310, an error display of connection abnormality is made in a specific manner different from when the connection is normal.

As shown in FIG. 380, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, the wiring for supplying power to each board is a separate system, so even if the power supply to the main control board 1310 is illegally interrupted, the peripheral control board 1510 and power supply to various production devices is continued. Therefore, even after the time t11 when the power supply to the main control board 1310 is illegally cut off, the effect display, various lamp displays, sound effects, etc. on the liquid crystal display device can be continued.

The variable display of the performance symbols is fixed and stopped when a command instructing to stop the variation transmitted from the main control board 1310 is received due to the completion of the variation of the special symbols. However, since the power supply to the main control board 1310 is stopped, the command for controlling the effect (the command for fixing and stopping the fluctuation display of the pattern) is not transmitted, so the power supply to the main control board 1310 The effect display continues with the contents at the time of power failure until the is resumed. Specifically, since the design stop command cannot be received while the performance design is being displayed in a variable manner, the high-speed display of the performance design continues, or the temporary stop state (the performance design shakes at a predetermined position without being fixed and stopped. state) continues, and the variable display of the production pattern continues.

In the example of FIG. 393, when the power switch 932 remains set to ON and the connection of the wiring related to the power supply to the main control board 1310 is illegally disconnected, the power supply of the main control board 1310 is interrupted, the timer interrupt processing (disconnection/short-circuit abnormality determination processing) is not executed at the time of reconnection, and the wiring reconnection flag is not set to ON at this timing. Then, when the wiring for supplying power to the main control board 1310 is reconnected, the power supply to the main control board 1310 is resumed (time t12), and the main control MPU 1311 starts power-on processing, and starts up when the power is turned on. A wiring reconnection flag is set to ON by confirmation processing (time t13, step 02TKS0670). In this way, when the wiring connection is illegally disconnected, the power supply to the main control board 1310 is cut off, and the power is resupplied, the wiring connection failure flag and the wiring reconnection flag are set to store the fact. It is possible to set ON sequentially and monitor fraud.

When the main control side power supply is re-supplied and the main control board 1310 is activated (time t13), based on the wiring reconnection flag set to ON, the setting indicator 974 or the like notifies an incorrect setting confirmation error on the back side of the gaming machine. do. By notifying an illegal setting confirmation error on the back side of the game machine, the hall side can later confirm the confirmation of the storage contents of the main control RAM 1312 due to the interruption of the power supplied to the main control board 1310.例文帳に追加

In addition, the connection of any one of a plurality of wirings including the wiring for supplying power to the main control board 1310 is disconnected, and the connection path is used for fraudulent acts (unauthorized wiring is connected instead of another wiring). Therefore, in this embodiment, such connection paths are also monitored as follows. That is, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, when any of the plurality of wirings including the wiring for supplying power is disconnected and reconnected, an abnormality occurs in the set value regardless of whether or not the power supply is cut off. Execute specific notification to notify the possibility of FIG. 393 shows, as an example, an example in which the function display unit 1400 executes specific notification when the wiring that supplies power is cut off and reconnected. When the connection is reconnected after being connected, the specific notification is similarly performed. The target for executing the specific notification need not be the function display unit 1400, and the base display 1317 may display specific information, or the liquid crystal display device 1600 may display a specific image. may In addition, in order to distinguish it from the illegal setting confirmation error, it may be reported by a device different from the device that reports the illegal setting confirmation error, or may be reported by the same device as the illegal setting confirmation error.

Regarding the error LED indicator provided in the payout control board 951, since the signal from the main control board 1310 cannot be received because the game is in the stopped state, even if the connection error is continuously displayed. However, it is also possible to receive a command from the main control board 1310 indicating that an unauthorized setting confirmation error has occurred or that the game is in an unplayable state, and to perform an unauthorized setting confirmation error notification, a specific notification, or the like. good. It should be noted that the error LED indicator provided in the payout control board 951, when the power supply to the main control board 1310 is restarted, even if the game cannot be started, the connection itself is normal. It may be displayed in a manner indicating that the connection is normal.

When an illegal setting confirmation error occurs, the continuation of the game is suppressed because there is a possibility that a fraudulent act has been performed. Also, when the specific notification is executed, the game may be stopped in the same manner as when the illegal setting confirmation error occurs, or the game may be continued with only the notification.

In addition, when an invalid setting confirmation error occurs, if an abnormality such as all the contents of the main control RAM 1312 being actually cleared occurs, RAM clear determination processing (Fig. 383) during power-on processing 385), "RAM error" is set in the setting state.

In addition, in this embodiment, even if the contents of the main control RAM 1312 are determined to be normal, such as the checksum being normal, if an illegal setting confirmation error occurs, illegal actions can be prevented more reliably. In order to do so, the setting state may be set to "unauthorized setting confirmation error" so that the same processing as "RAM abnormality" is performed. When a process similar to "RAM abnormality" is performed, the game is kept in a stopped state without starting the game until the setting change operation is performed normally.

At time t13 after the power supply on the main control side is re-supplied, it becomes possible to transmit a command from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510, and the liquid crystal display device cannot start the game. A display corresponding to the setting confirmation error is executed, various lamps emit light corresponding to the illegal setting confirmation error, and various speakers execute voice notification corresponding to the illegal setting confirmation error. At this time, the performance symbols that are displayed in a variable manner are stopped from being varied or are not displayed. In addition, as for the production device, at the timing of time t13, the action of the movable accessory being executed is stopped, and initialization processing such as moving to the initial position is executed.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, when the power supply to the main control board 1310 is illegally cut off, the game cannot be started even if the power supply to the main control board 1310 is resumed. be done. As a result, even if an attempt is made to illegally access the set value information by performing a fraudulent act of disconnecting and reconnecting the wiring to the main control board 1310, it is possible to prevent illegal exploitation of profit and causing damage. can be done.

Next, the control when the execution of the setting confirmation operation is determined at time t13 after the main control side power supply is re-supplied at time t12 will be described. The setting confirmation operation does not need to operate the RAM clear switch 954 arranged on the back side of the game machine, and is a simple operation of turning on the setting key 971 when the power is turned on. It is possible to check the setting value. Therefore, in consideration of the possibility that the setting confirmation operation may be performed illegally in some way in addition to the illegal act of cutting off and restarting the power supply to the main control board 1310, the gaming machine of the present embodiment Even if the power supply to the control board 1310 is illegally interrupted and the setting confirmation operation is accepted when the power supply is restarted (even if the setting key is turned ON), the setting value information is illegally confirmed. We are trying to prevent it from being done. Note that, in the setting confirmation operation, the setting key 971 may be operated to the ON position when the startup process is executed after the power is turned on (at the time of determination), and may be operated to the ON position before the power is turned on ( In FIG. 393, it can be determined if the setting key 971 is operated to the ON position between times t11 and t12).

Referring to FIG. 393, at time t13, execution of the setting confirmation operation is specified by determining that the setting key 971 is ON when power supply to the main control board 1310 is restarted. However, since the wiring reconnection flag is set to ON by the disconnection/short circuit abnormality determination processing, the current setting confirmation operation is not considered valid and is regarded as invalid, and no processing related to setting confirmation is performed. In addition, a game stop state is set in which the game is not started.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, after the power supply to the main control board 1310 is cut off, even if the power supply to the main control board 1310 is restarted and the setting confirmation operation is performed, the game can be started. configured to prevent As a result, it is possible to prevent a fraudulent act of temporarily stopping the power supply to the main control board 1310 to fraudulently check the set value.

In addition, even if the power supply to the main control board 1310 is cut off, the game machine can operate normally for the time being by not making any changes to the presentation. Since it is possible to make it appear as if the person who committed the fraudulent act is likely to stay at the gaming machine, it is expected that the fraudulent person can be identified.

In the following, the details of canceling the invalid setting confirmation error by a specific recovery operation (setting change operation in this embodiment) will be described. As described above, if an illegal setting confirmation error has occurred due to fraudulent activity, etc., the power is turned off once, and the power switch 932 is directly operated to perform the setting change operation. can be started. In the timing chart shown in FIG. 393, the power is turned off at time t14 and turned on again at time t15. Note that the hatched portion in the period from time t14 to time t15 in the timing chart of FIG. 393 indicates that the function of each component is stopped due to power shutdown.

When the power of the gaming machine is turned on again, processing for starting up the gaming machine is started, and in the process, it is determined whether or not a setting change operation has been executed. Note that the setting change operation only requires that the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are turned "ON" when the power switch 932 is turned from "OFF" to "ON" (at the time of judgment). A preliminary operation of turning the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 to "ON" may be performed from before.

When the setting change operation is detected and the startup of the gaming machine is completed (time t16), the wiring reconnection flag is cleared. As a result, the illegal setting confirmation error is canceled, and the specific notification and various error notifications are terminated. Then, the setting state of the game machine is set to the setting change state, and the setting change mode is entered (step 02TKS0520). The setting display 974 can switch the display from the display of the invalid setting confirmation error to the setting value being changed. The function display unit 1400 is all off (or may be a display corresponding to the setting change, all on) until the setting change is completed. At this time, the liquid crystal display device may display a screen indicating that the setting is being changed.

When the setting change is completed (time t17), the necessary processing for starting the game is executed by clearing the game control area, etc., and the game can be started.

As described above, in the amusement machine of the present embodiment, when an illegal setting confirmation error occurs, when a setting change operation is executed as a specific return operation, the illegal setting confirmation error is canceled and the setting change mode is changed. It is configured so that the normal game can be started after passing through. Since the setting change operation requires operation of a plurality of operation units (RAM clear switch 954, setting key 971), it is difficult for a fraudulent person to perform this operation, and only hall employees who have a key can operate it. Since it includes the operation of the setting key 971 that cannot be performed and the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 arranged on the back side of the game machine, it is possible to enhance the security performance against fraudulent acts.

In addition, if an invalid setting confirmation error occurs, a special recovery operation may be performed, but since this may complicate the processing when the power is turned on, it is possible to use the same operation as the normal setting change operation. By enabling restoration, it is possible to standardize the program, suppress an increase in the program capacity, and suppress the complication of the game control.

[23-4-2. When executing the setting change operation after reconnecting the wiring]
Next, a description will be given of a case in which an unauthorized setting change operation is performed instead of an unauthorized setting confirmation operation after detection of an unauthorized reconnection of the wiring connected to the main control board. Fig. 394 shows that the power supply is illegally interrupted by disconnecting the wiring connected to the main control board 1310 of this embodiment, and the setting change operation is executed when the power supply is restarted after reconnecting the wiring. It is a timing chart explaining control when a dishonest act is performed.

Compared to the setting confirmation operation, it is more difficult for a fraudulent person to perform a setting change operation. , the power switch 932 is actually operated from OFF to ON to turn on the power. Therefore, the timing chart shown in FIG. 394 is the same as the timing chart shown in FIG. 393 except that the setting change operation is performed when the wiring is reconnected, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, after the power supply to the main control board 1310 is cut off, even if the setting change operation is executed, the wiring connection flag is not cleared, and the illegal setting confirmation error continues. , is configured so that the game cannot be started. As a result, it is possible to prevent a fraudulent act of temporarily stopping the power supply to the main control board 1310 to illegally change the setting value.

[23-4-3. Unauthorized access to setting value information without power interruption]
Next, while the wiring that supplies power to the main control board remains connected, other wiring (for example, wiring connected to various input switches related to lottery and prize winning) is cut off, and when reconnected, the wiring path is disconnected. A description will be given of the point of deterring fraudulent acts such as confirming and falsifying setting value information by illegally using the input of . FIG. 395 is a timing chart for explaining control when wiring other than wiring for supplying power to the main control board 1310 is cut off and reconnected, unlike the embodiments described in FIGS.

Referring to FIG. 395, similarly to the example shown in FIGS. 393 and 394, until the wiring is disconnected (time t21), power is continuously supplied to the main control side power supply, and the power switch 932 is closed. "ON", the setting key 971 is "OFF", and the RAM clear switch 954 is "OFF". Moreover, since the connection state of the wiring is normal, the wiring connection failure flag and the wiring reconnection flag are canceled. Various displays such as the setting display 974 and the function display unit 1400 have similar displays.

Furthermore, the special symbol display device included in the function display unit 1400 executes variable display of the special symbols, and the main control MPU 1311 includes information for determining the aspect of the variable display of the production symbols and instructs the start of variation. Send the command to the peripheral control board 1510 . In the liquid crystal display device, an effect is executed in which the effect patterns are variably displayed and characters and the like are displayed. Furthermore, in conjunction with the variable display of the performance symbols, performances using movable accessories, LEDs, lamps, etc. are also executed.

In FIG. 395, among the plurality of wirings connected to the main control board 1310, specific wirings other than the wiring that supplies power to the main control board (for example, wirings connected to various input switches related to lottery and prize winning) are disconnected. Then (time t21), while the power supply to the main control board 1310 is not interrupted, the wire connection failure flag is set by the disconnection/short circuit abnormality determination process (step 02TKS0640). At this time, the setting display 974 may continue non-display, but may display an error. Further, although the function display unit 1400 is completely turned off assuming that a normal game cannot be continued, an error display may be performed. When the variable display of the special symbols is being executed, the variation of the symbols is stopped at this point. In addition, although the error LED indicator provided on the payout control board 951 is shown as abnormal connection on the drawing, it may be normal if the connection between the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 is normal. Alternatively, an error display may be made to indicate that an abnormality has occurred in the wiring connection of the main control board 1310 .

In addition, as in the cases shown in FIGS. 393 and 394, the effect being executed is continued. Since the power supply to the main control board 1310 continues, the effect may be stopped when the wiring connection failure flag is set. In addition, by notifying the manager and employees of the game arcade in a recognizable manner, it is easy to identify the cheater.

After that, the disconnected wiring is reconnected (time t22), and the wiring reconnection flag is set (step 02TKS0670). When the wiring reconnection flag is set, the setting indicator 974 or the like notifies the above-described incorrect setting confirmation error. Also, the function display unit 1400 performs specific notification. Furthermore, by transmitting a command to stop the effect from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510, the effect being executed is stopped and an error screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display device.

Since the wiring reconnection flag is set at time t22, an illegal setting confirmation error occurs and the progress of the game is stopped. As a result, the wiring that supplies power to the main control board remains connected, while other wiring (for example, wiring connected to various input switches related to lottery and winning) is cut off, and when reconnected, the wiring path is disconnected. Even if an attempt is made to confirm or falsify the set value information by illegally using the input of , the progress of the game can be forcibly stopped after reconnection, and the illegal act can be suppressed.

Next, a description will be given of control when power to the game machine is turned off (time t23) and turned on again (time t24) while changing settings in order to eliminate an illegal setting confirmation error on the hall side. While the power is shut off (shaded area in FIG. 395), display by the liquid crystal display device and each display device, operation of the performance device, etc. are suspended. When the gaming machine is powered on at time t24, processing for starting up the gaming machine is started, and it is determined whether or not a setting change operation is being executed in the process. As described above, the setting change operation is performed only when the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are turned "ON" when the power switch 932 is turned "ON". is not questioned.

After that, when the normal setting change operation is detected and the game machine starts up (time t25), the wiring reconnection flag is cleared and the illegal setting confirmation error is cleared. Then, the setting state of the gaming machine is set to the setting change state, and the game machine shifts to the setting change mode. The display modes of display means such as the setting display 974 and the function display unit 1400 are as described with reference to FIG. When the setting change is completed (time t26), the necessary processing for starting the game is executed by clearing the game control area, etc., and the game can be started.

In the example shown in FIG. 395, after reconnecting the wiring, the power is turned off and then on again. The modify function is configured not to run. In other words, the game cannot be restarted unless the power is turned on again including the operation of the power switch 932 . As a result, it is possible to temporarily disconnect the wiring connected to the main control board 1310 and prevent fraudulent acts such as illegally changing the set values while the game machine is not operating normally.

[23-4-4. If an error occurs when disconnecting the wiring]
Subsequently, a minor warning that allows the game to continue without stopping game control such as pattern fluctuations and payout control of prize balls (for example, warning notification of "Please return to left-handed hitting", warning notification regarding malfunction of decoration system, The behavior of the gaming machine when the power supply to the main control board 1310 is illegally interrupted while the warning notification regarding the storage amount of the plate part is occurring will be described. FIG. 396 is a timing chart for explaining the control when the wiring connected to the main control board 1310 is disconnected and reconnected while a weak error occurs in the gaming machine of this embodiment.

In the example shown in FIG. 396, the full tank detection sensor 535 detects that the game balls stored in the foul cover unit 520 are full at time t31, and a full tank error (minor warning) is notified. At this time, the liquid crystal display displays a message indicating a full tank error, prompting the user to remove the stored game balls. At this time, the error LED indicator of the payout control board 951 displays a display corresponding to the full tank error.

When the wiring connection to the main control board 1310 is disconnected while the full-tank error is being notified (time t32), the power supply to the main control board 1310 is cut off, as in the case of FIG. The display unit 1400 is completely turned off. On the other hand, since power supply is continued to the peripheral control board 1510 and various effect devices, the full tank error display and the effect display on the liquid crystal display device are continued. Thereafter, when the wiring to the main control board 1310 is reconnected, the supply of power is resumed (time t33), the power-on process is executed, and the gaming machine is restarted.

When the restart of the gaming machine is completed (time t34), the wiring connection failure flag is cleared and the wiring reconnection flag is set. By setting the wiring reconnection flag, an invalid setting confirmation error occurs and is notified by the setting indicator 974 . At this time, the function display unit 1400 executes a specific notification, and the main control board 1310 transmits a command notifying that an error has occurred to the peripheral control board 1510, whereby the corresponding error screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display device. be. In addition, the recovery operation from the state in which the illegal setting confirmation error has occurred is the setting change operation at the time of turning off the power and turning on the power by directly operating the power switch 932 as described above. becomes possible.

With the configuration as described above, even if a fraudulent act of cutting off the power supply to the main control board 1310 is executed while an error is occurring, it is possible to make it appear that the error notification continues for the time being. . As a result, it is expected that even if someone commits fraud by taking advantage of the occurrence of an error, the person who committed the fraud will remain as it is until the error notification is lifted, and it is expected that hall employees will be able to identify the fraudster. can.

In addition, in order to further enhance the fraud prevention effect of the above-described embodiment, when an unauthorized setting confirmation error occurs, a command is sent from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510 to notify that an unauthorized setting confirmation error has occurred. 1310 or the peripheral control board 1510, it is stored as history information on the occurrence of an illegal setting confirmation error in the history storage unit provided in the main control board 1310 or the peripheral control board 1510, and can be displayed on a liquid crystal display device or the like by receiving a predetermined history display operation. You may make it It is desirable that the history storage section is supplied with a predetermined backup power supply so that the history information is retained even if the supply of power to the gaming machine is interrupted. In addition, as the history information of incorrect setting confirmation errors, the date and time information extracted from the real-time clock provided in the main control board 1310 or the peripheral control board 1510 is also included, and the date and time when the wiring connection failure flag is set. It is desirable to store all or part of the information, the date and time information when the invalid setting confirmation error occurred, and the date and time information when the invalid setting confirmation error was resolved by performing a normal setting change operation.

In addition, in order to further enhance the effect of deterring fraudulence in the above-described embodiment, since the fraudulent setting confirmation error is an error of extremely high importance related to fraudulent change of setting values, other errors (for example, the door frame 3 Error notification processing and output processing from the external terminal board 784 may be performed as having a higher priority than errors related to opening and magnetic sensor errors. In terms of importance, it is the same as the RAM error, and it is desirable to set the same priority as the RAM error.

Also, in the above-described embodiment, there are multiple stages of set values 1 to 6 corresponding to multiple types of operating ratios for the condition device (that is, the probability of hitting the special symbol), and any one of the set values 1 to 6 A game machine that allows setting (a game machine that can be set in multiple stages) is exemplified, but only one type of operating ratio of the condition device is set, and the corresponding setting value is also a game machine that can set only the setting value 1 (multiple A game machine that cannot be set in stages), the above-mentioned setting confirmation and setting change processing, and various related components (setting keys, etc.) are installed as dummies, and the same processing as the invalid setting confirmation error is executed as a dummy. It may be possible. For gaming machines that allow only setting value 1 to be set (game machines that cannot set multiple levels), setting confirmation (actually only setting value 1 can be confirmed) and setting change (actually only setting value 1 can be confirmed) setting is not possible), there is no damage on the hall side due to unauthorized confirmation or change of the set value. For this reason, if a fraudulent person commits fraud by using the wrong model, there is a possibility that the full picture of the fraudulent act can be grasped and the fraudulent person can be secured without incurring any damage. It can lead to suppression of behavior.

[24. Special conditions Shorter working hours]
[24-1. Overview of special conditions for reduced working hours]
In the gaming machine described so far, it is determined whether or not to shift to the time saving state in relation to the result of the special lottery. Therefore, unless a special lottery is won, the player cannot shift to a game state (specific game state) advantageous to the player, such as a time-saving state. Therefore, there is a possibility that the monotonous game must be continued without being able to win the special lottery for a long period of time, and the interest in the game may be significantly reduced.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a game machine capable of transitioning to a game state (time saving state) advantageous to the player without winning the special lottery will be described. Specifically, when the special lottery is not won a predetermined number of times, the state shifts to a time saving state (special condition time saving). In addition, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, it is also possible to shift to a time saving state based on the winning of the special lottery (normal time saving).

To explain the time saving state of this embodiment, the time saving state sets the winning probability of the lottery (normal lottery) with the second start port 2004 open to a higher probability than the normal state, and when the lottery wins, the second start port 2004 is set to be open for a long time. In addition, in this embodiment, although the time saving state is executed with common contents even if it is normal time saving or special condition time saving, the type of result of special lottery, time saving state such as normal time saving or special condition time saving You may vary the number of times of continuation of the time saving state (the number of times of time saving) and the opening time according to the transition condition. In addition, the probability of the normal lottery is set to be the same and high regardless of whether it is in the normal game state or in the time saving state (100% winning is also possible), and in the time saving state, the second start port 2004 is compared to the normal state. may be set to be open for a longer time.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the special lottery is won, and the time saving state ends by shifting to the next game state based on the result of the special lottery. Also, when the game is executed for a predetermined number of times without winning the special lottery, the normal game state is entered and the time saving state ends. In this way, the time-saving state continues until a predetermined condition such as winning a special lottery or executing a predetermined number of symbol variations (special lottery) is satisfied.

[24-2. Basic flow of special conditions Shortening of working hours]
Next, the control of the special condition time saving in the gaming machine of the present embodiment will be described. The special condition of time saving of the present embodiment is controlled to shift to the time saving state when the number of times the special lottery is not won continuously (time saving transition count) reaches a predetermined number of times (time saving transition count). In addition, since the special condition time saving has a side such as relief when it is difficult to win the special lottery, the time saving shift count may not be updated when the winning probability of the special lottery is high.

In addition, since the second starting port 2004 is not opened in the normal game state, the time saving shift count is updated when the special lottery is not won when the game ball enters the first starting port 2002.例文帳に追加In addition, if it is a game machine that can win the second starting port 2004 even if it is not in the time saving state, the time saving transition count may be updated even if the second starting port 2004 wins. That is, as described above, in the normal state as well as in the time saving state, if the normal lottery is won with a high probability, the game ball wins in the second start port 2004 in the normal state, so this winning also shortens the time. You may make it update a count.

The update of the time saving transition count is executed in the process called from the special symbol/special electric accessary product control process (step 01TKS0080) in the playable time process (FIG. 354), and the specific processing contents will be described later. The update of the time-saving transition count may be added from 0, or may be subtracted from the number of time-saving transitions as an initial value. An example is separately mentioned below about each update of the time-saving transition count by the update of the time-saving transition count by addition, and a subtraction.

In the update by addition, when the time saving transition count reaches the time saving transition number of times, it shifts to the time saving state, and the time saving transition count and the actual time saving transition count stored in the main control RAM 1312 when executing the game control program match. Management such as debugging can be easily performed.

On the other hand, in the update by subtraction, when the time-saving transition count becomes 0, it shifts to the time-saving state. When updating by subtracting the time saving transition count, since the time saving transition count does not become a value greater than the number of time saving transition counts, the capacity of the area for storing the time saving transition count in the main control RAM 1312 can be suppressed. It becomes possible. In addition, it is possible to simplify the control related to the time-saving transition count when the number of times of time-saving transition is reached. However, if the comparison value is 0, it can be processed with one instruction, so that the control can be simplified, and the capacity of the program can be reduced and the speed can be increased.

When the state is shifted to the time saving state by the special condition time saving function, and the time saving state continues for a predetermined number of times without winning the special lottery, the state is transferred to the normal game state again. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, when returning from the time saving state by the special condition time saving function to the normal game state, it is configured not to move to the time saving state by the special condition time saving function again until the time saving transition count is cleared. . This is because it does not reach|attain again the number of times of shortening of working hours, unless it satisfy|fills the conditions which clear (initialize) a time saving transition count. As a matter of course, if the time saving transition count is cleared at the timing of returning to the normal game state, the transition to the time saving state by the special condition time saving function is possible, and may be implemented in that way.

[25. Special conditions Shorter working hours (shorter working hours transition count: addition update)]
As mentioned above, the time-saving transition count for performing control which transfers to the time-saving state by special condition time-saving is updated by addition or subtraction. Here, the Example in case a time saving transition count is updated by addition is described.

[25-1. Control of time saving state by special condition time saving]
[25-1-1. Control from the start to the end of the time saving state due to special conditions time saving]
First, the control from the start to the end of the special condition time saving will be described in chronological order with reference to the timing chart. The starting condition of the special condition time saving is that when the special lottery is not won 300 times in a row (the number of times of time saving transition) after the time saving transition count is cleared, it shifts to the time saving state. The maximum number of continuations of the time saving state is 100 times, and the maximum number of continuations of the time saving state due to normal time saving and the maximum number of times of continuation of the time saving state due to special condition time saving are the same, but may be different. In addition, it is preferable that the number of times after the time saving transition counter is cleared is about 3 times (for example, 800 to 900 times) the so-called jackpot probability (ordinary jackpot probability). In addition, it is preferable to set the number of times that the time saving by the special condition of time saving is provided within a range of about 3 times the probability of the big hit (for example, 900 times or less). It should be noted that the number of time reductions to be given may be different for each setting, or may be the same number regardless of the setting, but it is preferable to keep it within a range of about three times in any setting. .

Here, the state of each structure in the control which shifts to the time saving state by special conditions time saving is demonstrated. FIG. 397 is a timing chart for explaining the control of shifting to the time saving state by the special condition time saving in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. In the timing chart shown in FIG. 397, the control from clearing of the time saving transition count due to the winning of the special lottery to transition to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving is explained.

Time t1 is the timing when the jackpot ending executed at the end of the jackpot game state due to winning the special lottery ends, that is, the timing of shifting to the time saving state. While the big win game state continues, the value of the time reduction transition count in the symbol variation of the special lottery that shifts to the big win game state is set. Referring to FIG. 397, the time saving transition count, the special condition remaining number of times, and the value of the time saving transition count displayed on the performance display monitor are set to the same values from the transition to the jackpot game state to the end. As for the number of remaining states, since the number of times that the jackpot game state continues is set, "1" may be set, or the number of rounds in the jackpot game may be set. In addition, the performance display monitor may display information related to game performance such as a base value and a set value in addition to the time saving transition count value.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the time-saving transition count is cleared at the timing when the jackpot ending is completed, that is, at the timing of transitioning to the time-saving state. In the example shown in FIG. 397, since the time saving transition count is added and updated, the time saving transition count is set to "0". In addition, when updating by subtracting the time-saving transition count, the number of times of time-saving transition (300 times) is set. Further, the details of clearing the time saving transition count will be described later.

Moreover, at the timing of clearing the time saving transition count, the special condition remaining number of times is set to "300", and the number of remaining times of the time saving state is set to "100". Since the special condition establishment remaining number of times can be calculated based on the time saving transition count and the time saving transition number of times, when necessary, for example, a special condition establishment remaining number of times command to be described later is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 so as to be calculated. can be In addition, when updating a time-saving transition count by subtraction, the special condition establishment remaining frequency|count and a time-saving transition count become the same value, and may be stored in the same variable within a program. Thereby, the storage capacity can be reduced.

Time t2 is the timing at which the variable display of the special symbols is first executed after shifting to the time saving state. The time reduction shift count is updated at the timing when the variable display of the special symbols is started, and after the update, it is reflected in the display of the performance display monitor. At this time, for the peripheral control board 1510, a command to notify the variation pattern of the special symbol, a command to notify the symbol type of the stop symbol, a command to notify the pending number of the variable display of the special symbol, a game state at the start of variation ( A command for notifying the time saving state) and a command for notifying the remaining number of times of the current game state are transmitted. Details of various commands will be described with reference to FIG.

Time t3 is the timing when the variable display of the special symbols ends. When the variable display of the special symbols is finished, the number of remaining special conditions establishment is updated. At this time, to the peripheral control board 1510, a command to instruct to stop the fluctuation display of special symbols, a command to notify the game state when the fluctuation of special symbols is stopped, and a command to notify the updated remaining number of times that the special condition is established are transmitted. be done. Details of these commands are described in FIG.

After that, when the stop symbol is determined, the next variable display is started (time t4). Furthermore, when the variable display of the special symbols is performed a predetermined number of times (100 times) without winning the special lottery in the time saving state, the time saving state ends (time t5). At this time, the number of remaining states of the time saving state becomes "0" and updating (counting) is stopped. On the other hand, the time reduction transition count continues to be counted.

When the time saving state ends, it shifts to the normal game state. At this time, the number of remaining states in the normal game state does not need to be managed (cannot be managed), so it is not updated. It should be noted that the number of remaining states may be used as the remaining number of special condition establishment when shifting to the normal game state. This is because when the special lottery is not won continuously for a predetermined number of times (number of times of time saving transition=300 times) after clearing the time saving transition count, the normal game state shifts to the time saving state and the normal game state ends.

When the game progresses in the normal game state, the time-saving transition count reaches a predetermined number of times (the number of time-saving transitions = 300 times), and the change display ends (time t6), the number of times the special condition remains satisfied to shift to the time-saving state. becomes 0 and a special condition is established, and the state shifts to a time saving state (special condition time saving). When it shifts to the time saving state by the special condition time saving, the update of the time saving transition count and the special condition establishment remaining number of times is stopped. Further, the upper limit number of continuations of the time saving state (100 times) is set in the remaining state number of times. In addition, when the time saving transition count reaches a predetermined number of times (time saving number of times = 300 times) which is the upper limit, the value is maintained without being updated.

After that, if the special lottery is not won before reaching the upper limit number of continuation of the time saving state (100 times) after shifting to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving, the state is shifted to the normal game state (time t7). . At this time, the end of the time saving state due to the special condition time saving is not a clear condition for the time saving transition count, so the value of the time saving transition count and the number of times the special condition remains satisfied is maintained, so special until the time saving transition count is cleared It will not shift to the time saving state due to the time saving condition.

By not setting the end of the time saving state by the special condition time saving as the clear condition of the time saving transition count, it is suppressed that the transition to the time saving state by the special condition time saving occurs continuously. As a result, it is possible to prevent the player's expectations from becoming too high. Also, it is possible to adjust the base value of the game machine so that it does not become too high, and it is possible to play the game with appropriate settings.

[25-1-2. Clear (initialize) conditions for transitioning to a reduced working hours state due to special conditions reduced working hours]
In the special condition of time saving in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, as described above, after the time saving transition count is cleared, when the special lottery is not won a predetermined number of times in succession, the state is shifted to the time saving state. In this embodiment, the conditions (special conditions) for clearing (initializing) the time saving transition count are (1) when the game machine is initialized (RAM clear) in a predetermined procedure, (2) when a special lottery is won (After the jackpot game ends). (2) The case of winning the special lottery (after the jackpot game is over) is as described above.

Here, the case where the game machine is initialized (RAM cleared) according to the predetermined procedure of condition (1) will be described. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, as described above, the operations for executing initialization (RAM clearing) of the gaming machine include (a) when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated alone, and (b) the setting key 971 is operated. There are two cases where the RAM clear switch 954 is operated while operating.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, (a) when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated alone (first operation), the time saving transition count is cleared. On the other hand, (b) when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated while operating the setting key 971 (second operation; setting change operation), the time saving transition count is not cleared. This is because the time-saving transition count cannot be easily cleared if the setting key 971 needs to be operated to clear the time-saving transition count. By facilitating the clearing of the time saving transition count, it is possible for an employee of the game arcade to easily manage the special condition of the time saving of the gaming machine.

In addition, unlike the above example, (a) when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated alone, the time saving transition count is not cleared, while (b) the RAM clear switch 954 is operated while the setting key 971 is operated. You may comprise so that a time saving transition count may be cleared in a case. Whether or not to clear the time-saving transition count, which is the condition for granting the special condition of time-saving, is important for the operation of the game hall because it is directly linked to the game profit. For this reason, (b) when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated while operating the setting key 971 to clear the time saving transition count, the clear management is performed by the authority having the key necessary for operating the setting key 971 Therefore, it becomes possible to facilitate appropriate (safe) management in the game arcade.

[25-1-3. Update of time saving transition count after RAM clear operation]
Here, the control of the game machine when executing the first operation (RAM clear operation) and the second operation (setting change operation) will be described. First, before explaining the control at the time of execution of each operation, the outline of the case where the RAM is in an abnormal state when the power is turned on will be explained.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, when the power is turned on, first, it is determined whether or not the set value is abnormal (a value other than 0 to 5). When the set value is determined to be abnormal, the initial value is set to the set value, the time saving transition count is cleared, and the RAM abnormal state is set as the game state. If the set value is not determined to be abnormal, then the checksum, power interruption flag and RAM outside the game area are checked, and if any of them are determined to be abnormal, the RAM is set to be in an abnormal state. At this time, except when the set value is determined to be abnormal, the value before the power failure is held without clearing the time saving transition count. After that, after stopping the game due to RAM abnormality, it is determined whether or not there is a RAM abnormality (including during setting change/confirmation) at the time of execution of timer interrupt processing, and whether or not to execute processing related to the game based on the determination result to decide.

The initial value of the time-saving transition count is set only when the set value is determined to be abnormal and when the big winning ending is completed, except when the first operation is executed, and the initial value is not set otherwise. Further, it is not determined whether or not the value of the time saving transition count is abnormal. The reason why the time saving transition count is not judged to be abnormal is that if the setting value is abnormal, the time saving transition count is likely to be abnormal, so it is considered sufficient to judge only by the setting value abnormality. is.

Next, the control when the game machine is powered on by executing the first operation or the second operation without determining that the set value is abnormal will be described. FIG. 398 is a timing chart illustrating an example of control when the game machine of this embodiment is powered on by executing the first operation. FIG. 399 is a timing chart illustrating an example of control when the gaming machine of this embodiment is powered on by executing the second operation. In the example shown in FIGS. 398 and 399, the time saving transition count is cleared in the case of the first operation (operating the RAM clear switch 954 alone), and the RAM clear switch 954 is operated while operating the second operation (setting key 971) ) shows control that does not clear the time-saving transition count.

In the example shown in FIG. 398, when the power is cut off while the game is continuing in the normal game state, the control of each configuration will be described in the case of turning on the power while executing the first operation. In this case, the time saving transition count is cleared during the initialization process when the power is turned on.

When the power is cut off at time t11, the variable display of the special symbols is interrupted and the performance display monitor is hidden. At this time, the time-saving transition count is held in a predetermined area in the main control RAM 1312 by the backup power supply even during the power failure. At this time, the value of the time saving transition count is "249".

After that, when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated (first operation) and the power is turned on (time t12), initialization processing (FIG. 21, etc.) is executed. At this time, since the RAM clear switch 954 is operated, the game control work area of the main control RAM 1312 is cleared. Moreover, since the first operation has been performed, the value of the time reduction transition count is also cleared in the course of the initialization process (time t13). Further, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the performance display is executed by the timer interrupt processing executed after the initialization processing is completed, instead of being reflected in the display of the performance display monitor immediately after the value of the time saving transition count is cleared. This is reflected in the monitor process (step 01TKS0070). When information is displayed on the performance display monitor after the power is turned on, the value of the time-saving transition count before the power failure is displayed on the performance display monitor. On the other hand, when the display of the performance display monitor is updated only by the performance display monitor processing executed in the timer interrupt processing, the value of the time saving transition count is not displayed until the game is restarted, and after the game is restarted, after clearing The value (“0”) of the time saving transition count is displayed.

When the initialization process ends, the game is restarted with the value of the time saving transition count cleared (time t14). Since the interrupt is permitted in the initialization process, the timer interrupt process is executed, and the value of the time saving transition count cleared by the performance display monitor process is reflected in the performance display monitor. Then, when the game ball wins in the starting winning hole, the variable display of the special symbol is started, and the time reduction transition count is updated at the start of the variable display. In addition, since a time-saving transition count is updated after displaying on a performance display monitor, the display of a performance display monitor is reflected by the next interrupt after which a time-saving transition count was updated.

Next, with reference to FIG. 399, when the power is cut off while the game is continuing in the normal game state, the control of each configuration when the power is turned on while executing the second operation will be described. In this case, the setting change function is executed during the initialization process when the power is turned on, but the value of the time saving transition count is maintained at the value before the power failure.

When the power supply is cut off at time t21, like the state at time t11 shown in FIG. 398, the variable display of the special symbols is stopped and the performance display monitor is hidden. After that, while operating the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 (second operation), when the power is turned on (time t22), initialization processing is executed. At this time, the main control RAM 1312 game control work area is cleared, but the value of the time saving transition count is maintained. After executing the initialization process, the setting mode is entered (time t23). During the setting mode, the setting value is displayed on the performance display monitor.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, it is possible to clear the work area for game control by designating the area. For example, even if the power is turned on while the RAM clear switch 954 is operated, the area storing the set value information is not initialized (RAM cleared) and the stored contents are maintained. Therefore, when the second operation is performed to initialize the gaming machine, the area in which the time saving transition count is stored is excluded from the initialization (RAM clear), and the gaming machine is restarted while maintaining the time saving transition count. to start.

In this way, when the gaming machine is initialized while performing the second operation, the time saving transition count (249) before power interruption is maintained even after the execution of the initialization process. Then, after the game is restarted at time t24, the value of the time-saving transition count at the time before the power interruption (time t21) is displayed at the start of the variable display of the special symbols. After that, when the game ball wins in the start winning opening, the variable display of the special symbol is started, the time reduction transition count is updated at the start of the variable display of the special symbol, and the performance is performed by the performance display monitor process executed at the next interrupt timing. The updated time saving transition count is displayed on the display monitor.

In addition, when a value corresponding to the time saving transition count is displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal display device in order to notify the player of the occurrence of the special condition time saving, the screen is displayed as it is even if the time saving transition count is cleared. be done. The screen display of the liquid crystal display device is controlled by the peripheral control board 1510, and the display is updated based on the transmission of a command notifying the value corresponding to the time-saving transition count from the main control board 1310 when the game is restarted. . This eliminates the need for special control on the side of the peripheral control board 1510 for clearing the time-saving transition count, making it possible to suppress complication of control. It should be noted that the contents displayed on the screen may be cleared when an abnormality occurs.

Further, the gaming machine of the present embodiment has means for confirming the value corresponding to the time saving transition count regardless of whether or not the value corresponding to the time saving transition count is displayed on the liquid crystal display screen. ing. The confirmation means may be displayed on a liquid crystal display device, may be a display device such as the function display unit 1400, or may be a display device other than this. In addition, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, as described above, the performance display monitor displays the value of the time-saving transition count.

When the time saving transition count is cleared, a common notification sound is output by the first operation and the second operation. Also, in the case of the second operation, a notification sound may be output at the operation timing of the setting key 971 . At this time, the processing of clearing the RAM may be executed after the setting change is confirmed, or the RAM may be cleared in advance before changing the setting, and then the setting change may be confirmed. Note that the output of the notification sound can be terminated by a predetermined operation. For example, the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 may be ended, or the power of the gaming machine may be turned off. When the first operation and the second operation are executed, not only the notification sound but also the screen display of the liquid crystal display device may be shared. In this case, it is not necessary to share all of the screen displays, and at least a part of them may be shared. As a result, it is possible to prevent the player from recognizing whether or not the time saving transition count has been cleared due to the occurrence of an abnormality during the game, and to suppress the player from feeling uncomfortable.

Note that different notification sounds may be used for the first operation (RAM clear operation) and the second operation (setting change operation). At this time, a common sound is output as BGM, and different announcements are made for SE and voice (for example, "RAM is cleared" when RAM is cleared, and "Settings have been changed" when settings are changed). output), so that the state in which the RAM is initialized can be distinguished.

As described above, (a) the time saving transition count is cleared when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated alone, and (b) the time saving transition count is cleared when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated while operating the setting key 971. (a) The time-saving transition count is not cleared when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated alone, and (b) the RAM clear switch 954 is operated while operating the setting key 971. You may control so that a time saving transition count may be cleared in case. Furthermore, (a) when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated alone, (b) when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated while operating the setting key 971, even if the time saving transition count is cleared in any case good.

In addition, in both operations (a) and (b), the RAM is cleared and the contents of data relating to monitor display are also reset (cleared). In terms of hall management, it is considered convenient to be able to operate all at once when clearing the time-saving transition count, so the monitor display is also cleared. Since the display on the monitor is updated as the time saving transition count is updated, the display may be maintained without being reset (cleared) when the RAM is cleared. As a result, the processing for resetting (clearing) the monitor display can be reduced, so that the program capacity can be reduced.

[25-2. Commands related to special conditions to reduce working hours]
In the control performed from the starting winning to the first starting opening 2002 to the end of the variable display of the special symbol based on the special lottery due to the starting winning, in order to execute the effect according to the progress of the game, the main control board Various commands are transmitted from 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510 . Based on these commands, an effect corresponding to the special condition of shortening working hours is also executed. Each command will be described below.

FIG. 400 is a diagram showing an example of commands transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510 in the gaming machine of this embodiment. The commands shown in FIG. 400 are only a part, and various commands other than the examples shown in the figure are included as necessary. A command mainly consists of a "status" indicating the type of command and a "mode" indicating the detailed content of the command, each of which consists of 2 bytes.

[25-2-1. Special drawing prize-related commands]
When starting winning for the first start opening 2002, a special lottery is executed in the special symbol/special electric accessory control process, and a command related to the starting winning and the special lottery is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510. For example, it includes a command to instruct the execution of the effect accompanying the start-up winning (increase in the number of pending operations) and the pre-reading effect based on the pre-determination result of the special lottery. In addition, the preliminary determination of the special lottery is executed based on the starting memory (random number) acquired at the time of starting winning.

In the table shown in FIG. 400, commands classified as "special figure winning" correspond to these commands. The "starting opening winning command" is transmitted when the game ball wins the starting winning opening. At this time, a different command may be given for each starting port, or it may be specified by the value of "mode".

"Special drawing reservation number designation command at the time of winning" is a command for transmitting the number of operation reservations at the time of starting opening winning. It may be transmitted at the time of start-up winning, that is, at the time of increase in the number of pending operations, and may be transmitted only when the advance lottery is won and the look-ahead effect can be executed. Whether or not to actually execute the look-ahead effect may be determined by the peripheral control board 1510 side, or the look-ahead effect (so-called fake effect) may be executed even in the case of non-winning. may

In addition, the "special figure reservation number designation command at the time of winning" is similar to the "special figure reservation number designation command at the start of fluctuation", and sets different "statuses" for special symbols 1 and special symbols 2, and "mode" may specify the number of pending operations. On the other hand, the "status" may be set to a common value, the upper bits of the "mode" may specify the special symbol 1 or the special symbol 2, and the lower bits may specify the number of pending operations.

"Special pattern type look-ahead command" and "fluctuation pattern look-ahead command" may be sent when the pre-judgment of the special lottery is won, and may be sent together with the "special figure reservation number designation command when winning", but peripheral control It may be transmitted before the look-ahead effect is executed on the board 1510 . "Special symbol type look-ahead command" is a command for notifying the type (type of winning) of the special symbol (stopped symbol) specified at the time of prior determination of the special lottery. "Variation pattern look-ahead command" is a command for notifying the variation pattern of the variation display of the special symbol. "Special symbol type look-ahead command" and "variation pattern look-ahead command" may be different commands as different "status" for special symbol 1 or special symbol 2, or as a common "status" value of "mode" You may make it distinguish by a value.

[25-2-2. Special figure fluctuation related command]
When the variable display of the special symbols continues after winning the starting slot, the starting memory obtained at the time of starting winning is held with a predetermined number as the upper limit. When the variable display of the special symbols being continued ends, the variable display of the special symbols based on the suspended starting memory is started. At the start of the special symbol variation, a command relating to the special symbol variation display game (variation display of the special symbol) corresponding to the result of the special lottery and a command relating to the game state during execution of the special symbol variation display game are transmitted.

In the table shown in FIG. 400, commands classified as "special figure variation" correspond to these commands. A variation pattern command, a symbol type command, and a symbol stop command are transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 for the special symbol 1 and the special symbol 2 . Either the special symbol 1 or the special symbol 2 may be specified by the "status", or may be specified by the "mode". In the example shown in FIG. 400, the "status" specifies whether it is a special symbol 1 or a special symbol 2, and the "status" is set to a different value depending on whether it is a special symbol 1 or a special symbol 2, and is distinguished. An outline of each command will be described below. Although the special symbol 1 will be described here, the special symbol 2 has the same configuration.

"Variation start time special figure reservation number designation command" is a command for transmitting the operation reservation number at the time of the start of the fluctuation display of the special symbol. It is sent when the special symbol starts to fluctuate, that is, when the number of pending operations is reduced. Separate "statuses" may be set for the special symbol 1 and the special symbol 2, and the number of pending operations may be specified in the "mode". On the other hand, "status" may be set to a common value, the upper byte of "mode" may specify special symbol 1 or special symbol 2, and the lower bit may specify the number of pending operations.

"Special figure 1 variation pattern command" is a command for notifying the variation pattern in the variation display of the special symbol 1, and is transmitted when the special symbol 1 starts to vary. "Special figure 1 symbol type command" is a command that notifies the type of symbol in the variation display of symbol 1 as a result of special lottery. ” is sent immediately after the transmission.

The "special figure 1 symbol stop command" is transmitted when the fluctuation display of the special symbol 1 is completed, that is, after the fluctuation time has elapsed. When the peripheral control board 1510 receives the "special symbol 1 symbol stop command", it ends the effect related to the variable display of the special symbol 1 and displays the result of the special lottery.

About "special figure 2 variation pattern command", "special figure 2 symbol type command", "special figure 2 symbol stop command", information about special symbol 2 is notified to peripheral control board 1510 instead of special symbol 1. .

[25-2-3. State-related commands]
Further, a command is transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510 to notify information about the game state. The peripheral control board 1510 executes an effect according to the game state based on the notified command. The command for notifying information about the game state includes a command for notifying the current game state and a command for notifying information about transition to another game state.

In the table shown in FIG. 400, commands classified as “state” correspond to these commands. The "power-on state command" is a command for notifying the game state when the power is turned on. To execute a performance corresponding to a game state.

"Special figure fluctuation state command" is a command for notifying the game state at the start of special symbol fluctuation, and executes an effect corresponding to the notified game state as necessary. At this time, the commands may be distinguished by having different "statuses" for each game state, or may be distinguished by "modes" as a common "status".

"Special figure stop state end command" is a command to notify the game state at the end of the special symbol fluctuation, and if necessary (for example, when the game state is switched), the effect corresponding to the notified game state Execute. Also, parameters relating to the game state may be updated (initialized) when the command is received.

"Remaining state number command" is a command for notifying the remaining number of times that the current game state continues (the number of executions of the special figure variation display game). The number of remaining states decremented according to the progress of the game is notified. Since a value (2 bytes) larger than 1 byte (255) can be set for the number of remaining states, a command for transmitting the upper byte and a command for transmitting the lower byte are divided and transmitted. The "transition destination command at the end of fluctuation" is a command for designating the transition destination game state when shifting from the current game state to another game state.

It should be noted that, instead of the "special figure stop time state end command", the change of the "remaining state number command" may determine the transition to another game state. In this case, transition of the game state can be determined at the timing when the number of remaining states changes from "1" to "0". Since the normal game state continues unless a predetermined condition is established (for example, when winning a special lottery and shifting to a time saving state), the number of remaining states in the normal game state cannot be defined. Therefore, for reasons such as program simplification, it is conceivable to implement such that commands are continuously transmitted with the number of remaining states set to "0". In this case, it is necessary to determine the transition of the game state based on the change in the number of remaining states instead of judging the transition of the game state based only on the number of remaining states.

In addition, by notifying the number of remaining states, it is possible to execute a countdown effect suggesting transition of the game state. For example, in the countdown performance, the notification of the remaining number of times is started after the number of remaining times until shifting to the time saving state reaches a specific number of times, and the normal performance is continued until the specific number of times is reached.

Furthermore, due to the notified remaining state number of times, the game state at the time of starting winning and the game state at the time of lottery execution are different, so that the content of the look-ahead performance and the actual lottery result are different. It is possible to suppress the execution of For example, when the variation pattern table is divided between the time saving state and the non-time saving state, the predetermined remaining number of times (maximum number of reservations) to switch to the variation pattern table for the time saving state prohibits the prefetching effect.

Even during execution of the countdown performance in which execution of the look-ahead performance is suspended, there is a possibility of winning the special lottery although the probability of winning does not change. Therefore, in the game machine of the present embodiment, when the special lottery is won during the execution of the countdown performance, the countdown performance is interrupted even if the number of executions of the countdown performance remains, and the game ends without restarting. This is because when the special lottery is won, the game state is shifted to a game state different from the game state in which the transition is suggested by the countdown effect.

Also, the countdown performance is interrupted when a RAM abnormality occurs during execution of the countdown performance. At this time, even if the game machine can be restarted normally, the execution of the countdown performance being executed is stopped and the game is resumed in the normal game state. This is because when the game machine is restarted (turned on again) to eliminate the RAM abnormality, the values such as the number of remaining states are initialized, so the game cannot be continued from the state before the interruption. be. In addition to the RAM abnormality, a magnetic abnormality or the like is detected, the countdown performance is interrupted even when the game is stopped, and the game is started from the normal game state even if the magnetic abnormality is eliminated. Since magnetic anomaly cannot occur in a normal game state (it can only occur in an illegal operation), the countdown performance is interrupted in order to intentionally reduce the interest in the game.

Furthermore, when a minor obstacle such as ball clogging occurs and the door is opened to eliminate the obstacle, the countdown effect is temporarily interrupted. At this time, the game is continued by closing the opened door after resolving the clogging of the balls, etc., and the interrupted countdown effect is restarted. That is, when the door is opened during the countdown effect, the countdown effect is temporarily interrupted, but the countdown effect is resumed when the door is closed. Ball clogging is an obstacle that can occur not due to cheating, and door opening is also performed as a general maintenance. Therefore, the gaming machine of the present embodiment is controlled to continue the game.

In the game machine of this embodiment, there are a plurality of factors for interrupting the execution of the countdown performance, and it is possible to decide whether to resume the countdown performance or not to resume the countdown performance while it is suspended, according to the interruption factor. Therefore, when a restartable factor occurs during the countdown effect, by restarting the countdown effect after the interrupting factor is eliminated, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the interest of the game. In addition, when the interruption factor is accompanied by a special situation (RAM abnormality, etc.), the countdown effect is not restarted, thereby preventing the countdown effect from being restarted even though the countdown effect is not normally executed. are doing.

In addition, even if the special condition remaining number of times reaches a predetermined remaining number of times of switching to the variation pattern table of the time saving state, the execution of the prefetch effect may be executed without prohibition. At this time, a look-ahead effect different from usual may be executed. For example, if you win a lottery based on the start memory in which the number of remaining special conditions (remaining number of times until transition to the time saving state) is held within a predetermined number of remaining times, an effect that informs you that the special conditions will not occur. (Special condition reduction of working hours occurrence suppression effect) may be executed. As a result, it is possible to suggest to the player that a big win will occur by executing the performance for notifying that the special condition of time saving does not occur even though the special condition of time saving is supposed to occur. In this way, the special condition time saving function is activated after the end of the predetermined number of fluctuations from the end of the big hit (or the end of the probability fluctuation), but if a predetermined condition is satisfied (for example, the remaining number of times until the transition to the time saving state is held within the predetermined remaining number of times), it is decided to internally suppress the activation of the special condition short-time function, and based on this decision, the remaining number of times display is a predetermined number of times During the displayed period, a special look-ahead effect (special condition reduction in working hours effect) may be executed.

As described above, by notifying the number of remaining states from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510, it is possible to produce effects suggesting useful information to the player, thereby diversifying the variations of the effects and increasing the number of effects. It is possible to suppress discrepancies between the contents and the actual lottery results, thereby enhancing the interest of the game.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, as described above, when the special lottery is not won a predetermined number of times after the time saving transition count is cleared (initialized), the game machine shifts to the time saving state (special condition time saving). Therefore, the main control board 1310 counts the number of times that the special lottery is not won in succession (time reduction transition count). Therefore, the main control board 1310 creates a “special condition satisfaction remaining number command” based on the counted time-saving transition count, and transmits it to the peripheral control board 1510 . When the time saving transition count is updated by addition, the special condition establishment remaining number of times is calculated from the difference between the time saving transition count and the time saving transition count. When the time-saving transition count is updated by subtraction, the time-saving transition count may be made to correspond to the number of times the special condition remains satisfied.

Further, the main control board 1310 may transmit only the command indicating the value of the time-saving transition count without generating the special condition satisfaction remaining number command and transmitting it to the peripheral control board 1510 . At this time, the peripheral control board 1510 calculates the remaining number of times until the special condition is established by executing predetermined arithmetic processing based on the command indicating the value of the time saving transition count. Specifically, when the time-saving transition count is cleared, "0" is set, and when updating by adding the time-saving transition count, the calculation result with the number of time-saving transitions managed by the peripheral control board 1510 (the number of time-saving transitions - Display the command value (time saving transition count) as the remaining number of times. In addition, if the number of time-saving transitions differs for each model (series), the model is specified from the command including the model specifications received when the power is turned on, and the number of time-saving transitions is selected from the predefined time-saving transition number table. You may do so. On the other hand, if you set the number of time-saving transitions when clearing the time-saving transition count and update it by subtracting the time-saving transition count, the count value of the received time-saving transition count value is used as it is and displayed as the remaining number of times. You may

When the special condition remaining number of times becomes "0" and the game state shifts from the normal game state to the time saving state by the special condition time saving function, the value of the special condition remaining number of times becomes "0" while the time saving state continues. maintained. Furthermore, since the time-saving transition count is not cleared when the time-saving state by the special condition time-saving function shifts again to the normal game state, the special condition remaining number of times is maintained as "0". Therefore, as described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, even if it returns to the normal game state from the time saving state by the special condition time saving function, it will return to the time saving state by the special condition time saving function again until the time saving transition count is cleared. It has become impossible to migrate. That is, even in the same normal game state, there are cases in which the special condition for time saving occurs and cases in which it does not occur.

In addition to the commands exemplified in FIG. 400, the commands classified as "state" include "power-on state command" and "power-on state command" for notifying the game state when the power is turned on. It is transmitted immediately after, and includes a "power-on return destination command" that can specify the return destination of game control.

[25-3. Control at the time of time saving state transition]
The normal time saving is the same as the conventional control, and after winning the special lottery and ending the jackpot game state generated by the operation of the accessory continuous actuating device, it shifts to the time saving state. The effect during the time saving state is the same as the conventional game control (normal time saving effect). For example, an effect such as setting a background different from the normal game state is executed.

In the special condition time saving in the gaming machine of this embodiment, as described in FIG. When (when special conditions are established), it shifts to the time saving state. Specifically, at the timing when the special condition remaining number of times becomes 0 from 1, the state shifts to the time saving state. When the time saving transition count is updated by addition, the special condition remaining number of times is a value obtained by subtracting the time saving transition count from the time saving transition number, and is updated after the end of the variable display of the special symbols. In addition, you may share with a time-saving transition count when a time-saving transition count is updated by subtraction. When the special condition remaining number of times becomes 0, the game state is shifted from the normal game state to the time saving state in the game possible time processing of the timer interrupt processing. At this time, the upper limit number of times (100 times) is set to the remaining state number of times of the time saving state.

Here, an example of screen transition (production mode) at the time of transition to the time saving state due to the special condition of time saving will be described. FIG. 401 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition at the time of transition to a time saving state due to a special condition of time saving in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 401, (A) shows a state in which the symbols are stopped in the last symbol variation in the normal game state before shifting to the time saving state. The game machine of the present embodiment does not execute a performance such as a countdown performance until the change immediately before shifting to the time saving state, but as shown in (B), it executes a time saving rush performance together with confirmation of the transition to the time saving state.

In addition, when the shift to the time saving state is approaching, a countdown effect may be executed to display the number of remaining fluctuations until the shift to the time saving state. For example, when the number of remaining fluctuations is equal to or less than a predetermined number (for example, 10 times), the number of remaining fluctuations may be displayed. In addition, without specifying the remaining number of times, a character may appear, or the background color may be changed to provide an effect suggesting transition to the time-saving state.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, when shifting to the time saving state, the background for the time saving state is set from the background for the normal game state, so that the player can recognize that it has entered the time saving state. After execution of the time saving production, the time saving state screen shown in (C) is displayed. The background of the screen for the time saving state is a different aspect from the screen for the normal game state, and in the example of FIG. The screen background is shaded. Actually, the screen for the normal game state and the screen for the time saving state may be different, and the aspect of the effect pattern may be different in addition to the background color, or different characters may be displayed.

In addition, in the time saving state of the gaming machine of the present embodiment, since the game ball is shot to the right side of the game area (right hitting), the time saving state screen displays a right hitting instruction. In addition, the remaining number of times that the time saving state continues is displayed. Note that these contents may not be displayed, or other information may be displayed.

At the time of symbol stop of the variable display when the special condition is established (Fig. 401(A)), a special symbol stop state end command is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 together with a special symbol symbol stop command. Peripheral control board 1510 recognizes that the current game state (normal game state) ends by the special figure stop state end command, and furthermore, after the symbol determination time elapses, the special condition remains established by the special condition established remaining number command. By being notified that the number of times is 0, it is possible to specify that the state is shifted to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving. If the transition to the time saving state by the special condition time saving is specified, the peripheral control board 1510 can execute the time saving state rush effect (Fig. 401(B)).

When the special symbol starts to fluctuate (FIG. 401(C)), the main control board 1310 transmits a variation start command, a special figure variation state command, a variation pattern command, and a variation symbol type command. By these commands, the variation time of the effect accompanying the variable display of the special symbol and the content of the effect are specified based on the game state and the result of the special lottery. Specifically, a variation pattern table for selecting a variation pattern is specified, a variation pattern is selected from the specified variation pattern table, and a corresponding effect is executed. An example of the variation pattern table will be described later with reference to FIG. In addition, along with these commands, a remaining state count command for notifying the remaining state count of the time saving state is transmitted. It is possible to execute a countdown effect or the like indicating the number of fluctuations until the time saving state ends by the notified remaining state number command. In the example shown in FIG. 401(C), the remaining number of times (100 times) of the time saving state specified by the remaining state number command is displayed on the screen.

Also, when the special symbols are stopped from fluctuating, a special symbol stop command is transmitted from the main control board 1310 . At this time, a special condition remaining number command in which the special condition remaining number of times is set to "0" is transmitted, and transmission of the special condition remaining number of times command is continued until the time reduction transition count is cleared. In addition, when the special condition remaining number of times reaches 0, the transmission of the special condition remaining number of times command may be prohibited until the time saving transition count is cleared.

[25-4. Control at the end of the time saving state]
Next, the control at the end of the time saving state will be described. As described above, the time saving state ends when the special lottery is not won a predetermined upper limit number of times. In addition, even if the special lottery is won, the ongoing time saving state will end, but the time saving transition count will be cleared and a new time saving state will be started by the normal time saving.

In the time saving state due to the normal time saving, since the update of the time saving transition count continues, after the transition from the time saving state to the normal game state, when the remaining number of special state establishment reaches 0, it moves to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving . On the other hand, in the time-saving state due to special conditions, the time-saving transition count stops updating when the time-saving state transitions, and the special conditions are not satisfied until the time-saving transition count is cleared. does not migrate.

Therefore, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, even in the time saving state, the time saving transition count may or may not be updated. At this time, the player may be allowed to recognize whether the time reduction transition counter is updated or not updated due to the difference in performance mode during the continuation of the time reduction state. If the player can recognize that the time saving transition counter is updated, even if the ongoing time saving state ends, the player can expect to shift to the time saving state again, so that the player's expectation is increased. , can improve the interest of the game.

Regarding the difference in the effect mode during the time-saving state, for example, contents such as "updating the time-saving transition counter" and "stopping the time-saving transition counter" may be displayed in the background portion, or displayed in the background portion of the production pattern. You may Also, different performance symbols may be displayed in the state where the time saving transition counter is updated and the state where the time saving transition counter is not updated. In addition, the background of the entire screen may be displayed differently, or a character indicating whether or not the time reduction transition counter is updated may be displayed.

Therefore, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the production mode at the end of the time saving state due to the normal time saving and the production mode at the time of the time saving state ending due to the special condition time saving are made different. Specifically, at the end of the time-saving state due to the normal time-saving, the time-saving state end performance is explicitly executed to directly or indirectly suggest the transition to the next time-saving state, and then the state is shifted to the normal game state. On the other hand, when the time saving state ends due to the special condition time saving, the normal game state is entered as it is without executing the time saving state end effect. In addition, even if any of the time saving state ends, the effect such as changing the background based on the transition to the normal game state is executed, so it is possible for the player to recognize the end of the time saving state itself. .

Here, with reference to FIG. 402, a specific effect mode at the end of the time saving state will be described. FIG. 402 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition when the time saving state ends in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. FIG. 402(A) shows a state in which the remaining number of times of the time saving state is one, that is, the time saving state ends at the next change.

If the time saving state currently being executed is the time saving state by the special condition time saving, the normal production in the time saving state is executed even if it is the last variable display (Fig. 402 (B1)). Then, the last variable display is completed, and the stop symbol is displayed (Fig. 402 (C1)). That is, in the case of the time saving state due to the special condition time saving, even if it is the 100th variable display, it is controlled in the same way as the variable display from the 1st to the 99th time, and is based on a common variation pattern table from the start to the end of the time saving state. is selected.

When the variable display of the symbols is finished with the final variation in the time saving state, the game is shifted to the normal game state. At the end of the time-saving state due to special conditions, the end effect is not executed, and the display of the background etc. is switched to the display for the normal game state, and the right-handed display (arrow, character notation, etc.) for the time-saving state is turned off. display. Furthermore, if there is a reserved memory, the variable display of symbols is started (Fig. 402(D)), and the game is continued as it is.

On the other hand, in the case of the time saving state due to the normal time saving, a special effect indicating the end of the time saving state is executed at the time of the last variable display (Fig. 402 (B2)), and furthermore, after the symbol is stopped and displayed, the end of the time saving state is notified. An ending effect is executed (Fig. 402 (C2)). The special effect and the end effect may be a series of effects, or may be individual effects.

It should be noted that, in the normal time saving and special condition time saving, the shortening loss fluctuation time other than the reach of the special symbol may be common, or the shortening loss fluctuation time other than some reach may be different. However, for the stop period (period until the next fluctuation starts) at the time of deviation in the final fluctuation, the normal time reduction is longer than the special condition reduction time. As a result, it is possible to secure the performance time when shifting from the normal time reduction to the normal game state, and the smooth flow of execution of the end performance can improve the amusement of the game. On the other hand, the suspension period due to the final variation of the special conditions short working hours shall be the same or substantially the same as the suspension period other than the final variation.

At the end of the time saving state due to normal time saving, unlike the case of the time saving state due to special condition time saving, the last (100th) variable display is controlled to be different from the 1st to 99th variable displays. At this time, the effect contents are selected based on a variation pattern table (FIG. 403(B)) different from the common variation pattern table (FIG. 403(A)). As a result, for example, the change time of the final change in the time-saving state due to the normal time-saving can be made longer than the final change in the time-saving state due to the special condition, and the player's expectations for subsequent games can be enhanced. Further, instead of switching the variation pattern table only for the final variation, the variation pattern table may be switched stepwise according to the number of variations. For example, it may be switched in stages from the 1st time to the 50th time, from the 51st time to the 80th time, from the 81st time to the 90th time, and from the 91st time to the 99th time. For the 100th variation, the effect period after the end of the variation is set to be longer than the effect period defined in the variation pattern table for each stage.

FIG. 403 is an example of the variation pattern table of this embodiment. (A) is a table commonly used in the normal time saving state, and may be used in combination with a game state other than the time saving state (for example, normal game state). (B) is a special table used in the case of the final variation of the time saving state due to normal working time saving. The table commonly used in (A) and the special table used in the final change of the time saving state due to the normal time saving in (B) are the change times and effects in the case of the shortened change in which the result of the special lottery is a loss. Content is different. In addition, when the result of the special lottery of the final variation is a big win, the special performance or the like is not executed, and a normal big win performance may be executed.

After that, when the symbols stop in the last variable display, the game is shifted to the normal game state (Fig. 402(D)) in the same way as in the case of the time-saving state due to the special condition of time-saving, and the game is continued as it is. When shifting to the normal game state, the game progresses with a common performance regardless of whether the time saving state being executed is based on the special condition of the time saving or the normal time saving. Therefore, unless the player confirms the special performance or the end performance at the end of the time-saving state, it is impossible to determine whether or not the special condition is established in subsequent games. As a result, the player can pay attention to the series of effects, and the effect of the effects can be enhanced.

Production during the time saving state continuation, except for the final variation, is a common aspect regardless of whether it is due to special conditions or due to normal time saving. By executing a special performance in the final change of the time-saving state due to the normal time-saving, it is possible to suggest that the time-saving state will occur due to the special condition when the special lottery is not won for a predetermined number of times thereafter, and the expectation of the player. It is possible to enhance the feeling and enhance the interest of the game.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the normal game state after the end of the time reduction state due to the normal time reduction is more advantageous to the player than the normal game state after the end of the time reduction state due to the special condition. It will be. Specifically, after the time-saving state due to the special conditions, the time-saving state due to the special conditions will not occur again, and the normal game state will not occur. This is an advantageous game state for the player in that it shifts to a normal game state in which can occur. In addition to this, in the normal game state after the end of the time saving state due to the normal time saving, it is possible to make the game state advantageous to the player by shortening the fluctuation time of the special symbol than the normal game state after the end of the time saving state due to the special condition. good. In addition, in the normal game state after the end of the time saving state due to the normal time saving, it may be possible to make it easier to execute an effect that suggests the setting value information of the game machine, or to make it easier to execute various prefetch effects. .

As mentioned above, although the production|presentation mode at the time of the time saving state completion|finish was demonstrated, it supplements about relation with the command received from the main control board 1310 in order to perform above-mentioned production|presentation control. Peripheral control board 1510 can determine the end of the time saving state by the special figure stop state end command, but since it is transmitted at the time of the final fluctuation pattern stop when the time saving state ends, the production based on the end of the time saving state There is a possibility that inconvenience may occur because only limited effects can be executed when executed. For example, since the end performance of the time-saving state cannot be executed until after the pattern variation is finished, only a short-time performance with many restrictions can be executed, so there is a possibility that a highly interesting performance cannot be executed.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, as described above, a special effect different from normal is executed at the last symbol variation in the time saving state due to normal time saving. In addition, if the end of the time saving state is determined only by the special figure stop state end command, the special effect (end effect) may not be sufficiently interesting, so the time saving state included in the remaining state number command By specifying the end timing of the time saving state based on the number of remaining states, it is possible to execute an effect including one or more fluctuations before the end of the time saving state. For example, by determining the end of the time saving state at the timing when the number of remaining states changes from 1 to 0, a special effect can be executed at the final change of the time saving state. Since the remaining state number command is transmitted at the start of pattern variation, when the number of remaining states is 1, it can be determined as the final variation of the time saving state.

However, although it is possible to specify in advance the end timing of the time saving state by the number of remaining states, it is not possible to determine whether the time saving state being executed is due to normal time saving or special condition time saving. Here, in the case of the time-saving state due to normal time-saving, the update of the special condition remaining number of times is continued, and the value is at least greater than 0 (Fig. 397). On the other hand, execution of the time saving state by the special condition time saving is after the special condition is established, and the special condition establishment remaining number of times is 0. The special condition remaining number of times is transmitted from the main control board 1310 when the pattern confirmation time elapses after the pattern is stopped by the special condition remaining number of times command, and the time saving during execution is based on the remaining number of times of the time saving state and the special condition remaining number of times. Whether the state is due to normal time saving or special condition time saving is specified, and it is determined whether or not to execute a special performance. Then, in the case of the time saving state due to the normal time saving, while referring to the change pattern table different from the usual in the last symbol variation, the special effect different from the usual is executed, while in the case of the time saving state due to the special condition time saving, the common variation. Refer to the pattern table and control so as not to execute a special effect.

From the above, by changing only the reference destination of the variation pattern table, other controls can be made common, so the complication of game control (production control) is minimized while characteristic production is executed be able to.

Further, when the game state changes from the normal game state to the time saving state or from the time saving state to the normal game state, the execution of the look-ahead effect may be stopped before and after the change of the game state. This is because there is a possibility that the result of the special lottery will be a high probability in the case of a shift to a time saving state due to normal working time saving, and there is a possibility that the preliminary determination result will be inconsistent. In addition, since the presentation mode changes depending on the game state, it is intended to suppress the complication of the presentation control and the player's confusion due to the change in the presentation mode. Even if the game state changes, if the probability of winning the special lottery is the same, at least the result of the preliminary determination is not inconsistent, so the look-ahead effect may be continued.

Also, the period during which execution of the look-ahead effect is prohibited may be determined by the maximum pending number (for example, 4) or the like. Judgment of the start of the prefetching prohibited period is based on the special pattern type prefetching command and the fluctuation pattern prefetching command in the case of normal time reduction, and prohibits the execution of the special condition remaining number of times and prefetching effect in the case of special condition time reduction It may be judged by comparing with the period (maximum pending number).

Note that the special condition remaining number of times command is not always transmitted when there is a remaining number of times, but a special condition remaining number of times command is sent under a specific condition (for example, when the remaining number of times becomes a small number (4)). may be sent. By comprising in this way, it can suppress that the frequency|count until a special condition reduction of working hours is exercised is grasped|ascertained by detecting the remaining frequency|count command unjustly. In addition, if the command for the remaining number of special condition satisfaction is sent every time, it may not be possible to immediately send the command for the remaining number of special condition satisfaction if it overlaps with another transmission command (there is an unsent command remaining in the command transmission buffer). ), and there is a risk that the enjoyment of the game will decrease due to the occurrence of a deviation in the timing of the start of the effect based on the command. Therefore, by reducing the frequency of transmitting the special condition remaining number of times command, it is possible to prevent the shift (delay) of the presentation start timing due to the untransmitted command remaining in the command transmission buffer.

[25-5. Modification]
In the gaming machine described above, when the special lottery based on the winning of the game ball in the first start port 2002 is not won continuously for a predetermined number of times, the special condition is established, and the normal game state is shifted to the time saving state. It was something. In this case, when the number of reservations reaches the upper limit, the time-saving transition count is not updated, and the game becomes monotonous by repeating the lottery until the special condition is met, which may reduce the interest in the game. Ta.

[25-5-1. Count entrance]
Therefore, as a modification of the gaming machine of the present embodiment, a gaming machine provided with a counting entrance unit 2007 capable of updating the time saving transition count in addition to the first start opening 2002 will be described. FIG. 404 is a diagram showing a modification of the game board of the game machine of this embodiment. In the game board 5 of the game machine of this modified example, a counting ball entrance unit 2007 is arranged on the left side of the game area (left-handed area) and above the upper side unit 2300 . Since the configuration other than the counting ball entrance unit 2007 is the same as that of the game board 5 shown in FIG. 10, the description thereof is omitted.

[25-5-2. Structure of Counting Sphere]
FIG. 405 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional view of an example of the counting ball entrance unit 2007 arranged on the modification of the game board of the game machine of this embodiment. The counting ball inlet unit 2007 of this modified example is provided with an upwardly opening reception opening 2007a, and can receive game balls flowing down the left side of the game area (left-handed area). A game ball received from the receiving port 2007a is led to the counting ball inlet 2007b via a guiding path 2007d formed inside. Inside the counting ball entrance 2007b, a sensor (not shown) for detecting the passage of game balls is arranged. count the number of

A movable piece 2007c slidable to the front side/rear side of the game board 5 is arranged at the bottom of the guideway 2007d. When the movable piece 2007c is slid to the front side of the game board 5, a game ball can be entered into the counting ball entrance 2007b (ball entry permission state). On the other hand, when the movable piece 2007c is slid to the rear side of the game board 5, the game ball falls downward from the guideway 2007d, and the ball cannot be entered (ball not permitted state). Hereinafter, the path along which the game ball moves within the counting ball entrance unit 2007 will be described for each state.

FIG. 406 is a view showing the movement path of the game ball when the counting ball entrance unit 2007 of the modified example of this embodiment is in the ball entry permission state, (A) is a cross-sectional perspective view, and (B) is a cross-sectional view. is.

When the movable piece 2007c is slid to the front side of the game board 5 (ball entry permitted state), the movable piece 2007c forms the bottom surface of the guide path 2007d as shown in (A). As a result, the game ball received from the receiving port 2007a is guided from the guideway 2007d to the counting ball entrance 2007b, and can be entered.

FIG. 407 is a diagram showing the movement path of the game ball when the counting ball entrance unit 2007 of the modified example of this embodiment is in the ball entry non-permission state, (A) is a cross-sectional perspective view, and (B) is a cross-sectional view. It is a diagram.

When the movable piece 2007c is slid to the rear side of the game board 5 (ball entry prohibited state), the bottom surface of the guide path 2007d is not formed, and as shown in (A), an opening opening downward is formed. It is formed. The opening has a size that allows game balls to pass through, and the game balls received from the receiving port 2007a fall (flow down) to the game area below the counting ball inlet unit 2007. The dropped game ball rolls toward the center in the left-right direction by the shelf 2302 of the upper side unit 2300 and flows down toward the general winning opening 2001 and the first starting opening 2002 .

[25-5-3. Entry Control of Counting Sphere Entrance]
As described above, the counting ball entrance unit 2007 can switch whether or not the ball can enter the counting ball entrance 2007b by controlling the position of the movable piece 2007c. The main control board 1310 outputs a control signal to the driving body for operating the movable piece 2007c, thereby controlling whether or not a ball can be entered into the counting ball inlet 2007b according to the game state or the like.

As a specific example of control, a gate section may be arranged to shift the counting entrance unit 2007 to the ball entry permitted state, and the ball entry permitted state may be set for a predetermined time when passing through the gate. When the ball entry permission state transition condition of the counting ball entrance unit 2007 is the passage of the game ball through the gate, a lottery may be executed when the game ball passes through the gate, or the ball entry permission state may be ensured. . Since it is necessary to facilitate establishment of the special condition for the purpose of this modified example even in the case of transitioning to the state of permission to enter the ball by lottery, the winning is made with a high probability (approximately 100%). At this time, by arranging the gate portion above the counting ball entrance unit 2007, the game balls aiming at the gate portion are directed toward the counting ball entrance unit 2007, and frequent hitting of game balls is prevented. A smooth game can be played without needing it.

In addition, the counting entrance unit 2007 may be placed in the entrance permission state when the reserved memory of the first start opening 2002 has reached the maximum number. It becomes possible by this to promote the update of a time saving transition count, and the transition to the time saving state by special conditions time saving can be hastened. In particular, since it is possible to aim at the first start opening 2002 while aiming at the counting entrance unit 2007, it is possible to continuously update the time reduction transition count even if the number of reservations reaches the upper limit, and the game It is possible to encourage active continuation of In addition, when the retention memory of the first starting port 2002 has not reached the maximum number, the counting entrance unit 2007 is put in the entry non-permission state, thereby suppressing excessive updating of the time saving transition count. , it is possible to suppress and adjust the excessive rise of the base value.

Furthermore, the counting entrance unit 2007 may be switched between the ball entry permitted state and the ball entry non-permitted state at predetermined time intervals. At this time, if the number of reservations has reached the upper limit, the time-saving transition count is not updated due to the winning of the first start port 2002, so the time to set the counting entrance unit 2007 to the entrance permission state is longer. may be set to On the other hand, if the number of reservations has not reached the upper limit, the player can enter the counting ball entrance unit in order to encourage the player to shoot the game ball aiming at the first start opening 2002 in order to maintain the original game characteristics. In order to make it difficult for the game ball to enter the game ball even when aiming at 2007, the time for the ball entry permission state may be set to a short time (for example, a time shorter than the game ball shooting interval).

Note that the counting entrance unit 2007 for counting the time-saving transition count may be arranged not only in the left-handed hitting area but also in the right-handed hitting area, or may be arranged in both the left and right areas. As a result, it is possible to separate the game balls, increase the variation of the game, and improve the amusement of the game.

[25-5-4. Time-series change of time reduction transition count in this modification]
Here, a game machine in which the time-saving transition count is updated by a game ball entering the counting ball entrance unit 2007 will be described with reference to the drawings for time-series changes in the time-saving transition count. FIG. 408 is a timing chart showing changes in the time reduction transition count in the modified example of the gaming machine of the present embodiment. Here, a case will be described in which the normal count ball entrance unit 2007 is in the ball entry permission state regardless of the number of pending balls, the game state, or the like.

As described above, the time-saving transition count is the start timing of the variable display of the special symbol 1, or the timing at which the entry of the game ball into the counting ball opening 2007b is detected by the counting ball opening switch (not shown). is updated with Referring to FIG. 408, with the time saving transition count at "84", the variable display of the special symbol 1 is started, and the time saving transition count is updated to "85" (time t101). While the variable display of the special symbol 1 continues, a game ball enters the counting ball entrance 2007b, and the time saving transition count is updated to "86" (time t102). After that, similarly, the time reduction transition count is updated by the variable display of the special symbol 1 or the entry of the game ball to the counting entrance 2007b. In the example shown in FIG. 408, the time-saving transition count is updated at the timing when the counting entrance switch changes from ON to OFF, but at the timing when the counting entrance switch changes from OFF to ON, the time-saving A migration count may be updated.

[25-5-5. Lottery based on the number of balls entering the counting entrance (starting winning entrance)]
In the modified example described above, when a game ball enters the counting ball entrance 2007b of the counting ball entrance unit 2007, the time saving transition count is updated. On the other hand, a prize winning opening that can execute a lottery related to giving a game value independently of updating the time saving shift count may function as the count entrance ball 2007b. In this case, if the lottery is not won, the time reduction transition count may be updated. In addition, it is also possible to provide a holding function for this lottery. In the case of a special lottery, a pending display is made on the liquid crystal display screen, but it is not necessary to notify the player of the lottery based on the ball entering the counting entrance 2007b.

The second starting opening 2004 may be the counting entrance 2007b capable of executing the lottery described above. Specifically, when a game ball wins at the second start port 2004, a special lottery is executed unless the number of reservations is the upper limit, and the time-saving transition count is updated, but when the special lottery is not won, the time-saving transition count is performed. It may be updated. FIG. 409 is a timing chart when the second starting port 2004 functions as the ball count entrance 2007b in the modification of the gaming machine of this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 409, even in the normal game state, it is possible to win not only the first starting hole 2002 but also the second starting hole 2004, and the special symbols corresponding to the order of winning the starting winning hole Variable display is started. Then, the time reduction transition count is updated at the timing when the variable display of the special symbol 1 and the variable display of the special symbol 2 are started.

Referring to FIG. 409, when the time saving transition count is "71", the variable display of the special symbol 1 is started, and the time saving transition count is updated to "72" (time t111). After the variable display of the special symbol 1, the variable display of the special symbol 2 is continuously executed because the game ball has entered the second starting port 2004 (time t112). At the start of the variable display of this special symbol 2, the time saving transition count is updated to "73". Thereafter, similarly, the time-saving transition count is updated each time the variable display of the special symbol corresponding to the winning starting prize opening is started. In addition, a common time-saving transition count is used regardless of the starting winning opening that has won.

In addition, even in the normal game state, it is possible to win a prize at the second start port 2004, and when the time reduction transition count is updated when the special lottery is not won, the prize is awarded to the first start port 2002 in the normal game state. , and for the second starting port 2004, priority is given to the function as a counting entrance port so as not to impair the game. For example, when a game ball enters the first starting port 2002, a winning sound is output, while when a game ball enters the second starting port 2004, the winning sound is not output. Further, when a game ball enters the first start hole 2002, a specific display may be made so that the player can recognize that the game ball has entered. At this time, when a game ball enters the second start hole 2004, it may be difficult for the player to recognize that the game ball has entered without performing a specific display.

As described above, according to this modified example, the second starting port 2004 can function as a counting entrance port. In the normal game state, priority is given to the case where the game ball enters the first start port 2002, thereby making it easier to generate the special condition time saving without impairing the game performance. In addition, since there is no need to arrange a new ball-counting entrance, it is possible to increase the interest in the game without increasing the design cost of the game board.

[25-5-6. others]
Since the special lottery has not been won in the transition to the time-saving state due to the special condition, the winning probability of the ordinary lottery must always be high because the accessory continuous actuating device cannot be operated. This is because unless the winning probability of the normal lottery is high, the second starting port 2004 will not be in a winning state even if it shifts to the time-saving state, and it will be difficult to win a prize. On the other hand, if the probability of winning the normal lottery is high, every time a game ball passes through the gate portion 2003, the second start port 2004 becomes a prize-winning state, so there is a risk of spoiling the game.

In order to solve the above problem, the gate section 2003 may have the same configuration as the counting entrance unit 2007 described above. Specifically, in the normal game state, the gate part 2003 is set to the entry non-permission state to control the normal lottery not to be executed, and in the time saving state, the second start port 2004 is set to the entry permission state. It should be controlled to a possible state.

Further, the second starting port 2004 may have the same configuration as the counting inlet unit 2007 described above. It is possible to control so that the second start port 2004 cannot be won unless it is in the time saving state by setting the ball entry disallowing state in the normal game state and the ball entry permission state in the time saving state.

[26. Special conditions Shorter working hours (shorter working hours transition count: subtraction update)]
As mentioned above, the Example in case the time saving transition count was updated by addition was described. Then, the Example in case a time saving transition count is updated by subtraction is described.

[26-1. Control of time saving state by special condition time saving]
[26-1-1. Control from the start to the end of the time saving state due to special conditions time saving]
First, when the time saving transition count is updated by subtraction, the control from the start to the end of the special condition time saving will be described. As in the case of updating by addition, the starting condition of the special condition of time saving shifts to the time saving state when the special lottery is not won 300 times in succession (the number of times of time saving transition) after the time saving transition count is initialized. The same applies to other points such as the maximum number of continuous times of the time saving state.

The time saving transition count that controls the transition to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving is updated in the state transition determination process that determines whether the current game state transitions to another game state. The state transition determination process is called from the special symbol loss stop process that is executed when the special symbol stops at the loss symbol, and the special symbol loss stop process is the game available time process (FIG. 329) executed in the timer interrupt process ( It is called from the special symbol/special electric accessory control process (step 01TKS0080) in FIG. 354).

Hereinafter, it explains, referring to a flow chart about concrete control about transition of a game state including a time saving state by special conditions time saving. FIG. 410 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of state transition determination processing for determining whether or not to transition to another game state in the gaming machine of this embodiment.

When starting the state transition determination process, the main control MPU 1311 first sets the identification information to the initial value "0" (step 03TKS0010). The identification information is a variable that stores information for identifying whether or not to shift the game state, and the value is set in the register of the CPU in subsequent processing.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the number of times of time saving is 0, that is, whether or not the gaming state is the time saving state (step 03TKS0020). The number of times of time saving corresponds to the number of times of change after starting the time saving state. In this embodiment, when the time saving state is started, the number of continuations (for example, 100 times) is set as an initial value, and is subtracted by one for each variation in the special symbol. At this time, a value of 1 or more is set to the number of times of time saving in the time saving state. It should be noted that the initial value may be set to 0 and controlled to be incremented one by one.

The main control MPU 1311 executes the processing after step 03TKS0060 when the number of times of time saving is 0, that is, when it is not in the time saving state (the result of step 03TKS0020 is "yes").

On the other hand, if the number of times of time saving is not 0, that is, in the case of the time saving state (the result of step 03TKS0020 is "no"), the main control MPU 1311 subtracts 1 from the number of times of time saving (step 03TKS0030). Furthermore, in order to determine whether or not the current variation is the final variation of the time saving state, it is determined whether or not the number of times of time saving is 0 (step 03TKS0040). When the number of times of time saving is not 0, that is, when the time saving state continues (the result of step 03TKS0040 is "no"), the processing after step 03TKS0060 is executed.

On the other hand, if the number of times of time saving is 0, that is, if this change is the final change of the time saving state (the result of step 03TKS0040 is "yes"), the main control MPU 1311 indicates the end of normal time saving in the identification information "1" is set (step 03TKS0050).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the game state is a high probability state (step 03TKS0060). If the gaming state is a high probability state (the result of step 03TKS0060 is "yes"), the processing after step 03TKS0130 is executed.

On the other hand, if the gaming state is not a high probability state (the result of step 03TKS0060 is "no"), the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the time reduction transition count is 0 (step 03TKS0070). When the time saving transition count is 0 (the result of step 03TKS0070 is "yes"), the processing after step 03TKS0130 is executed.

When the time saving transition count is not 0 (the result of step 03TKS0070 is "no"), the main control MPU 1311 subtracts 1 from the time saving transition count (step 03TKS0080). Furthermore, it is determined whether or not the time saving transition count is 0 (step 03TKS0090). When the time saving transition count is not 0 (the result of step 03TKS0090 is "yes"), the processing after step 03TKS0130 is executed.

When the time saving transition count is 0 (step 03TKS0090 result is "yes"), the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the current gaming state is the time saving state (step 03TKS0100). When the current game state is the time saving state (the result of step 03TKS0100 is "yes"), the processing after step 03TKS0130 is executed.

If the current gaming state is not a time saving state (the result of step 03TKS0100 is "no"), the conditions for transition to a time saving state due to a special condition of time saving are satisfied, and the main control MPU 1311 adds the special condition of time saving to the identification information. "2" indicating the start is set (step 03TKS0110). At this time, the value corresponding to the time-saving state by the special condition time-saving is set to the next state-switching destination information (next time state-switching destination number area). Furthermore, in order to output a signal (external output signal) from the external terminal, the ON time is set to the external output 3 timer (step 03TKS0120). By setting the ON time in the external output 3 timer, the signal of the external output 3 is turned ON for the set ON time. The output timing of the external output signal will be described later with reference to FIG.

The setting of the identification information is completed by the processing up to step 03 TKS0120, and thereafter the game state is shifted based on the value of the identification information. The main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the value of the identification information is "0" (step 03TKS0130). If the value of the identification information is "0" (result of step 03TKS0130 is "yes"), it is not necessary to shift the current game state to another game state, so the state transition determination process is terminated.

If the value of the identification information is not "0" (the result of step 03TKS0130 is "no"), the main control MPU 1311 executes state transition processing for transitioning the current game state to another game state (step 03TKS0140). The state transition process is a process of determining a game state to be transitioned to based on identification information and setting necessary information. Details of the state transition processing will be described later with reference to FIG. When the state transition process ends, the main control MPU 1311 sets a command (state transition destination command at the end of fluctuation, state end command at special stop) corresponding to time saving state end or time saving transition number reached (step 03TKS0150). After that, the state transition determination processing is terminated, and the special symbol deviation stop processing is returned to.

Next, a description will be given of the state transition processing that is called from the state transition determination processing, determines the destination game state, and sets necessary information. FIG. 411 is a flowchart showing the procedure of state transition processing according to this embodiment.

When the state transition process is started, the main control MPU 1311 determines the state transition data address of the next state transition destination based on the top address of the state transition data and the next state transition destination information (the value of the next state transition destination number area). is set (step 03TKS0210). Various data corresponding to the game state of the transition destination are defined in the state transition data. Details of the state transition data will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, when the main control MPU 1311 specifies the state transition data of the next state transition destination, the main control MPU 1311 sets the start address of the work area where the state transition data is set (step 03TKS0220). Further, the number of times to set the state transition data is set (step 03TKS0230), the set values for the set number of times are read from the specified state transition data, and stored in a predetermined work area (step 03TKS0240). When the state transition data corresponding to the next transition state is stored in the work area, the state transition processing is terminated and the state transition determination processing is resumed.

In addition, the state transition processing is executed at the timing when the game state changes in addition to the state transition determination processing called from the special symbol loss stop processing. It is executed at the timing when the time saving state starts (shifts).

State transition determination processing and state transition processing are the start of normal working hours, the end of normal working hours, the start of special conditions of working hours, and the end of special conditions of working hours. Since there is no need to provide processing each time the game state is switched, it is possible to reduce the program capacity. Further, by standardizing processing, it becomes possible to improve the work efficiency of debugging rather than providing individual processing, and it is possible to improve the development efficiency of the gaming machine.

Next, a configuration example of state transition data and a work area for storing the state transition data will be described. FIG. 412 is a diagram showing an example of state transition data according to this embodiment. In the state transition data, state maintenance count, state flag, probability change flag, time saving flag, next state transition destination number, and state display count are defined corresponding to the game state after transition. It should be noted that the migration destination number is given for convenience of explanation. The contents of each item will be described with reference to the work area (FIG. 413) for storing state transition data.

Also, the state transition data is not limited to the mode shown in FIG. 412, and if necessary, the information set at the time of switching the game state can be changed or added, for example, it is possible to specify the game state of the transition destination. At least the state flag and the next state transition destination number should be included.

FIG. 413 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a work area for storing state transition data according to this embodiment. A predetermined area in the main control RAM 1312 is allocated to the work area for storing the state transition data. It includes an area for storing "the number of times to set the state transition data" set in the process of step 03TKS0230. When the current game state is shifted to another game state, the state transition data corresponding to the transition destination game state are obtained and stored in the work area.

Next, each item of the state transition data and the work area for storing the state transition data will be described. The description of each item is described in the remark column of the work area in FIG.

The state maintenance count is the number of times that the corresponding game state continues after the shift, and for example, if it is a time saving state, it becomes the time saving count. The state flag is set to "0" in the case of low probability non-time saving (normal game state), "1" in the case of high probability time saving (probability variable state), and "2" in the case of low probability time saving. The variable probability flag is set to "0" when the probability of winning the special lottery is low, and "1" when the probability is high. The time-saving flag is set to "0" when the time-saving is not activated and "1" when the time-saving is activated. In addition, in order to distinguish between the reduction in working hours under the special conditions and the reduction in normal working hours, "2" may be set at the time of the reduction in working hours under the special conditions in reducing the working hours. The next state transition destination number is a transition destination number for specifying the game state to be transitioned to next when the special lottery for the number of state maintenance times is not won. The state display count is used to generate a time saving remaining count command, but is substantially the same as the state maintenance count.

Specifically, for example, when winning the normal short time a in the normal game state, the state transition processing is called by the large winning opening opening end interval processing (at the end of the jackpot ending) (not shown) at the end of the big win game state. . In the state transition process, the state transition data corresponding to the normal time saving a (transfer destination number 2) is selected, the number of state maintenance times "100", the state flag "2", the probability variation flag "0", the time saving flag "1", the next time A state transition destination number of "1" and a state display count of "100" are set in each work area. As a result, the low-probability time-saving state is set to continue for 100 fluctuations. When the time-saving state by the normal time-saving a ends, the next state transition destination number is set to "1", so the game returns to the normal game state. In addition, probability variation a (transition destination number 4) and probability variation b (transition destination number 5) have the same set value, but the effect modes are different. Since the game state to which the normal game state is shifted differs depending on the result of the special lottery, "0" is set as the state transition data, and the next transition destination number is not defined. It should be noted that, when the special lottery result of winning the special lottery in the time saving state of the normal time saving a moves to the probability changing state of the probability change a, even if the remaining number of times of the time saving state remains, after the big hit game state is completed, the probability change in the state transition process State transition data corresponding to a (destination number 4) is selected, and the game state is transitioned.

The work area that stores the state transition data corresponds to the item of the state transition data from the top of the area, state maintenance count area, state flag area, probability change flag area, time saving flag area, next state transition destination number area, state display A count command area is arranged. These areas are followed by the number of state setting data. In addition, a 2-byte area is allocated to the state maintenance count area and the state display count command area, and a 1-byte area is allocated to the state flag area, probability change flag area, time saving flag area, and next state transition destination number area. .

Since the values to be set and the setting order of the state transition data of this embodiment are predetermined, by arranging the work areas in accordance with the order of setting the data included in the state transition data, the addresses of the work areas can be set to the states. Does not need to be defined in the migration table. Here, the procedure for setting the value set in the state transition data in the work area will be described. First, the number of state setting data is acquired from the work area. Next, a value is obtained one byte at a time from the top address of the state transition data to be set, and the values obtained sequentially from the top of the work area (state maintenance count area) are set. Repeat for the number of state setting data while updating the address where the value is acquired and the address of the work area where the value is stored. Since the value acquisition and work area setting are repeated for each byte in this way, the data included in the state transition data is defined in units of one byte. Therefore, the state maintenance count and the state display count are divided into upper bytes and lower bytes and defined individually. The number of status setting data corresponds to the total number of bytes in each area, and the difference between the top address of the work area and the address of the area storing the number of status setting data is set on the program. As a result, there is no need to redefine the number of status setting data even if the number of items or size of data included in the status setting data is changed. It is possible to respond flexibly to the development of the game machine and improve the development efficiency of the game machine.

Data corresponding to each game state included in the state transition data will now be described. In the normal game state, the state maintenance count is set to 0 because the game state does not shift based only on the number of fluctuations. In addition, if the time-saving transition count is initialized and the special lottery is not won for a predetermined number of times in a row, the time-saving state may be transitioned (special conditions for time-saving), but if the time-saving transition count is not initialized Since it does not always shift to the time saving state, the number of time saving transitions is not set in the state maintenance count.

Moreover, in this embodiment, three types of patterns are defined in the low probability time saving which is a low probability, time saving state, and the winning probability of special lottery. Specifically, after winning the special lottery, when transitioning after the jackpot game state (normal time reduction a), when transitioning based on the result of the special lottery (normal time reduction b), after the time reduction transition count is initialized If you do not win a predetermined number of times in a row in a special lottery (special condition short working hours).

The items of the state transition data and the work area for storing the state transition data have been described above. Each data of the state transition data is set to a value according to the game specifications, etc., and the number of records increases or decreases according to the type of game state. Further, when the game state to be shifted to after the end of a specific game state is determined in advance, by setting a number corresponding to the next state as the next state transition destination number, control to shift the game state can be performed. This can be done based on the information defined in the state transition data, and the transition destination of the game state can be changed without modifying the program code.

FIG. 414 is a diagram showing a modification of the state transition data of this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 412, when the game state shifts to another game state due to establishment of a predetermined condition (result of special lottery, time-saving transition count), the shifted game state continues for the set number of state maintenance times, After that, it was defined to shift to the normal game state. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 414, for example, in the normal time saving per, the game state transitions in order of the time saving state of the normal time saving a-1, the time saving state of the normal time saving a-2, and the time saving state of the normal time saving a-3 do. As a result, it is possible to make the contents of the performance different in each game state, and for example, by associating the contents of the performance with the game state, it is possible to execute the performance that progresses step by step with the transition of the game state without performing complicated control. becomes possible. Also, the table defining the variable time may be switched at the switching timing of the game state.

To explain further, as a result of the special lottery, when the normal time saving hit is won, the state transition data of the destination number “2” is set, and the normal time saving a-1 time saving state is started. After that, when the change for the number of state maintenance times (50 times) is completed, the next state transition destination number is set to "3", so it shifts to the normal time saving a-2 time saving state, and the corresponding state transition data set. Similarly, when the change for the number of state maintenance times (30 times) is completed, since "4" is set to the next state transition destination number, the state shifts to the normal time saving a-3 time saving state, and the corresponding state transition data is set. Finally, when the change for the number of times of state maintenance (20 times) is completed, since "1" is set in the next state transition destination number, the state shifts to the normal game state, and the corresponding state transition data is set. In the case of a probability variation hit, it is controlled in the same way.

In the case of special conditions time saving, when the condition is satisfied (when the value of the time saving transition count changes from 1 to 0), the state transition data of the destination number "7" is set, and the time saving state of special conditions time saving -1 Start. After that, when the change for the number of state maintenance times (100 times) is completed, the next state transition destination number is set to "8", so it moves to the special condition time saving -2 time saving state, and the corresponding state transition data set. Furthermore, when the variation for the number of times of state maintenance (700 times) is completed, since "1" is set in the next state transition destination number, the state shifts to the normal game state, and the corresponding state transition data is set. As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, by allowing the transition of the game state to be performed only by setting data, there is no need to create processing related to the transition of the game state by program code. It is possible to easily add or change only by correcting the data.

Each parameter set in the state transition data is not limited to the example shown in the drawing as an embodiment, and may be information that switches according to the game state. Specifically, information specifying the switching timing of the game state (eg, state maintenance count) and information specifying the game state of the transition destination (eg, next state transition destination number) may be included, and other Information may be set as necessary. Specifically, it may be information for specifying a gaming state, and may include, for example, information indicating the probability of winning a special lottery, information indicating the probability of winning a normal lottery, and the like. In this way, by including the information specifying the game state after the state transition, the processing for transitioning the game state is made common, and the game control is simplified, thereby improving the development efficiency of the game machine.

The information specifying the switching timing of the game state is, for example, the above-mentioned number of fluctuations (the number of executions of the special lottery, the number of state maintenance times), and when the game continues for a predetermined number of fluctuations, the next game state is entered. . In addition, before the end of the game for a predetermined number of fluctuations, for example, when winning a special lottery, there is a case where a transition to another game state occurs due to establishment of a predetermined condition regardless of the number of fluctuations. Therefore, it is preferable to define not only the switching of the game state by the number of fluctuations, but also the transition of the game state by the establishment of a predetermined condition such as winning a special lottery. For example, an item corresponding to a specific flag may be defined in the state transition data, and the game state may be transitioned when the flag is set to ON. This flag check may be performed by periodically executed processing such as timer interrupt processing. Thus, the timing of executing the transition process based on the state transition data along with the transition of the game state is based on the establishment of predetermined conditions such as the timing based on the number of fluctuations of the special symbols and the result of the lottery such as the special lottery. can include timing. As a result, it becomes possible to flexibly respond to the timing of shifting the game state according to the progress of the game, and it is possible to prevent the progress control of the game from becoming complicated.

Also, the information specifying the destination game state does not necessarily have to use only the values set in the state transition data, and the corresponding values may be directly set in the program processing. For example, when the game state is shifted, the game state of the transition destination is forcibly set within the program, and various parameters set in the state transition data other than the game state of the transition destination are set. Specifically, in the special condition time saving, the state transition data is referred to at the timing when the number of times of time saving transition becomes 0, but before executing the subroutine that refers to the state transition data in the program processing, as the next state transition destination number By setting the setting number ("7" in the case of FIG. 414) for the special condition time saving, the parameter corresponding to the transition destination number "7" can be set by the subroutine that refers to the state transition data.

Further, the state transition data may be configured to include information on performance, and a corresponding command may be transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 (performance control means) at the time of game state transition. As a result, it becomes possible to include a process that triggers the start of the effect in a series of processes associated with the transition of the game state, and it becomes possible to collectively manage the processes related to the transition of the game state, including the effect. .

Then, it demonstrates along the time series of the control which transfers to the time saving state by special condition time saving. FIG. 415 is a timing chart for explaining the control of shifting to the time saving state by the special condition time saving in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. The timing chart shown in FIG. 415 explains the control from the initialization of the time saving transition count due to winning the special lottery to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving. Although the operation is the same as that of the timing chart shown in FIG. 397, the method of updating the time-saving transition count is different. Also, although the commands to be transmitted are the same as those shown in FIG. 400, the transmission timing of some commands is different.

Time t1 is the timing when the jackpot ending executed at the end of the jackpot game state due to winning the special lottery ends, that is, the timing of shifting to the time saving state. While the big win game state continues, the value of the time reduction transition count in the symbol variation of the special lottery that shifts to the big win game state is set. Referring to Figure 415, the value of the time saving transition count, the number of times the special condition remains, and the value of the time saving transition count displayed on the performance display monitor are not updated until the end of the big hit game state. The same value is maintained because As for the number of remaining states, since the number of times that the jackpot game state continues is set, "1" may be set, or the number of rounds in the jackpot game may be set.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the time-saving transition count is initialized at the timing when the jackpot ending is completed, that is, at the timing of shifting to the time-saving state. In the example shown in FIG. 415, since the time saving transition count is updated by subtracting it, the time saving transition count (300 times) is set to the time saving transition count. Moreover, details are mentioned later about the initialization of a time saving transition count.

Moreover, at the timing of initializing the time saving transition count, the special condition remaining number of times is set to "300", and the remaining number of times of the time saving state is set to "100". Since the special condition establishment remaining number of times can be calculated based on the time saving transition count and the time saving transition number of times, when necessary, for example, a special condition establishment remaining number of times command to be described later is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 so as to be calculated. can be In addition, in order to update a time saving transition count by subtraction, the number of special condition establishment remaining times and a time saving transition count become the same value, and may be stored in the same variable within a program. Thereby, the storage capacity can be reduced.

Time t2 is the timing at which the variable display of the special symbols is first executed after shifting to the time saving state. In this embodiment, the time saving transition count is updated at the timing when the variable display of the special symbol ends. The display on the performance display monitor may be performed at the same time as the update, or may be reflected at the start of the fluctuation. By updating the time-saving transition count not at the timing of starting the variation but when the fixed time has passed after the end of the variation, it is possible to process the update of the time-saving transition count and the transition to the time-saving state within the same timer interrupt. Details of various commands are as described with reference to FIG.

It should be noted that the time saving transition count may be updated at the start of the fluctuation, but in this case, it is determined whether the time saving transition count is "0" at the start of the fluctuation, and if it is determined to be "0", the time saving transition count It is necessary to determine whether or not the time-saving transition count is "0" at the timing of moving to the time-saving state (when the fixed time has elapsed) without updating. Therefore, determination of whether or not the time saving transition count is "0" must be performed twice at the start of fluctuation and at the time of the time saving transition, which may complicate the program code.

If the remaining state number command is transmitted at the time of updating the time saving transition count, the command is not transmitted at the time of the first fluctuation, so it is preferable to transmit the remaining state number command at the start of fluctuation. Also, if the value of the remaining state count command is displayed as it is, the special symbols start to change at the timing when it is actually displayed. For example, if the number of remaining states is 300, the actual remaining number of variations is 299, so if 300 is displayed as it is, the player may misunderstand. Therefore, the peripheral control board 1510 that has received the remaining state count command displays a value obtained by subtracting 1 from the notified remaining state count as the remaining state (fluctuation) count.

Time t3 is the timing when the variable display of the special symbols ends. When the variable display of the special symbols is finished, the number of remaining special conditions establishment is updated. At this time, to the peripheral control board 1510, a command to instruct to stop the fluctuation display of special symbols, a command to notify the game state when the fluctuation of special symbols is stopped, and a command to notify the updated remaining number of times that the special condition is established are transmitted. be done. The command for notifying the remaining number of special condition establishment is transmitted not immediately after the special symbol fluctuation stop, but after the symbol fixing time has elapsed after the special symbol fluctuation stops. Details of these commands are as described in FIG.

After that, when the stop symbol is determined, the next variable display is started (time t4). Furthermore, when the variable display of the special symbols is performed a predetermined number of times (100 times) without winning the special lottery in the time saving state, the time saving state ends (time t5). At this time, the number of remaining states of the time saving state becomes "0" and updating (counting) is stopped. On the other hand, the time reduction transition count continues to be counted.

When the time saving state ends, it shifts to the normal game state. At this time, the number of remaining states in the normal game state does not need to be managed (cannot be managed), so it is not updated. It should be noted that the number of remaining states may be used as the remaining number of special condition establishment when shifting to the normal game state. This is because when the special lottery is not won continuously for a predetermined number of times (the number of time-saving transitions=300 times) after the initialization of the time-saving transition count, the normal game state shifts to the time-saving state, and the normal game state ends.

When the game progresses in the normal game state, the time-saving transition count reaches 0, and the variable display ends (time t6), the special condition establishment remaining number of times for shifting to the time-saving state becomes 0, and the special condition is established. Then, it shifts to the time saving state (special condition time saving). When it shifts to the time saving state by the special condition time saving, the update of the time saving transition count and the special condition establishment remaining number of times is stopped. Further, the upper limit number of continuations of the time saving state (100 times) is set in the remaining state number of times. In addition, the value of a time saving transition count is maintained in the state of 0, without updating.

In this way, the time saving transition count can be updated by timer interrupt processing, but is not updated when it reaches a predetermined value ("0"). Without determining whether it is in a state or not, it is possible to prevent the special condition short working hours from being activated until the next big hit (initial value is set).

After that, if the special lottery is not won before reaching the upper limit number of continuation of the time saving state (100 times) after shifting to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving, the state is shifted to the normal game state (time t7). . At this time, the end of the time saving state due to the special condition time saving is not an initialization condition for the time saving transition count, so the value of the time saving transition count and the number of times the special condition remains satisfied is maintained, so the time saving transition count is initialized. Until then, it will not transition to a reduced working hours state due to special conditions.

[26-1-2. Clear (initialize) the game area including the time saving transition count]
As described above, the conditions (special conditions) for initializing the time saving transition count are (1) when the game machine is initialized (RAM clear) in a predetermined procedure, (2) when a special lottery is won (jackpot game after completion). Here, unlike the example described above, (a) when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated alone (first operation; RAM clear operation), the time saving transition count is not initialized, and (b) the setting key 971 When operating the RAM clear switch 954 while operating (second operation; setting change operation), the time saving transition count is initialized.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, values required for game control such as the time saving transition count are stored in an area allocated to a storage area provided by the main control RAM 1312 . As described above, when the RAM clear operation is performed, the time saving transition count is not initialized, and when the setting change operation is performed, the time saving transition count is initialized, while the number of remaining states and the number of remaining special conditions established are cleared (initialized) by any operation, and the area cleared by the RAM clear operation differs from the area cleared by the setting change operation.

As described above, when the time saving transition counter is not initialized by the RAM clear operation and the remaining state number of times and the special condition establishment remaining number of times are cleared, the command indicating the remaining state number of times indicates 0, time saving transition Since the counter does not reach 0, there is a possibility that the performance will be inconsistent. Therefore, when information other than the time saving transition counter is cleared by the RAM clearing operation, the peripheral control board 1510 side ignores the command regarding the remaining number of times transmitted from the main control board 1310, or the remaining number of times from the main control board 1310 By not sending related commands, there is no discrepancy in the production.

FIG. 416 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of values stored in a storage area provided by the main control RAM 1312 of the gaming machine of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 416, the time saving transition count is arranged in an area 9901 together with a setting state management area indicating the setting values of the game machine and the setting state in the setting mode (for example, setting change, setting confirmation). In this embodiment, the area 9901 is arranged at the beginning of the storage area, but it is not limited to this and may be another area.

In addition, in a region 9902 different from the region 9901, information such as a variable probability flag, a time saving flag, the remaining number of special condition establishment, and the number of remaining states is stored. In addition, input/output port related data including input signals such as switches that detect the entry of game balls into various winning slots, normal design related data related to normal lottery and normal design fluctuation display, special lottery and special design fluctuation Special symbol related data related to display, external information output related data for outputting a signal to the outside of the game machine, etc. are stored.

In addition, although the time-saving transition counter is arranged in the area 9901, when the time-saving transition counter is initialized by any operation of the RAM clear operation or the setting change operation, it is placed in the area 9902, and the time-saving flag etc. may be cleared together with information in other areas. Moreover, if RAM clear operation or setting change operation is performed, an initial value will be set again after the value of a time-saving transition counter is not initialized directly but a time-saving transition counter is cleared.

Area 9902 is for (a) when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated alone (first operation; RAM clear operation), and (b) when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated while operating the setting key 971 (second operation; RAM clear operation). setting change operation) or any operation is executed, and the top address of the area 9902 is defined as a "RAM clear top address" ("0005h" in this embodiment). At the time of initialization, the area after the "RAM clear head address" is cleared.

Area 9901 is not cleared when a RAM clear operation is performed, while area 9902 is cleared when a RAM clear operation is performed. On the other hand, when the setting change operation is executed, the area 9902 is cleared, and the initial value (300) is set to the time reduction transition count arranged in the area 9901 . In addition, 0 is set when adding and updating a time saving transition count.

As described above, in the RAM clear operation and the setting change operation, although the RAM cleared area (area 9902) is the same, the area to be initialized (set the initial value) is different. Therefore, by sharing the process of clearing the area 9902, the program code can be simplified, and development efficiency can be improved.

In addition, the area 9901 where the time saving transition count etc. is stored and the area 9902 where the probability variation flag etc. are stored are continuous areas, but an empty area is arranged between the area 9901 and the area 9902 may When the empty area is allocated, it is possible to increase the possibility that the data in one of the areas 9901 and 9902 can be maintained even if the data in one of the areas 9901 and 9902 is destroyed due to a program bug or the like.

Further, in the area after the area 9902, the inside game area stack area, outside game area work area, and outside game area stack area are arranged. The game area stack area is an area for temporarily storing data when executing a program related to game control. The work area outside the game area is an area for temporarily storing data when executing a program for displaying information on the performance display monitor (base display 1317). The stack area outside the game area is an area for temporarily storing data necessary for executing a process (for example, a process for calculating a base value, etc.) performed outside the game area. An empty area 9904 is arranged between the area 9902 and the stack area within the game area. On the other hand, an empty area 9905 is arranged between the stack area within the game area and the work area outside the game area, but this area must be arranged. An empty area 9906 is arranged between the work area outside the game area and the stack area outside the game area. good too.

When the RAM clear switch 954 is operated alone or when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated while operating the setting key 971, the time saving transition count may be initialized by any operation. Furthermore, the operation means other than the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 may be used to initialize the time saving transition count. For example, it may be provided with an operation means for initializing (clearing) only the set values relating to the special conditions for time saving including the time saving transition count. As a result, it is possible to maintain other game-related information and minimize the influence on the game. For example, it is possible to initialize (clear) a setting value relating to the special condition for reducing working hours at the end of business hours, and operate the gaming machine on the next business day without being affected by the gaming situation of the previous day.

In addition, in the gaming machine that allows the transition to the time saving state due to the special conditions time saving as in the present embodiment, in order to re-generate the time saving state due to the special conditions time saving when the time saving state due to the special conditions time saving ends, the RAM The clear switch 954 and setting key 971 may be operated illegally. Therefore, by providing both the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 on the back side of the gaming machine, unauthorized operations can be prevented.

From the above explanation, each configuration can be specified as follows.

(1) Based on the fulfillment of the starting condition, a lottery is conducted to determine whether or not a profit is given to the player, and based on the result of the lottery, the player is controlled to a special game state in which a game value is given, and the type of the special game state is controlled. Based on this, one advantageous game is selected from a plurality of advantageous game states including at least a first advantageous game state (high probability state) and a second advantageous game state (low probability time saving state) that are more advantageous to the player than the normal game state. game control means (main control MPU 1311) capable of controlling the progress of the game including the lottery; game information including the result of the lottery; storage means capable of storing and holding the game information even if the supply of the game information is interrupted; counting means for counting the number of times the lottery is performed by the lottery means in a situation where a predetermined condition is satisfied; operation means that cannot be operated, the storage means includes an area capable of storing the counted value by the counting means, and the game control means provides an advantage to the player based on the result of counting by the counting means. It is possible to control to a third advantageous game state (special condition time saving), and as the operation state by the operation means, at least the first operation state (RAM clear operation / setting change operation) and the second operation state (setting change operation / RAM clear operation), and when the power is turned on in accordance with the first operation state by the operation means, the predetermined area of the storage means is initialized, but the area capable of storing the count value by the counting means. When the power is turned on in accordance with the second operation state by the operation means, the predetermined area of the storage means is initialized, and the count value by the counting means is counted. The information stored in the storable area can be initialized, and the area storable for the count value by the counting means is arranged in an area other than the predetermined area of the storage means. Further, the count value stored in the storage means by the counting means is not updated in the third advantageous game state, and is not updated during the third advantageous game state and in the normal game state after the third advantageous game state. may be maintained.

In the first advantageous gaming state, the degree of being advantageous to the player is higher than in the second advantageous gaming state, and in the second advantageous gaming state, the degree of being advantageous to the player is the same/approximately as the third advantageous gaming state. are identical. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the second advantageous gaming state is assumed to be a time saving state due to normal time saving, and the third advantageous gaming state is assumed to be a time saving state due to special conditions. The odds of winning the special draw are the same. The second advantageous game state and the third advantageous game state may be the same in terms of the degree of advantage to the player, and even if they are different, the degree of advantage is substantially the same because the number of times of time reduction is different. .

By configuring as in (1), since the RAM cleared area is the same in the first operation state and the second operation state, the program code is simplified by sharing the area clearing process. can improve development efficiency. In addition, by making it possible to maintain the information stored in the area where the count value can be stored by operation, it is possible for the manager of the game parlor to decide whether or not to clear the count value according to the game situation. As a result, flexible operation can be made possible.

In the above, it was explained that a predetermined storage area is initialized when a RAM clear operation or a setting change operation is performed. RAM clearing is also performed when it is difficult to clear the RAM. The storage areas (set values) cleared when the RAM is cleared (when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated) and when a RAM error occurs will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 417 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the RAM clear switch 954 and the control of storage areas and various values when a RAM error occurs in the gaming machine of this embodiment. In FIG. 417, RAM clear operation (first operation), setting change operation (second operation), and RAM abnormalities 1 to 5 are explained.

When the RAM clearing operation (first operation) is executed, the inside game area work (area 9902) is cleared, while the outside game area work is maintained. The timing at which the storage area is actually cleared is the timing at which it is determined that the RAM clear signal has been turned ON by operating the RAM clear switch 954, and is before the timer interrupt processing is started. It is maintained about area 9901 which memorizes a setup value and a time saving transition count. When the RAM clear operation is executed, the display of the value of the time saving transition count is continued on the performance display monitor. When the RAM clearing operation (first operation) is executed, a notification sound corresponding to the RAM clearing is output. Further, the decoration lamp lights up in a manner corresponding to the RAM clearing, and a screen indicating that the RAM is being cleared is displayed on the liquid crystal display screen. A movable body provided in the game machine executes a predetermined initial operation.

When the setting change operation (second operation) is executed, the work in the game area is cleared. On the other hand, the work outside the game area is maintained when the work outside the game area is normal, and is cleared when an abnormality occurs. Also, the set value is maintained. A time saving transition count is initialized as described above. The timing at which the storage area is actually cleared is the timing at which it is determined that the setting change operation has been performed, and is before the timer interrupt processing is started. The setting value is displayed on the performance display monitor after the setting is changed, but it is also possible to display that the time saving transition count has been initialized, or to display the time saving transition count after displaying the setting value. can be When the setting change operation (second operation) is executed, a notification sound corresponding to the setting change is output. Further, the decoration lamp lights up in a manner indicating that the setting is being changed, and a screen indicating that the setting is being changed is displayed on the liquid crystal display screen. A movable body provided in the game machine executes a predetermined initial operation.

When a setting value abnormality (RAM abnormality 1) occurs, the work in the game area is cleared. On the other hand, work outside the game area is maintained. Since there is an abnormality in the setting value, "setting 1" is set as the setting value. Furthermore, the time saving transition count is initialized. The timing at which the storage area is actually cleared is the timing at which it is determined that a setting change operation has been performed to recover from a power outage after the RAM abnormality has been determined. Continue the RAM error state. A RAM error code is displayed on the base display 1317 . When a set value abnormality (RAM abnormality 1) occurs, a RAM abnormality notification sound is output, and the lamp is lit in a manner corresponding to the RAM abnormality notification. Further, a screen showing the contents of the RAM abnormality notification is displayed on the liquid crystal display screen. At this time, the screen may be switched to the demo screen after a predetermined time has elapsed. A movable body provided in the game machine executes a predetermined initial operation. It should be noted that the initial operation of the movable body may be started after the RAM abnormality is resolved by a setting change operation instead of when the RAM abnormality occurs.

When power failure flag abnormality (RAM abnormality 2) in the work in the game area or checksum abnormality (RAM abnormality 3) in the work in the game area occurs, the work in the game area is cleared. On the other hand, the work outside the game area is maintained if there is no abnormality. Moreover, the set value is maintained and the time reduction transition count is initialized. The timing at which the storage area is actually cleared is not the timing at which it is determined that the RAM is abnormal, but after it is determined that the RAM is abnormal, the power supply is turned OFF once, and then the power is turned ON again while performing the setting change operation. It is the timing at which it is determined that the setting change operation has been performed. A RAM error code is displayed on the base display 1317 .

When power interruption flag abnormality (RAM abnormality 4) of the work outside the game area or checksum abnormality (RAM abnormality 5) of the work outside the game area occurs, the setting change operation is performed at the time of recovery from the power interruption. In-area work is cleared. In addition, since there is an abnormality in the work outside the game area, it is cleared. Furthermore, the set value is maintained and the time saving transition count is initialized. The timing at which the storage area is actually cleared is the timing at which it is determined that the setting change operation has been performed. A RAM error code is displayed on the base display 1317 .

Further explaining the control against the RAM abnormality of the work outside the game area, determination of the RAM abnormality of the work outside the game area is performed before determining whether or not the setting change operation is performed when the power is turned on. When it is determined that the RAM is abnormal, only information indicating that the RAM is abnormal is stored, and at this timing, the work outside the game area is not initialized but treated as RAM abnormal, and the game is stopped. After transitioning to the game stop state, if the setting change operation is performed and the power is turned off/on again, it is determined that the setting change state has occurred, and when the setting change processing is executed, it is stored before the power is cut off. Based on the information indicating that the game area side work has been determined to be RAM abnormal, it is determined that the work outside the game area is RAM abnormal, and the work outside the game area is cleared. When the setting change process is executed, if the information indicating that the work outside the game area is determined to be RAM abnormal is not stored, the work outside the game area is not cleared and is stored as it is. content is maintained.

When the power is turned on in a state in which a setting change operation is performed, if it is determined in the initial setting process that the RAM is abnormal in the set values/work inside and outside the game area, the setting change process is started as it is. Each storage area is cleared at the timing when it is determined that the RAM is abnormal. In addition, in the initial setting process executed when the power is turned on, it is determined whether the set value is abnormal, the work within the game area is abnormal, or the work outside the game area is abnormal, and only the determination result is stored. It is determined whether or not it is a setting change operation. That is, even when a RAM abnormality occurs, control is performed to determine whether or not a setting change operation has been performed after the abnormality is determined.

The case where RAM clearing is performed has been described above. Next, the control of the gaming machine when executing the first operation (RAM clear operation) and the second operation (an operation different from the first operation, such as a setting change operation) will be supplemented.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, when the power is turned on, first, it is determined whether or not the set value is abnormal (a value other than 0 to 5). When it is judged to be abnormal, the initial value is set to the setting value, the initial value (300 times) is set to the time saving transition count, and the RAM abnormal state is set as the game state. Subsequently, the checksum, power failure flag, and RAM outside the game area are checked, and if any abnormality is determined, the RAM abnormality state is set. At this time, except when it is determined that the set value is abnormal, the time saving transition count is not initialized and the value before the power interruption is held.

The initial value of the time-saving transition count is set only when the set value is determined to be abnormal and when the big winning ending is completed, except when the first operation is executed, and the initial value is not set otherwise. Further, it is not determined whether or not the value of the time saving transition count is abnormal. The reason why the time saving transition count is not judged to be abnormal is that if the setting value is abnormal, the time saving transition count is likely to be abnormal, so it is considered sufficient to judge only by the setting value abnormality. is.

In addition, you may perform "abnormality determination" of a time-saving transition count with the abnormality determination of a set value. At this time, even if the set value is a normal value, if the time-saving transition count is outside the predetermined range, the accuracy of the RAM cannot be guaranteed. It may be initialized.

Also, when a setting value abnormality occurs, RAM abnormality is notified after the setting value is initialized, and this state continues. In order to restore the game machine, the main work RAM (area 9902) is cleared by turning on the power again while executing the setting change operation. Furthermore, if the work for the performance display monitor (base display 1317) is abnormal, it is cleared, and if it is not abnormal, it is maintained. After the setting state changes to the setting change state, the timer interrupt processing is started and the setting change is completed, the normal game state is entered. At this time, the performance display monitor (base display 1317) is normally displayed.

With the configuration as described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, it is possible to suggest whether or not the time reduction transition count has been initialized by the display mode of the performance display monitor (base display device 1317) when the power is turned on. It becomes possible. Specifically, when the performance display monitor is displayed in a normal mode after power-on, it suggests that the time-saving transition count has not been initialized, and when the performance display monitor is displayed in a specific mode, the time-saving transition Suggests that the count has been initialized. As described above, in the present embodiment, the time-saving transition count is initialized when the setting change operation (second operation) is executed, but at this time the performance display monitor indicates that the time-saving transition count has been initialized. displayed in the content. In the normal case, the performance display monitor displays the time saving transition count (normal mode), but when the setting change operation (second operation) is performed, the setting value after the change is displayed (specific mode) . In addition, when the RAM clear operation (first operation) is performed, the performance display monitor continues to display the normal mode (time saving transition count), while when the setting change operation (second operation) is performed, the setting is changed The performance display monitor does not display the normal mode until the completion of That is, by displaying the performance display monitor in a different manner depending on whether or not the time-saving transition count has been initialized, it is possible to suggest that the time-saving transition count has been initialized to hall employees or the like.

As mentioned above, although the example which alert|reports whether the time saving transition count was initialized by the display mode of the performance display monitor (base indicator 1317) was demonstrated, you may make it alert|report similarly with other indicators. Moreover, you may make it alert|report with a sound or a lamp. At this time, the lamp is provided outside the game area of the game machine or in an inconspicuous arrangement even within the game area (for example, a place away from the liquid crystal display), and it is possible to recognize whether or not the time saving transition count has been initialized from the front side. may be For example, when the power supply is restarted by the RAM clear operation (first operation) (including normal power-on (restoration time)), display in the first mode (including turning off) Time saving transition It is possible to recognize that the power supply is restarted without the count being initialized, and when the power supply is restarted by the setting change operation (second operation), the second mode (time saving transition count is initialized It is not possible to identify whether it has been converted or not). By configuring in this way, the player can be notified that the special condition reduction in working hours is likely to occur earlier than the value indicating the number of fluctuations of the top lamp (data display) due to the maintenance of the reduction in working hours transition count. It is possible for the player to recognize this, and the player can play while anticipating that the special condition for shortening working hours will occur.

[26-1-3. Initialization setting data (setting data table)]
Not limited to the time saving state, it is necessary to set various parameters (initial setting data such as flags) for setting the game state when shifting from the current game state to another game state. For example, to set the initial setting data corresponding to the jackpot game state at the timing of starting the jackpot game state when winning the special lottery, or to shift to the probability variable state (high probability time saving state) after the jackpot game state ends Initial setting data (setting data table) corresponding to a predetermined timing (for example, when the jackpot game state ends) is set. The handling of these initial setting data in the gaming machine of this embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 418 is a diagram showing an example of setting data at the time of transition to the first-time-big-hit interval, which is set when transitioning to the big-hit gaming state when winning the special lottery in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. The setting data at the transition to the first interval of the jackpot is set (referenced) in the setting process at the start of the jackpot executed at the timing of starting the jackpot gaming state when the special lottery is won, and is based on the setting data at the transition to the first interval of the jackpot. , necessary values are set for various parameters (data, flags, etc.).

The setting data at the time of transition to the first interval of the jackpot defines the size (number of bytes) of the data to be cleared (initialized) first and the size (number of bytes) of the data to be initialized next. Subsequently, parameters to be cleared (initialized) are defined (inside the frame). Finally, the data to be initialized is defined.

Referring to FIG. 418, the specific contents of the setting data at the time of transition to the first interval of the jackpot will be further described. The data to be cleared include a state flag (JOTAI_FG), a variable probability flag (KAKUHEN_FG), a time saving flag (JITAN_FG), and a state display. A count (JT_HYO_CNT) and a power-on state buffer (PWON_JOT_BF) are included. The details of each data are as described above.

The data to be initialized include the signal output determination flag during operation of the conditional device (T_JKN_FG), the signal output determination flag during operation of the accessory continuous operation device (T_YAK_FG), the right-handed flag area (R_HS_FG), and the middle rotor operation state management flag. (MOT_ACT_FG), motor 1 operation pattern area (MOT1_ACT_PT), motor 1 operation number area (MOT1_ACT_NO), motor 1 photo detection abnormality determination timer area (M1_ERR_JDG_TM).

Specifically, a value (_T_SIG_JKN_OK) for setting the conditional device in operation signal to ON is set in the conditional device in operation signal output determination flag (T_JKN_FG). In addition, a value (_T_SIG_YAK_OK) for setting the signal during continuous operation of the role product in operation to ON is set in the signal output determination flag during continuous operation of the role product (T_YAK_FG). A value (_HASSYA_RIGHT) indicating that hitting to the right is permitted is set in the hitting to right flag area (R_HS_FG). In addition, values are set for defining the initial operation of the middle rotating body (motor 1).

The initial setting data in the gaming machine of the present embodiment follows after defining the size (number of bytes) of data to be cleared (initialized) and the size (number of bytes) of data to be initialized, to set the game state. Define data for clearing and data for initial setting for the data in . By configuring in this way, it is possible to treat the data for clearing and the data for initial setting together as one table. The data for clearing is 1 byte because it is only the data (address) to be cleared, and the data for initial setting is 2 bytes because it is a set of the data (address) to be set and the initial setting value.

In addition, the gaming machine of the present embodiment is provided with a plurality of big winning holes (first big winning hole 2005, second big winning hole 2006), and clear data and initial setting data for these big winning holes are integrated. can be treated as a table of

FIG. 419 is a diagram showing an example of big winning opening closing setting data set when closing the big winning opening in the jackpot game state of the gaming machine of the present embodiment. The big winning hole closing setting data is referred to in order to execute a process for shifting each big winning hole from an open state to a closed state in the big winning hole opening process.

The big winning hole closing setting data includes setting data for the first big winning hole 2005 and setting data for the second big winning hole 2006. A value (_NX_CLOSE_OFS) for specifying the start address of the setting data for the second big winning opening 2006 is defined between the setting data of . Specifically, it is the difference between the start address of the big winning opening closing setting data and the starting address of the setting data of the second big winning opening 2006, and the value of "_NX_CLOSE_OFS" is added to the big winning opening closing setting data. , the start address of the setting data for the second big winning slot 2006 can be specified.

The setting data for the first big winning opening 2005 includes data for clearing and data for initial setting, similar to the setting data for transition to the interval for the first big hit. In the clearing data, the size of each of the clearing data and the initial setting data, and the big winning opening 1 solenoid flag are defined.

The initial setting data defines a special electric 1 active signal output timer (T1_SD_TM), a special electric 1 prize ball validity determination timer (T1_SD_PAY_TM), and a special symbol/electric accessory operation number (T_JOB_NO). In addition, the special electric 1 in-operation signal output timer is the time value for outputting the special electric accessory 1 in-operation signal, and the special electric 1 prize ball valid determination timer is the special electric 1 prize ball valid extension time value (after the big winning opening is closed) Set the time to determine that the incoming ball is valid). A number value (_TNO_CLOSE) for closing the big winning opening is set in the special symbol/electric accessory operation number.

The setting data for the second big prize opening 2006, like the setting data for the first big prize opening 2005, includes clear data and initial setting data. In the data for clearing, the size of each of the data for clearing and the data for initial setting, and the big winning opening 2 solenoid flag are defined.

Initial setting data includes special electric 2 signal output timer in operation (T2_SD_TM), special electric 2 prize ball valid judgment timer (T2_SD_PAY_TM), special electric 2 in operation signal output timer 2 (T3_SD_TM), special electric 2 prize ball valid judgment timer 2 (T3_SD_PAY_TM) and special symbol/electric accessory operation number (T_JOB_NO) are defined. Two kinds of signal output timer during operation and prize ball valid determination timer are defined.

Special electric 2 active signal output timer (T2_SD_TM) and special electric 2 active signal output timer 2 (T3_SD_TM) are both time values for outputting special electric accessory 1 active signal, special electric 2 prize ball valid judgment timer (T2_SD_PAY_TM) And the special electric 2 prize ball validity determination timer 2 (T3_SD_PAY_TM) is set to a special electric 2 prize ball valid extension time value. A number value (_TNO_CLOSE) for closing the big winning opening is set in the special symbol/electric accessory operation number.

Although the means for setting the initial data when closing the big winning slot in a gaming machine with two types of big winning slots has been described, it may be applied to setting the initial data at a different timing, for example, when opening the big winning slot. In addition, it can be applied to winning openings other than the big winning opening. The initial data of 2) may be defined in the same manner as the initial setting data shown in FIG. 419, and the data initialization process may be executed.

The configuration of the initial setting data has been described above. Subsequently, the procedure for actually performing the initial setting based on the above-described initial setting data will be specifically described using the big winning opening closing setting data as an example. FIG. 420 shows a sample module for initial setting based on the big winning opening closing setting data in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. The procedure for setting the initial setting data will be described below with reference to the modules.

The main control MPU 1311 stores the address of the big winning opening closing setting data (T_CLOSE1_B) in the HL register as the reference address of the area where the setting data is stored. Next, identification information for specifying which big winning hole is to be controlled is stored in the A register. "OPEN_TD_FG" is an open special electric role product identification flag, and is set to "00" when controlling the first big winning opening 2005 and "01" when controlling the second big winning opening 2006. Based on the value of "OPEN_TD_FG", the position for referring to the data included in the big winning opening closing setting data is specified.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 sets a value (_NX_CLOSE_OFS) for specifying the start address of the setting data for the second big winning opening 2006 to the W register. Furthermore, by executing the multiplication value addition address acquisition process (MUL_WA_HL), the reading position of the big winning opening closing setting data is specified. More specifically, the multiplication value addition address acquisition process multiplies the specified base value (W register=“_NX_CLOSE_OFS”) by the multiplication value (A register=“OPEN_TD_FG”), and obtains the specified base address value (HL register). = the start address of the big winning opening closing setting data). That is, when controlling the first big winning hole 2005 (“OPEN_TD_FG”=“00h”), the base address value itself becomes the starting address, while when controlling the second big winning hole 2006 (“OPEN_TD_FG”=“00h”). 01h"), the address obtained by adding "_NX_CLOSE_OFS" to the base address value becomes the start address.

When the address that refers to the big winning opening closing setting data is identified, the main control MPU 1311 executes data initialization processing (DATA_SET_CLR). The data initialization process is a process of clearing and initializing data based on the setting data referred to by the address set in the HL register. Details of the data initialization process will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 421 is a diagram showing a program example of data initialization processing (DAT_SET_CLR) according to the present embodiment. Details of the processing will be described below for the case of clearing and initializing data relating to the first big prize winning slot 2005 (“OPEN_TD_FG”=“00h”).

When the data initialization process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 first sets the work clear count and work set count in the BC register. In other words, the work clear count is set in the C register, and the work set count is set in the B register. The work clear count is the number of data to be cleared, and the work set count is the number of data to be initialized. Referring to the data (T_CLOSE1_B) corresponding to the first big prize winning opening 2005 in the big winning opening closing setting data in FIG. 419, the number of data to be cleared is Since there is only one, the value is 1, and this value is stored in the C register. The next data is "(T_CLOSE1_B_END-T_CLOSE1_CLR_END)/2", and since five 2-byte data are actually defined between the label T_CLOSE1_CLR_END and the label T_CLOSE1_B_END, the value is 5. Stored in the B register.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 initializes data. Specifically, the data set after the work clear count and work set count of the clear data, that is, the value after the 3rd byte is used as the address of the data to be cleared, and the work clear count set in the C register is set. Only set "00H" and clear the data.

Further, the main control MPU 1311 performs data initialization. Specifically, the value of the first byte from the beginning of the initial setting data is set as the address, and the value of the second byte is set as the initial setting value, and this is repeated for the number of work sets set in the B register. When the processing for all initial setting data is completed, the data initialization processing ends.

The structure of the initial setting data is standardized as described above, and can be used for general purposes such as the initial setting of the driver, not limited to the game state transition process. Therefore, by including the data initialization process (DAT_SET_CLR) in the process address table, it can be called by the INVD instruction, and the process is executed only by specifying the index (1 byte) without directly specifying the address (2 bytes). be able to. As a result, the word length of the instruction can be shortened and the speed of processing can be increased.

In the present embodiment, by including a value (_NX_CLOSE_OFS) for specifying the start address of the setting data for the second big winning opening 2006 in the big winning opening closing setting data, the data for a plurality of big winning openings can be used as common data. It is possible to treat as Therefore, if an attempt is made to perform processing equivalent to that of the sample module shown in FIG. 420 using a conventional method in which _NX_CLOSE_OFS is not defined, processing to refer to OPEN_TD_FG and branch as shown in FIG. 422 is required. In this case, a larger capacity is required than the method according to this embodiment. Specifically, the sample program of the reference example (FIG. 422) requires 3 more spaces than the sample program of this embodiment (FIG. 420). The capacity increases by bytes.

In the sample module shown in FIGS. 420 and 422, in the process (LDT instruction) of reading data from the table, the address of the table (for example, "T_CLOSE1_B") is changed to the top address of the data area "_OFS_TP" (the value of the TP register is , for example, "9000H") is specified. That is, "LDT HL, T_CLOSE1_B-_OFS_TP" sets the value of [the value of the TP register ("9000H") + the relative data of "T_CLOSE1_B" from the top address of the data] in the HL register. By enabling the LDT instruction to set a value based on the TP register in the HL register, an instruction (“LD HL, T_CLOSE1_B”) of 3 bytes or more can normally be executed with 2 bytes.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, when shifting from the current game state to another game state, parameters corresponding to the game state of the transition destination are set based on the preset initialization setting data. set. When the game state is shifted, for example, the special lottery processing is switched such as changing the winning probability of the special lottery or changing the table defining the fluctuation time of the special symbols.

In addition, the initialization setting data is not only used at the time of transition of the game state such as probability variable state and time saving state, for example, if it is a special symbol related process, waiting for fluctuation process, process during fluctuation, design confirmation process , Lost time interval processing, hit time interval processing, jackpot opening processing, big winning mouth opening processing, big winning mouth closing processing, jackpot ending processing, etc. When switching each state (timing to switch game progress) Can be used. can. Specifically, if the fluctuation start process is executed after the end of the fluctuation waiting process, if the pattern confirmation process is executed after the end of the process during fluctuation, if the deviation interval process is executed after the end of the pattern determination process, the deviation interval process It is used at the timing of starting the execution of the next process after finishing the execution of the process, such as when the variation waiting process is executed after the end of the design determination process and when the winning interval process is executed after the end of the symbol determination process.

In addition, not only special symbol-related processing but also normal symbol-related initialization data is used in the same way. It can be used, for example, when executing the design determination process.

Switching of each state (progress of the game) is controlled by a job counter corresponding to each control object such as special symbols and normal symbols. The job counter corresponds to each process (state). For example, if it is a job counter for special symbols, the job counter is "0" for the special figure fluctuation waiting process, the job counter is "1" for the special figure fluctuation process, and the special figure Job counter "2" for pattern confirmation processing, job counter "3" for interval processing when special drawing is lost, job counter "4" for interval processing when hitting special drawing, job counter "5" for big hit opening processing, big winning mouth open A job counter "6" corresponds to the process, a job counter "7" corresponds to the big winning opening closing process, and a job counter "8" corresponds to the jackpot ending process. Ordinary symbols may also be set in the same manner.

The initialization setting data used at the time of game state transition is defined in the format (data structure) described above with reference to FIG. Specifically, after defining the size (number of bytes) of data to be cleared (initialized) and the size (number of bytes) of data to be initialized, an area ( the lower address of the first area), the lower address of the area (second area) that stores parameters whose initial values (fixed values) are set at the time of migration, and the initial values from the beginning of the area where the initialization setting data is stored. Arranged sequentially. The parameters whose setting values are cleared at the time of transition can be set as necessary by the calling program, etc. at the time of transition to the game state, and the number of times the special lottery is executed in the game state after the transition is counted. Parameters that count up from "0" are used as they are after clearing. Although the data capacity can be reduced by defining only the lower address in the initialization setting data, it is sufficient to specify the storage area of the value, so not only the lower address but also the upper address may be included. As a result, although the data capacity increases, it becomes possible to directly specify the storage area, which eliminates the need for address conversion, thereby speeding up the program processing.

Furthermore, as described above, by specifying the initialization setting data and executing the data initialization process (Fig. 421), the specified parameters are cleared and the initial values are set for the specified parameters. It is possible. Therefore, the process of setting (initializing) parameters at the time of game state transition and process start can be performed by simply specifying the initialization setting data, regardless of the game state of the transition source and the transition destination and the process of ending and starting execution. can be executed by a process common to This makes it possible to modify or add the program code even when the definition of the game state is changed or newly added due to the change of the game specifications, or when the processing for controlling the game is added. is minimized, it is possible to set (initialize) necessary parameters at the time of game state transition and processing execution only by adding and correcting the corresponding initialization setting data.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, by defining initialization setting data in a common data structure, parameters can be cleared/initialized in common processing (data initialization processing). . As a result, it is possible to execute a common procedure when parameter setting is required at the timing of the change in game progress, such as when the game state transitions, and it is possible to flexibly respond to changes in game specifications. As a result, it is possible to realize a game rich in variation, and to enhance the interest of the game. Furthermore, the development efficiency of the game machine can be improved by simplifying the program by standardizing the setting of the parameters.

From the above description, each configuration can be further specified as follows.

(2) Program processing (data initialization processing) using the setting data table (initialization setting data) is executed according to the progress of the game state as the game progresses (at the timing when the progress changes). Called and executed from the caller's process (process related to special symbols, etc.), and executed according to the progress of the game state accompanying the progress of the game (at the timing of switching the progress) are different depending on the progress of the game state, but the program processing (data initialization processing) using the setting data table can be executed as common processing. After completing the setting of the set values for the addresses of the storage area set in the first area (area 9901) and the storage area set in the second area (area 9902) by program processing using the data table, By continuing to execute the calling process, it is possible to switch the progress of the game state.

By configuring as in (2), the program code can be changed even when the definition of the game state is changed or newly added due to the change of game specifications, or when processing for controlling the game is added. While minimizing corrections and additions, only by adding and correcting the corresponding setting data table (initialization setting data), necessary parameters are set (initialization) at the time of game state transition and processing execution. Then, it is possible to switch the progress of the game.

[26-1-4. Modified Example of Initialization Setting Data Selecting Means]
In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated alone (RAM clear operation), the time saving transition count is not cleared, and when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated while operating the setting key 971 (setting change operation) clears the time-saving transition count. Therefore, if the initial setting data is added with the time saving transition count, it will always be initialized. Therefore, it is necessary to individually define the initial setting data or branch the processing.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the initialization operation can be confirmed by referring to the value of VALID_PLAY (setting state management area). Therefore, by defining a table for selecting the initialization setting data and making a selection based on the value of VALID_PLAY, it is possible to specify the initialization setting data according to the operation at the time of initialization.

FIG. 423 is a diagram showing an example of VALID_PLAY (setting state management area) and values set in VALID_PLAY in the gaming machine of this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 423, VALID_PLAY is set to “00h” for normal restoration, “01h” for RAM clear operation, “02h” for setting confirmation operation, “03h” for setting change operation, and “04h” for RAM abnormality.

Also, FIG. 424 is a diagram showing an example of a table for selecting initialization setting data at the time of initialization of the gaming machine of this embodiment. The initialization setting data selection table defines initialization setting data corresponding to VALID_PLAY, and the initialization setting data may be selected based on the value of VALID_PLAY. When implemented in this way, it can be determined whether or not to clear depending on the initialization operation.

The time saving transition count is not stored in the area cleared when the gaming machine is initialized, and the time saving transition count is initialized based on the definition of the initialization setting data. That is, only when the time-saving transition count is defined in the initialization setting data, it is initialized, and when maintaining the value of the time-saving transition count, it may be excluded from the initialization setting data. For example, since the RAM clear operation (normal RAM clear) does not initialize the time saving transition count, the corresponding initialization setting data (RAM_CLR_TBL) does not include data corresponding to the time saving transition count. On the other hand, in the case of the setting change operation, the time-saving transition count is initialized, so the corresponding initialization setting data (SET_CHG_TBL) includes data corresponding to the time-saving transition count. By being configured in this way, by defining the initialization setting data according to the initialization operation without changing the program, it is possible to set maintenance or initialization of the time saving transition count, program code branching becomes unnecessary, the program can be simplified, and the program capacity can be compressed. In addition, it becomes possible to switch maintenance of a value or initialization (clearing) by definition of data similarly about another parameter not only in a time saving transition count.

Also, the initialization setting data may be further subdivided according to the initialization conditions of the gaming machine. For example, as shown in FIG. 417, initialization setting data may be defined for each cause of RAM abnormality. If the pattern of initialization setting data is less than the value defined in VALID_PLAY, common initialization setting data may be assigned to different VALID_PLAY to reduce the data volume.

In addition, since the initial value of the time-saving transition count is 0 when it is updated by addition, it is registered in the clearing data, and when it is updated by subtraction, the initial value is the number of time-saving transitions (= 300 times). is registered in the initial setting data. In this way, even if the update methods are different, it is possible to manage with the same initial setting data, and it is possible to flexibly cope with changes in game specifications, thereby increasing the development efficiency of the game machine.

[26-2. External output signal related to special condition time saving]
Next, the output of the external output signal will be described in chronological order from when the game machine is powered on (when the setting change operation is executed). FIG. 425 is a time chart showing the output timing of the external output signal related to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving in the gaming machine of this embodiment. The external output signal is a signal output from an external terminal plate 784 provided in the game machine, and is transmitted to the hall computer installed on the game hall side. The hall computer can grasp the state of the gaming machine in real time based on the received external output signal.

First, the gaming machine is powered on (time t200), and initialization processing is executed. The state where the initialization process is completed and the game is possible. After that, the game is continued, and when the special lottery is not won consecutively for the number of times of time reduction transition (=300 times) after the time reduction transition count is initialized, the state is shifted to the time reduction state by the special condition of time reduction. At this time, the external output signal (big hit information) is set ON for a predetermined time (128 ms), and the signal is output (time t201). By outputting an external output signal (jackpot information) only for a predetermined fixed time, it indicates that the state has shifted to a time-saving state due to special conditions for time-saving. In addition, the external output signal (jackpot information) is output while it is in the jackpot game state, but the time (fixed time) output at the time of transition to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving is in the case of the jackpot game state. The time is sufficiently shorter than the output time. Furthermore, the external output signal (during time saving) is set to ON, and the output of the signal is continued until the end of the time saving state.

In addition, if you do not win the special lottery continuously until you reach the upper limit of the number of continuations of the time saving state (= 100 times) after moving to the time saving state due to the special conditions, the time saving state due to the special conditions will end ( time t202). At the timing when the time saving state ends, the output of the external output signal indicating the time saving is stopped.

After that, when a big hit that shifts to the variable probability state after the end of the jackpot game state occurs (winning a special lottery with the variable probability pattern, winning the variable probability big hit), the accessory continuous operation device is activated after a predetermined pattern confirmation time has elapsed after the special symbol is stopped. , the external output signal (big hit information) and the external output signal (during time saving) are set to ON, and each signal is output (time t203). It should be noted that, in the big hit game state, the time saving control is not executed, but the output of the external output signal (during time saving) is continued. In addition, the output of the external output signal (big hit information) is continued until the big win game state ends (variable period). This makes it possible to manage prize balls during special prizes (continuous wins). In the so-called time saving state, as described above, while the output of the external output signal (during time saving) continues, the output of the external output signal (big hit information) does not continue.

After the jackpot game state ends and the jackpot end interval time elapses, the game state shifts to a variable probability state (high probability time saving state) (time t204). At this time, the output of the external output signal (jackpot information) is stopped (set to OFF), while the output of the external output signal (during time saving) is continued until the time saving state ends. Moreover, the initial value (=300 times) is set to the time saving transition count. In addition, in a high-probability state without time saving state, the external output signal (during time saving) is not output. As a result, the game state can be accurately grasped on the hall computer side, and it can be confirmed whether or not the base value is normal.

After that, when a special lottery is won with a non-probable variable pattern in a high probability time saving state (time t205), the time saving game state is terminated, the probability state is set to a low probability, and the state is shifted to the big hit game state (the big hit game state is always low probability low base state). At this time, although the time saving state ends, the external output signal (during time saving) is not set to OFF, but continues to be ON as the jackpot game state is entered. Furthermore, the external output (jackpot information) is set to ON by entering the jackpot game state.

When the jackpot game state by the non-variable pattern is completed, after the jackpot end interval time elapses, time saving control is started, and the game state shifts to (low probability) time saving state (normal time saving) (time t206). The external output signal (jackpot information) that was turned on during the jackpot is set to OFF after the jackpot end interval time has elapsed, and the time saving state is entered (the time saving flag is set to ON). middle) is turned on to continue the output. At this time, the initial value (=300 times) is set to the time saving transition count.

After the end of the jackpot game state, when the pattern variation (execution of the special lottery) for the upper limit number of continuations of the time saving state ends (time t207), the time saving state is ended by setting the time saving flag to OFF, and the external output signal ( during time saving) is set to OFF to stop the output.

When the special lottery is not won continuously (= 300 times) after the jackpot game state ends (when the time saving transition count reaches 0), the special condition time saving is the same as at time t201 (time t208). At this time, the external output signal (big hit information) is set ON for a predetermined time (128 ms), and the signal is output. After that, when a special lottery is won with a non-variable pattern, the special pattern is stopped, and after a predetermined pattern fixing time elapses, the operation of the accessory continuous operating device is started, and the external output signal (jackpot information) is set to ON and output. is started, and while the time saving flag is set to OFF, the external output signal (during time saving) is continuously output while being ON (time t209).

After that, the big hit game state is ended, and the game state is shifted to (low probability) time saving state (normal time saving) (time t210). After the time of the jackpot end interval has elapsed, the external output signal (jackpot information) is set to OFF to stop the output, the time saving flag is set to ON, and the external output signal (during time saving) is continuously output while being ON. . After the jackpot game state ends, when pattern variation (execution of special lottery) for the upper limit number of continuations of the time saving state is completed (time t211), the time saving flag is set to OFF, and the external output signal (during time saving) is set to OFF. to stop the output.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the external output signal (big win information) for notifying the hall controller that the special lottery has been won and the big win game state (during special prize) is generated without causing a big win. , By outputting to ON in the same way even after the end of the loss variation of a predetermined number of times (when the special time saving condition is established), one external output signal is output for both the big hit and the specific loss time. ing. In addition, when the external output signal (jackpot information) is sent to other than the hall controller, for example, the data lamp (data display provided outside the game machine as equipment on the hall side), when the jackpot and special time saving conditions are established and can share one external output signal. By turning on the external output signal (big hit information), it is possible to reset the number of fluctuations of the data lamp. A player can recognize the number of fluctuations until transition to a time saving state by conditional time saving. In addition, if different signals are output when the jackpot and when the special time saving condition is established, it is necessary to set the data lamp side so that the number of fluctuations can be reset with two signals, so one external output signal is also used. By doing so, it is possible to cope with a specification in which the number of fluctuations of the data ramp cannot be reset by either of the two signals.

The period (variable period) during which the external output signal (jackpot information) is output is a period determined by switching (transition) from the jackpot game state to the time saving state. In addition, the period (fixed period) during which the external output signal (jackpot information) is output at the time of transition to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving is based on the number of times that the regular processing that can be performed regularly by the main control MPU 1311 is performed. It is a timed period. By being configured in this way, when shifting to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving, the external information signal is output at a fixed time (for example, a pulse signal of 128 ms), and when the special lottery is won, the jackpot game state is activated. Since the external information signal is output only for a continuous period, by monitoring each output time (ON time), it is possible to manage the game hall using a hall controller or the like to determine whether the game is in a jackpot game state or a special condition for reducing working hours has occurred. person can be identified.

The fixed time is measured by periodically processing a value (timer value) set in a predetermined specific area in the main control RAM 1312 . For example, a fixed time is set in the specific area, the value set in the specific area is repeatedly subtracted a predetermined number of times periodically, and the measurement ends when the value reaches "0". In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, a fixed time (128 ms) is set in the specific area at the time of transition to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving, and while the value of the specific area is set to a predetermined value, An output signal (jackpot information) is output.

On the other hand, in the special game state signal (external output signal (jackpot information)) output in the jackpot game state, a specific value (“0”) is set in the specific area, and the value of the specific area can be referred to. The output of the signal during the special game state (external output signal (jackpot information)) is continued by the process (the timer interrupt process and the process called from the timer interrupt process) which is periodically executed without any delay. That is, the time (variable time) during which the signal during the special game state (external output signal (jackpot information)) is output is a period specified by a process that is performed periodically.

Therefore, during the time-saving state transition due to the special condition time-saving, the fixed time is set in the specific area and the output time is measured by the external output timer. information (job counter, jackpot number, etc.) that can be determined to be a jackpot game state in the process (port output process in the timer interrupt process) that is periodically executed without using the external output timer A special game state signal (external output signal (jackpot information)) is output based on the information whose value is set only in the game state. That is, the condition that the special game state signal (external output signal (big hit information)) is output (set to ON) is information indicating the big hit game state when a predetermined value is set to the external output timer. (Job counter, jackpot number, etc.) is satisfied. In addition, the output signal is not determined individually, but a data table is defined in advance as a set of the reference address of the specific area corresponding to the external output signal and the setting value, and the records set in the data table It is configured to repeatedly determine (set a value to the reference address of the specific area) only. At this time, by standardizing the process of referring to the data table, the output of the external output signal can be controlled by changing the data table without modifying the program. The set values set in the data table are bit information corresponding to the external output ports that output the external output signals.

In addition, since the number of ports that output the external output signal is limited, multiple external output signals are output from one port so that the jackpot information is output both at the time of the jackpot and at the time of special conditions. By enabling notification of types of information, it becomes possible to notify more information to the outside.

In addition, by enabling notification of a plurality of types of information by means of an external output signal output from one port, it is possible to notify the game status in detail. For example, in a game machine having a plurality of production modes, it is possible to measure the execution status of a special production. To explain a specific example, in a game machine that always shifts to a special effect mode when a special lottery is not won a predetermined number of times, a special effect different from the special effect mode is performed when a predetermined condition is satisfied during execution of the special effect mode. mode. The predetermined conditions include special effect mode transition lottery, combination of symbols in special lottery, time of game time determined by random lottery, and the like. At this time, after outputting the external output signal for a predetermined time when shifting to the special performance mode, the output is stopped, and the external output signal is output again when shifting to the special performance mode. Furthermore, by varying the output time according to the established predetermined condition, or by outputting even when the special effect mode ends, it is possible to grasp the game situation in more detail. By collecting information about the game situation in this way, it is possible to increase the interest in the game by specifying the execution timing of a more effective effect.

In addition to the time-saving state (normal time-saving) after the end of the jackpot game state due to the winning of the special lottery, and the time-saving state (special condition time-saving) that shifts when the special lottery is not won for a predetermined number of times, special patterns are available. There is a gaming machine that can shift to a time-saving state by fixing and stopping with a predetermined combination (specific symbol time-saving). At the time of shift to the time saving state due to the specific symbol time saving, the external output signal (jackpot information) is output for a predetermined time (128 ms), and the external output signal (during time saving) is continuously output until the end of the time saving state. That is, an external output signal is output in the same manner as the special condition time saving. Therefore, there is no need to output a signal in a different manner depending on the type of time saving state, so there is no need to increase the number of signal lines for external output. If the number of signal lines for outputting external output signals increases, the management cost on the hall side increases. Furthermore, since the board for outputting the external output signal is generally provided in the frame, it is not easy to increase or decrease the external output signal according to the game specifications. There is also an advantage that there is no need to add a response or the like.

As described above, by notifying multiple types of information using the same signal line and outputting signals in the same manner for different types of time-saving conditions, external equipment can be used without changing existing equipment. It is possible to accurately notify the game status including the game status.

From the above explanation, each configuration can be specified as follows.
(3) The variable period is a period determined by the switching of the game state, and the fixed period is a period measured based on the number of times the regular process that can be executed periodically by the game control means is executed. Therefore, in the configuration shown in (3), the external information signal is output at a fixed time (for example, a pulse signal of 128 ms) when shifting to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving, and when the special lottery is won, the jackpot game state Since the external information signal is output only during the period (variable period) that continues, by monitoring each output time (ON time), it is possible to check whether the jackpot game state or the special condition time reduction has occurred. The manager can be identified by this, and the management of the game hall can be facilitated.

(4) The fixed time is set when a predetermined value (timer value) set in a predetermined specific area of the main control RAM 1312 (storage means) is stored (in regular processing). It is a period during which a signal during a special game state is output, and the variable period is the period when a specific value different from the predetermined value is stored in the specific area of the storage means (in the regular processing). This is the period during which the special game state signal is output. That is, in the configuration shown in (4), the fixed time measurement is performed by setting a fixed time in a specific area and measurement is performed by the external output timer, while the variable time measurement is performed periodically without using the external output timer. Measurement is performed by processing (timer interrupt processing, etc.) executed during By controlling the output time of the external output signal by selectively using the fixed time and the variable time in this way, it is possible to more accurately notify the outside of the gaming machine of the progress of the game.

《External output when game is stopped》
In the gaming machine of this embodiment, when a RAM abnormality occurs, the game is stopped, all signals other than the security signal are set to OFF, and output is stopped. Therefore, when a RAM abnormality occurs in the time saving state due to the special condition time saving, the external output signal (during time saving) is set to OFF, and then the game state is returned to the initial state by the setting change operation. At this time, since the external output signal (during time saving) remains set to OFF, it is assumed that the time saving state due to the special condition of time saving did not occur when the game was restarted. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the time reduction transition count is initialized by the setting change operation, and the game is restarted from the initial state.

Also, if it is determined that there is a RAM abnormality (abnormal set value/abnormal work other than the set value) when the power is turned on, if it is determined that there is a RAM abnormality (abnormal set value) in the normal game state, the process is executed in the same flow, When it is determined that the RAM is abnormal within the timer interrupt process, the process related to the game (input process, timer update process, special figure related process, normal figure related process, etc.) is skipped.

In addition, when the game is stopped due to fraud detection, unlike the case of RAM abnormality, various timers (including timers for external output) are not updated, so the external output signal is in the state of being output. will be maintained. An output signal for controlling a driver such as a solenoid is forcibly set to OFF in order to prevent failure. Further, the cancellation of the game stop state is, for example, re-supply of power, and may be conditional on a setting change operation or a RAM clear operation. Also, even if it is a normal power-on or setting confirmation operation, the game stop state may be canceled when the power is turned on while performing a special operation (for example, opening the door).

Therefore, if it is determined that the game is stopped due to detection of fraud etc. during the output of the external output signal (jackpot information) output for 128 milliseconds at the time of the time saving transition due to the special condition time saving, the timer that measures the output time of the external output signal By stopping the updating, it is possible to maintain the timer value in the state before the game is stopped, and it is possible to maintain the output of the external output signal in the ON state. This eliminates the need to determine whether or not the external output signal is in the output state when it is determined that the game is stopped. It is possible to control the output of the output signal.

As described above, game stoppage due to RAM abnormality must be accompanied by a setting change operation in order to return, and as a result, the game state is also initialized. set. On the other hand, when the game is stopped due to fraud detection, etc., it is possible to recover by turning on the power again or detecting the cancellation of an abnormality, so it is necessary to restore the state before the game is stopped. If it is set to , the hall controller may mistakenly detect that the signal has been output twice by turning it ON again after returning, so the external output is maintained when the game is stopped.

Whether or not to move to the game stop state is determined by the abnormality determination process in the timer interrupt process, so the next timer interrupt process that is determined to be a game stop within the abnormality determination process (detected to be in the game stop state) , the game-related processing is skipped. That is, in the timer interrupt processing next to detecting the transition to the game stop state, the processing relating to the actual game stop is executed. Therefore, since the timer is updated at the timing determined to stop the game, the timing determined to stop the game and the timing to update the external output timer to 0 are the same time (within the same timer interrupt process). In this case, the external output timer changes from 1 to 0, so the external output is turned off before the game is actually stopped.

A security signal is output when the game is stopped due to an abnormality in the RAM or when the game is stopped due to a fraudulent act. On the other hand, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the game is shifted to the game stop state by detection of illegality such as a magnetic error, and control different from the case where the game is stopped due to RAM abnormality is performed. As a result, whether the game is stopped due to fraud detection or due to a RAM error, the game is stopped due to fraud or an unexpected abnormality such as noise or failure is controlled. can be judged. Furthermore, it is possible to know from the outside the timing at which the gaming machine does not operate normally due to fraudulent activity, and for example, surveillance cameras installed in halls can be used to identify the fraudster. It should be noted that the factors that cause the game to transition to a stopped state are not limited to magnetic anomalies, but when vibration is detected by the vibration detection sensor, when the radio wave detection sensor detects radio waves, and furthermore, the large winning entrance sensor, the normal electric role This includes the case where the object sensor detects winning (a predetermined number of prizes) while the accessory is not in operation, and the case where the winning by a specific winning port (V Attacker, etc.) does not match the discharge port.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the first game stop condition (RAM abnormality (set value abnormality)) and the second game stop condition (illegal notification such as magnetic abnormality) for stopping execution of specific processing related to the game have. When the progress of the game is stopped based on the first game stop condition, immediately before the progress of the game is stopped, the signal during the special game state (external output signal (jackpot information)) is output in a variable period or fixed. Stops the output of the external output signal regardless of whether it is output during the period.

On the other hand, in the second game stop condition, the progress of the game is stopped in the same manner as the first game stop condition, but immediately before stopping the progress of the game, the special game state signal (external output signal (jackpot information)) is variable. To continuously output an external output signal regardless of whether it is output in a period or in a fixed period. For example, if it is determined that the game is stopped due to detection of fraud during the output of the external output signal (jackpot information) that is output for a fixed time (128 milliseconds) at the time of the time saving transition due to the special condition time saving (second game stop condition), By stopping the updating of the timer for measuring the output time of the external output signal, the timer value can be maintained in the state before the game is stopped, and the output of the external output signal can be maintained in the ON state. This eliminates the need to determine whether or not the external output signal is in the output state when it is determined that the game is stopped. It is possible to control the output of the output signal.

Game stop due to the first game stop condition (RAM error (set value error)) must be accompanied by a setting change operation for recovery, and as a result, the game state is also initialized, so the external output is also RAM error It is set to OFF at the timing determined as On the other hand, in the second game stop condition (unauthorized notification such as magnetic abnormality) game stop, it is possible to recover by turning on the power again or detecting the cancellation of the abnormality, so it is necessary to restore from the state before the game stop. If it is set to OFF when it is determined that the game is stopped, it will be turned ON again after returning, and there is a risk that the hall controller will mistakenly detect that the signal has been output twice. I try to keep the output.

A security signal is output when the game is stopped due to an abnormality in the RAM or when the game is stopped due to a fraudulent act. On the other hand, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the game is shifted to the game stop state by detection of illegality such as a magnetic error, and control different from the case where the game is stopped due to RAM abnormality is performed. As a result, when the game is stopped due to fraud detection (second game stop condition) and when the game is stopped due to RAM abnormality (first game stop condition), the game is stopped due to fraud, noise, malfunction, etc. Which control can determine whether the game has been stopped due to an unexpected abnormality. Furthermore, it is possible to know from the outside the timing at which the gaming machine does not operate normally due to fraudulent activity, and for example, surveillance cameras installed in halls can be used to identify the fraudster.

From the above explanation, each configuration can be specified as follows.

(5) The main control MPU 1311 (game control means) has a first game stop condition and a second game stop condition for stopping the execution of specific processing related to the game, and progresses the game based on the first game stop condition. is to be stopped, regardless of whether the special game state signal is output in a variable period or in a fixed period (immediately before stopping the progress of the game), the special game state signal is output. is stopped, and in the second game stop condition, although the progress of the game is stopped in the same manner as the first game control means, the signal during the special game state (just before stopping the progress of the game) is (in a variable period To continuously output a signal during a special game state regardless of whether it is output or output in a fixed period.

In the configuration shown in (5), the game stop due to the first game stop condition must be accompanied by a setting change operation in order to return to the game, and as a result, the game state is also initialized. It is set to OFF at the timing when it is judged to be abnormal. In addition, since the game stop due to the second game stop condition can be recovered by turning on the power again or detecting the cancellation of the abnormality, the output is turned on by stopping the update of the timer that measures the output time of the external output signal. By maintaining the state as it is, it becomes unnecessary to determine whether or not the external output signal is in the output state when it is determined that the game is stopped, and by re-outputting the external output signal after returning, the hall controller side repeats twice. Since it is possible to prevent erroneous detection that the signal is output, it is possible to control the output of the external output signal using common processing regardless of exception processing (game stop) or normal processing.

<< Stop updating the time-saving transition counter >>
In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, by repeating the variation not winning the special lottery a predetermined number of times, it shifts to the time saving state by the special condition time saving. Therefore, by erroneously detecting the winning of the start winning opening by radio waves, magnetism, etc., there is a risk of fraudulent acts that fraudulently increase the number of special lottery lotteries and shift to a time saving state in a short time due to special conditions of time saving. . In order to suppress such fraud, the gaming machine of the present embodiment stops updating the time-saving transition counter for a predetermined suppression period when radio waves or magnetism is detected. This suppression period continues until the suppression period is canceled even after the detection of radio waves and magnetism ceases and the fraud is eliminated. Cancellation of the suppression period is, for example, cancellation operation by hall employees, turning on the power again, opening the door, or the like. By configuring in this way, it is possible to prevent illegally generating a time saving state due to a special condition of time saving due to a fraudulent act by radio waves, magnetism, or the like.

"others"
In the gaming machine of this embodiment, a plurality of production modes are executed according to the result of the special lottery. A plurality of performance modes are different performance modes according to the player's profit such as game value and big hit expectation. In a special performance mode (a performance mode in which the player's profit is the highest) among the plurality of performance modes, update of the time saving transition count is suppressed. During this suppression period, an external output signal indicating the suppression period is output so that the hall controller can recognize that it is the suppression period. As for the external output signal, the big hit information and the time saving may be used in common, or may be a dedicated external output signal. On the hall controller side, based on the external information signal output during the suppression period, it is possible to recognize that it is a period in which updating of the time reduction transition counter is suppressed.

The special performance mode may be a performance mode that is executed when a specific condition is established in a look-ahead performance suggesting that there is a high possibility of a big win in the reserved memory, or a specific big win. It may also be an effect mode indicating that a specific big win (for example, a big win with the most prize balls) is achieved by stopping the symbols. Further, it may be an effect mode corresponding to a game state such as a high-probability game state or a time-saving game state.

In addition, as described above, by outputting an external output signal (jackpot information) at the time of time-saving state transition due to special conditions time-saving, the hall controller side is notified of the initialization of the time-saving transition count, but other external output signals You may make it notify the initialization of a time saving transition count by an output. For example, when winning a special lottery, a signal for initializing the number of fluctuations counted is transmitted from the main control board 1310 of the game machine, and when this signal is received by the hall controller side, the time saving transition count You may make it initialize the value etc. which correspond to . If the number of types of signals to be output cannot be increased, or if increasing the number of signal types increases management costs, other signals may be used in common. For example, it may be an external output signal (jackpot information), a pattern confirmation signal, or a combination of a plurality of specific signals (for example, both signals during time saving and jackpot information) good.

The external output signal (big hit information) and the external output signal (during time saving) may be output at the timing when the fluctuation of the special design stops, but in the gaming machine of this embodiment, after the predetermined design confirmation period has elapsed from the design stop output. When transitioning to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving, the fluctuation of the special pattern that the time saving transition count reaches 0 stops, and the output of the external output signal is started by the timer interrupt after the predetermined fixed period has elapsed, and the next timer interrupt (If the hold is not 0), the special symbol variation is started. Therefore, about each external output signal which shows the time saving state by special condition time saving, even if suspension is 0, it will be output from the timing (before that). Thereby, it becomes possible to specify that the time saving state by the special condition time saving has been started even without the reservation, and it is possible to grasp the accurate game situation.

The timing at which the output of the external output signal is started may be the symbol variation next to the special symbol variation in which the time saving transition count reaches zero. Further, after the time saving state by the special condition time saving is started, the output of the external output signal may be started after the stop design is determined in the first design variation. Minimize the difference between the timing of signal output and the start timing of the time saving state by outputting the signal after the special symbol variation actually starts after satisfying the conditions for starting the time saving state due to the special condition. and collect accurate information. In this case, by setting the time saving transition count not to start the next change in the state of 0, the player will immediately activate the time saving state due to the special condition time saving from the first change, so the hall side can be used as a service (morning). For example, from the end of business on the previous day to the start of business on the next day, the time reduction transition count is varied until it reaches 0, and the number of times the data ramp changes is reset (restored to 0). As a result, after the start of business on the next day, the first player can activate the time-saving state by the special condition of time-saving at the same time when the fluctuation of the first pattern is started. It is possible to prevent the player from grasping that the result of the previous day will shift to the time-saving state by allowing the pattern to change after the end of the business.

[26-3. Output of individual external output signals according to game state]
The output mode of the external output signal is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 425, and another mode is also conceivable. FIG. 426 is a modification of the time chart showing the output timing of the external output signal related to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving in the gaming machine of this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 426, individual gaming state (for example, time saving state (special conditions time saving, normal time saving), jackpot game state, probability variable state, etc.) according to individual external output signal (special conditions time saving, during probability fluctuation) By outputting , it is possible to manage the number of balls put out according to the game state.

In addition, in the time chart shown in FIG. 425, the external output signal corresponding to the jackpot information ("special prize in" in FIG. 426) is output for 128 ms at the time of the shift to the time saving state due to the special condition time saving and the specific pattern time saving, but FIG. In the modification shown in FIG. 2, the external output signal (big hit information, during special prize) is configured not to be output. If the signal indicating the start of the special condition time saving and the signal indicating the special prize (jackpot information) are combined in the one- and two-kind mixer, the time-saving medium signal is used when only the substantial jackpot round excluding the small hit is the big hit. There is a possibility that it will rise before the signal during the special prize, and there is a possibility that it will be erroneously recognized as the start of the time saving state due to the specific pattern time saving. Therefore, as in the modification shown in FIG. 426, a signal indicating the start of the special condition time saving and a signal indicating the special prize (jackpot information) are separately output as external information to solve the above-described problems. can be done.

In addition, in the gaming machine of this modification, the same signal (time-saving medium signal) is output in both the time-saving state due to normal time-saving and the time-saving state due to special conditions. can not be separately managed, when it is necessary to separate the data of the time saving state due to the special condition of time saving and the data of the time saving state due to the normal time saving, a dedicated external information signal that is output only when the special condition is satisfied is output. In addition, the same is true for specific pattern time reduction, and if you want to manage the ball (base) in each time reduction state of normal time reduction, special condition time reduction, and specific pattern time reduction, special conditions reduction time and specific pattern time reduction (time t201-t202, time t208-t209).

Finally, in the gaming machines of this embodiment and this modified example, a dedicated signal is output when the winning probability of the special lottery is high. As a result, it is possible to grasp the timing to start updating the time saving transition count in the ST machine and the falling lottery machine. The update of the time-saving transition count is invalid during high probability (effective only at low probability), so it is possible to manage the time-saving transition count from the end of the high probability state. Since the time saving signal is output both during high probability and low probability time saving, it is necessary to update the time saving transition count by judging whether it is in high probability or not after the jackpot game state ends. Further, when a fall lottery is executed in which the winning probability of the special lottery changes from a high probability to a low probability by lottery, the update of the time reduction shift count is started at the timing when the probability shifts to the low probability. Therefore, in the case of a gaming machine that executes a falling lottery, it is necessary to initialize the time saving transition count at the timing when the falling lottery is won.

[27. Control Configuration of Peripheral Control Board]
In the above, the special condition time saving in the gaming machine of the present embodiment has been described. Next, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, effect control will be described, focusing on control for displaying an image on the effect display device (main display device) 1600. FIG. First, a configuration for performing production control will be described. The gaming machine of the present embodiment includes a main control board 1310 as a means for comprehensively controlling the game, a peripheral control board 1510 as a means for controlling the performance of the game, and a payout control board for controlling the payout of game balls. 951, etc. The configuration and basic control of the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 are the same as those described with reference to FIG.

Effect control is executed by the peripheral control board 1510 based on commands transmitted from the main control board 1310 . Here, after peripheral control board 1510 receives a command, composition and control required in order to perform production control are explained. First, the basic configuration of the peripheral control board 1510 that controls the overall effect will be described, and in particular, the configuration for displaying an image on the effect display device (main display device) 1600 of this embodiment will be described. Furthermore, the control necessary from when the gaming machine is turned on until the performance can be executed by the peripheral control board 1510 will be described.

[27-1. Configuration of Peripheral Control Board]
FIG. 427 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the peripheral control board 1510. As shown in FIG. Peripheral control board 1510, as shown in FIG. 1600 drawing control section 1512, a sound source IC (04TKK0030) for outputting sound, and pre-stored presentation data before execution and temporarily stored decoded image data. It has an external RAM (05TKK0020) for playing and an effect data ROM (05TKK0070) for storing a program and effect data for controlling the effect. Each configuration of the peripheral control board 1510 will be described below.

[27-1a. Peripheral control section]
Peripheral control unit 1511, which performs effect control in peripheral control board 1510, includes a CPU (04TKK0011), RAM (04TKK0012) and boot ROM (05TKK0013), and further includes various I/O interfaces (not shown). The peripheral control unit 1511 may be arranged on the substrate as individual electronic components, or may be configured as a peripheral control IC in which these are integrated into one semiconductor chip.

The peripheral control unit 1511 further includes external input/output means such as a parallel I/O port and a serial I/O port, and receives various commands transmitted from the main control board 1310, for example. The CPU (04TKK0011) performs various effects control based on the programs and data stored in the RAM (04TKK0012). The program includes system-side processing such as initial settings for the CPU (04TKK0011) and various devices, and application-side processing for controlling effects such as lamps, movable bodies, sound sources, and images. be

The RAM (04TKK0012) is allocated with a work area for temporarily storing data during program execution, and a program area for storing programs read from the boot ROM (05TKK0013) or effect data ROM (05TKK0070). Note that the work area and the program area may be configured as separate RAMs.

The CPU (04TKK0011) generates game board side emission data for outputting a lighting signal, a blinking signal, or a gradation lighting signal to the color LED or the like provided on each decoration board of the game board 5 based on the received various commands. is transmitted to each decoration board of the game board 5 from the serial I/O port for the lamp drive board.

In addition, the CPU (04TKK0011) transmits game board side drive data for outputting drive signals to drive motors that operate various effect units provided on the game board 5 from the game board decoration drive board serial I/O port. A door for transmitting to the drive motor or drive solenoid of the game board 5, or for outputting a drive signal to the vibration motor 356 provided on the door frame 3, the operation button elevation drive motor 367, the protrusion force adjustment drive motor 381, etc. Door-side drive data and door-side light emission data for outputting a lighting signal, a blinking signal, or a gradation lighting signal to color LEDs or the like provided on each decorative substrate of the door frame 3. Drive light emission data is transmitted from the frame decoration drive board serial I/O port to the door frame 3 side.

Furthermore, the CPU (04TKK0011) transmits control data (display command) indicating a screen to be displayed on the effect display device 1600 from the serial I/O port for the display control unit to the effect display control unit 1512 based on the received various commands. or output a control signal (sound command) for extracting sound information to the sound source IC (04TKK0030).

Detection signals from the contact detection sensor main body 358 , pressure detection sensor 373 , elevation detection sensor 374 and projection force detection sensor 375 of the effect operation unit 300 provided on the door frame 3 are input to the peripheral control section 1511 .

In addition, the CPU (04TKK0011) receives a signal (operation signal) from the production display control unit 1512 that indicates that the production display control unit 1512 is operating normally, and based on this operation signal, the production display control unit 1512 activity is monitored.

Note that the peripheral control unit 1511 includes an external WDT (watchdog timer) (not shown) in addition to the built-in WDT (watchdog timer) built into the CPU (04TKK0011). It is used together with an external WDT to diagnose whether or not its own system is running out of control. As for the WDT (watch dog timer), monitoring may be performed only by an external WDT without providing an internal WDT.

A display command output from the CPU (04TKK0011) to the effect display control unit 1512 is performed through a serial input/output port. k) Bps (bits per second, hereinafter referred to as "bps") is set. On the other hand, the initial data, the door frame side lighting and blinking command, the game board side lighting and blinking command, the movable object drive command, etc., output from the CPU (04TKK0011) to the game board 5 side are output from a plurality of serial input/output ports different from the display commands. , and in this embodiment, 250 kbps is set as the bit rate.

The boot ROM (05TKK0013) stores power-on processing executed at power-on and data necessary for the processing. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, when the power is turned on, a power-on process is executed by processing a program stored in a predetermined area (boot area) of the boot ROM (05TKK0013). At this time, devices and input/output means (I/O) necessary for starting the peripheral control board 1510 are initialized.

[27-1b. External RAM]
The external RAM (05TKK0020) prestores (preloads) the data stored in the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) according to instructions from the CPU (04TKK0011), VDP (04TKK0060), and the like.

In addition, by accessing the data stored in the external RAM (05TKK0020) by the CPU (04TKK0011) and VDP (04TKK0060), the processing can be performed much faster than when programs and data are acquired from the performance data ROM (05TKK0070). become possible. Therefore, access to the external RAM (05TKK0020) must be made as fast (efficient) as possible in order to quickly control the effect. ing.

In addition, while the external RAM (05TKK0020) can be accessed at high speed, it is not realistic in terms of cost to secure a capacity that can store all the data necessary for the performance, so various performance data is large-capacity data. is stored in the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) that can store the . However, reading data from the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) takes longer than reading data from the external RAM (05TKK0020). 05TKK0070) can be read out at high speed from the external RAM (05TKK0020) in advance, thereby shortening the time required to read out the effect data.

The data to be preloaded may be data stored in the performance data ROM (05TKK0070), not only image (moving image) data and sound data, but also various control data and scheduler data for controlling the performance. may be In addition, by preloading frequently displayed image data (for example, identification patterns, pending display, etc.) and output sound data as resident data, the performance control can be speeded up.

In this way, the external RAM (05TKK0020) stores image data (that satisfies a predetermined condition) and sound data (sound data itself such as songs and SEs). On the other hand, the RAM (04TKK0012) of the peripheral control unit 1511 stores general programs (except the boot program) executed by the CPU (04TKK0011) and data used in processing by the programs (such as scheduler data). Furthermore, a work area that is temporarily used during execution of the program is allocated.

Furthermore, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, data to be preloaded is selected in advance and resides in the external RAM (05TKK0020). As will be described later, it is stored in the resident content data area (05TKK081) of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) (see FIG. 428B), and after the power is turned on, it is transferred from the resident content data area (05TKK081) of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) to the external RAM. By preloading in a predetermined area (external RAM side resident content data storage area) of (05TKK0020), it is possible to speed up the effect control. Data to be preloaded will be described later.

[27-1c. Sound output section (sound source IC)]
The sound source IC (04TKK0030) enables performance with high sound quality based on sound data. The sound source IC (04TKK0030) acquires sound data based on the control data (sound command) from the peripheral control unit 1511, and uses the top center speaker, top side speaker, and Control is performed so that sounds such as music and sound effects are played from the main body frame speaker 622 of the main body frame 4 or the like.

The sound data is stored in the performance data ROM (05TKK0070), and is information for outputting music, voice, sound effects, and the like. In addition, the sound source IC (04TKK0030) can output sound based on the sound data directly obtained from the performance data ROM (05TKK0070), while preloaded from the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) and stored in the external RAM (05TKK0020). It is possible to output sound based on the sound data stored.

The volume can be adjusted by rotating a volume control switch protruding rearward from the peripheral control board box in which the peripheral control board 1510 is housed. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, acoustic signals (for example, 2ch stereo signals, 4ch signals, etc.) as sound information are transmitted to the top center speaker and top side speaker on the side of the door frame 3, and the body frame speaker 622 for bass sound of the body frame 4. By sending a stereo signal, 2.1ch surround signal, or 4.1ch surround signal, etc., it is possible to present a more realistic sound effect (sound performance) than before.

[27-1d. Effect display control section]
[27-1d-1. Basic configuration of effect display control unit]
The effect display control unit 1512 controls drawing of the effect display device 1600 . As shown in FIG. 427, the effect display control unit 1512 transfers a VDP (abbreviation of Video Display Processor) (04TKK0060) that controls the display of the effect display device 1600 and various data stored in the effect data ROM (05TKK0070). and an image RAM (04TKK0090) to be copied. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the effect display control section 1512 is arranged on the peripheral control board 1510, but it may be arranged on another board.

When a drawing instruction (liquid crystal display command list) output from the peripheral control unit 1511 is input, the VDP (04TKK0060) extracts sprite data (image data) based on the input drawing instruction and displays it as an effect display device. Drawing data to be displayed on 1600 is generated, and the generated drawing data is output to the effect display device 1600 . Sprite data (image data) used for display is acquired from the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) or external RAM (05TKK0020) and stored in the image RAM (04TKK0090).

In addition, when the effect display device 1600 does not accept the drawing instruction from the peripheral control section 1511, the VDP (04TKK0060) outputs to the peripheral control section 1511 an in-execution signal notifying that effect. Note that the VDP (04TKK0060) employs a double-buffer system for the frame buffer. In the double-buffering method, frame buffers for two screens are secured in the image RAM (04TKK0090), one of which is used as a display buffer for displaying on the effect display device 1600, and the other as a drawing buffer for drawing the display image. When the drawing to the drawing buffer is completed, the display buffer and the drawing buffer are switched (bank flip), and this is repeated. A line buffer method may be employed in which drawing data for one line for drawing in the horizontal direction is held in a line buffer and the drawing data for one line held in the line buffer is output to the effect display device 1600 .

The sprite data (image data) stored in the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) is base data, which is data before the sprite is developed into a bitmap format, and is stored in a compressed state. A “sprite” is an image displayed as a unit on the effect display device 1600 . For example, when displaying various persons (characters) on the effect display device 1600, the data for drawing each person is called a "sprite". As a result, when displaying a plurality of persons on the effect display device 1600, a plurality of sprites are used. In addition to the person, the houses, mountains, roads, etc. that make up the background are also sprites, and the entire background can be made into one sprite. These sprites are drawn on the rendering display device 1600 after setting the position to be arranged on the screen and the vertical relationship when the sprites overlap each other.

In the double-buffering method, as described above, the sprite is drawn in the drawing buffer, and after the drawing is completed, the drawing buffer and the display buffer are switched to display on the effect display device 1600, and this is repeated. Since the frame buffer buffers the entire screen frame, unlike the line buffer method, there is no limit to the number of sprites that can be arranged in the horizontal direction. The display performance of sprites can be improved by the amount of improvement in the access speed of the RAM (04TKK0090).

The basic configuration of the effect display control section 1512 has been described above, and the detailed configuration of the effect display control section 1512 will be further described.

[27-1d-2. VDP]
The VDP (04TKK0060) consists of a CG data decoder (04TKK0061) that decodes image data read from the performance data ROM (05TKK0070), a rendering engine (04TKK0062) that processes and generates image data for one frame, and a 3D display. A pixel shader (04TKK0063) that generates and processes an image for use, and a display controller (04TKK0064) that controls the output of an image to the effect display device 1600. Other configurations (not shown) include a CG memory controller that controls reading of image data from the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) and a VDP controller that controls each configuration inside the VDP (04TKK0060).

[27-1d-3. Image RAM]
The image RAM (04TKK0090) is a memory that temporarily stores data necessary for the VDP (04TKK0060) to execute drawing processing, as described above. The storage area provided by the image RAM (04TKK0090) is mostly occupied by buffers for temporarily recording characters and images to be displayed on the screen. and an off-screen buffer (04TKK0092).

The frame buffer (04TKK0091) is a storage area in which image data specifying the display screen of the effect display device 1600 is temporarily stored. The off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) is a storage area in which image data is temporarily stored in the process of creating an image to be displayed on the effect display device 1600. FIG. The frame buffer (04TKK0091) has a double-buffer structure having a first buffer and a second buffer, as described above, and is configured to be switchable between a drawing bank and a display bank.

[27-1d-4. Overview of image display control]
Next, a procedure for displaying an image on the effect display device 1600 will be described. The performance display control unit 1512 processes the main command received by the peripheral control unit 1511 from the main control board 1310, receives the liquid crystal display list command created by the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511, and displays the received liquid crystal display. An image is displayed on the effect display device 1600 based on the list command.

Liquid crystal display list commands are temporarily stored in a command buffer (command memory). The VDP (04TKK0060) causes the effect display device 1600 to display an image based on the liquid crystal display list command stored in the command buffer. The command buffer has a FIFO (First In First Out) structure, and liquid crystal display list commands are stored in the order in which they are received and processed in the order in which they are stored. The command buffer may be provided independently as a command memory, or may be allocated to an area within a work RAM (not shown) inside the VDP.

The liquid crystal display list command specifies each frame of the effect display device 1600. For example, a control command related to VDP control such as interrupt operation of VDP (04TKK0060), and a command related to drawing operation of rendering engine (04TKK0062). It includes a drawing command, a decoding command related to the decoding operation of the CG data decoder (04TKK0061), and the like.

The VDP (04TKK0060) reads image data (image information) from the external RAM (05TKK0020) or effect data ROM (05TKK0070) by means of a CG memory controller, decodes the read image data by means of a CG data decoder (04TKK0061), and converts it into image display data. (image display information) is generated. Since the image data read by the CG memory controller is stored in a compressed state, the read image data is decoded by the CG data decoder (04TKK0061).

Additionally, the VDP (04TKK0060) processes image data generated by the rendering engine (04TKK0062). Furthermore, when the image to be displayed on the effect display device 1600 is to be displayed in 3D, the pixel shader (04TKK0063) performs pixel conversion to obtain image data converted into a lenticular image. Finally, the final image data to be displayed on the effect display device 1600 is stored in the frame buffer (04TKK0091).

Further, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, as will be described later, it is possible to display objects such as characters on the screen in 3D. Therefore, the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) stores 3D image (stereoscopic image) data and 2D image (planar image) data. All of these image data are compressed by the same method. In this embodiment, compression is performed in both the X-axis direction (horizontal direction) and the Y-axis direction (vertical direction). As a result, the volume of image data can be reduced. In addition, you may make it compress only in any one direction. In addition, by using the same compression method for 3D image data and 2D image data, it is possible to simplify processing at the time of data decoding (when the compressed state is released). The CG data decoder (04TKK0061) of the VDP (04TKK0060) supports multiple types of compression methods, and any method can be selected, but a common compression method is selected at the time of implementation. Also, as will be described later, an image subjected to pixel conversion by the pixel shader (04TKK0063) is synthesized pixel by pixel for each dot, and thus lossless compression is desirable.

The VDP (04TKK0060) uses the rendering engine (04TKK0062) to process the image data decoded as necessary based on the liquid crystal display list command. Then, the image to be finally displayed on the effect display device 1600 is drawn in the drawing bank of the frame buffer (04TKK0091). After that, by switching the bank (bank flip), the drawing bank is switched to the display bank (bank flip), and the effect display device 1600 is displayed. The execution timing of the bank flip is specified by the bank flip wait command included in the liquid crystal display list command, and after the VDP (04TKK0060) accepts the bank flip wait command, a predetermined cycle (bank flip cycle, for example, 1/30 second = A bank flip is actually performed at a screen update cycle (frame cycle).

[27-1d-4. memory map]
When the VDP (04TKK0060) performs image processing, it accesses storage areas provided by the image RAM (04TKK0090) and the external RAM (05TKK0101). A common address space is assigned to this storage area. FIG. 428A is an example of a memory map of storage areas accessed by VDP (04TKK0060).

Referring to FIG. 428A, the storage area accessed by the VDP (04TKK0060) includes a frame buffer (04TKK0091), an off-screen buffer (04TKK0092), a development buffer (05TKK0093), a temporary save buffer (05TKK0094), and a decode buffer ( 05TKK0101).

The frame buffer (04TKK0091) and off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) are actually provided by the image RAM (05TKK0101) as described above, but are not limited to this. (04TKK0091) may be provided by the image RAM (05TKK0101), while the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) may be provided by the external RAM (05TKK0020).

The expansion buffer (05TKK0093), temporary save buffer (05TKK0094) and decode buffer (05TKK0101) are provided by one or both of the image RAM (04TKK0090) and the external RAM (05TKK0101).

[27-1e. Production data storage unit (production data ROM)]
The configuration of the effect display control unit 1512 has been described above. Next, the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) storing various effect data will be described. The effect data ROM (05TKK0070) stores data and programs necessary for executing the effect as described above.

[27-1e-1. Configuration of production data ROM]
The performance data ROM (05TKK0070) used in the gaming machine of this embodiment is configured as a ROM board mounted on the peripheral control board 1510 . The interface standard for connecting the peripheral control board 1510 and the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) is serial ATA. Therefore, the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) is provided with a SATA controller (05TKK0071), and performs control according to access requests from the CPU (04TKK0011), VDP (04TKK0060), and the like.

The effect data ROM (05TKK0070) has a storage device (05TKK0073) that stores various programs and data. The storage device (05TKK0073) of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) in the gaming machine of this embodiment is a NAND flash memory. A NAND flash memory is a large-capacity non-volatile storage medium.

A NAND-type flash memory has a 1-bit or multi-bit storage area called a "memory cell" as a basic unit. The performance data ROM (05TKK0070) of the gaming machine of this embodiment has a storage area of multiple bits (for example, 3 bits) in order to realize low cost. A memory cell stores data by retaining a charge in a charge retaining region. In addition, data reading is performed in units of pages composed of a plurality of memory cells. Furthermore, since the NAND flash memory has a configuration in which a plurality of cells are connected in series, high integration can be achieved at low cost. Therefore, by adopting a NAND flash memory for the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, it is possible to achieve both an increase in storage capacity and a reduction in cost. Note that the storage device (05TKK0073) is not limited to the NAND flash memory, and other storage media may be used as long as predetermined conditions such as capacity and cost are satisfied.

However, NAND flash memory has a much slower data access speed than DDR3 DRAM, which is used in general RAM. , there was a risk that a delay would occur in the production. Therefore, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, a cache memory (05TKK0072) is installed in the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) to speed up data reading.

The cache memory (05TKK0072) is composed of high-speed readable and writable DRAM (or SRAM). To significantly shorten the data reading time if the data is stored in the cache memory (05TKK0072) when accessing the data stored in the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) from the CPU (04TKK0011) or the VDP (05TKK0020). can be done. In particular, when the amount of data read from the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) is large, a particularly high effect can be exhibited.

The SATA controller (05TKK0071) holds management information for the effect data ROM (05TKK0070). The management information of the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) may be held in the cache memory (05TKK0072). The management information includes memory cell placement information and the like. Also, the cache memory (05TKK0072) may be incorporated in the SATA controller (05TKK0071).

In a NAND flash memory, repeated reading of data stored in the same area (memory cell) may cause the digital values of neighboring cells to change. In addition, if a specific region (memory cell) is not accessed for a long time, electric charges may be discharged and data may not be retained. In order to solve this problem, the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) installed in the gaming machine of this embodiment has a refresh function. The refresh function reads, for example, the contents of a page in which data is stored, and writes back the same contents. As a result, electric charge is reinjected into the memory cell, unintended data change can be suppressed, and data read errors can be prevented. Note that the pages on which the refresh function is executed may be only pages in which data is written, or may be all pages. For example, it may be executed at power-on for pages to which data has been written, and periodically or manually for all pages.

The refresh function can be executed independently of the CPU (04TKK0011) and VDP (04TKK0060) by the SATA controller (05TKK0071). The performance data ROM (05TKK0070) of the game machine of this embodiment can automatically execute a refresh function when the power is turned on. The mechanism by which the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) detects power-on is provided in the SATA controller (05TKK0071) separately from the detection of power-on by the CPU (04TKK0011). Therefore, the refresh function can be executed independently without waiting for an instruction from the CPU (04TKK0011). Also, by equipping the SATA controller (05TKK0071) with a power-on detection mechanism, it is possible to execute the refresh function based on the power supply to the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) regardless of the state of the power supply on the peripheral control board 1510 side. can. Furthermore, even if the power supply to the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) is interrupted during execution of the refresh function and the refresh function is interrupted, the refresh function can be executed from the beginning when the power is turned on again.

It should be noted that the refresh function is not executed each time the power of the game machine is turned on, but the refresh function is executed when the power is turned on after one day (24 hours) or more has passed since the power of the game machine was turned on last time. may be executed. This is to prevent frequent execution of the refresh function because the power may be turned on multiple times in a day for maintenance or the like. Also, the period during which execution of the refresh function is suppressed is not limited to 24 hours, and may be less than 24 hours (for example, about 12 hours) or longer than 24 hours (for example, about 48 hours). good.

Furthermore, it is also possible to execute the refresh function by an instruction from the outside by operating a specific operation means (power-on switch, effect button, etc.). This allows the employee of the game arcade to start the refresh function at any timing. Also, it may be possible to execute the refresh function according to an instruction from the CPU (04TKK0011), or to execute the refresh function based on an instruction from the peripheral controller 1511 based on a command sent from the main control board 1310. .

In addition, the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) can also perform a refresh function when cells with a high possibility of data error occurrence (cells with decreased electrification) are detected by the SATA controller (05TKK0071) above a predetermined level. However, if the refresh function is executed while the game is being played, the data reading speed will drop, and there is a possibility that normal effect control will not be possible. Therefore, as in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, when the gaming machine is powered on, that is, by executing the refresh function before the game starts, the execution of the refresh function during game execution is suppressed, and the effect is smoothly executed. It is possible to suppress the decline in the interest of the game by configuring so as to be.

Furthermore, in the NAND flash memory, as described above, data is read in units of pages composed of a plurality of memory cells. Therefore, when reading small-sized data, even data that does not need to be read must be read. Therefore, read efficiency deteriorates. For example, when the gaming machine is started (when the power is turned on), frequently accessed data, that is, frequently displayed images are transferred to the cache memory (05TKK0072), but data stored in the page and not to be transferred is also read out, the amount of data that is actually read out is much larger than the total amount of necessary image data. Therefore, data is preloaded from the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) to the external RAM (05TKK0020) from when a predetermined power supply voltage (3.3V) is supplied to the peripheral control board 1510 until the actual sound output and image display are possible. requires a lot of time.

Therefore, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, when preloading sound data and resident image data (frequently read images and small-sized images) in the external RAM (05TKK0020), By changing the data transfer unit from 16 KB to 32 KB, the overhead is reduced and the transfer time is shortened. The time required to turn on the power is directly affected by the amount of data to be preloaded, and the execution of the refresh function is also affected.

In addition, when the power is turned on, as described above, the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) performs the refresh function (PoB; Power on Busy), so access to the storage device (05TKK0073), which is a NAND flash memory, is continuous. Occur. Therefore, the speed of reading data from the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) is reduced. Also, as described above, the speed drop is particularly noticeable when reading small-sized data. 05TKK0070)), if the image data is to be directly read out from the storage device (05TKK0073), a problem arises in that it takes a long time before the game can be started. About half of the images displayed on the effect display screen 1600 have a capacity of 16 KB or less.

As a means of solving the above problems, it is conceivable to extend the standby time on the main control board 1310 side until the image can be displayed, but this would lengthen the time required for the inspection process during mass production of game machines. Therefore, it was necessary to shorten the startup time of the peripheral control board 1510 . For example, when inspecting whether or not the display of a demonstration screen (including the rendering of a lamp, the rendering of a movable body, etc.) is executed normally as a test at power-on, the demonstration screen is started from the main control board 1310. , the time from power-on to the completion of the inspection is affected by the standby time of the main control board 1310, and the inspection efficiency deteriorates. .

Therefore, as described above, the external RAM (05TKK0020) is preloaded with image data as resident data, and the VDP (04TKK0060) reads the image data from the external RAM (05TKK0020). In addition, the bandwidth is limited during execution of the refresh function, and the storage device (05TKK0073) is accessed during execution of the refresh function, so the time until the refresh function ends increases, but a large amount of performance can be achieved immediately after the power is turned on. Since no performance that requires data is executed, there is practically no problem.

Also, the data to be preloaded in the external RAM (05TKK0020) is not for each image, but has a capacity that minimizes the overhead when writing data to the cache memory (05TKK0072). Therefore, data of a larger capacity (for example, 32 KB) than the capacity of about one image (16 KB) is transferred. This is because when you try to read small-sized data, the data is actually read in units of pages, and the specified data is extracted from the read data, so data extraction is required. By using a size that does not For example, the size of data to be preloaded in the external RAM (05TKK0020) may be page units, which are data read units. Note that the size of resident image data is not necessarily limited to 32 KB or less, and large-capacity image data exceeding 32 KB that is frequently used may be used.

In addition, since the access speed to the external RAM (05TKK0020) is faster than the access speed to the performance data ROM (05TKK0070), increasing the amount of data to be preloaded can speed up the performance control, while the external RAM The increase in capacity of (05TKK0020) leads to an increase in cost. Furthermore, as described above, the smaller the size of the image data preloaded into the external RAM (05TKK0020), the worse the reading efficiency. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, about half of the image data has a capacity of 16 KB or less, and image data of 32 KB or less occupies two-thirds of the total. Therefore, about 1/2 to 2/3 of the entire image data may be preloaded in the external RAM (05TKK0020) in descending order of size. When defining the threshold of the size of the image data to be preloaded, the size of the image data should be included from 1/2 to 2/3 in descending order, and the capacity of 2n bytes (page or block unit).

As described above, by setting the size of data to be preloaded in the external RAM (05TKK0020), it is possible to greatly shorten the time until the peripheral control board 1510 becomes operable.

Further, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, by providing the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) with the cache memory (05TKK0072), it is possible to shorten the data reading time. Furthermore, by reading data from the cache memory (05TKK0072) and the external RAM (05TKK0020), it is possible to reduce the frequency of accessing the storage device (05TKK0073), which is a NAND flash memory, thereby suppressing data deterioration. , it is possible to prevent deterioration of read performance due to error correction, etc., and to extend the life of the storage device (NAND type flash memory).

As described above, the smaller the size of the image data to be preloaded, the higher the reading efficiency. However, there is a possibility that there is image data that is not preloaded into the external RAM (05TKK0020) due to reasons such as its size being large despite its read frequency being relatively high. Such image data may be loaded into the external RAM (05TKK0020) after the data is read out a predetermined number of times or more. In this case, a post-resident storage area may be secured in advance in the resident content data area (05TKK0081), or a post-resident storage area may be secured separately from the resident content data area (05TKK0081). good too.

Also, control may be performed so that image data that is not preloaded in the external RAM (05TKK0020) is easily stored in the cache memory (05TKK0072) (to increase the cache memory hit rate). When data is read, the cache memory (05TKK0072) stores the read data, so the target image data is read at a predetermined timing (dummy read). This predetermined timing may be, for example, every predetermined time, when performing a predetermined effect, or when shifting to a customer waiting state. The data to be read may be defined in advance, or may be set based on the total number of read times of image data that has not been preloaded.

[27-1e-2. Control during execution of refresh function]
The basic control of the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) has been described above. will be explained.

The refresh function of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) is basically not executed by calling from a program such as the power-on process (Fig. 429) of the peripheral control board 1510, but is specified in the effect data ROM (05TKK0070). are independently executed based on the supply of the power supply voltage.

Further, the main control board 1310 waits for a predetermined period of time until the peripheral control board 1510 enables drawing on the liquid crystal display device 1600 after the game machine is powered on. Specifically, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the power-on wait process (step 02TKS0130) of the power-on startup confirmation process (step 02TKS0020 in FIG. 382; FIG. 383) waits. Since the wait time is set at least until drawing control by the effect display control unit 1512 becomes possible, execution of the refresh function of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) is completed by the time the power-on wait process ends. controlled to

That is, until the execution of the refresh function of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) is completed when the power is turned on (during the execution of the refresh function continues), the main control board 1310 starts supplying power to the control circuit, and the reset signal is released, the process (power-on process) at the start address (address 8000) of the program code starts to be executed, and the processes up to the power-on wait process are executed.

Also, the game can be started only after the timer interrupt is permitted (step 02TKS0070 in FIG. 382), and after the completion of the activation confirmation process (step 02TKS0020) at power-on, that is, the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) The game is controlled so as not to start until the execution of the refresh function is completed.

In addition, before the main control MPU 1311 of the main control board 1310 executes power-on wait processing (step 02TKS0130), the signal level of the setting-related operation unit (setting key 971, RAM clear switch 954) is acquired. A pre-wait setting related switch acquisition process is executed (step 02TKS0120). Therefore, only the signal level of the setting-related operation unit is acquired, and it is the setting operation determination processing (step 02TKS0040) that determines whether the setting operation is actually performed. The setting function is not executed immediately, and control is performed so as not to shift to the setting state (setting change state, setting confirmation state).

In addition, since the RAM clear determination process (step 02TKS0030) is executed after the power-on wait process is executed, even if a RAM abnormality occurs, the RAM clear determination process (step 02TKS0030) is executed until the execution of the refresh function of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) is completed. RAM clear is not executed, and it is determined whether or not RAM clear is to be executed after execution of the refresh function is completed, and RAM clear is executed based on the determination result.

After starting the power-on process, the main control MPU 1311 validates at least the watchdog timer setting when performing the RAM protection permission setting (step 02TKS0010). At this time, while waiting until the peripheral control board 1510 is initialized by the power-on wait process, control is performed so that the watchdog timer does not time out. As a result, since the watchdog timer is activated after the power-on wait process is executed, it is possible to reliably detect the occurrence of an abnormality.

Further, when only the power supply to the main control board 1310 is interrupted while the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) refresh function is being executed, the execution of the refresh function is continued without being interrupted. When the power supply to the main control board 1310 is restarted, the main control board 1310 executes the power-on process again. At this time, even if it is possible to return to the state before the power failure based on the information stored in the main control RAM 1312, the return processing is not executed until the execution of the refresh function is completed. For example, the process of displaying the special symbols and the number of pending memories before power failure on the function display unit 1400 is performed after the refresh function is executed. Also, even if the game state before power failure is an advantageous game state (big win game state, high probability state, time saving state, etc.), the advantageous game state is restored after execution of the refresh function. Furthermore, if the game medium payout process before the power interruption is not completed, the game medium payout process is stopped until the refresh function is completed, and the process is continued after the refresh function is completed.

Since the ball lending operation is controlled only by the main control board 1310 side, it may be possible to receive the ball lending operation even while the refresh function is being executed. When the ball lending operation is accepted, the ball lending may be performed even during execution of the refresh function, or may be performed after the execution of the refresh function is completed. Further, even during execution of the refresh function, since the shooting control of the game ball is only the control on the main control board 1310 side, it is not necessary to suppress the shooting control.

As described above, since the refresh function of the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) is executed independently of the control of the main control board 1310, even when the power supply to the main control board 1310 is restarted, the refresh function can be prevented from being applied to the performance data ROM (05TKK0070).

Furthermore, while the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) refresh function is being executed, even if various sensors detect an abnormality, the abnormality notification is not performed, and the processing related to the abnormality notification is suppressed. During the execution of the refresh function, there is a possibility that drawing data and audio data for anomaly notification cannot be acquired, so anomaly notification can be reliably performed.

The refresh function of the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) is basically executed when the power is turned on, but it is also possible to execute it during the continuation of the game. When the refresh function is executed during the continuation of the game, the game control can be started or continued. At this time, the peripheral control board 1510 can accept input of commands from the main control board 1310 . Note that processing corresponding to the command is executed after execution of the refresh function is completed. As a result, the command can be processed immediately after executing the refresh function, and the time lag can be minimized.

While the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) refresh function is being executed, the initialization process of drawing control to the effect display device 1600 is not started, but the initialization process of other effect devices can be started. For example, it is possible to execute a self-check operation (initialization operation) of the movable accessory. At this time, the series of initialization operations may be ended after the execution of the refresh function is completed, or the series of initialization operations may be ended during the execution of the refresh function.

When game balls (game media) have not been paid out while the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) is being refreshed during the continuation of the game, the unpaid prize balls are paid out. Further, when the ball lending operation is accepted, the ball lending operation can be started. Furthermore, it enables the execution of firing control by the launcher. Since these controls are not directly related to the control in the peripheral control board 1510, they can be executed independently of execution of the refresh function.

Further, when an abnormality is detected while the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) is being refreshed while the game continues, an abnormality notification display is performed after the refresh function is completed. At this time, the abnormality notification display may be performed only when the abnormality continues after the execution of the refresh function is completed, or the abnormality notification display may not be performed when the abnormality is resolved. Then, whether or not to display an abnormality notification may be determined according to the type of abnormality that has occurred. Further, when a command related to an abnormality notification is received from the main control board 1310 during execution of the refresh function, the abnormality notification may be enabled by means other than the effect display device 1600 (lamp, sound, etc.).

Also, when the execution of the refresh function of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) is started while the game is continuing, the drawing control is interrupted, and the drawing of the decorative symbols on the effect display device 1600 is suppressed. At this time, the special pattern display of the function display unit 1400 of the main control board 1310 is continued even during execution of the refresh function. Similarly, if there is a pending memory, the pending display on the effect display device 1600 is suppressed during execution of the refresh function, and the display is resumed after the execution of the refresh function is completed. At this time, the pending display on the function display unit 1400 of the main control board 1310 continues even during execution of the refresh function.

While the refresh function is being executed, the effect display device 1600 is in a specific mode. For example, while the refresh function is being executed when the power of the gaming machine is turned on, nothing is displayed because the game has not yet started, or the startup screen of the gaming machine may be displayed. At this time, the display image of the startup screen may be stored in a storage medium other than the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) so as not to affect the execution of the refresh function. Further, when the refresh function is executed after the game machine is turned on, such as during the continuation of the game, a dedicated image indicating that the refresh function is being executed is displayed.

Also, if the game machine can shift to the power saving mode, it does not shift to the power saving mode while the refresh function is being executed. For example, when a dedicated image indicating that the refresh function is being executed is displayed, the transition to the power saving mode may be suppressed, and the suppression may be canceled when the execution of the refresh function is completed. During execution, the command for shifting to the power saving mode transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510 may be canceled (ignored).

Furthermore, during execution of the refresh function, execution of various adjustment means (volume adjustment, light amount adjustment, effect setting, etc.) is suppressed. For example, during the execution of the refresh function, the execution of various adjustment means is suppressed by performing control so as not to accept the operation input of the operation unit such as the production button. In this way, by suppressing the execution of various controls by the peripheral control board 1510 during execution of the refresh function, stable control can be achieved.

[27-1e-3. Storage area for storing various data]
FIG. 428B is a diagram explaining the allocation of storage areas provided by the effect data ROM (05TKK0070). The production data ROM (05TKK0070) contains image (CG) data, sound data, various programs executed by the CPU (04TKK0011), data for the programs, production control data for controlling each production, and the like. Stored. In addition, only image (CG) data that requires a large capacity is stored in the performance data ROM (05TKK0070), and other programs and data are stored in a separate ROM on the peripheral control board 1510, and stored in the ROM. You may make it store.

The storage areas provided by the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) are a resident content data area (05TKK0081), a peripheral control program area (05TKK0082), a drawing program area (05TKK0083), a sound data area (05TKK0084), and image (CG) data. Contains the area (05TKK0085).

The resident content data area (05TKK0081) is an area in which rendering data (resident content data) frequently used in rendering or the like is stored. By preloading the resident content data into the external RAM (05TKK0020) after the power is turned on, the frequency of access to the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) can be suppressed, speeding up the performance control, and extending the life of the storage device. In addition, by including many small-sized data in the resident content data, the above-described effects can be exhibited. The resident content data area (05TKK0081) does not have to be located at the top of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070), but it is desirable to place preloaded resident data in a predetermined area as much as possible.

Resident content data is basically image data, but is not limited to image data, and may be data (including schedule data) for driving production devices such as sound data, lamps, and movable bodies. good too. These data are data with a high frequency of use compared to other data. If the capacity of the data for driving the effect devices such as sound data, lamps, and movable bodies is small, the data may be stored in the external RAM (05TKK0020) in advance.

Furthermore, it is not necessary to preload all of the resident content data into the external RAM (05TKK0020), and it may be replaced according to the frequency of use. For example, you may replace according to a game state. Specifically, when displaying different decorative patterns in the normal state and the time saving state, in the normal state, the pattern for the normal state is preloaded, and when shifting to the time saving state, the normal state decoration pattern is replaced with the time saving state. You just need to preload the decoration pattern of .

The peripheral control program area (05TKK0082) may include, in addition to the effect control program in the peripheral control unit 1511, a sound output control program and a lamp or movable body control program. It should be noted that the programs for controlling the individual production devices may be allocated areas respectively.

Furthermore, in the peripheral control program area (05TKK0082), control data required for execution of various effect control programs are also stored. For example, it includes scheduler data that defines the performance for each variation pattern. The scheduler data includes sub-effect scheduler data for controlling various effect devices and drawing scheduler data for displaying a screen to be drawn on the effect display device 1600. The drawing scheduler data is stored in the drawing program area. (05TKK0083) may be stored.

Sub production scheduler data includes scheduler data for generating lighting modes for controlling the lighting modes of various LEDs and lamps, scheduler data for generating sounds for reproducing BGM, sound effects, notification sounds, etc., and motors, solenoids, etc. electrical drive source scheduler data and the like for controlling the drive mode of the electrical drive source.

A drawing program area (05TKK0083) stores a program and control data for displaying an effect image on the effect display device 1600. FIG. Control data includes, for example, drawing scheduler data. The drawing scheduler data corresponds to the control data (display command) from the peripheral control unit 1511, and is configured by arranging the screen data defining the screen configuration in chronological order. Order is prescribed. In the drawing scheduler data, non-resident area transfer data that defines the order when image data stored in the image data area is transferred to the buffer area (non-resident area) of the image RAM (04TKK0090) is stored in chronological order. Contains non-resident area transfer scheduler data arranged and configured. The non-resident area transfer data prescribes the order in which the screen data to be drawn on the rendering display device 1600 according to the progress of the drawing scheduler data is transferred in advance from the image data area (05TKK0085) to the buffer area of the image RAM (04TKK0090). .

The sound data area (05TKK0084) stores information defining sounds output by the gaming machine. The sound data area (05TKK0084) stores data for controlling sound output based on the sound data stored in the sound data area (05TKK0084).

The image (CG) data area (05TKK0085) stores various image data. The image data includes an image data area for single images and an image data area for moving images. Also, the image data area for a single image includes data for 2D images and 3D images (details will be described later with reference to FIG. 435). As for the image data area for moving images, the structure for storing data is as shown in FIG. 456 and the like.

[27-2. Processing at Power-on of Peripheral Control Board]
The configuration of the peripheral control board 1510 has been described above. Next, a process performed when the peripheral control board 1510 is powered on will be described. FIG. 429 is a flow chart showing the processing executed when the peripheral control board 1510 is powered on. The power-on processing is executed by the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 processing the boot program stored in the boot ROM (05TKK0013) and the peripheral control program stored in the performance data ROM (05TKK0070).

When the gaming machine is powered on and the power supply voltage necessary for operating the peripheral control board 1510 is supplied, the CPU (04TKK0011) reads out the boot program from the boot ROM (05TKK0013) and activates it (step 05TKS0010). Further, the devices and input/output ports necessary for executing the boot program are initialized (step 05TKS0020). At this time, the devices to be initialized are only those necessary for executing the boot program, and not for executing various effects. Data and programs are transferred from the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) to the RAM (04TKK0012). This is for performing various settings necessary for

Next, the CPU (04TKK0011) loads the peripheral control program from the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) into the external RAM (05TKK0020) by executing the boot program (step 05TKS0030). Further, the peripheral control program is started on the external RAM (05TKK0020) (step 05TKS0040). The peripheral control program performs necessary processing to start effect control. The CPU (04TKK0011) also initializes the devices necessary for executing the peripheral control program (step 05TKS0050).

Subsequently, the CPU (04TKK0011) synchronously preloads the drawing program from the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) to the RAM (04TKK0012) (step 05TKS0060). The drawing program is for executing processing for displaying an image on the effect display device 1600. At this timing, for example, the program is executed to draw a logo mark to be displayed when the power is turned on. be.

Synchronous preloading means that the CPU (04TKK0011) directly transmits a data transfer request to the external RAM (05TKK0020) or VRAM (04TKK0090) to the SATA controller (05TKK0071) of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070). Furthermore, the CPU (04TKK0011) waits until the data transfer is completed. The completion of data transfer can be confirmed by referring to the transfer completion status register of the SATA controller (05TKK0071). (polling). It should be noted that the SATA controller (05TKK0071) is not configured to confirm the completion of data transfer by issuing an interrupt request to the CPU (04TKK0011). Also, while the CPU (04TKK0011) is polling, it stands by without executing other initialization processes (for example, lamps and motors).

Subsequently, the CPU (04TKK0011) asynchronously preloads sound data from the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) into the external RAM (05TKK0020) (step 05TKS0070). The sound data (sound data) is data for outputting sound from the speaker by the sound source IC (04TKK0030). The preloaded sound data includes not only the sound data of the start-up sound output when the power is turned on, but also the sound data of all the effects.

In the asynchronous preload, the CPU (04TKK0011) sends a data transfer request to the external RAM (05TKK0020) or VRAM (04TKK0090) to the VDP (04TKK0060) or tone generator IC (04TKK0030). The end of the data transfer can be confirmed by the VDP (04TKK0060) or sound source IC (04TKK0030) that received the transfer request making an interrupt request to the CPU (04TKK0011) when the transfer is completed. Therefore, the CPU (04TKK0011) can continue the initialization process even after transmitting the transfer request. For example, while preloading sound data, various initial settings can be performed in parallel.

When performing asynchronous preloading, the CPU (04TKK0011) uses the transfer source address (effect data ROM (05TKK0070) address), transfer destination address (external RAM (05TKK0020) address, VRAM (04TKK0090) address) and transfer The amount of data to be processed is indicated to VDP (04TKK0060). Based on instructions from the CPU (04TKK0011), the VDP (04TKK0060) designates blocks (pages) of the storage device (05TKK0073) as the transfer source for the SATA controller (05TKK0071), and sequentially reads the designated data. . When reading data sequentially from the storage device (05TKK0073), the SATA controller (05TKK0071) can only read data in block/page units. If so, only the necessary data (exclude extraneous data) will be preloaded.

Thereafter, the CPU (04TKK0011) asynchronously preloads the resident content data from the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) to the external RAM (05TKK0020) (step 05TKS0080). The resident content data is data that is frequently used during the performance execution. Resident content data is mainly image data. As described above, by preloading the resident content data from the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) to the external RAM (05TKK0020), the data reading time can be shortened. Since the resident content data includes a large amount of data used after the game is started and there is a delay before the actual start of the effect, the data is transferred from the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) to the external RAM (05TKK0020) by asynchronous preloading. be In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, as described above, all sound data is preloaded. You may make it preload at the time of injection.

Finally, the CPU (04TKK0011) initializes devices necessary for drawing and sound output (step 05TKS0080). When the above processing is completed, the game production can be started.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, by loading the resident content data from the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) to the external RAM (05TKK0020) in advance, the time required to read the effect data can be shortened. This is because the time to read data from the external RAM (05TKK0020) is shorter than the time to read data from the performance data ROM (05TKK0070). As a result, the required level of read speed for the storage medium of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) can be relaxed, so that a large-capacity and low-cost storage medium can be selected, and the manufacturing cost of the game machine can be reduced. Furthermore, by shortening the reading time of the performance data, it becomes possible to realize performance using various kinds of image data, and it is possible to improve the performance effect and increase the interest of the game.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, synchronous preloading and asynchronous preloading of effect data from the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) to the external RAM (05TKK0020) are possible. If you want to stop the data transfer, you can use the preload method properly so that the data is transferred by synchronous preloading, and the process is executed in parallel with the data transfer by asynchronous preloading. becomes possible.

[28. Production control on peripheral control board]
The configuration of the peripheral control board and the processing at power-on have been described above. Next, basic effect control in the peripheral control board 1510 will be described. Here, based on the main command (variation pattern command, special figure production synchronization command, etc.) transmitted from the main control board 1310 based on the result of the special lottery, the control for executing the production will be mainly described.

[28-1. Configuration of peripheral control unit and effect control]
FIG. 430 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of modules and the like used in effect control by the peripheral control board 1510 of the gaming machine of this embodiment. Each configuration is configured not only as hardware but also as software by a computer program executed by the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 . Some or all of the various modules may be configured as hardware.

The effect data ROM (05TKK0070) stores various modules (programs) for controlling the entire effect and driving each effect device, and is executed by the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511. These modules include a command analysis module (04TKK0102), a liquid crystal module (04TKK0113), a sound module (04TKK0122), a lamp module (04TKK0123) and a driver module (04TKK0124).

In addition to various modules, the peripheral control unit 1511 includes buffers such as a main command buffer (04TKK0101), a liquid crystal display list command buffer (04TKK0114), a lamp data output buffer (04TKK0125), and a motor data output buffer (04TKK0126). is provided. Also included is a serial control IC (04TKK0127) for transmitting control signals to each rendering device.

The main command buffer (04TKK0101) receives the main command sent from the main control board 1310 and transfers it to the command analysis module (04TKK0102). In this embodiment, the main command is 3-byte one-set information, which is a command status value, a command mode value, and a checksum value of the command status and mode value in order from the first byte. The main command buffer (04TKK0101), which is output by the main command buffer (04TKK0101), receives this signal, evaluates the checksum value, and discards the received command if it is not determined to be correct. If it is determined to be a command, it is passed to the command analysis module (04TKK0102).

As described above, the main command includes information representing the contents of the game state and the operating state of the game machine that are related to the effect. For example, the main command includes the presence or absence of winning of a game ball to the starting winning opening, etc., the result of a special drawing, the variation pattern (variation time) of a special symbol, and the like. When this embodiment is applied to a slot machine, sensor outputs such as door opening, operation of the start lever and stop button, rotation and stop of the reels, success or failure of the hand at the time of stop, etc. can be included. Note that the commands listed here are examples, and various commands can be included depending on the model of the game machine and the contents of the presentation.

The command analysis module (04TKK0102) analyzes the content of the main command and determines whether or not it is a command related to production. When it is determined that the command is related to production, the production control unit (04TKK0100) executes corresponding processing.

The effect control unit (04TKK0100) determines the effect block number corresponding to the content of the effect based on the analysis result of the main command, and specifies the effect block data. For example, if it is a command indicating the start of variation of special symbols, the effect block data corresponding to the variation pattern is specified. Also, when an error occurs, the performance block data corresponding to the corresponding error display is specified. The same applies when an abnormality occurs.

The effect block data includes scheduler data for executing the effect. The scheduler data stores a plurality of functions that instruct predetermined processes to be executed among the plurality of processes required according to the production device in order to control the production in each production device in the order to be executed. Data. The effect block data includes "liquid crystal effect block data" for executing effects displayed on the effect display device (liquid crystal display device) 1600, and "sub-effect block data" for controlling sounds, lamps, accessories, etc. data. Incidentally, the "liquid crystal pattern block data" for variably displaying the pattern on the effect display device 1600 may be treated separately from the "liquid crystal effect block data".

The effect block control section for controlling effects based on effect block data includes a liquid crystal effect block control section (04TKK0110) and a sub-effect block control section (04TKK0120). The liquid crystal effect block control section (04TKK0110) determines control information for executing the effect of displaying an image on the effect display device 1600. FIG. The sub-effect block control unit (04TKK0120) determines control information for executing sound output, lamp lighting/flickering, character action, and the like. Note that effect control based on effect block data will be described later with reference to FIG. 431 and the like.

When the effect block number is determined, the liquid crystal effect block control section (04TKK0110) executes the liquid crystal effect block data corresponding to the effect block number. The liquid crystal effect block data is data for executing the liquid crystal display effect, and includes one or more drawing scheduler data. By executing the drawing scheduler data, the background, characters, patterns, etc. are displayed on the effect display device 1600. FIG.

The liquid crystal effect block control unit (04TKK0110) executes the drawing scheduler data included in the block data. The drawing scheduler execution unit (04TKK0111) and the liquid crystal pattern drawing scheduler execution unit (04TKK0112) for displaying patterns are activated.

The liquid crystal effect drawing scheduler execution unit (04TKK0111) and the liquid crystal symbol drawing scheduler execution unit (04TKK0112) are executed at a frame cycle (1f=approximately 33.334 milliseconds), which is the screen update cycle. The liquid crystal effect drawing scheduler execution unit (04TKK0111) and the liquid crystal pattern drawing scheduler execution unit (04TKK0112) drive the drawing scheduler data specified by the liquid crystal effect block data by the drawing scheduler, and the liquid crystal display list command is issued by the liquid crystal module (04TKK0113). Generate. The liquid crystal display list command is transferred to the effect display control section 1512 via the liquid crystal display list command buffer (04TKK0114). The effect display control unit 1512 generates display data based on the received liquid crystal display list command and outputs it to the effect display device 1600 . Display data is generated, for example, by developing character data specified by a liquid crystal display list command on a specified position on a frame buffer.

The liquid crystal display command list is a command group for setting commands (data) related to display control to the registers provided for each function of the VDP (04TKK0060) in order to control the display of images on the display device. A group of data (list) is created from screen data of one frame unit, and then stored in the liquid crystal display list command buffer.

When the effect block number is determined, the sub effect block control section (04TKK0120) executes the sub effect block data corresponding to the effect block number. The sub effect block data is block data for executing each effect of lamp, sound, and motor, and includes one or more sub effect scheduler data. By executing the sub-effect scheduler data, each effect device such as a lamp, a sound, and a motor performs operations defined in advance in the sub-effect scheduler data.

The sub effect block control section (04TKK0120) activates the sub effect scheduler execution section (04TKK0121) corresponding to the execution cycle of various effect devices, and executes the sub effect scheduler data included in the sub effect block data. The sub-effect scheduler execution part (04TKK0121) includes a sub-effect 1f scheduler execution part that controls the effect device at 1-frame intervals and a sub-effect 1ms scheduler execution part that controls the effect device at 1-millisecond intervals. Thus, by providing the scheduler execution unit corresponding to the execution interval, it becomes possible to execute the effect according to the configuration of the game machine and the required specifications of the effect device. For example, since 1f corresponds to the drawing update interval, it is possible to synchronize the sound output, character action, etc. with the liquid crystal display. Further, if the detection interval of the sensor is in units of 1 ms, it is possible to quickly deal with any malfunction in the action of the character.

The sub-effect block control unit (04TKK0120) executes control of effects other than the liquid crystal display. Control will be explained. An outline of control according to the type of effect device will be described below.

First, a case of executing an effect by sound output will be described. If the sub effect block data includes scheduler data for sound output, the sub effect scheduler execution unit (04TKK0121) activates the scheduler for sound output and executes the scheduler data. Then, when a sound output function (for example, SPLAY) is executed, the sound module (04TKK0122) generates sound source drive data (sound source command) based on the specified parameters. A plurality of schedulers can be activated. For example, by controlling the output of BGM and effect sound by different schedulers, sound source driving data can be generated in parallel and sounds can be output at the same time. . The sound source IC (04TKK0030) reads the sound data specified by the sound source drive data from the sound ROM (04TKK0040) and outputs it from the speaker 622. FIG.

Next, a case of executing an effect by a lamp will be described. If the sub effect block data includes scheduler data for lamp control, the scheduler execution unit activates the scheduler for lamps and executes the scheduler data. When a lamp control function (eg, HPLAY) is executed, the lamp module (04TKK0123) generates lamp drive data based on the specified parameters. As in the case of sound output, multiple schedulers can be activated, and multiple lamps and layers can be controlled in parallel.

The lamp module (04TKK0123) creates lamp drive data for each cycle (one frame or one millisecond) and outputs it to the lamp data output buffer (04TKK0125). Lamp data output buffer 5130 has a double buffer structure, temporarily stores lamp drive data generated by the lamp module (04TKK0123), and outputs it to serial control IC 5150 . By making the ramp data output buffer (04TKK0125) a double buffer, it is possible to simultaneously generate and output ramp data in a single cycle. With this configuration, the output of the lamp data can be changed to the next operation of creating the lamp data in response to an increase in lamp control processing time due to an increase in the number of lamp systems or an increase in lamp layers. By setting the period as a cycle, it is sufficient that the processing related to the creation of the lamp data is completed within the processing cycle.

Specifically, when the lamp data output buffer (04TKK0125) is composed of a buffer A and a buffer B, for example, if the lamp driving data generated last time is stored in the buffer A, the buffer B is stored for the next period. , and outputs the lamp drive data generated last time from the buffer A to the serial control IC (04TKK0127) by DMA to turn on/blink each lamp. In the next cycle, the buffers are switched, the lamp driving data is output from the lamp module (04TKK0123) to buffer A, and the lamp driving data stored in buffer B is output to the serial control IC (04TKK0127). Controlling the lighting and blinking of LEDs is the same as for lamps, and the description of the control of lamps can be replaced with LEDs unless otherwise specified.

Finally, a case of controlling a driving device (for example, a motor, a solenoid) for operating the accessory will be described. If the sub effect block data includes scheduler data for driving device control, the scheduler execution unit activates the scheduler for driving device (motor scheduler) to execute the scheduler data. Then, when a function for driving device control (for example, MPLAY) is executed, the driving device module (04TKK0124) generates motor driving data based on the specified parameters. As in the case of sound output, it is possible to activate a plurality of schedulers, so that a plurality of driving devices can be controlled in parallel.

The drive module (04TKK0124) creates motor drive data for each cycle and outputs it to the motor data output buffer (04TKK0126). In this embodiment, the motor drive data is created and output in a cycle of 1 millisecond. The motor data output buffer (04TKK0126) temporarily stores the motor drive data generated by the driver module (04TKK0124) and outputs it to the serial control IC (04TKK0127). The motor drive data is output from the serial port of the peripheral control unit 1511 without using DMA. However, the output of the latch signal for reflecting the motor data in each driving device is not the same timing as the output timing from the motor data output buffer (04TKK0126) to the serial control IC (04TKK0127), but the timing following the transmission of all motor data. A latch signal is output periodically. This is because the output timing of the latch signal is after the serial transmission of all motor data is completed, so as the serial transmission time of the motor data becomes longer, the waiting time until the serial transmission is completed becomes an overhead, and the total processing time for each frame period becomes This is because there will be a shortage of In this embodiment, by shifting the timing of the motor data serial transmission and the corresponding latch signal output, the waiting time until the completion of the serial transmission is reduced to 0, but depending on the CPU used, multiple DMAs can be used. In this case, by serially transmitting the motor drive data using DMA and outputting a latch signal in response to a DMA completion interrupt, the waiting time until the completion of serial transmission can be similarly reduced to zero. Simultaneously with the output of the motor driving data, effect driving photo information is input to the driving device module (04TKK0124). Each effect driving photo information is received by serial communication via a parallel serial control IC.

[28-2. Production control by production block and scheduler data]
Next, the execution procedure of the announcement effect based on the scheduler data corresponding to the variation pattern will be explained. Here, the execution procedure of the basic effect and the advance notice effect based on the effect scheduler data corresponding to the first half variation of the variation pattern "10H03H" will be described. The first half variation of the variation pattern "10H03H" is a 12-second normal variation, and the corresponding effect block data are normal variation 12-second liquid crystal effect block data (LCD03_BLK), normal variation 12-second liquid crystal pattern block data (ZUG03_BLK), and normal variation. 12-second sub effect block data (SCH03_BLK) is assigned. FIG. 431 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the effect control of the first half variation (normal variation 12 seconds) of the variation pattern “10H03H”.

When the variation pattern command (main variation related command) "10H03H" is received from the main control board 1310, the command analysis module (04TKK0102) analyzes the received command to specify the variation pattern number "10H03H", and the effect control unit (04TKK0100).

The effect control unit (04TKK0100) specifies the effect device to be controlled, determines the corresponding block data number, and based on the determined block number, sets the block data number corresponding to the variation pattern number "10H03H" to a combination of these. from the table in which the is defined. By setting all the block data numbers corresponding to the respective effect devices to the same number, it is possible to synchronously execute the effects of the respective effect devices.

Then, the effect control unit (04TKK0100) transmits block data numbers corresponding to the number of effect devices to be controlled to the liquid crystal effect block control unit (04TKK0110) and the sub effect block control unit (04TKK0120).

After that, liquid crystal effect block control unit (04TKK0110) liquid crystal effect drawing scheduler execution unit (04TKK0111) and liquid crystal pattern drawing scheduler execution unit (04TKK0112), sub effect block control unit (04TKK0120) by sub effect scheduler execution unit (04TKK0121), The block data corresponding to the transmitted block data numbers are executed in chronological order. Specifically, the liquid crystal effect drawing scheduler execution unit (04TKK0111) is the normal change 12-second liquid crystal effect block data "LCD03_BLK" corresponding to the first half change, and the liquid crystal pattern drawing scheduler execution unit (04TKK0112) is the normal change 12-second liquid crystal pattern block data. "ZUG03_BLK", the sub effect scheduler execution unit (04TKK0121) executes the normal fluctuation 12-second sub effect block data "SCH03_BLK".

When the processing of the liquid crystal effect block data is started, one or a plurality of liquid crystal effect schedulers corresponding to the liquid crystal effect block data are activated, and the drawing scheduler data specified according to the content of the effect is executed. The drawing scheduler data includes functions for liquid crystal effects (liquid crystal function information) for displaying images on the effect display device 1600. Parameters corresponding to the contents of effects are specified, and the liquid crystal function information is sent to the liquid crystal module in a predetermined order. (04TKK0113). The liquid crystal module (04TKK0113) analyzes and executes the received liquid crystal function information, and transmits a liquid crystal display list command to the effect display control unit 1512, thereby performing drawing on the effect display device 1600. FIG.

Further, when processing the liquid crystal pattern block data, the liquid crystal pattern scheduler is activated, and the drawing scheduler data corresponding to the variable display mode of the pattern is executed. The procedure for drawing on the effect display device 1600 is the same as in the case of processing the liquid crystal effect block data.

On the other hand, when the processing of the sub effect block data is started, one or a plurality of sub effect schedulers corresponding to the sub effect block data are activated, and the scheduler data specified according to the content of effect is executed. Note that the scheduler may be prepared according to the execution cycle, or may be shared and the execution cycle may be set at startup.

As described above, the scheduler data includes functions (effect data specification functions) for controlling effects devices such as lamps ("KPLAY"), speakers ("SPLAY"), and characters ("MPLAY"). ing. It is configured to execute a specified effect by sequentially executing functions in a defined order. These functions are sent to the modules (lamp module (04TKK0123), sound module (04TKK0122), drive device (motor) module (04TKK0124), etc.) corresponding to the production devices to be controlled, and each module is used to produce various production devices. is executed.

It is also possible to call other scheduler data from the scheduler data by the function "REQ". Various production devices can be controlled by executing the production data specifying function in the called scheduler data at this time. Furthermore, by using the command transmission function "COMMAND", it is possible to control by commands instead of functions. For example, by transmitting a liquid crystal command to the liquid crystal module (04TKK0113) at the timing of executing the performance data designation function for controlling the action of the character, it is possible to execute an effect in which the action and drawing of the character are linked.

[28-3. Function for controlling the production]
The procedure for executing the basic effect and the advance notice effect based on the effect scheduler data corresponding to the first half variation of the variation pattern "10H03H" has been described above. As described above, the effect scheduler data defines a function for controlling the effect, and the effect is executed by executing the defined function. The functions include those for performing sequence control such as designating the operation order of the effect devices, those for specifying parameters to operate the effect devices, and those for controlling the liquid crystal display. Here, some representative functions are extracted and explained.

FIG. 432 is a diagram showing an example of functions in the effect control of the gaming machine of this embodiment. Functions are classified into groups such as sequence control, various production devices, and liquid crystal display.

Functions belonging to the sequence control group are mainly functions for controlling the flow of presentation. For example, "NOP" is a wait function that waits for a time corresponding to the number of executions specified as a parameter. The time corresponding to the number of executions varies depending on the processing cycle for executing the "NOP" function. If 30 is specified, it will wait for about 1 second, and if it is executed at a cycle of 1 ms, if 30 is specified for the number of times of execution, it will wait for about 30 ms. In addition, there is a conditional wait function that waits for a period of time corresponding to the number of executions. "REQ" is a function for activating another designated scheduler.

Functions that control the lamp include "HPLAY" and "KPLAY". "HPLAY" is a function for executing lamp gradation data reproduction processing for lighting a lamp based on gradation data specified by a parameter. In "HPLAY", even if the lamp is being reproduced with the same gradation data, it is reset and the reproduction of the lamp is started from the beginning when the function is executed. "KPLAY" is the same as "HPLAY", but if the lamp is being reproduced with the same gradation data, it continues the reproduction of the lamp being executed without resetting.

Functions for controlling sounds include, for example, "SPLAY" for executing phrase reproduction processing for outputting sounds based on phrase numbers designated by parameters. In "SPLAY", even if the sound of the same phrase number is being reproduced, it is reset and the reproduction of the sound is started from the beginning when the function is executed. On the other hand, if the sound of the same phrase number is being reproduced, another function is provided to continue the reproduction of the sound without resetting. Functions such as volume control are also provided.

A function for controlling the output of a motor or a solenoid includes, for example, "MPLAY" that executes a motor regeneration process that causes the motor to reproduce an operation based on a motor data number designated as a parameter. In addition, functions such as solenoid functions are available.

For the sake of convenience, functions other than the liquid crystal presentation functions that do not belong to the groups explained so far are referred to as the user's group. included. In "COMMAND", it is possible to directly issue a command to the effect display control unit 1512 and cause the effect display device 1600 to start drawing. On the other hand, there is also a command issued to the peripheral control unit 1511, analyzed by the command analysis module (04TKK0102), and operated in the same manner as the main command. In addition, functions such as copying the contents of the work area of the scheduler being executed to the work area of another scheduler are provided.

Next, the function for liquid crystal presentation will be explained. Each liquid crystal presentation function is managed for each function and application, and is divided into groups such as coordinate setting, scale setting, rotation angle setting, α setting, 3D setting, frame setting, and Z index setting.

The coordinate setting function designates and displays the position of the liquid crystal display object by designating the coordinates of the display area of the effect display device 1600 and setting the liquid crystal display object, for example. Specifically, the function "POSX" designates the X-axis coordinate position to set the display position of the object to be displayed on the liquid crystal display.

The scaling (scale setting) function is used, for example, to set the center of the display area that is specified to be enlarged or reduced when displaying on the effect display device 1600 from the size of the image or moving image stored on the CGROM, or to set the coordinates. Convert the units of By setting an appropriate coordinate system in the display area and performing drawing processing, the object to be displayed on the liquid crystal display can be displayed at an appropriate position and size. Specifically, the function "SCALE" designates the X-axis and Y-axis values and sets the enlargement or reduction ratio of the object to be displayed on the liquid crystal display.

The rotation angle setting function sets, for example, the angle at which the liquid crystal display object is rotated and displayed. By storing only the reference liquid crystal display object in the CGROM and displaying it by designating the angle, it becomes unnecessary to store a plurality of liquid crystal display objects after rotation, and an increase in storage capacity can be suppressed. can. Specifically, the function "ANGLEX" designates the X-axis value and rotates the liquid crystal display object.

The α setting function “ALPHA” specifies the α value and sets the transparency of the liquid crystal display object. The α value is a numerical value that indicates transparency, and can be set from transparent (colorless) that completely transmits the background color to completely opaque that completely blocks the background color.

The 3D setting function controls 3D display of liquid crystal display objects. The gaming machine of the present embodiment enables 3D display of liquid crystal display objects, although the details will be described later. Specifically, the function "3D_SW" sets ON/OFF of 3D display. Also, the function "3D_DSP" instructs the effect display control unit 1512 (VDP04TKK0060) to perform 3D display control (create a command list for 3D control) by specifying parameters. By specifying parameters, it is possible to set objects to be displayed in 3D (backgrounds, characters, patterns, and other liquid crystal display objects), and to set 3D depth during 3D display. there is

The frame setting function function "FRAME" sets a frame value, which is the drawing update interval of the object to be displayed on the liquid crystal display. A frame value is a numerical value indicating an interval for redrawing an object to be displayed on the liquid crystal display during animation processing.

The function "ZINDEX" for setting the Z index of the liquid crystal display object sets the Z index. The Z index is a hierarchy for displaying the liquid crystal display object, and by setting this, the liquid crystal display object is displayed on the front side or moved to the back side on the screen. For example, when the object to be displayed on the liquid crystal display is the background, the Z index is set so that it is drawn on the backmost surface.

The outline of the effect control based on the effect block data and the scheduler data in this embodiment has been described above. Next, means for displaying an image on the effect display device (main display device) 1600 will be described. Specifically, first, the configuration and control for displaying a stereoscopic image will be described, and then the configuration and control for displaying a moving image will be described.

[28-4. 3D image display]
In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, it is possible to display a 3D image (stereoscopic image) capable of stereoscopic viewing (3D display, stereoscopic display) together with a planar 2D image (planar image). Part or all of the image displayed on the display device 1600 can be stereoscopically viewed. In addition, in this embodiment, a lenticular method is adopted as means for realizing 3D display. Methods for realizing 3D display include, in addition to the lenticular method, a parallax barrier method in which a parallax barrier liquid crystal panel is arranged on the front side of the effect display device 1600 . An outline of the lenticular method will be described below.

[28-4a. Overview of Lenticular Method]

Binocular parallax (the difference between the positions of the images seen by the right and left eyes) has the property that the closer the object is, the larger it is, and the farther the object is, the smaller it becomes. can be recognized as a physical object. The lenticular method utilizes this property to display a specific image (lenticular image, stereoscopic display image, 3D display image) through a lenticular lens, thereby displaying three-dimensional and deep dynamic movement. can be visually recognized. The lenticular 3D display will be further described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 433 is a diagram for explaining the mechanism of 3D display by the lenticular method, where (A) shows an area viewed from the left eye (L) and (B) shows an area viewed from the right eye (R).

The lenticular lens is constructed by arranging fine elongated semicylindrical convex lenses on the surface. When a lenticular lens is arranged on the front side of the effect display device 1600 and a lenticular image (stereoscopic display image, 3D display image) is displayed on the screen of the effect display device 1600, the player can view the displayed image stereoscopically with the naked eye. can be visually recognized.

FIG. 434 is a diagram showing an example of a lenticular image in the gaming machine of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 434, a lenticular image is formed by dividing two or more images into strips and arranging the divided images in order so that they can be visually recognized through a single convex lens. do. As shown in FIG. 433, the lenticular image configured in this manner is displayed by (A) viewing only the image for the left eye with the left eye and (B) viewing only the image for the right eye with the right eye through the lenticular lens. The image can be viewed stereoscopically. The lenticular lens and the lenticular image are optimally configured when a player plays a game from the front of the gaming machine at a predetermined position.

In addition, the pixel shader (04TKK0063) installed in the VDP (04TKK0060) of the gaming machine of this embodiment has a synthesizing function that enables processing of images on a pixel-by-pixel basis. By dividing the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye into strips and arranging them alternately, the strips are combined into one image to generate a lenticular image.

[28-4b. Image layout in image data area]
The image data area (05TKK0085) stores an image in which the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye are arranged (side-by-side image) as an image for generating a lenticular image. That is, the image is stored in the form shown in FIG. 434(A). The image for the left eye and the image for the right eye are arranged in continuous areas.

Further, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, it is possible to display a mixture of 2D images and 3D images. Therefore, both the 2D image and the 3D image are stored in the image data area (05TKK0085). 3D images are compressed in a lossless manner. By compressing the image data in a lossless manner, it becomes possible to display the compressed image without deteriorating the image quality when the compressed image is decoded. In principle, 2D images are irreversibly compressed to suppress an increase in capacity. However, since the pattern is the object (character) that the player pays the most attention to, it is preferable to reversibly compress the pattern even in a two-dimensional display. This is because lossy compression degrades the color tone and shape (contour) of the original image before compression, and may slightly deviate (differ from) the image before compression. Even if the symbols are irreversibly compressed, there is not much difference from the case of irreversible compression from the player's point of view, and if the deterioration of the color tone, outline shape, etc. is difficult to recognize, irreversible compression may be performed. When lossless compression is performed, the 2D image and the 3D image are compressed by the same method.

FIG. 435 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of images stored in the image data area (05TKK0085). (A) shows the arrangement of the entire image data area (05TKK0085), and (B) shows the area for storing the 3D image. shows the details of the arrangement of

As shown in FIG. 435(A), in the image data area (05TKK0085), a 2D image storage area for storing 2D images and a 3D image storage area for storing 3D images are allocated separately. . A blank area in which nothing is stored may be allocated between the 2D image storage area and the 3D image storage area. As a result, even when the capacity of images to be stored increases or decreases, changes in definition information such as address information can be minimized, and modification of programs and definition information can be minimized. Also, storage areas capable of storing a mixture of 2D images and 3D images may be arranged according to functions and applications.

The 2D image displayed in the presentation in the gaming machine of this embodiment includes a background image, a pattern, a character image, and the like. In addition to these production images, non-production images for error display and abnormality notification are also included. These images may be arranged according to function and application as required, and may be arranged in display order when used for a continuous series of presentations.

Also, the 3D image is basically composed only of images related to rendering. For example, it is a character (object) that appears in the preview effect or a design for the effect. A background image used for 3D display may also be stored in the 3D image storage area. The background image stored at this time is not necessarily limited to an image that can be displayed in 3D, as long as it can be used in 3D display. Also, a background image that is used only for 3D display may be stored in the 3D image storage area, or only background images that can be displayed in 3D may be stored in the 3D image storage area.

As shown in FIG. 435(B), a series of images from appearance (start of performance) to exit (end of performance) are stored for the performance character. In this embodiment, each character (notice effect) is stored in chronological order (display order). As a result, by setting the address of the first image to be displayed at the start of the notice (when the character appears), the value for the image size is added to update the address for acquiring the image as the production progresses. A series of processes can be simplified. In addition, since the images related to a series of effects are collectively stored, it is possible to easily manage the layout of the images.

[28-4c. layer structure]
In this embodiment, when an image is displayed on the effect display device 1600, in principle, it is drawn on a layer corresponding to the content of the image to be displayed. FIG. 436 is a diagram for explaining the layout of layers in which images displayed on the effect display device 1600 of the gaming machine of this embodiment are drawn.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, 2D images and 3D images can be displayed together, but the 2D images and 3D images are rendered separately in separate layers. Then, the images drawn in each layer are combined on the frame buffer (or off-screen buffer) and displayed on the rendering display device 1600 .

In addition, the hierarchy (order) of each layer is predetermined, and the order is not changed in principle. In this embodiment, an image display layer is arranged in the forefront (top layer) for error display and abnormality notification, and nothing is displayed while the normal game is in progress. . On the other hand, when an image is displayed in the relevant layer, such as when an error occurs, the image or message is displayed in front (foremost) of the other images being displayed, ensuring that players and hall employees configured to be presented.

In addition, a reservation layer for holding display, a notice layer for displaying an image for performing a notice performance, a pattern layer for displaying a performance pattern, and a background layer for displaying a background are arranged in this order. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the reserved layer and the background layer display 2D images. is provided with a layer for 3D display only), and an image is displayed on the layer for 3D display.

Also, the preview layer is configured to display only 3D images. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the detailed procedure will be described later, but it is possible to switch to executing the effect only in 2D display without 3D display. In this case, a layer for executing the notice effect in 2D display may be prepared. May be displayed in layers. In the present embodiment, an image for 3D display is processed and displayed as will be described later, so the image is drawn on the preview layer for 3D display.

Note that when an image for 2D display and an image for 3D display are prepared in advance for common use, both a layer for 2D display and a layer for 3D display are prepared. For example, when an image of effect symbols for 2D display and an image of effect symbols for 3D display are prepared in advance, as shown in FIG. prepare both for

As described above, by providing a layer dedicated to 3D display (2D display), processing dedicated to 3D display is always executed when processing related to the layer is executed. There is no need to identify whether or not to perform processing, and there is no need to consider differences in display methods such as data handling, and display control can be simplified.

When providing a layer for 2D display and a layer for 3D display with the same image, since the same image (for example, pattern, etc.) is not displayed in a plurality of layers, layers that are not drawn are set to be hidden. At this time, a parameter (effect SW) that can set whether to display a layer (ON/OFF) may be defined in the drawing scheduler data. As a result, it is possible to collectively set display/non-display of layers by setting the parameters (effect SW). Furthermore, switching between 2D display layers and 3D display layers eliminates the need to set display/non-display for individual layers, simplifying control for switching between 2D display and 3D display. becomes possible.

Next, a procedure for generating a display screen on the effect display device 1600 by drawing an image on each layer and synthesizing the layers will be described. FIG. 437 is a diagram explaining a procedure for writing an image to be displayed on the effect display device 1600 of the gaming machine of this embodiment into the frame buffer.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the images of the upper layer (front side) are drawn sequentially from the lower layer (back side). Specifically, first, an image to be drawn as a background is acquired from the image data area (05TKK0085) of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) and drawn on the background layer. Here, in the example shown in FIG. 437, the acquired background image is not displayed as it is, but is displayed enlarged in the vertical direction. The image on the buffer (04TKK0092) is processed by the rendering engine (04TKK0062).

Subsequently, an image corresponding to the effect pattern is drawn on the pattern layer arranged on the front side of the background layer based on the instruction of the liquid crystal display list command. Furthermore, the contents of the pattern layer are synthesized with the image of the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) in which the processed background is drawn (superimposed on the front side of the background image), and the synthesized image is further transferred to the frame buffer (04TKK0091). Draw (copy).

Furthermore, a three-dimensional image of trees and an airplane is displayed as a preview display on the preview layer for 3D display. The image drawn on the preview layer is synthesized with the image drawn on the frame buffer (04TKK0091). Finally, the pending display is drawn on the pending layer further arranged on the front side and combined with the image of the frame buffer (04TKK0091) to complete the image to be displayed on the effect display device 1600 . Since the frame buffer (04TKK0091) that generates the display image is a drawing bank, it is switched to the display bank by bank flipping thereafter, and the generated screen is displayed on the effect display device 1600 .

[29. Basic procedure for generating 3D display image]
Subsequently, the side-by-side 2D image (background image, etc.) is combined with the 3D display image (character, etc.) in which the image for left eye and the image for right eye are arranged side by side to generate a 3D display image (lenticular image). Outline the procedure. A specific display image generation procedure will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 439 and subsequent figures.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, a 3D display image (lenticular image) is generated by applying the side-by-side image synthesizing effect of the pixel shader (04TKK0063) provided in the VDP (04TKK0060).

FIG. 438 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for generating a 3D display image (lenticular image) by synthesizing a side-by-side 2D image (background image, etc.) with a 3D image in which the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye are arranged side by side. be.

First, a 3D image (a left-eye image and a right-eye image are arranged side by side) in which a stereoscopic object (logo mark in FIG. 438A) is drawn is acquired from the image data area (05TKK0085). In this 3D image, areas other than the object are in a transparent state, and an α channel is set. As described above, the α channel is auxiliary data held for each pixel separately from color expression data, and generally indicates the opacity of the pixel. By arranging this image on the front side of the non-transmissive image and synthesizing the images, it is possible to generate an image with the synthesized image as the background.

In the example shown in FIG. 438, the 3D image (A) is synthesized while the background image (2D) filled in black is stored in the buffer. As a result, an image in which the logo mark (object) is arranged on the front side of the background image is obtained as shown in (B).

When the side-by-side image synthesizing effect of the pixel shader (04TKK0063) provided in the VDP (04TKK0060) is applied in the state of (B), a 3D display image (lenticular image) shown in (C1) is generated. At this time, as shown in (C1), bleeding occurs around the three-dimensional logo mark. As a factor for this, when generating the stereoscopic parallax part of the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye, when combining the pixels of the object drawing part and the non-drawing part (transparent part), the image is generated based only on the color information of the drawing part. It is conceivable that In this way, when a plurality of images obtained from the image data area (05TKK0085) are superimposed as they are, applying the side-by-side image synthesis effect may cause unintended blurring.

Therefore, in this embodiment, before applying the side-by-side image synthesis effect, the α channel that expresses the opacity of the image is deleted to eliminate transparency from the image, so that only the drawn portion (non-transparent portion) is synthesized. do. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of unintended bleeding-like display.

By setting the α value of a 2D image such as a background image to be synthesized with a 3D image to 255 (opaque), the transparency may be eliminated at the time of synthesizing the 3D image. In particular, since the background image is the size of the entire display screen (full screen size), it can be expected to suppress the occurrence of blurring without explicitly removing the α channel by making the background image non-transmissive.

[30. 3D Display Effect]
The basic configuration and the like for executing the 3D display effects in the gaming machine of the present embodiment have been described above. Next, the 3D display effect in the gaming machine of this embodiment will be described. First, a basic procedure for generating a display screen (image) when executing a 3D display effect will be described.

[30-1. Basic procedure for generating 3D display screen]
FIG. 439 is a diagram explaining the procedure for creating image data in the 3D display effect in the gaming machine of this embodiment. Here, a procedure for synthesizing an object (logo mark) for 3D display arranged on a background image for 2D display and generating an image to be displayed in 3D by viewing through a lenticular lens will be described.

An image to be displayed on the effect display device 1600 is generated (drawn) from the layer on the back side and transferred (synthesized) to the frame buffer (04TKK0091) layer by layer. When processing an image or synthesizing multiple layers, the image is processed in the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) and then transferred to the frame buffer (04TKK0091). A procedure for creating image data in the 3D display effect of the gaming machine according to the present embodiment will be described below.

The VDP (04TKK0060) first acquires from the image data area (05TKK0085) the background image specified in the liquid crystal display list command sent from the peripheral control unit 1511, and draws it on the background layer. (A) shows the state of the background layer on which the background image obtained from the image data area (05TKK0085) is drawn. Each layer is created and managed by a program executed by peripheral controller 1511 . A liquid crystal display list command is created for each layer and sent to the VDP (04TKK0060). The VDP (04TKK0060) processes the liquid crystal display list commands transmitted in units of layers, thereby performing drawing in units of layers. Also, each layer is drawn from the lowest layer to the upper layers in order.

Subsequently, the VDP (04TKK0060) side-by-sides the background image to generate an image for 3D display. Note that the background image is a 2D image, and what is actually displayed in 3D is the image of the preview layer (for 3D image display) arranged on the front side of the background layer. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the background image, which is a 2D image, is made side-by-side, and the 3D display image is generated after synthesizing the background image with the left-eye image and the right-eye image that constitute the 3D image of the preview layer. Generate.

(B) shows a state in which the side-by-side background image is drawn in the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092). In the present embodiment, the background image drawn on the background layer is transferred to the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) and side-by-side converted on the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092). As a result, compared to the case where the background image is directly transferred to the frame buffer (04TKK0091) and side-by-side (reduced), the effect of the VDP (04TKK0060) filter (function for smoothing pixels during reduction) can improve image quality. can. Note that a specific procedure for making the background image side-by-side will be described with reference to FIGS. 440 to 442. FIG.

Next, the VDP (04TKK0060) reads from the image data area (05TKK0085) an object to be displayed in 3D on the preview layer for 3D image display. As described above, objects to be displayed in 3D are stored in the 3D image storage area of the image data area (05TKK0085). In addition, as shown in (C), the image for 3D display is side-by-side in advance, and a pixel shader (04TKK0063) applies a side-by-side image synthesis effect to synthesize the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye. is converted into a 3D display image. Note that the value of the α channel is set so that areas other than the object to be displayed in 3D are transparent.

Furthermore, the VDP (04TKK0060) superimposes the objects drawn in the preview layer on the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) in which the side-by-side background image is drawn, and transfers them to the frame buffer (04TKK0091). . As a result, as shown in (D), an image is generated in which an object for 3D display is superimposed on the background image with the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye.

Finally, the VDP (04TKK0060) applies a pixel shader ( 04TKK0063), a 3D display image shown in (E) can be generated by applying the side-by-side image synthesizing effect.

The procedure for creating image data in the 3D display effect in the gaming machine of the present embodiment has been described above. By the above procedure, it is possible to display a stereoscopic view by synthesizing an object such as a 3D image of a character while the background image is a 2D image.

In addition, by holding a non-stereoscopic background image in full screen size in the image data area (05TKK0085) and synthesizing it with the 3D image by making it side-by-side during 3D display, the background image is shared between the 2D display effect and the 3D display effect. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the capacity of the image data area (05TKK0085).

[30-2. Generation of side-by-side images]
Next, a procedure for making the background image side-by-side will be described. In this embodiment, as described above, when converting the background image side-by-side, the image obtained from the image data area (05TKK0085) is horizontally reduced by 1/2, and the same image is used as the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye. Draw left and right. Furthermore, when the side-by-side image synthesis effect is applied, the image is expanded horizontally again, so the lack of image information reduces the resolution (image quality deteriorates), and jaggies that do not exist in the original image may occur. Ta. This is because, since the same reduced image is synthesized, it is impossible to compensate for missing image information during reduction, and there is a limit to improvement in image quality by the pixel shader (04TKK0063).

For the reasons described above, if the image quality of the display screen deteriorates, there is a risk that the enjoyment of the game will decrease. Therefore, the present embodiment proposes a side-by-side image generation procedure capable of suppressing omission of image information when creating a side-by-side image.

[30-2a. Side-by-side image generation procedure 1]
As described above, simply arranging two identical images that are horizontally reduced by 1/2 makes the missing image information completely the same, making it difficult to supplement with the VDP function or the like. Therefore, when the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye are created by downscaling from the full-screen image, by making the missing image information different, when the image information of the left and right images are combined, the lack of image information can be prevented. Keep in mind to restore the image information of the original image as much as possible by suppressing . A method for generating side-by-side images is described below.

FIG. 440 is a diagram illustrating a first method for generating side-by-side images. When reducing an image, for example, pixels are extracted at equal intervals according to the reduction magnification, and the extracted images are arranged in order. For example, when the background image obtained from the image data area (05TKK0085) shown in (A) is converted to side-by-side, the base background image is reduced by 1/2 in the horizontal direction. The resulting image is generated ((C) image for left eye in FIG. 440).

On the other hand, when generating the image for the right eye, in order to suppress the lack of the same image information as the image for the left eye, an image composed of odd-numbered dots is generated as much as possible. Therefore, in the first method, as shown in (B), the base background image is first shifted by 1 dot (to the left) and then horizontally reduced by 1/2. As a result, the pixels of the odd dots are moved to the positions of the even dots, so that the reduced image can be composed of the odd dots ((C) image for the right eye in FIG. 440). In addition, regarding the blank area of one column on the left side that is generated when the left edge is shifted by one dot, by transferring the image while filling the area in the buffer with black, the blank area is not transparent but is non-transparent (black). ) and then reduce the image. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of bleeding that occurs when images having transparency are synthesized.

[30-2b. Side-by-side image generation procedure 2]
Next, the second method will be explained. The basic policy is the same as in the first method, and the object is to suppress the lack of image information of the original image when combining the image information of the left and right images. FIG. 441 is a diagram illustrating a second method for generating side-by-side images.

In the second method, a reduced image is generated by designating an area to be reduced in the base image. For example, when the base image is n×m dots, the area from 0 dots to n−1 dots in the horizontal direction is targeted. That is, when generating an image for the left eye, a reduced image is generated for the entire area of the base image. As a result, as in the first method, a reduced image made up of even-numbered dots is generated as the image for the left eye. On the other hand, when generating the image for the right eye, the area from 1 dot to n dots in the horizontal direction is targeted. As a result, as in the second method, a reduced image made up of odd dots can be generated as the image for the right eye.

As described above, according to the first method and the second method, the image for the left eye is a reduced image composed only of even-numbered dots, and the image for the right eye is a reduced image composed only of odd-numbered dots. By applying the side-by-side image synthesizing effect while minimizing the loss of image information, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of image quality and suppress the occurrence of jaggies.

[30-2c. Side-by-side image generation procedure 3]
Next, the third method will be explained. The basic policy is the same as the method explained so far, but in the third method, each dot row of the base image is divided into the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye in units of color elements, and the images of the left and right images are An object of the present invention is to suppress loss of image information of an original image when combining information. FIG. 442 is a diagram illustrating a third method for generating side-by-side images.

Image information indicating the color of each dot is represented by a combination of values of the three primary colors (red (R), green (G), and blue (B)) and an α channel (alpha value). Each color value is composed of 8 bits, and similarly, the α channel (alpha value) value is also 8 bits.

In the third method, first, as shown in FIG. 442(A), the color of each dot is divided into each element, that is, the three primary colors are individually allocated to the image for the left eye (B1) and the image for the right eye (B2). In the example shown in FIG. 442, the 0th dot R element of the original image is the 0th dot R element of the right eye image, and the 0th dot G element of the original image is the 0th dot G element of the left eye image. do. Further, the 0th dot B element of the original image is set to the 0th dot B element of the image for the right eye. Similarly, the R element and B element of the first dot of the original image are set to the R element and B element of the first dot of the image for the left eye, and the G element of the first dot of the original image is the G element of the first dot of the image for the right eye. element. That is, the image information for two dots of the original image is distributed to the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye by one dot each. Similarly, a side-by-side image is generated by sorting all dots.

By decomposing the color elements of the base image and separately distributing the three primary colors according to the above procedure to generate side-by-side images, it is possible to reliably suppress loss of image information. Note that the separation of color elements is performed by a pixel shader (04TKK0063). This is complemented by the pixel shader (04TKK0063) because the VDP (04TKK0060) is not efficient at handling per-pixel operations. The pixel shader (04TKK0063) is a dedicated circuit that enables arbitrary complex calculations to be performed on a pixel-by-pixel basis at ultra high speed.

[30-3. Side-by-side image synthesis effect]
Next, a procedure for converting a side-by-side image into a full-screen image by applying a side-by-side image synthesizing effect will be described. Here, the side-by-side image generated by the third method described above is converted into a full-screen image.

FIG. 443 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for synthesizing a full-screen image from side-by-side images. In the third method, a side-by-side image is generated by decomposing the image information (color information) of each dot of the base full-screen image and distributing it to the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye. Therefore, the image information of each dot of the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye, which constitute the side-by-side image, are aggregated and combined to reconstruct the image information of the full-screen image.

For example, as shown in FIG. 443, the R element, G element, and B element of the 0th dot of the image for the left eye are replaced with the R element, the G element of the 0th dot, and the B element of the 1st dot of the synthesized image. do. Furthermore, the 0th dot R element, G element, and B element of the image for the right eye are set to the 0th dot R element, the 1st dot G element, and the 0th dot B element of the synthesized image.

In this embodiment, the pixel shader (04TKK0063) performs the above procedure. FIG. 443 shows an example of application to a 2D image, but when applying to a 3D image composed of a left-eye image and a right-eye image, the specification of the lenticular lens provided in the effect display device 1600 is required. Correspondingly, the image information (color information) of the left-eye image and the right-eye image are converted and combined to generate a 3D display image. The lenticular lens has a structure in which elongated convex lenses are arranged on the surface, and a 3D display image is generated based on the number density (number of lines) of the convex lenses and the shape of the convex lenses in addition to the image size. The generated 3D display image is generated so that the player can effectively view stereoscopically by creating parallax between the left and right eyes when the player is playing the game in a normal posture.

Then, as shown in FIG. 439, a side-by-side By applying the synthesizing effect, 2D images such as background images can be converted while suppressing the loss of image information, while 3D images can be converted into 3D display images corresponding to the specifications of the lenticular lens.

As described above, by synthesizing the side-by-side images again by the third method described above, it is possible to synthesize (restore) a full-screen base image while preventing the loss of image information. By configuring as described above, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the image quality of the effect display by preventing the loss of the image information. By suppressing the deterioration, it is possible to exhibit the performance effect and suppress the decrease in interest in the game.

[30-4. Drawing procedure]
Next, a procedure for drawing on the effect display device 1600 will be described. First, the case of a single 3D layer will be described, and then the case of a plurality of 3D layers will be described.

[30-4a. Drawing procedure (when there is a single 3D layer)]
FIG. 444 is a diagram showing an example of a layer structure when there is a single 3D layer. FIG. 445 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure for drawing on each layer in the layer structure of FIG. 444. FIG.

The CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 first issues a group of drawing commands for all materials necessary for drawing Layer 1, which is the lowest layer (step 04TKS0010). The drawing command group to be issued includes a command for acquiring an image from the image data area (05TKK0085) and a command for side-by-side converting the acquired image. Layer 1 is a layer for drawing a 2D image, and since it is the lowest layer, it is usually a background layer.

Next, the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 issues a group of drawing commands for all materials for layer 2 for drawing an image to be displayed in 3D (step 04TKS0020). The drawing command group to be issued includes a command for acquiring an image for 3D display from the image data area (05TKK0085) and a command for synthesizing the acquired image with the image converted side-by-side by the processing of step 04TKS0010. Furthermore, it includes a command (pixel conversion command (3D display image conversion command)) for generating a 3D display image by applying a side-by-side image synthesizing effect by the pixel shader (04TKK0063).

Further, the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 issues a drawing command group for drawing an image on the layer 3 arranged in the foreground (step 04TKS0030). After that, when all drawing commands necessary for drawing layer 3 are transmitted, a bank flip waiting command is transmitted to the VDP (04TKK0060) (step 04TKS0040).

As described above, the processing up to step 04TKS0040 is performed by a program executed by the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 . Processing after step 04TKS0050 is executed by the effect display control unit 1512 (VDP (04TKK0060)). When the bank flip is executed, the VDP (04TKK0060) outputs an image to the effect display device 1600 by processing the drawing command group stored in the command buffer.

When the effect display control unit 1512 receives a command from the peripheral control unit 1511, it stores the received command in the command buffer. In this embodiment, the command buffer also has a double-buffer configuration. and The storage command buffer and the drawing command buffer are configured to be switched by bank flipping.

Subsequently, when the drawing of the frame buffer (04TKK0091) currently being drawn is completed and the frame buffer (04TKK0091) is switched by bank flip, the VDP (04TKK0060) is transferred from the storage command buffer to the switched drawing command buffer. A drawing command group is read, and based on the read drawing commands, drawing is performed in the frame buffer (04TKK0091) of the drawing bank (step 04TKS0050).

Furthermore, when the VDP (04TKK0060) processes the bank flip wait command, it executes a bank lip at a predetermined interrupt timing, switches the drawing bank to the display bank, and presents the image drawn in the drawing bank of the frame buffer (04TKK0091). It is displayed on the device 1600 (step 04TKS0060). Through the above processing, drawing for one screen can be completed.

Here, a detailed description will be given of the procedure by which the VDP (04TKK0060) generates an image to be displayed on the effect display device 1600 based on the drawing command issued by the peripheral control unit 1511 in the processing of steps 04TKS0010 to 04TKS0030.

As described above, the command buffer stores the drawing commands in the order in which they are received, and the VDP (04TKK0060) reads the drawing commands in the order in which they are stored, and executes processing based on the read drawing commands. In the example shown in FIG. 445, drawing commands for drawing each layer are stored in the order of layer 1, layer 2, and layer 3 in the command buffer, and each drawing command is processed in this order. A procedure for synthesizing the images drawn on each layer by the VDP (04TKK0060) based on the received drawing command will be described below.

The VDP (04TKK0060) reads the drawing command for drawing layer 1, which is first stored in the command buffer. First, the image specified by the read drawing command is read from the image data area (05TKK0085) and drawn on layer 1 . The image drawn on layer 1 is a 2D image, and this image is drawn in an off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) and rendered side-by-side.

Subsequently, the VDP (04TKK0060) reads a drawing command for drawing layer 2 from the command buffer. The image specified by the read drawing command is read from the image data area (05TKK0085) and drawn on Layer 2. Furthermore, the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) in which the side-by-side layer 1 image is formed is overwritten (synthesized) with the layer 2 image. The image drawn on layer 2 is a 3D image, and a stereoscopic display image is generated by applying a side-by-side synthesis effect and drawn in the frame buffer (04TKK0091).

Finally, the VDP (04TKK0060) reads a drawing command for drawing layer 3 from the command buffer. The image specified by the read drawing command is read from the image data area (05TKK0085) and drawn on Layer 3. By overwriting (compositing) the image drawn in the layer 3 with the image drawn in the frame buffer (04TKK0091), the composition of the images in the layers 1, 2 and 3 is completed and displayed on the effect display device 1600. The image is completed.

In the above description, the image to be drawn on each layer is read from the image data area (05TKK0085), but it may be read from the image RAM (04TKK0090). For example, since a common background image is used in a series of effects, when the background image is drawn on layer 1, the background image is stored in advance in the image RAM (04TKK0090), which has a faster access speed than the effect data ROM (05TKK0070). is stored, and the background image is read out from the image RAM (04TKK0090) while the series of effects is being executed, thereby speeding up the entire image processing.

[30-4b. Drawing procedure (when there are multiple 3D layers)]
Next, a case where there are multiple 3D layers will be described. FIG. 446 is a diagram showing an example of a layer structure when there are multiple 3D layers. FIG. 447 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure for drawing on each layer in the layer structure of FIG. 446. FIG. It should be noted that the same reference numerals are assigned to processes that are common to the process in the case of a single 3D layer (FIG. 445), and description thereof will be omitted.

The CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 first issues a group of drawing commands for all materials in order to draw Layer 1, which is the lowest layer (step 04TKS0010). Next, a drawing command group for all materials is issued for layer 2 for drawing an image to be displayed in 3D (step 04TKS0320). At this time, the side-by-side image synthesizing effect is not applied, and when the process of step 04TKS0320 ends, the layer 2 image is overwritten and synthesized on the layer 1 image, and the side-by-side image remains unchanged.

Next, the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 issues drawing commands for all materials to the layer 3 (step 04TKS0330). Since layer 3 is a 2D display area, it includes a command for acquiring an image from the image data area (05TKK0085) and a command for converting the acquired image side-by-side. In the processing of step 04TKS0050, which will be described later, the VDP (04TKK0060) processes these commands, so that the layer 3 image, which is side-by-side converted into an image in which layers 1 and 2 are synthesized, is stored in the drawing bank of the frame buffer (04TKK0091). , and overwritten and synthesized.

Further, the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 issues drawing commands for all materials for layer 4 for drawing an image to be displayed in 3D (step 04TKS0340). In the processing of step 04TKS0050, which will be described later, an image for 3D display is acquired from the image data area (05TKK0085) by processing the drawing command group issued by the VDP (04TKK0060), and stored in the frame buffer (04TKK0091). The acquired image is superimposed on the image in which the layers 1 to 3 are synthesized. In addition, the VDP (04TKK0060) applies side-by-side image synthesis effects through the pixel shader (04TKK0063) to generate 3D display images.

Further, the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 issues a group of drawing commands for drawing an image to be drawn on the layer 5 arranged in the foreground (step 04TKS0350). After that, a bank flip wait command is sent to the VDP (04TKK0060) (step 04TKS0040).

When the effect display control unit 1512 receives a drawing command or a bank-flip waiting command from the peripheral control unit 1511, it stores them in the command buffer. The subsequent processing is the same as the processing shown in FIG. 445. When the VDP (04TKK0060) processes the bank-flip wait command, it executes bank-rip at a predetermined interrupt timing, switches the drawing bank to the display bank, and The image drawn in the buffer (04TKK0091) is displayed on the effect display device 1600 (step 04TKS0060).

Here, a detailed description will be given of the procedure by which the VDP (04TKK0060) generates an image to be displayed on the effect display device 1600 based on the drawing commands issued by the peripheral control unit 1511 in the processing of steps 04TKS0010 to 04TKS0350.

In the example shown in FIG. 447, drawing commands for drawing each layer are stored in the order of layer 1, layer 2, layer 3, layer 4, and layer 5 in the command buffer, and each drawing command is processed in this order. do. A procedure for synthesizing the images drawn on each layer based on the received drawing command will be described below.

VDP (04TKK0060) reads a drawing command for drawing layer 1. Then, the image specified by the read drawing command is read from the image data area (05TKK0085) and drawn on layer 1 . The image drawn on layer 1 is a 2D image, and this image is drawn in an off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) and rendered side-by-side.

Subsequently, the VDP (04TKK0060) reads a drawing command for drawing layer 2 from the command buffer. The image specified by the read drawing command is read from the image data area (05TKK0085) and drawn on Layer 2. Furthermore, the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) in which the side-by-side layer 1 image is formed is overwritten (synthesized) with the layer 2 image.

Subsequently, the VDP (04TKK0060) reads a drawing command for drawing Layer 3. FIG. The image specified by the read drawing command is read from the image data area (05TKK0085) and drawn on Layer 3. The image drawn on layer 3 is a 2D image, and this image is made side-by-side and drawn in the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092).

Subsequently, the VDP (04TKK0060) reads a drawing command for drawing layer 4 from the command buffer. The image specified by the read drawing command is read from the image data area (05TKK0085) and drawn on Layer 4. Further, the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) in which the layer 1, layer 2, and layer 3 images are combined is overwritten (synthesized) with the image drawn on the layer 4. FIG. The image drawn on Layer 4 is a 3D image, and a stereoscopic display image is generated by applying a side-by-side composition effect and drawn in the frame buffer (04TKK0091).

Finally, the VDP (04TKK0060) reads a drawing command for drawing layer 5 from the command buffer. The image specified by the read drawing command is read from the image data area (05TKK0085) and drawn on layer 5. By overwriting (compositing) the image drawn in the layer 5 with the image drawn in the frame buffer (04TKK0091), the composition of the images from the layers 1 to 5 is completed, and the image to be displayed on the effect display device 1600 is completed. Complete.

In summary, all layers on the back side (lower layer) than the 3D layer are made side-by-side. At this time, the 3D image becomes stereoscopically viewable through the lenticular lens after the side-by-side image synthesis effect (pixel conversion) is applied, so it appears to be a side-by-side planar image (2D image). A 3D display image is generated by synthesizing the foremost layer of the 3D layers and all the layers below it, applying a side-by-side image synthesis effect (pixel conversion), and drawing it in a frame buffer. When the foremost layer is 2D, it can be viewed as a normal 2D image even through a lenticular lens by drawing it in the frame buffer as it is without side-by-side conversion. Similarly, 2D layers arranged on the front side (upper layer) of all 3D layers may be drawn in the frame buffer as they are without side-by-side conversion.

As will be described later, when 3D display is set to OFF and 2D display effect is set to be executed, the peripheral control unit 1511 performs 3D display such as side-by-side image synthesis effect (pixel conversion). Since the VDP (04TKK0060) does not execute 3D display control, the image displayed on the effect display device 1600 is viewed as a 2D (planar) image even through the lenticular lens.

As described above, until all 3D layers are combined, overwrite composition is performed in a state of side-by-side (the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye are arranged on the left and right without any gaps), and after all the compositing of the 3D layers is completed , to generate a 3D display image by applying a side-by-side image synthesis effect. If a layer for displaying a 2D image remains on the front side, the image of the 2D layer may be overwritten and synthesized on the front side of the generated 3D display image. Layers arranged in front (upper layer) of the foreground or 3D layer include, for example, error notification display, volume/brightness adjustment display, 3D switching display, etc., and these displays do not need to be displayed in 3D. It is displayed in 2D. It should be noted that the images of all layers may be made side-by-side, overwritten and combined in the order of the layers, and finally the side-by-side image combining effect may be applied.

[30-5. Switching between 2D display effects and 3D display effects]
The gaming machine of this embodiment is configured to be switchable between 2D display and 3D display. On the other hand, if an image for 2D display and an image for 3D display are to be stored respectively, the required capacity of the rendering data ROM (05TKK0070) will increase. Therefore, by diverting the image for 3D display effect to the 2D display effect, the capacity increase of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) is suppressed.

[30-5a. Display mode selection screen example]
In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, by displaying an image that can be viewed stereoscopically, an effect with a sense of presence is realized. There is a case where a user prefers a conventional effect using a planar view image instead of the effect of displaying . Therefore, as described above, the gaming machine of the present embodiment is configured so that it is possible to switch between the 2D display effect mode and the 3D display effect mode, and the player can select.

FIG. 448 is a diagram showing an example of the effect selection mode screen of the gaming machine of this embodiment. In the screen example of FIG. 448, the effect mode can be selected by selecting either the 3D effect display mode or the 2D effect display mode, selecting the enter button, and operating the effect button. In this embodiment, the screen of the effect selection mode is a layer that is arranged immediately after the layer that performs the abnormality notification, and is a layer on the front side than the area where the notice effect and the effect pattern are displayed. Since the effect selection mode screen is displayed in the customer waiting state, it may be a layer on the back side of the layer (announcement layer, pattern layer) where the image for 3D display effect is displayed. In this case, a layer dedicated to the screen of the effect selection mode is used. In addition, it may be displayed in a layer (for example, notice layer, pattern layer) that is not displayed in the customer waiting state.

Note that switching between 2D/3D display effect display modes is permitted only when specific conditions such as a customer waiting state are met. By setting the inhibition period in which switching is not possible, it is possible to switch the performance display mode without checking whether or not the current game state is a state in which the 3D display performance can be executed, and the processing related to the 3D performance control is simplified. can be

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, switching between the 2D/3D presentation display mode is permitted only during the customer waiting state. The default effect display mode is the 2D display mode, and even if the 3D display mode is set, the power supply to the game machine is interrupted and then restored, the default 2D display mode is set. It has become so. Note that the default effect display mode may be the 3D effect display mode, and may be settable by a switch provided on the peripheral control board 1510, for example. Also, in the setting screen of FIG. 448, the cursor is displayed on the default setting side, but the cursor may be displayed on the currently set effect display mode side.

The selection of the performance mode is displayed by operating the performance button while waiting for the customer, not during the variable display of the patterns. In addition to waiting for customers, for example, it may be possible to change the timing as long as it is not during the variable display of symbols, such as in a jackpot game state, or if the 3D display effect (stereoscopic display effect) is not being executed. It may be possible to change the pattern even during the variable display of the pattern. Further, when the symbols are displayed in a variable manner, the display screen may be forcibly returned to the display screen at the timing of displaying the lottery result. In addition, when the selection screen is displayed while the symbols are being displayed, the effect display will continue in the background (layer on the back side of the selection screen), and if the front selection screen is erased, the effect will continue as it is. good too. In addition, when switching the display mode during the variable display of the pattern, do not display the selection screen and do not switch using the image, but switch by performing a specific operation on the operation part such as the production button. may At this time, a notification indicating that the change operation has been accepted (for example, a specific mark is displayed at the edge of the screen) may be displayed on the screen, or a specific sound may be output.

In addition to the effect mode switching function, the player can adjust the brightness of the effect display device 1600 and the volume of the sound output from the screen. Unlike the effect mode switching function, the adjustment of the brightness of the effect display device 1600 and the adjustment of the volume of the sound output are not used during the game, such as effect buttons, and are operated by a dedicated operation unit. good too. In addition, since the function to switch the production mode is to switch ON/OFF of the 3D production display, it is possible to switch to executing a specific operation without displaying the selection screen, but brightness adjustment and volume adjustment can be done in stages. Since it is necessary to make adjustments, the screen is configured so that it is always displayed, and it is done while waiting for customers.

Furthermore, when performing brightness adjustment and volume adjustment and setting ON/OFF of 3D effect display, it may be possible to reflect them simultaneously, or only one of them may be reflected. If it is not possible to reflect simultaneously, for example, there is a possibility that the result of brightness adjustment will affect the 3D effect display. The setting should be made after the setting is reflected.

When ON/OFF of the 3D effect display is set, the peripheral control unit 1511 reflects the parameter of the function "3D_SW" described above. To simplify the performance data and the program code by eliminating the need for branching of the processing by the program code, making it possible to use common performance block data and scheduler data regardless of ON/OFF of the 3D performance display. can be done.

[30-5b. Drawing procedure when executing 2D display effects]
Next, a procedure for using an image for 3D display effects for 2D display effects will be described.
FIG. 449 is a diagram explaining a procedure for using an image for 3D display effect in the 2D display effect mode in the gaming machine of this embodiment. FIG. 450 is a flow chart showing a procedure for using an image for 3D display effect in the 2D display effect mode shown in FIG. The procedure shown in FIG. 450 corresponds to the procedure for performing 3D display effect in the case of a single 3D layer, common procedures are assigned the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, when executing the same effect at the timing when the 3D display effect is possible, as shown in FIG. Draw the image as it is without processing. Specifically, the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 issues drawing commands for all materials for drawing layer 1 for background drawing and stores them in the command buffer. The VDP (04TKK0060) reads the drawing command group from the command buffer, acquires the background image from the image data area (05TKK0085) in accordance with the information specified in the drawing command group, and stores the image in the frame buffer without side-by-side conversion. (04TKK0091), or draw in an off-screen buffer (step 04TKS0410).

Subsequently, the 3D display image displayed when the 3D effect display is executed is displayed as a 2D display image (Fig. 449(B)). At this time, the drawing layer is not a 2D-only layer, but a 3D display layer in which a 3D display image is displayed when the 3D effect display is executed. Thus, regardless of whether the performance is executed in 2D display or 3D display, the relationship between the performance content and the layer is managed by drawing in the same layer when the performance with the same content is executed. can be facilitated, and effect display control can be simplified.

Specifically, the procedure for displaying a 3D display image as a 2D display image will be described. First, the VDP (04TKK0060) acquires a side-by-side image for 3D display from the image data area (05TKK0085). An image for the left eye is extracted from the obtained image and drawn in the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) (step 04TKS0420). Further, the image for the left eye in the off-screen buffer (04TKK0092) is horizontally enlarged by a factor of two, and overwritten with the background image drawn in the frame buffer (04TKK0091) (step 04TKS0430).

Peripheral control unit 1511 issues a drawing command group for performing the above procedure to effect display control unit 1512, so that VDP (04TKK0060) can perform side-by-side image synthesis without applying side-by-side image synthesis effect by pixel shader (04TKK0063). A 2D display image is generated without issuing a drawing command (pixel conversion command) related to the effect (FIG. 449(C)).

Further, the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 issues a group of drawing commands for drawing an image to be drawn on the layer 3 arranged in the foreground (step 04TKS0440). After that, a bank flip wait command is sent to the VDP (04TKK0060) (step 04TKS0040). The transmitted drawing command group is stored in the command buffer of the effect display control unit 1512, and the processing after step 04TKS0050 is executed by the VDP (04TKK0060). The processing after step 04TKS0050 is the same as the processing shown in FIG. It is displayed on the effect display device 1600 .

As described above, when the 2D display effect is executed, the image for the 3D display effect, specifically, the image for the left eye (or the image for the right eye) is enlarged and used to obtain the image exclusively for the 2D display effect. , it is possible to suppress an increase in capacity of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070).

Furthermore, when displaying a 3D image on a plane (2D), there is a risk that the image quality will be degraded by performing enlargement processing. It may be held in the area (05TKK0085). As a result, it is possible to suppress deterioration in image quality during the 2D display effect, and to suppress loss of interest in the game.

[30-6. Response to Abnormal Occurrence During 3D Display Effect]
FIG. 451 is a diagram showing an example of an anomaly notification screen displayed when an anomaly occurs during execution of the 3D display effect. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, when an abnormality occurs during the 3D display effect, a predetermined message (abnormality notification image) is displayed on the layer (2D) that displays abnormality notification and the like on the foreground. A screen display example will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 451(A) shows the state before the occurrence of an abnormality, in which the left and right symbols of the performance symbol (04TKM0010) are temporarily stopped with the same number, and reach has occurred. At this time, an effect is started as an advance notice effect in which a stereoscopically visible car (3D display image) runs on a road drawn on a background (2D).

After that, an abnormality such as a magnetic abnormality occurs in the game machine, and an abnormality notification image (04TKM0030) including a warning message "abnormal occurrence!" is displayed on the foreground abnormality notification layer. At this time, due to the drawing of the warning message, the effect on the effect display screen becomes difficult to see, but the advance notice effect of the car running, which is a 3D display image, continues, and as shown in FIG. It has moved to the back side of the abnormality notification image (04TKM0030) as it progresses. After that, the effect control of the advance notice effect is continued even while the recovery process is being executed. Therefore, even if the player cannot visually recognize the back side of the abnormality notification image (04TKM0030), the drawing control of the automobile, which is the 3D display image, continues.

After that, when the main control board 1310 is initialized (power cut) in the process of returning from the abnormal state to the playable state, a command is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 . The peripheral control board 1510 suspends the control of the 3D display effect, and suspends the display of the announcement character (04TKM0020), which is the 3D display image, as shown in FIG. 451(C). The background image may continue to be displayed as it is, may be switched to another image (for example, a dedicated background image when power is restored), or may be deleted.

In the example shown in FIG. 451, the abnormality notification image (04TKM0030) occupies most of the area of the display screen. The abnormality notification image (04TKM0030) should be displayed in a possible form.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, by arranging the layer for anomaly notification in the foreground, the player can be reliably notified even while the effect including the 3D display effect is being executed. It is possible to notify the occurrence of an abnormality. Moreover, since it is not necessary to stop the production control, it is possible to quickly perform the abnormality notification with the highest priority.

[30-6a. Control when the power supply of the main control board is cut off]
Next, control when the power supply to only the main control board 1310 is interrupted during the 3D display presentation will be described with reference to FIGS. 452 and 453. FIG.

FIG. 452 is a timing chart showing the state of each component when the power supply to the main control board 1310 is interrupted during the 3D display presentation. FIG. 453 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition when the power supply to the main control board 1310 is interrupted during 3D display rendering.

In the example shown in FIGS. 452 and 453, the supply of power to the main control board 1310 is interrupted at time t11 during the variable display of the special symbols in the normal game state. After that, at time t12, power supply is resumed. Here, the power supply from the backup power supply is also cut off, and the power supply to the main control board 1310 is completely cut off.

As shown in FIG. 452, the special symbols are variably displayed in the normal game state until time t11. At this time, as shown in FIG. 453(A), the left and right symbols of the identification symbol (04TKM0010) stop at the same symbol, and reach occurs. Along with this, a notice character (04TKM0020) imitating a car appears as a notice effect. The announcement character (04TKM0020) is a 3D display image, and an effect of running on the road drawn in the background image (2D) is executed. As described above, the preview character (04TKM0020) is stored in the 3D image area of the image data area (05TKK0085), and images from the appearance of the character to the exit are stored in chronological order.

After that, at time t11, the power supply to the main control board 1310 is stopped. At this time, the power supply to the peripheral control board 1510 is continued, but since the symbol stop command or the like is not transmitted to the main control board 1310, the variable display of the symbol is continued until time t13 (Fig. 453). (B)). On the other hand, the 3D display effect ends when a predetermined condition (for example, elapse of a predetermined time) is satisfied (time t12) (Fig. 453(C)). The variable display of patterns can be continued until a stop command is received, but since the performance time is set for the advance notice performance, the performance is terminated when the performance ends. It should be noted that, for example, when a predetermined effect is repeatedly executed, the advance notice effect may be continued as it is.

At time t13, power supply to the main control board 1310 is resumed. At this time, the main control board 1310 executes power-on processing to start the gaming machine. At this time, a command associated with the activation of the gaming machine is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510, the continuous symbol fluctuation display and effect are stopped, and the activation display of the gaming machine is displayed on the effect display device 1600 (Fig. 453(D)). Note that the startup screen is displayed in 2D regardless of the effect display mode. As a result, it is possible to reduce the load when the game is restarted.

[30-6b. Control when the peripheral control board is powered off]
Finally, the control when the power supply to only the peripheral control board 1510 is interrupted during the 3D display presentation will be described with reference to FIGS. 454 and 455. FIG. In the examples shown in FIGS. 454 and 455, only the peripheral control board 1510 is cut off during the 3D display effect in the jackpot game state, but this is just an example. The same processing is performed when the power supply to only the peripheral control board 1510 is interrupted during the 3D display effect in the variable display.

FIG. 454 is a timing chart showing the state of each configuration when the power supply to the peripheral control board 1510 is interrupted during the 3D display effect in the jackpot game state. FIG. 455 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition when the power supply to the peripheral control board 1510 is interrupted during the 3D display effect in the jackpot game state.

In the example shown in FIGS. 454 and 455, by winning the special lottery, the state shifts to the jackpot game state (time t21). In the example shown in FIG. 454, the jackpot game state ends in 15 rounds. Each round ends when a predetermined number of game balls enter the big winning hole 2005, and at the start of the N-th round, the main control board 1310 outputs the N-th display command for opening the big winning hole to the peripheral control board 1510. When the peripheral control board 1510 receives the N-th display command for opening the large winning opening, it performs an effect corresponding to each round, such as displaying the number of rounds (N). Incidentally, the effect corresponding to each round (the effect in the jackpot game state) is a 3D display effect.

As shown in FIG. 454, at time t20, the variable display of the special symbols is stopped, the special lottery is won, and the big hit is announced while the performance symbols are stopped (FIG. 455(A)). After that, when the time t21 comes, the jackpot game is started and the first round is started (Fig. 455(B)). At this time, the first round (round 1) is started upon reception of the first display command for opening the big winning opening from the main control board 1310 .

After that, in the middle of round 3 of the jackpot game (time t22), the power supply to only the peripheral control board 1510 is interrupted. In this embodiment, since the peripheral control board 1510 is not equipped with power supply from the backup power supply, the power supply to the peripheral control board 1510 is completely cut off. Therefore, nothing is displayed on the effect display device 1600 as shown in FIG. 455(C). At this time, the game control continues on the main control board 1310, and the progress of the round continues while the screen is not displayed.

At time t23, when power supply to peripheral control board 1510 is restarted, effect display device 1600 displays to that effect. In the example of FIG. 455(D), the message "Restoring" is displayed. It should be noted that the display of the message "Restoring" is 2D display regardless of whether the effect display mode is 2D display or 3D display.

In the example shown in FIG. 454, the power supply to the peripheral control board 1510 is restarted in the middle of the round 14, and the trigger for starting the presentation of each round is the reception of the N-th display command to open the big prize opening. Since the peripheral control board 1510 could not receive the 14th time display command for opening the big winning opening during the power outage, the effect corresponding to the round cannot be executed, and a display is made to the effect that the game is restarted. This display is a 2D display regardless of the effect display mode. As a result, it is possible to minimize the load at the time of resuming the production and quickly shift to the normal production (in this case, the production corresponding to the round).

When the round 14 of the jackpot game ends and the round 15 starts (time t24), the peripheral control board 1510 receives the 15th big winning opening opening display command, and the effect corresponding to the 15th round is started. (Fig. 455(E)).

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, since the effect display mode cannot be maintained by cutting off the power supply to the peripheral control board 1510, 2D display or 3D display cannot be recognized before the power is turned off. Therefore, the default effect display mode is set and the game is restarted. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the default effect display mode is 2D display, and even if the effect is executed in 3D display before power failure, the effect is executed in 2D display after restart. If the default effect display mode is 3D display, the effect will be executed in 3D display after the restart.

After that, when the jackpot game ends, the variable display of the special symbols is started by the suspended starting memory, and the game is continued (time t25).

By configuring as described above, when an abnormality occurs in the power supply to the peripheral control board 1510, the screen display immediately after recovery is displayed in 2D regardless of the effect display mode, thereby minimizing the drawing load. After receiving a command from the main control board 1310, the production can be resumed quickly. In addition, by setting the effect display mode at the time of return to the default effect display mode, there is no need for processing such as storing the effect display mode before the occurrence of the abnormality, so that it is possible to suppress the complication of the effect control.

[31. Video display control]
The stereoscopic display of the effect image has been described above. Next, a configuration for displaying moving images in this embodiment will be described. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, it is possible to display an image (moving image) in which a character image or the like moves on the effect display device 1600, thereby enhancing the effect of the effect. An effect including moving images can attract the player's attention more than an effect composed of static images, and can be expected to greatly contribute to increasing the interest of the game.

A moving image expresses an action by continuously displaying a plurality of images, and utilizes an apparent motion generated by continuously changing pictures or objects. Therefore, a larger storage capacity is required than when an image is displayed alone. On the other hand, it is conceivable to reduce the number of necessary images by partially processing the images in order to reduce the required image capacity, but there is a problem that the image processing load increases.

Therefore, reference frame data is provided for each predetermined number of frames, and the image of each frame is displayed between the reference frame data and the next reference frame data based on the difference frame data including only the difference from the frame displayed immediately before. , the volume of image data is compressed.

However, when video data is generated based on the difference frame data, it is necessary to hold the image data of the previous frame, and a storage area for holding the image data of the previous frame must be secured as needed. could have been lacking. In addition, since the generation of moving images places a heavy load on the VDP (04TKK0060) and the like, even if the image data is compressed, there is a possibility that processing delays or the like will occur.

Therefore, the present invention suppresses an increase in the storage capacity required for displaying a moving image while compressing the image data for moving image display stored in the effect data ROM (image ROM, CGROM). ) to stabilize the performance control of a game machine and realize a more effective performance to improve the interest of a game.

[31-1. Configuration for displaying videos]
First, moving images displayed by the effect display device 1600 in the gaming machine of the present embodiment will be described. The moving image displayed in this embodiment does not express movement by preparing images for one screen in advance and displaying them continuously in chronological order. ) to generate an image to be displayed next, and the generated images are continuously displayed to represent motion.

[31-1a. Arrangement of image data]
First, a basic configuration for generating a moving image to be displayed on the effect display device 1600 of the gaming machine of this embodiment will be described. The image data is stored in the image data area (05TKK0085) of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070).

As described above, the moving image in this embodiment expresses movement by changing (updating) portions different from the previously displayed image. Therefore, moving image data includes reference image data (reference frame data) and difference image data (difference frame data). In addition, moving images express movement by continuously displaying one frame of image data generated from the reference frame data and differential frame data. They are arranged in chronological order (display order) from the first.

Next, a structure for storing image data for generating moving images will be described. FIG. 456 is a diagram showing an example of a structure for storing frame data for generating moving images. As shown in FIG. 456, the image data constituting a series of moving images are arranged in chronological order (display order) starting with the reference frame data. Also, the reference frame data are arranged every predetermined number, and the difference frame data of the predetermined number are arranged between the reference frame data and the next reference frame data. By arranging the reference frame data at equal intervals in this way, a moving image can be generated by simple loop processing, so that the program can be simplified.

Also, each frame data includes header information. The header information includes information indicating whether the corresponding frame is a reference frame or a differential frame. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the frame is a reference frame or a differential frame by referring to the header information, so that it is possible to arrange the reference frame data at intervals other than a fixed number. In this case, since it becomes easy to arrange the reference frame data at the timing of scene change, etc., the degree of freedom of data arrangement can be increased, and the efficiency of creating and managing image data for moving images can be improved.

The header information of the frame data may include display position, display size, deformation state (enlargement/reduction, rotation, etc.) in addition to information identifying whether the frame is a reference frame or a differential frame. In addition, as will be described later, it holds information (address information, etc.) specifying the frame data of the preceding frame (frame), and can play a video from arbitrary frame data or play a video in reverse order. is also possible.

The reference frame data contains all display contents of the image to be displayed, while the difference frame data contains only difference information from the image (frame) displayed immediately before. Therefore, the capacity of the reference frame data is increased. Therefore, by reducing the ratio of the reference frame data (by increasing the ratio of the difference frame data), the total amount of image data for generating a moving image can be reduced. On the other hand, the image of the reference frame data can be displayed as it is, but when generating an image from the difference frame data, the reference frame data and the image data from the reference frame data to the immediately preceding difference frame data are required. However, there is a problem that the processing load for synthesizing the image data becomes high.

FIG. 457 is a graph showing the relationship between the interval at which one piece of reference frame data is arranged and the amount of data. The horizontal axis represents the number of data (GOP) including the reference frame data until the next reference frame data appears. Therefore, when the value of the horizontal axis is 1, all are composed of reference frames, and when the value is 60, a reference frame is arranged every 60 frames. The vertical axis represents the amount of data when GOP=60 is set to 1. In the example shown in FIG. 456, GOP=30, and reference frame data is arranged every 30 frames.

Referring to FIG. 457, when the difference frame data is not included (GOP=1), the capacity is about 1.8, which is about 1.8 times the capacity required when GOP=60. It's becoming Also, up to GOP=10 (1.06), there is no big difference from GOP=60, and up to about 1.2 times, it is possible to reduce the processing load while suppressing the increase in capacity. In the example shown in FIG. 457, since it exceeds 1.2 when GOP=3, it is considered that about GOP=4 or 5 provides a good balance between suppression of data size increase and reduction of processing load. It should be noted that the GOP value shown in the specification of the present application is experimental data for effect data in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, and is not common to all gaming machines. Appropriate values may differ due to factors such as performance differences.

[31-1b. Arrangement of images (layer structure)]
In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, a plurality of areas are assigned to the display area, and a motionless image or moving image is drawn in each area. Each area contains an area that is smaller than the entire display area. FIG. 458 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of areas for displaying images. In the example shown in FIG. 458, an area A0 for displaying the entire background corresponding to the entire display screen of the effect display device 1600 and eight areas (A1 to A8) smaller than the area A0 are allocated.

In addition, each area corresponds to a layer, and the image developed in the decode buffer (05TKK0101) is drawn on each layer and transferred (combined and drawn) to the frame buffer (04TKK0091) to create a single screen image. Generate a display image. Position information indicating the layout of the display screen is defined directly or indirectly in each area, but the decode buffer only secures a storage area of a size that matches the size of the image. It does not support time location information. The arrangement information of each area may be collectively held as management information as described later with reference to FIG. 460, or may be included in the header information of the frame data as described above. By including it in the header information of the frame data, it becomes possible to move the area itself, which can be expected to enhance the interest of the game.

FIG. 459 is a diagram for explaining an image corresponding to each area. The upper part shows the image corresponding to each area, and the lower part shows the display image generated as a result of drawing the images corresponding to all the areas. FIG. 460 is a table showing configuration information of each area. Each area is associated with an area name, drawing content, area position, area size, and corresponding layer name. In FIG. 460, each piece of information is shown in a tabular format, but rather than collectively holding information as management information, for example, holding information that associates areas and layers, and information such as position and size is You may make it hold|maintain as attribute information of a layer. Note that the display of the area A0 corresponding to the background layer is omitted.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the content of the effect is determined based on the result of the special lottery, etc., and the image corresponding to each area is drawn according to the determined content of the effect to complete the display image for one screen. Therefore, it is possible to change the combination of images to be drawn for each area, and it is possible to execute a variety of effects with a small number of images. Also, by reducing the number of images, the capacity of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) can be saved.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the size of the drawing area of the effect display screen is 1600 dots wide by 1200 dots long, and the position is defined by a coordinate system with the upper left as the origin. The size of the drawing area is not limited to this, and may be set according to the performance of the effect display device 1600 . Also, the origin of the coordinate system may be set at another position, for example, the lower left.

In addition, since each image drawing area corresponds to a layer, the context is defined for each layer. FIG. 461 is a diagram for explaining the anteroposterior relationship of each layer. As shown in FIG. 461, the background layer is arranged on the backmost side, and the fourth pattern layer is arranged on the frontmost side. When an error occurs, a message or image is displayed on a layer for displaying an error (an error (warning) display layer) which is located further forward than the fourth pattern layer. This layer is used to display a still image (described later).In addition to displaying a single image, it is also possible to display moving images by displaying images continuously. ing. In addition, a layer for instructing the operation of the effect button and informing of hitting to the right is also set separately. These layers may be common layers or individually dedicated layers.

Next, describing each area, the area A0 corresponds to the background layer, and the size corresponds to the entire drawing area. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the content to be drawn is a single image, but it may be a moving image, or a motionless moving image may be entirely managed as a moving image. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, each area has a rectangular shape, so the upper left vertex is set as the position. The arrangement of the regions can be identified from the positional information and the size information.

In the area A1, a "cloud" shaped object is displayed, and it is possible to display a moving image that changes to "rain" or "thunder". The mode changes based on the variation pattern of the design and the result of the special lottery. Object changes are complete within a region and do not affect the drawing state of other regions. In other words, it is possible to display effects independently in each area. By defining the drawing scheduler data corresponding to each area in the liquid crystal effect block data, it is possible to link the image displayed in each area as a series of effects.

In the area A2, an "airplane" shaped object is displayed, which appears from the left side of the screen when the presentation starts and moves rightward. In this embodiment, the area A2 is the entire moving area of the airplane, but an area of a size that allows the airplane to be drawn may be defined and the position may be reset according to the progress of the rendering.

In area A3, a "building"-shaped object is displayed, and is drawn as a single image that does not change from the start of the presentation. Even in such a case, it is possible to select whether to place a moving object in front of or behind a stationary object by separating it from the background. For example, in the example of this embodiment, it is easy to set whether the airplane is to pass through the front side of the building or the back side of the building by arranging the layers. It is possible to make common drawing processing by simply changing the position of the layer. In addition, it is possible to easily perform a warning effect such that the degree of expectation increases when an airplane passes in front of the building. In this way, the effects can be diversified while simplifying the effect control and reducing the program capacity.

Areas A 4 to A 7 are arranged with objects indicating pending display, and display contents are changed based on commands from the main control board 1310 . In addition, when the display mode of the pending display does not change, a single image may be used. Further, all pending displays may be displayed in one area without dividing the area for each starting memory, or may be drawn on the same layer even if the area is divided.

Area A8 is an area for displaying the fourth symbol. The display of the fourth pattern expresses movement by sprite processing. Specifically, the elements constituting the fourth pattern are held as a plurality of fine parts (images), and these are synthesized at arbitrary positions on the screen and displayed. Similarly, the performance patterns (first to third patterns) are also moved by switching the display position of the image (sprite) of the pattern and deforming it.

As described above, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, it is possible to reproduce moving images for each area. The playback time of the moving image in each area is managed by a timer (not shown). All areas may be managed by one timer, or a timer may be provided for each area and managed individually.

Furthermore, a suppression layer for displaying an image that suppresses the visibility of the preview effect may be arranged in front of the layer for displaying the preview effect (for example, the layer corresponding to the areas A0 to A3). . The suppression-dedicated layer may display a monochromatic opaque image, or may display an image (moving image) different from the advance notice effect. When displaying a single-color opaque image (filling a layer with a specific color), for example, a blackout rendering that temporarily turns the display screen black can be realized only by controlling a specific layer. Also, when displaying an image (movie) that differs from the preview effect, it is possible to immediately return to the preview effect by hiding (transparent) the relevant layer, making it possible to switch effects without complicated controls. In addition, by temporarily executing another effect, it is possible to increase the player's expectation and improve the interest in the game.

The suppression-only layer is arranged on the back side of a layer (eg, a layer corresponding to areas A4 to A8) in which objects that are constantly displayed (eg, suspended display, fourth pattern, etc.) are drawn, and is shown in FIG. In the example, it is placed between the layer corresponding to area A2 and the layer corresponding to area A4. By arranging in this way, it is possible to suppress the visual recognition of the advance notice effect while continuing the visual recognition of the pending display or the like. It should be noted that the suppression-dedicated layer may be arranged on the front side of the layer in which the constantly displayed objects are drawn, and the effect of the suppression-dedicated layer may be executed on the entire screen. Even in this case, a suppression layer is arranged behind the error (warning) display layer so that when an abnormality occurs in the game machine, it can be notified. As a result, it is possible to reliably notify the occurrence of an abnormality or the like while enhancing the presentation effect.

[31-2. Controls for displaying videos]
The configuration of layers for displaying moving images and the like have been described above. Next, a procedure for generating an image of each frame (frame) and displaying a moving image will be described. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, as described above, an image is generated for each frame using the reference frame data and the difference frame data, and displayed sequentially to display a moving image. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, two methods for generating an image using reference frame data and differential frame data will be described.

[31-2a. Movie generation procedure 1]
FIG. 462 is a diagram explaining the first procedure for generating a moving image. In the procedure shown in FIG. 462, the reference frame data is arranged every 30 frames, and the compression efficiency of the capacity for storing the image data is high.

In the first procedure, an image corresponding to each area is drawn in a designated area (layer), and the image drawn in each area (layer) is drawn in a frame buffer (04TKK0091). In the procedure shown in FIG. 462, an image for one screen is generated from the reference frame data in the 1st frame and the 31st frame. Therefore, the image data stored in the image data area of the rendering data ROM (05TKK0070) or the image data preloaded in the external RAM (05TKK0020) is developed into the decode buffer (05TKK0101) reserved for each area (layer). . For example, as shown in FIG. 462, the image data to be drawn in area A1 is developed in the decode buffer for area A1 allocated to the external RAM (05TKK0020). A single image or an image to be sprite-processed may be directly developed in the frame buffer.

Here, if part or all of the image data of the moving image to be generated is not preloaded in the external RAM (05TKK0020), the image data stored in the image data area of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) is read out during image generation. There is a need. Therefore, the necessary image data may be read in advance from the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) to the external RAM (05TKK0020) based on the determination of the animation to be generated. This eliminates the need to directly access the effect data ROM (05TKK0070) at the time of generating the moving image, so the effect control can be speeded up. At this time, by reading the image data in the reproduction order (display order), it is possible to minimize the time lag between the generation of the moving image and the reading of the image data.

Next, a case of drawing based on frame data other than the reference frame data, that is, the differential frame data will be described. Here, a case of generating an image for the fourth frame area A1 will be described. As described above, the difference frame data is the difference from the image of the immediately preceding frame, so the image data of the immediately preceding frame is necessary to generate complete image data. The difference frame data of the fourth frame is an image showing a drop of water, and by combining it with the image stored in the decoding buffer of the third frame, complete image data drawn in the area A1 is obtained. The image data stored in the decode buffer for each area in this manner are superimposed in the order of layers to generate data for one screen.

As described above, according to the first procedure, the ratio of differential frame data can be increased, so the data volume can be compressed. In addition, since a decode buffer having a size corresponding to each layer area is allocated, a storage area can be saved compared to allocating an area for one screen to the decode buffer.

However, in the first procedure, it is necessary to hold the image data of the immediately preceding frame in the decoding buffer for all areas where moving images are displayed. Therefore, if the number of areas for displaying moving images is increased in order to enhance the effect, the storage capacity for allocating the decoding buffer (05TKK0101) will increase, and the storage area provided by the external RAM (05TKK0020) will be insufficient. There is a risk.

FIG. 463 is a diagram for explaining the capacity of the decoding buffer required when a moving image is generated in the first procedure. Although there are six moving images described in this embodiment, a dedicated decoding buffer must be allocated for each moving image. In addition, since more moving images are displayed in the actual presentation, there is a possibility that the storage capacity may temporarily run short even if the decoding buffer secured in the storage area is released at the end of a series of presentations. As a result, there is a risk that a delay will occur in executing an effect that attracts the player's attention, and that the interest in the game will rather decrease.

[31-2b. Movie generation procedure 2]
In the first procedure, there is a problem that the capacity of the decoding buffer allocated to the external RAM (05TKK0020) increases. Therefore, a second procedure that can suppress an increase in the capacity allocated to the decode buffer (05TKK0101) more than the first procedure will be described.

In the second procedure, in order to suppress an increase in the capacity of the decode buffer, a single decode buffer (common decode buffer) that is common to all regions is provided instead of securing a decode buffer for each region. Like the frame buffer, the common decode buffer corresponds to a display area for one screen, and the image data for each area is directly drawn in order (display order) from the lower layer. Since there is only one common decode buffer, it may be allocated to the image RAM (04TKK0090) instead of the external RAM (05TKK0020).

It should be noted that the common decode buffer may correspond to the largest display area among a plurality of layers to be drawn instead of corresponding to the display area for one screen. Also, if the display areas of all layers cannot fit in the maximum display area, such as when the display areas of each layer are far apart, at least the display area of all layers can be included in the minimum display area. Common decode buffers may be allocated accordingly. This makes it possible to make the common decode buffer correspond to an area smaller than that of the frame buffer, thereby reducing the storage capacity required for buffer allocation.

As described above, the common decode buffer need not necessarily correspond to the display area for one screen, but may correspond to the necessary area. When the common decode buffer corresponds to the display area of one screen, the common decode buffer may be allocated to the external RAM (05TKK0020) in the power-on processing of the peripheral control board 1510 . Also, a common decode buffer may be allocated for each effect. As a result, it is possible to allocate and release buffers as needed, thereby improving the efficiency of allocating storage areas and making effective use of them.

When generating an image based on differential frame data other than the reference frame data, the reference frame data immediately preceding the frame to be generated and the differential data after the reference frame data are all drawn in the common decode buffer. For this reason, as in the first procedure, if the arrangement interval of the reference frame data becomes large, the amount of image data to be developed at the same time increases, and the image processing time increases. Therefore, the arrangement interval of the reference frame data is reduced. Details of the second procedure will be described below.

FIG. 464 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement intervals of reference frame data when a moving image is generated in the second procedure. In the example shown in FIG. 464, the reference frame data is arranged every 4 frames, which requires about 1.17 times the capacity of the case where the reference frame data is arranged every 60 frames. , is about two-thirds of the capacity of the reference frame data (see FIG. 457). The second procedure will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 465 is a diagram for explaining the second procedure for generating moving images. As described above, in the second procedure, drawing is performed directly in the common decode buffer without allocating a decode buffer for each area where the moving image is reproduced. Specifically, the image data corresponding to each area is drawn in the common decode buffer in order (display order) from the area (layer) on the back side. When the drawing of the image data for all areas is completed, it is transferred to the frame buffer and output to the display screen of the effect display device 1600 .

Moreover, instead of transferring to the frame buffer after drawing of all layers in the common decode buffer is completed, each time drawing of each layer is completed, the data may be transferred to the frame buffer and overwritten. At this time, the image of the next layer may be overwritten without clearing the common decode buffer, or the image of the next layer may be drawn after clearing the common decode buffer. When the common decode buffer is cleared, the amount of memory used can be reduced, and when the common decode buffer is not cleared, the processing load associated with buffer clearing can be reduced.

First, when drawing (expanding) the reference frame data, the read image data may be drawn in order from the area (layer) on the back side. On the other hand, when drawing the difference frame data, for example, when generating the image of the second frame, the image based on the difference frame data of the second frame is drawn in addition to the reference frame data of the first frame. As for the order of drawing, drawing is performed from the lowest layer (layer), and within the same region, drawing is performed in chronological order from the reference frame data. In the example of FIG. 465, after the background image is drawn, the reference frame data (first frame image) of the area A1 is drawn, and then the difference frame data of the second frame is drawn. Next, draw a single image, the image of the building. Further, the reference frame data of the area A2 and the differential frame data are drawn in this order, and the remaining areas are similarly drawn. When the image data of all areas are drawn, the image in the common decode buffer is transferred to the frame buffer and output to the effect display device 1600 . By controlling in this manner, a moving image can be generated using only the common decode buffer without allocating the decode buffer for each area to the external RAM (05TKK0020) or the image RAM (04TKK0090).

Similarly, when generating the third frame image, drawing is performed in order from the lowest layer area (layer). In the image of the third frame, as in the case of the second frame, after the image of the background layer of the area A0 is drawn, the preview layer of the area A1 is drawn. At this time, the reference frame data, which is the image of the first frame, is drawn, and then the differential frame data of the second frame is drawn. Further, the drawing of the area A1 is completed by drawing the difference frame data of the third frame. Then, the remaining areas are drawn in the same manner, and drawing for one screen of the third frame is completed.

Note that the positions of the reference frame data do not necessarily have to match for the moving images drawn on each layer. Specifically, a layer where drawing starts at the start of the production and a layer where drawing starts during the production may be mixed. Drawing is started at the timing of appearance, and this timing becomes the reference frame start position (effect start position) of the layer. Also, the rendering end position of each layer may be set at the timing at which the character exits instead of the timing at which the rendering ends.

In general, a “moving image” expresses movement by continuously displaying images (“moving image” in a broad sense). A narrowly defined "moving image" is defined as one in which a difference is provided. On the other hand, a "still image" is defined as a complete image (reference frame data) rather than a difference, and not only a single image without motion, but also a series of complete images (reference frame data). A “still image” is also used to express movement by displaying.

A narrowly defined “moving image” includes differential images (differential frame data), so the capacity for storing the images can be compressed, but the image quality may be degraded. On the other hand, since the "still image" is a complete image of each frame, deterioration in image quality can be suppressed. Therefore, in the case of a display that causes a problem if the player misunderstands such as the notification of the lottery result (for example, the display of a decorative pattern), it is set to a "still image". If the lottery result is not displayed directly, such as foreshadowing, video display, etc., it is (narrowly defined) “moving image”. When expressing motion, the image quality is adjusted by adjusting the intervals of the reference frame data, etc., and the image capacity is reduced while the control is unified by making it a narrowly defined "moving image" that includes all the difference frame data. It may be possible to reduce the number of frames, and to simplify the control without requiring a process of synthesizing the reference frame data and the differential frame data by using all "still images" that do not include the differential frame data. good too.

Also, since the layers for displaying moving images are composed of a plurality of objects, the number of layers is greater than the number of layers for displaying still images. As a result, it is possible to realize a detailed presentation. Moreover, by allocating an area corresponding to the size of the object to be displayed for each layer, it is possible to prevent the memory capacity from being depleted due to excessive allocation of the area. The number of layers for displaying still images can be kept to a minimum, because the drawn objects do not operate independently. Depending on the type of presentation, the number of layers for displaying moving images may be less than the number of layers for displaying still images.

Furthermore, in the second procedure, the decode buffer for each area is not held and the common decode buffer is also discarded. Therefore, when drawing the difference frame data, it is necessary to specify the most recent reference frame data. As described above, in the frame data, information for identifying whether the frame data is the reference frame data or the difference frame data is stored in the header information. Further, since the frame data of the preceding frame can be specified, it is possible to trace back to the reference frame data by sequentially confirming the contents of the header information of the frame data of the preceding frame.

Even if the decode buffer (05TKK0101) is not allocated to the external RAM (05TKK0020) and the decode buffer is allocated to the VDP built-in RAM or the image RAM (04TKK0090), there is sufficient storage space provided by these RAMs. can be used for other control, and the effect control can be stabilized.

FIG. 466 is a diagram for explaining the capacity of the decoding buffer required when the moving image is generated in the second procedure. In the second procedure, it is sufficient to provide one common decoding buffer for one screen regardless of the number of areas for reproducing moving images, so the memory usage can be kept constant regardless of the contents of the presentation. Although the number of moving images described in this embodiment is six, as described above, more moving images are displayed in the actual rendering, so the memory capacity that can be reduced increases. On the other hand, by generating moving images according to the second procedure, the capacity of the decode buffer can be kept constant, so stable effect control can be realized, and effects that catch the player's attention, such as reproducing many moving images, are executed. Even when the game is played, it is possible to suppress the disturbance of the performance such as the occurrence of delay, and to suppress the decrease in the interest in the game.

As described above, in the moving image reproduction method according to the second procedure, it is possible to reduce the capacity of the decoding buffer required when executing an effect in which a plurality of moving images are displayed on one screen at the same time. It is possible to suppress the occurrence and stabilize the production control. In particular, since it is very difficult to increase the capacity of the external RAM (05TKK0070) after the peripheral control board 1510 is manufactured, it is possible to use an external RAM (05TKK0070) with a small capacity to reduce costs. . In addition, since it is possible to reproduce more moving images with a small capacity external RAM (05TKK0070), the degree of freedom in rendering increases, and more interesting rendering can be made possible.

In addition, in the above-described moving image reproduction procedures, it is possible to reproduce the moving image from the reference frame data, but in the first procedure in particular, the intervals between the reference frame data are long, and the moving image must be reproduced from the beginning. was occurring. On the other hand, in the second procedure, the interval between the reference frame data is shorter than in the first procedure while realizing a constant data compression, so that the moving image can be easily reproduced from any position (middle). becomes. This facilitates the design of the presentation of the game machine. Further, when a long version effect and a short version effect are defined, the frame data can be shared by sharing a part of the long version effect with the short version effect.

In addition, in the moving image reproduction method according to the second procedure, the amount of data to be expanded for each frame (frame) is increased on average, so there is a problem that the processing load is greater than that in the first procedure. However, the performance of VDP has improved in recent years, and experimental results show that if the interval between reference frame data is up to about 5 (GOP=5), the performance is sufficiently practical.

Furthermore, in the moving image reproducing method according to the second procedure, the intervals between the reference frame data are shorter than in the first procedure, so that the amount of data compression is reduced, resulting in a problem of increased capacity. However, as shown in FIG. 457, if the reference frame data interval is set to about 5, it will be reduced by about 1.13 times compared to the case where the reference frame data interval is set to 60, and the increase in capacity is a big problem. should not. In addition, the performance data ROM (05TKK0070) of this embodiment employs a NAND flash memory to reduce costs and increase the capacity, thereby making it possible to store more image data. Furthermore, the time required to read data from the NAND flash memory can be shortened by installing a cache memory (05TKK0072) or preloading image data into an external RAM (05TKK0020). does not become

Also, in the above example, the common decode buffer corresponds to the area for one screen, but a plurality of common decode buffers may be provided. Specifically, a common decoding buffer is provided for each of a plurality of related layers. By configuring in this way, when a common character appears in multiple announcement effects, it becomes possible to share the data and buffer settings related to the character, and reduce the duplicated data to reduce the storage capacity. Savings are possible.

By the way, if a common decoding buffer is used for all areas (layers), the processing load for display control increases when the number of moving image layers increases, and there is a risk that rendering processing will not keep up. If the numerical value of GOP is set small in order to solve this problem, the problem arises that the volume of image data will increase as a result. Therefore, among regions (layers) for drawing moving images, large-sized regions (layers) use a common decoding buffer, and small-sized regions (layers) use separate decoding buffers. A specific example will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 467 is a diagram for explaining the capacity of the decoding buffer required when a moving image is generated by combining the first and second procedures. In the example shown in FIG. 467, areas A0 to A3 are drawn in the common decode buffer, and areas A4 to A8 are drawn in individual decode buffers. As shown in FIG. 458 and the like, areas A4 to A8 are areas of small size, while areas A0 to A3 are areas of relatively large size. Since the areas A0, A3, and A8 are areas in which still images and single images are drawn, they may be drawn directly in the frame buffer.

As described above, the common decoding buffer is not limited to one buffer for moving images of all layers, and buffers of a plurality of some layers among all moving image layers may be shared. A moving image is generated by combining the first procedure and the second procedure. If the common decoding buffer is used, the second procedure is used, and if the individual decoding buffer is used, the first procedure is used. good. By configuring in this way, it is possible to suppress an increase in the processing load of display control while suppressing an increase in the amount of image data.

[31-2c. Modified Example of Movie Generation Procedure 2]
The moving image reproducing method according to the second procedure has been described above. In the moving image reproducing method according to the second procedure, when the frame to be generated is difference frame data, the reference frame data immediately before the frame to be generated and the All differential frame data after the reference frame data are identified and drawn in the common decode buffer. The identification of the reference frame data and the difference data was performed based on the identification information included in the header information.

However, since it is necessary to individually confirm the frame data to be specified, a process for specifying the frame data is required. Therefore, in this modified example, by providing image management information corresponding to each frame data, it is possible to efficiently specify the basic frame data and the difference data.

FIG. 468 is a diagram showing an example of image management information, in which (A) is for the case where the basic frame data interval is fixed, and (B) is for the case where the basic frame data interval is variable. The image management information consists of an interval (frame interval) between basic frame data serving as a reference, moving image type information for identifying moving images, and frame identification information indicating whether the data is reference frame data or differential frame data. be done. Frame identification information is set corresponding to each frame. Note that the image management information may include the storage location (address) of the image information of each frame. This makes it possible to obtain frame data (image information) directly, thereby simplifying the processing.

In the example shown in (A), a reference frame interval is defined at the beginning of the image management information, and moving image type information is defined for each moving image. Furthermore, frame identification information of frame data corresponding to frames included in each moving image is defined. In this embodiment, the frame identification information is set to "1" in the case of basic frame data, and the frame identification information is set to "2" in the case of difference frame data. Furthermore, an end code indicating the end of the moving image is set after the frame identification information of the last frame.

In the example shown in (B), moving image type information and a reference frame interval are defined for each moving image. The frame identification information is the same as the example shown in (A).

If the reference frame interval is fixed as in (A), the control can be simplified because the reference frame data are always arranged at regular intervals. On the other hand, if the reference frame interval is made variable as in (B), detailed settings can be made for each moving image. For example, for a moving image with little movement (small change), the amount of difference data is small, so setting a long reference frame interval makes it possible to save the image amount. Also, for videos with a lot of movement (large changes), since the size of the difference data is large, even if the reference frame interval is set long, the size cannot be reduced. It is possible to reduce the processing load for frame generation by reducing frame data.

[32. Inspection of external RAM]
In the conventional game machine, as a temporary storage means in the performance control by the peripheral control board 1510, RAM (04TKK0012) used when executing the program that performs performance control and image RAM (VRAM) (04TKK0090) used for display control of images etc. )was there. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, in addition to the above-described temporary storage means, an external RAM (05TKK0020) for speeding up the effect control by storing effect data and decoded image data in advance before execution is used for peripheral control. It is located on substrate 1510 (Fig. 427).

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, DDR3 SDRAM is used for the external RAM (05TKK0020), which can be accessed from each component such as the peripheral control section 1511 and the performance display control section 1512.

In addition, the peripheral control board 1510 is provided with an inspection function for diagnosing whether or not each component operates normally. The inspection function is implemented as a function of computing means such as the CPU (04TKK0011) and VDP (04TKK0060), or implemented by a program executed by these computing means. For example, the inspection of the RAM (04TKK0012) included in the peripheral controller 1511 is executed by the CPU (04TKK0011). Also, the image RAM (04TKK0090) is included in the effect display control unit 1512, and inspection is performed by the VDP (04TKK0060). The VDP (04TKK0060) is configured to perform only image control, or the VDP (04TKK0060) and the image RAM (04TKK0090) are configured independently. ) may be executed.

In order to ensure the normal operation of the gaming machine (performance control), it is necessary to provide a configuration for similarly inspecting the external RAM (05TKK0020) newly added to the gaming machine of this embodiment. Since the external RAM (05TKK0020) can be accessed from both the CPU (04TKK0011) and the VDP (04TKK0060), either the CPU (04TKK0011) or the VDP (04TKK0060) can perform the inspection.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the external RAM (05TKK0020) is inspected by the CPU (04TKK0011) and the VDP (04TKK0060). Since the configuration for checking by the CPU (04TKK0011) is the same as the conventional configuration, first, the configuration for checking the external RAM (05TKK0020) by the VDP (04TKK0060) will be described. Next, the inspection contents of the external RAM (05TKK0020) will be described. Finally, the control during inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) will be described.

[32-1. Configuration for inspecting external RAM]
In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the VDP (04TKK0060) has a memory controller (06TKK0010) that controls access to the external RAM (05TKK0020), and inputs/outputs signals from various terminals to/from the external RAM (05TKK0020).

FIG. 469 is a block diagram showing an excerpt of the configuration for checking the external RAM (05TKK0020). The VDP (04TKK0060) has a memory controller (06TKK0010) in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 427, and controls access to the external RAM (05TKK0020) from each configuration of the VDP (04TKK0060).

The memory controller (06TKK0010) comprises a controller core (06TKK0011). The controller core (06TKK0011) receives commands for each configuration of the VDP (04TKK0060) to access data stored in the external RAM (05TKK0020), and stores them in the command queue (06TKK0012). Further, the commands stored in the command queue (06TKK0012) are processed and sent to the command scheduler (06TKK0015) by the selection logic (06TKK0013). The command scheduler controls the execution timing of commands received by the VDP (04TKK0060). The command scheduler (06TKK0015) transmits various signals for reading/writing from the corresponding terminal (06TKK0018) to the memory device (06TKK0022) of the external RAM (05TKK0020) based on the received command.

Furthermore, the memory controller (06TKK0010) is equipped with a RAM diagnostic circuit (06TKK0020) and checks whether the bus and terminals connected to the external RAM (05TKK0020) are functioning normally.

A reset signal (RESET#), a clock signal (CK/CK #), chip select signal (CS[1:0]#), row address strobe signal (RAS#), column address strobe signal (CAS#), write enable signal (WE#), address signal (A[15:0] ) and data signals (DQ[31:0]).

A reset signal (RESET#) causes the external RAM (05TKK0020) to perform a reset operation. The clock signal (CK/CK#) determines the timing of the operation (read/write of data, etc.) of the external RAM (05TKK0020).

A chip select signal (CS[1:0]#) is a signal for designating a memory chip to be accessed. A row address strobe signal (RAS#) is a signal for specifying a row address of a storage element (memory device) to be accessed, and a column address strobe signal (CAS#) is a signal to specify a column address of the storage element to be accessed. This is a signal to specify. A memory element to be accessed is specified by a row address strobe signal and a column address strobe signal. A write enable signal (WE#) is a signal for enabling writing to a storage element to be accessed.

The address signals (A[15:0]) specify the address of the cell containing the data to be activated and accessed. Data signals (DQ[31:0]) input/output data specified by address signals. There are 16 (0 to 15) terminals for outputting address signals, and an address bus is connected to each terminal. Also, 32 (0 to 31) terminals for outputting data signals are provided, and a data bus is connected to each terminal.

Terminal resistors (06TKK0016, 06TKK0017) are connected to the address bus and data bus. The resistance values of the terminating resistors (06TKK0016, 06TKK0017) are adjustable, and can be switched to at least three types of 36Ω, 40Ω, and 60Ω in this embodiment. The inspection by the RAM diagnostic circuit (06TKK0020) is performed while switching the resistance value of the terminating resistor. The RAM diagnosis circuit (06TKK0020) may be provided with a terminating resistor setting register, and the external RAM (05TKK0020) may be inspected by designating one of the terminating resistors in the terminating resistor setting register.

[32-2. Inspection of external RAM]
The configurations of the VDP (04TKK0060) and the external RAM (05TKK0020) have been described above. Next, inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) will be described. The inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) is executed based on the inspection command received via the terminal provided on the peripheral control board 1510 and when a predetermined condition for executing the inspection is satisfied. There are cases. The terminal for receiving the inspection command is a serial input/output interface capable of receiving the command sent from the main control board 1310 as well as the command sent by the inspection device connected in the inspection of the game machine before shipment from the factory. It's becoming

Also, the inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) is executed by the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 processing the inspection program and by the RAM diagnosis circuit (06TKK0020) provided in the VDP (04TKK0060). there is something to do

The inspection based on the inspection program is executed by the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 processing the corresponding inspection program based on the reception of the inspection command. First, the transmitted inspection command is received by the command receiving section (communication port) of the peripheral control board 1510 and stored in the command buffer. The CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 executes the inspection program corresponding to the inspection command stored in the command buffer. The inspection command is received by the same command receiving unit (communication port) as the command receiving unit (communication port) that receives the command related to the performance transmitted from the main control board 1310, but the command receiving unit (communication port) dedicated to inspection ( command input port, communication port).

[32-2a. inspection command]
First, the inspection command will be explained. In addition to the external RAM (05TKK0020), the objects to be inspected include the VDP (04TKK0060), sound source IC (04TKK0030), and operation modes of various production devices. Further, the execution of the inspection program is not limited to the CPU (04TKK0011), but may be executed by another calculation means such as the VDP (04TKK0060) depending on the object to be inspected. Commands for inspecting the external RAM (05TKK0020) will be described below.

FIG. 470 is a diagram showing an example of a command for inspecting the external RAM (05TKK0020). The system of inspection commands is the same as or similar to the game commands. When the game commands are not the same but similar, for example, the game command consists of command value + checksum, whereas the check command consists only of the command value. Also, even if they are similar, the game command and the inspection command do not overlap in command value. As a result, when the peripheral control board 1510 receives a command, processing can be executed based only on the command value without distinguishing whether the command is a game command or a test command.

The inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) in the gaming machine of the present embodiment is roughly divided into two types: R/W (Read/Write) test (first inspection means) and glitch margin check (second inspection means). be. Also, each test is subdivided according to the number of trials. The R/W (Read/Write) test and the glitch margin check (inspection) will be described below.

[32-2b. R/W test]
The R/W (Read/Write) test determines whether data can be normally read from or written to the storage area provided by the external RAM (05TKK0020). The R/W test is executed by the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 processing an inspection program for executing the R/W test.

In the R/W test, after writing a predetermined value to the entire storage area, it is determined whether or not the written value can be read accurately. If the data cannot be read correctly, the result of the test is failure, and the inspection being executed is terminated at this point. At this time, the inspection itself may be ended, or an inspection command to be executed next may be received to continue the inspection. At the end of the inspection, the inspection result can be output from the general purpose input/output terminal (GPIO) of the CPU (04TKK0011), and for example, the inspection result is transmitted to the inspection device that transmitted the inspection command. Upon receiving the inspection result, the inspection device displays the inspection result, transmits the next inspection command as necessary, and continues the inspection. For example, after sending the R/W test 1 command to the peripheral control board 1510 and receiving and displaying the test results, it sends the R/W test 2 command. Further, it sequentially transmits a glitch margin check 1 command, a glitch margin check 2 command, and the like. The inspection contents corresponding to each command will be described later. In addition, the general-purpose input/output terminal for outputting the inspection result is a terminal that is not used for the game, so that the configuration required for the inspection can be managed independently from the configuration for the game, and the game machine Complicated configuration management can be suppressed.

The R/W test command includes commands for executing three types of inspection according to the type of data to be written. R/W test 1 writes a predetermined value ("0x55aa55aa") to test. The R/W test 2 writes a value (“0xaa55aa55”) different from the value written in the R/W test 1 to perform the test. The predetermined value written in R/W test 1 is "01010101101010100101010110101010" in binary notation, and the predetermined value written in R/W test 1 is "10101010010101011010101001010101". By executing the R/W test 1 and the R/W test 2, "0" and "1" are written in the entire area, and the inspection accuracy can be improved.

Also, the R/W test 3 writes a 2-byte random value for testing. If the test takes time if both the R/W test 1 and R/W test 2 are executed due to the storage capacity being arbitrary, etc., by writing a random value, the test can be performed with less bias. , the inspection accuracy can be improved. The random numbers generated during writing and the random numbers generated during reading (comparing) are the same, and the random numbers are generated by the random number generation processing (function) of the same program. Also, the random number may be generated by hardware such as a random number generation circuit instead of by a program (software).

As described above, by enabling the inspection to write a plurality of types of values, it is possible to perform an inspection according to the situation, and by improving the inspection accuracy, it is possible to realize stable production control, and the game A decrease in interest can be suppressed.

[32-2b. Glitch margin check (inspection)]
A glitch margin check (test) determines the tolerance of the memory module when a glitch occurs. A glitch occurs when noise or the like is generated near the limit voltage during the rise/fall of the clock signal, causing the clock to momentarily turn ON/OFF and malfunction. In the glitch margin check, by measuring the permissible range (margin) when a glitch occurs, durability against an unexpected defective signal input due to noise or the like is tested. Sufficient durability is normally secured at the design stage for margins, but post-testing is possible because errors that occur during mass production of memory modules and deterioration over time may cause changes in durability. By doing so, the safety is enhanced.

The glitch margin check is performed by the diagnostic function of the RAM diagnostic circuit (06TKK0020) provided in the VDP (04TKK0060). The glitch margin check command is a command for executing a glitch margin check (inspection), and two types of commands are prepared according to the number of inspections (3 times and 30000 times). Note that the number of inspections is not limited to the number shown in FIG. 470, and may be different. Also, as described above, the glitch margin check is performed by switching the value of the termination resistor, and the inspection is performed a predetermined number of times for each type of resistance value of the termination resistor. In the game machine of the present embodiment, since three types of resistance values can be set as the terminal resistance, the predetermined number of inspections are performed three times. That is, when the number of inspections is 3, the inspection is performed once (predetermined number of times) for each resistance value, and when the number of inspections is 30000 times, the inspection is performed 10000 times (predetermined number of times) for each resistance value. become.

When the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 receives the glitch margin check command, it instructs the VDP (04TKK0060) to perform the glitch margin check. When the VDP (04TKK0060) is instructed to perform a glitch margin check, it sets a value in a register that sets inspection parameters, execution results, etc., and the RAM diagnostic circuit (06TKK0020) performs a glitch margin check (inspection). Execute. The inspection by the RAM diagnosis circuit (06TKK0020) will be described below.

[32-2c. Inspection by RAM diagnostic circuit]
Next, the inspection by the RAM diagnosis circuit (06TKK0020) will be explained. The VDP (04TKK0060) of the gaming machine of this embodiment is provided with a RAM diagnostic circuit (06TKK0020), which sets parameters in a register for inspection and executes inspection based on the contents of the register. The RAM diagnostic circuit (06TKK0020) inspects the external RAM (05TKK0020), but may be configured to be able to inspect the image RAM (04TKK0090) as well.

As described above, the inspection by the RAM diagnostic circuit (06TKK0020) is executed based on the acceptance of the inspection execution instruction from the peripheral control unit 1511 to the VDP (04TKK0060). Further, even if an execution instruction from the peripheral control unit 1511 is not accepted, the inspection may be executed at a predetermined timing or when a predetermined condition is satisfied, such as when power is turned on.

Also, the inspection by the RAM diagnostic circuit (06TKK0020) is executed by setting various parameters and the like in an inspection register, which will be described later. At this time, the memory controller (06TKK0010 ) while changing the resistance values of the terminating resistors (06TKK0016, 06TKK0017) of the address bus and data bus. Specifically, the resistance is changed in order of 40Ω, 36Ω, and 60Ω. By executing the inspection while changing the resistance value of the terminating resistor in this manner, the accuracy of the glitch margin check can be improved.

Next, a register (inspection register) that is set to perform inspection will be described. Values of various parameters at the time of inspection execution are set in registers provided in the VDP (04TKK0060). In addition to setting parameters, output of inspection results and instruction to start inspection execution are also performed by registers.

FIG. 471 is a diagram illustrating registers set to perform inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) by the RAM diagnostic circuit (06TKK0020). Each register consists of 32 bits, and parameters and the like are set by writing values to the corresponding bits.

The registers for executing the inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) by the RAM diagnostic circuit (06TKK0020) include a control register, a start address register and an expected value mask register. The control register is a register for controlling inspection, and output of inspection results, input of inspection execution instructions, and the like are performed. The start address register is a register for setting the inspection start position of the external RAM (05TKK0020). The expected value mask register is a register for designating the inspection location of the external RAM (05TKK0020). Each register will be described below.

[32-2c-1. control register]
The control register is a register for controlling inspection, as described above. The control registers include two types of registers, control register 0 and control register 1 . Functions and the like corresponding to each bit of each control register will be described below.

(control register 0)
Control register 0 has address check result (RESULT_A) in 25 bits, data check result (RESULT_D) in 24 bits, test execution instruction (TEST_GO) in 16 bits, and MR3 data (MR3_DATA_1 [15: 0]) is stored. Other bits are set to "0b".

The address check result (RESULT_A) stores the result of checking for defects related to the address/command terminals. The stored value is read-only. As a result of the inspection, if there is a defect (abnormal), "0b" is set, and if there is no defect (normal), "1b" is set in the relevant bit. In addition, in the address check, only the presence or absence of a defect is determined, and the defective portion is not specified.

The data check result (RESULT_D) stores the result of checking for defects in all bits of the external RAM (05TKK0020). The stored value is read-only. As a result of the inspection, if there is a defect (abnormal), "0b" is set, and if there is no defect (normal), "1b" is set in the relevant bit. Incidentally, in the data check, the defective portion is recorded in a separate register or the like, and the memory controller controls so that data is not read from or written to the defective portion.

The test execution instruction (TEST_GO) is set to "1b" if the test is being executed, and is set to "0b" if the test is not being executed. The test execution instruction (TEST_GO) is write-only, and the test is started when "1b" is set in the relevant bit. Further, the test execution end (TEST_DONE) is set to "1b" when the test is being executed, and is set to "0b" when the test is not executed (test execution is finished). The VDP (04TKK0060) determines the end of the test when the value of TEST_DONE becomes "0b", and reads each test result (RESULT_A, RESULT_D). Also, when the test is finished, the VDP (04TKK0060) always sets TEST_GO to "0b", thereby making it possible to execute the test again.

MR3 data (MR3_DATA_1[15:0]) consists of 16 bits. The value of MR3 data (MR3_DATA_1[15:0]) is readable and writable.

When the gaming machine is reset, each register is set to a predetermined initial value. At this time, initial values are set for the bits (eg, TEST_GO, TEST_DONE) related to the start/end of test execution so that the test can be executed. Specifically, TEST_GO is set to "0b" (test not executed), and TEST_DONE is set to "0b" (test not executed). By configuring in this way, inspection can be normally executed from the time the power is turned on.

(Control register 1)
In the control register 1, 16 bits indicate whether or not an address check can be executed (ADDR_CHECK), 8 bits indicate whether a data check can be executed (DATA_CHECK), and 5 to 0 bits contain a (DDR) memory capacity to be checked (ADDR_SPACE[5:0]). ) is stored. Other bits are set to "0b".

The address check execution enable/disable (ADDR_CHECK) is set to "0b" when the address check is not executed, and is set to "1b" when the address check is executed. The address check is a simple check such as changing the address bus bit by bit. For example, address 0x00, 0x01, 0x02, 0x04, . . . and change. Note that when performing an address check, it is necessary to set a start address (described later) to a predetermined value (0_0000_0000h).

Data check executability (DATA_CHECK) is set to "0b" when data check is not executed, and is set to "1b" when data check is executed. Data check checks all address areas based on a test algorithm. Insufficient data can lead to unpredictable behavior and failure of the production device. Therefore, the test algorithm is not a simple one, but enables quality-oriented inspection.

When both address check and data check are set to be performed (when ADDR_CHECK and DATA_CHECK are set to "1b"), data check is performed after address check. Also, if a defect is found in the address check, the process ends without executing the data check. This is because the data check is a quality-oriented inspection that can identify the defective portion, and thus the defective portion cannot be specified when there is a defect in the address.

The memory (storage) capacity (ADDR_SPACE[5:0]) is a value indicating the area to be inspected in the external RAM (05TKK0020), and the actual area is 2ADDR_SPACE. Since ADDR_SPACE is 6 bits, a value from "00h" to "3Fh" can be specified. If the area to be inspected is small, the efficiency of inspection deteriorates. Therefore, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, a value of at least 6 (“06h”; “000110b”) or more is set. Normally, it is not necessary to exclude a specific area from the inspection target. Therefore, by setting ADDR_SPACE to the maximum value (“3Fh”) and specifying the start address of the area (“0_0000_0000h”) as the inspection start address, the maximum storage capacity can be obtained. It is configured to execute inspection for all storage areas regardless of the

In addition, since the value of each bit of ADDR_SPACE is set to "0b" as an initial value, even if the test is executed by mistake (when TEST_GO is set to "1b"), the area to be tested is 20. = 1 (bit), so the check is not actually executed. As a result, even if TEST_GO is unintentionally set to "1b" due to noise or the like, it is possible to prevent the performance from being interrupted due to the execution of the test.

[32-2c-2. Start address register]
The start address register designates the start address (start address; (START_ADDRESS[34:0])) of the area to be inspected. The start address is defined by 35 bits, and since the capacity of the register is 32 bits, it consists of two registers, an upper start address register and a lower start address register.

The high-order start address register stores the value of the high-order 3 bits (START_ADDRESS[34:32]) of the start address. The value of the upper 3 bits is stored in bits 2 to 0, and "0b" is set in the remaining 31 bits to 3 bits. Note that the upper two bits (START_ADDRESS[34:33]) of the upper start address are set to "0b".

The lower start address register stores the lower 32-bit values of the start address (START_ADDRESS[31:16], (START_ADDRESS[15:0]).The lower 32-bit values of the start address are shown in FIG. The lower 5 bits (START_ADDRESS[4:0]) of the lower start address are always set to "0" (32-byte boundary).

Since the inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) normally targets the entire area as described above, both the upper start address register and the lower start address register are set to "0", and the start address (address 0) is checked. so that

[32-2c-3. Expected value mask register]
The expected value mask sets the validity/invalidity of the inspection of a specific terminal. As a result, only specific terminals can be inspected. The expected value mask register is defined (expected value mask register 00 , expected value mask register 01, expected value mask register 10, expected value mask register 11). Each expected value mask register has a common configuration.

The expected value mask register is divided into 4 areas (A to D) corresponding to storage elements (memory device (06TKK0022)) every 8 bits (31 bits to 24 bits; MASKD_DQ[7:0], 23 bits to 16 bits; MASKC_DQ[7:0], bits 15 to 8; MASKB_DQ[7:0], bits 7 to 0; MASKA_DQ[7:0]). Normally, all bits are set to "0b" in order to inspect all terminals. On the other hand, if "1b" is set in the register to exclude it from inspection, even if the expected value fails, it is ignored. Note that when "1b" is set in the register and excluded from the inspection target, the inspection itself may not be executed.

[32-3. Control for Executing Inspection of External RAM]
Next, control for inspecting the external RAM (05TKK0020) will be described. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) is executed when the power is turned on, before the game can be started. It is also possible to inspect the external RAM (05TKK0020) after power-on (after power-on processing is completed). Note that it is not always necessary to implement the function to perform inspection when the power is turned on. After turning on the power of the game machine, the peripheral control board 1510 is ready to receive the inspection command. It is not necessary to implement inspection processing in the control program).

First, the basic control at the time of inspection execution will be described. In the case of the W test), parameters are set in the inspection register of the VDP (04TKK0060), and inspection is performed by the RAM diagnosis circuit (06TKK0020) provided in the memory controller (06TKK0010) (in the case of the glitch margin check).

When the inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) is completed, the CPU (04TKK0011) reads out the inspection result and outputs it through the general purpose input/output terminal (GPIO). The CPU (04TKK0011) outputs the inspection result (command, information) to the inspection device without judging whether the inspection result is normal or abnormal. The end of the inspection is determined by the value of TEST_DONE in the inspection register, an interrupt request from the VDP (04TKK0060), or the like. When the inspection device receives the inspection result, it displays the received inspection result, and when executing another inspection, further transmits an inspection command to continue the inspection.

The inspection at the time of power-on (power-on processing) and the inspection after the power-on processing is completed will be described below with reference to flowcharts.

[32-3a. Inspection at power-on (processing at power-on)]
The inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) in the gaming machine of this embodiment includes the R/W test and the glitch margin check as described above. A R/W test is performed by processing a test program. The inspection program is included in the peripheral control program. Therefore, the R/W test cannot be executed before the peripheral control program is read and executed when the power is turned on. Also, since the glitch margin check is performed by the RAM diagnostic circuit (06TKK0020) based on the check register, it can be started before the execution of the peripheral control program.

In power-on processing, as shown in FIG. 429, the boot program is first activated, and then the peripheral control program is activated. The R/W test is executed by inspection processing included in the peripheral control program (step 05TK0040). Also, since the glitch margin check is executed by the RAM diagnostic circuit (06TKK0020) provided in the memory controller (06TKK0010) of the VDP (04TKK0060), it can be executed in the boot program inspection process (step 05TK0010). It should be noted that the inspection at power-on may be controlled so as to be executed by a program without depending on the inspection command.

In the following, the case where the inspection is performed when the power is turned on will be described, including the execution timing of each inspection. First, the case of performing the executable glitch margin check will be described, and then the case of performing the R/W test will be described.

[32-3a-1. glitch margin check]
FIG. 472 is a flowchart showing the procedure of inspection processing (glitch margin check) of the external RAM (05TKK0020) in the boot program.

The CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 first sets various registers in the inspection register of the VDP (04TKK0060) (step 06TKS0010). The contents of the registers to be set are as described with reference to FIG. Alternatively, a register setting instruction may be transmitted to the VDP (04TKK0060) so that the VDP (04TKK0060) or the RAM diagnosis circuit (06TKK0020) sets the inspection register.

Next, the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 instructs the VDP (04TKK0060) to perform inspection (step 06TKS0020). At this time, the CPU (04TKK0011) may set "1b" to TEST_GO of the inspection register as an instruction to execute the inspection. may be set to "1b".

Finally, the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 outputs the inspection result from the general-purpose input/output terminal (GIPO) when the inspection is completed (step 06TKS0030). When an inspection device is connected to the general purpose input/output terminal (GIPO) of the peripheral control board 1510, the received inspection result is displayed on the inspection device.

[32-3a-2. R/W test]
FIG. 473 is a flow chart showing the procedure of inspection processing (R/W test) of the external RAM (05TKK0020) in the peripheral control program.

The CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 executes the inspection program for executing the R/W test (step 06TKS0110). The R/W test can execute three types of inspection depending on the value to be written. The value written in R/W test 1 (“0x55aa55aa”) and the value written in R/W test 2 (“0xaa55aa55”) are bit-inverted values when one value is the other value in binary notation. Therefore, by executing both tests, values of "0" and "1" can be written in all areas, and inspection accuracy can be improved. R/W test 3 is a test that writes a 2-byte random value, and is more accurate than performing only one of R/W test 1 or R/W test 2. The inspection can be completed in half the time compared to performing both tests of Test 2.

Finally, the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 outputs the inspection result from the general-purpose input/output terminal (GIPO) after completing the inspection (step 06TKS0120). When an inspection device is connected to the general purpose input/output terminal (GIPO) of the peripheral control board 1510, the received inspection result is displayed on the inspection device in the same manner as the glitch margin check. Note that the processing of step 06TKS0120 is the same processing as step 06TKS0030 of the flowchart shown in FIG.

The execution of the inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) at power-on has been described above, but the R/W test and glitch margin check may be performed at the end of the power-on process. Even if a part of the storage area of the external RAM (05TKK0020) is defective, the power-on process can be continued by writing data to another area, so it is possible to perform the inspection at the end. Further, when a fatal failure occurs in the external RAM (05TKK0020), the power-on processing cannot be completed without inspection, so subsequent processing (starting up of the game machine) is aborted. It is possible to reduce the possibility of failure occurring in the game machine during the game by detecting the defect before the start of the game by performing the inspection at the end of the power-on process.

[32-3b. Inspection after completion of power-on processing]
Next, the case where the external RAM (05TKK0020) is inspected after the power is turned on will be described. The inspection process shown in FIGS. 472 and 473 is called from the power-on process, and the inspection is completed before the game starts. Here, the processing for executing the inspection after the initialization of various devices of the gaming machine is completed after the power is turned on will be described.

FIG. 474 is a flow chart showing the procedure of inspection processing (glitch margin check and R/W test) of the external RAM (05TKK0020) executed after power-on. This process is included in the peripheral control program and is configured to be able to execute both the glitch margin check and the R/W test.

As for the timing of executing this process, it may be periodically executed by a timer interrupt process or the like, or may be executed when a predetermined search condition is satisfied. Further, in the case where the inspection is executed in the power-on process described above, if the inspection is executed at the end of the power-on process, this process may be called at the end of the power-on process.

Also, when executing this process, as described above, when the gaming machine is powered on, that is, when the power is turned on, the inspection process (FIGS. 472 and 473) need not be performed. Conversely, if the inspection process is to be executed in the power-on process, this process need not be executed (implemented). Also, these inspection processes do not always need to be executed when the power is turned on. For example, they may be executed only when the inspection apparatus is connected, or they may be executed only once a month (for example, at the beginning of the month). You may do so.

The CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 first determines whether or not the inspection execution condition is satisfied (step 06TKS0210). The inspection execution conditions are, for example, when a predetermined time has elapsed after shifting to the customer waiting state and when an inspection command has been received, when the peripheral control board 1510 is connected to the inspection apparatus, when power is turned on. In some cases, an inspection is executed at the end. In addition, when the effect of the game is being executed, for example, when the effect symbol is displayed in a variable manner, the inspection is not executed and the search execution condition is not established.

The CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511, when the inspection execution condition is not satisfied (the result of step 06TKS0210 is "NO"), further determines whether or not the inspection is being executed (step 06TKS0270). If the inspection is not being executed (result of step 06TKS0270 is "NO"), this process is terminated. On the other hand, if the test is being executed (the result of step 06TKS0270 is "YES"), it is determined whether or not to stop the test being executed (step 06TKS0280). A case where the test execution condition is not established during execution of the test is, for example, a case where the peripheral control board 1510 receives a command (game command) for starting or continuing a game during execution of the test.

If the test being executed is to be stopped (the result of step 06TKS0280 is "YES"), the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 stops the test being executed (step 06TKS0290), and then ends this processing. . This case corresponds to a case where the peripheral control board 1510 receives a command (game command) for starting or continuing a game during execution of a test. By configuring in this way, it is possible to prioritize the continuation of the game without interrupting the game. Even if a part of the storage area is defective, if the external RAM (05TKK0020) can be used, the game can be continued without interruption, thereby suppressing the loss of interest in the game.

On the other hand, if the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 does not stop the examination being executed (the result of step 06TKS0280 is "NO"), the examination is continued as it is, and this processing ends.

Whether or not to stop the inspection is determined based on factors such as the type of inspection being executed and the cause of cancellation of the inspection execution condition. For example, as described above, when a game command (command for effect) is received, inspection is stopped, and effect control based on the received command is executed. On the other hand, if a command other than a game command (command for effect) is received, the inspection may be continued. Further, when continuing the inspection, reception of the command may be ignored until the inspection is completed, or processing based on the received command may be executed after the inspection is completed.

The CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 selects the means (computing means) for executing the inspection when the inspection execution condition is satisfied (the result of step 06TKS0210 is "YES") (step 06TKS0220). If the means for executing the inspection is the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 (the result of step 06TKS0220 is "CPU"), the program corresponding to the specified inspection is executed (step 06TKS0230). The designation of the examination may, for example, correspond to a received examination command, or may be based on a pre-defined list of examinations to be performed. This corresponds to executing the R/W test described above.

On the other hand, when the means for executing inspection is VDP (04TKK0060) (the result of step 06TKS0220 is "VDP"), CPU (04TKK0011) of peripheral control unit 1511 performs VDP ( 04TKK0060), various registers are set in the inspection register (step 06TKS0240). Note that the processing of step 06TKS0240 is the same as the processing of step 06TKS0010 in FIG. 472, and the description thereof is omitted. Designation of the inspection is the same as in the case of executing the inspection by the inspection program.

Next, the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 instructs the VDP (04TKK0060) to perform inspection (step 06TKS0250). Note that the processing of step 06TKS0250 is the same as the processing of step 06TKS0020 in FIG. 472, and the description thereof is omitted.

Finally, the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 outputs the inspection result from the general-purpose input/output terminal (GIPO) after completing the inspection (step 06TKS0030). The inspection result is output by the same processing as step 06TKS0030 in FIG.

It should be noted that the CPU (04TKK0011) of the peripheral control unit 1511 does not refuse (suppress) reception of game commands from the main control board 1310 even if the inspection result of the external RAM (05TKK0020) indicates an abnormality. Processing based on the received game command is executed, and control of various effect devices is continued. This is because the game can be continued even if there is a defect (abnormality) in a part of the external RAM (05TKK0020), and the external RAM (05TKK0020) is used for effect control and gives a game value. This is because it is not used in the related control, so that it is possible to suppress the decrease in interest due to the interruption of the game. If the inspection is being performed based on the inspection command sent from the inspection device, the operation (use) of the gaming machine should be stopped because the game is not being continued.

[32-3c. Modified example of inspection after power-on processing is completed]
The case where the inspection is executed after the power-on process is completed has been described above. If a test such as the R/W test that writes a predetermined value to the entire storage area of the external RAM (05TKK0020) is executed during a game, the data stored in the external RAM (05TKK0020) will be destroyed. Therefore, even if the production command is received after the start of inspection, normal production control cannot be executed.

Therefore, when the inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) is started, reception of the effect command may be stopped. For example, when the test execution condition is satisfied (the result of step 06TKS0210 is "YES"), the acceptance of the effect command is stopped. After the inspection is started, every time an inspection command is received, the corresponding inspection is executed, and the inspection result is notified to the outside of the peripheral control board 1510 via the communication port, and during this time, the production command is not accepted.

Furthermore, after the inspection is completed, the data stored in the external RAM (05TKK0020) is destroyed, so the gaming machine is turned on again to restart the gaming machine and then restart the game.

Further, after the gaming machine is powered on again and the game is started, that is, during the execution of the game, the inspection command may not be accepted (not received). That is, the inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) may be executed only after the power is turned on and before the game is started. In other words, when the first command received by the peripheral control board 1510 after the power is turned on is a test command, or when the command received before receiving the command indicating the start of the game includes the test command, the test is executed. . By configuring in this way, it is possible to suppress the decrease in interest in the game due to the execution of the test during the game and the interruption of the game.

In addition, when the reception of the effect command is stopped after the inspection is started, the game effect cannot be started unless conditions such as turning on the power of the game machine and executing the initialization of the peripheral control board 1510 are satisfied. It may be set so that it cannot be performed (the suspension of acceptance of production commands is not canceled). By configuring in this way, it is possible to prevent the performance from being executed based on the performance data destroyed by the inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020).

In addition to specific tests such as the R/W test and glitch margin check, the tests performed by the peripheral control board 1510 include data stored in a temporary storage means such as an external RAM (05TKK0020) that is not destroyed. Also included is a test that allows data to be maintained in the game, that is, a test that allows the game to be resumed after execution of the test (third test means). Such an inspection includes, for example, a display check of the liquid crystal display device 1600 and a connection check of the effect data ROM (05TKK0070).

If the data stored in the temporary storage means such as the external RAM (05TKK0020) is not destroyed even if the inspection is executed, the inspection may be executed after the game starts. In addition, for a test that allows the game to be restarted after the game is finished even if the test is executed after the start of the game, it may be possible to start the game after the test is finished even if the conditions such as turning on the power of the gaming machine are not satisfied. That is, depending on the type of test, conditions such as whether or not the test can be executed after the start of the game, whether the game can be started after the test ends, or the like may be set. With this configuration, the predetermined inspection can be executed during the game, so that the gaming machine can be stably operated while reducing the time for stopping the gaming machine due to the inspection.

[32-3d. others]
If the power supply to the peripheral control board 1510 is interrupted while the external RAM (05TKK0020) is being inspected, the inspection is interrupted. At this time, even if the power is turned on again, the interrupted examination is not restarted and is stopped as it is. This is because controlling the progress of the inspection complicates the control, and if necessary, the inspection can be executed from the beginning.

Also, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, execution of the glitch margin check and R/W test ends in a short time, but the inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) takes longer as the storage capacity increases. Therefore, it is conceivable to divide the inspection of the external RAM (05TKK0020) by area or storage element (memory device), and to perform the inspection for each divided area as needed. At this time, when all areas are inspected, it is possible to manage the progress of the inspection by managing the inspected areas. In the game machine in which the progress of the inspection is managed in this way, when the power of the game machine is turned off and then turned on again, in the case of a hot start, the inspection before the power interruption is continuously executed. . On the other hand, in the case of a cold start, since the progress of the inspection is not kept, the execution of the inspection is stopped as it is. By configuring in this way, even when executing a long-term test, it is possible to continue the test when the power is turned on again.

[33. Illegal Prize Winning Detection in Gaming Machines Capable of Generating Multiple Types of Hits]
[33-1. Game Overview]
In the gaming machine described so far, when the special lottery is won, a special game state is generated in which the big winning opening is opened for a predetermined period of time. In the special game state, the game is played by repeating for a predetermined number of times (predetermined rounds) a closed state in which the game ball cannot be received when a predetermined condition is satisfied after the large winning opening becomes an open state in which the game ball can be received. It gave a game value to the person. This predetermined condition is, for example, when a predetermined number of game balls enter the big winning opening, or when a predetermined time elapses after the big winning opening is opened.

On the other hand, in the gaming machine described below, in the special game state that occurs after winning the special lottery, a win occurs in which the big winning hole is opened for receiving a game ball for only one round. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, at least two types of such wins (special game state) occur based on the result of the special lottery. FIG. 475 is a diagram for explaining types of hits in the gaming machine of this embodiment.

The first winning is set so that the winning probability of the special lottery becomes high after the end of the special game state (first special game state), and is controlled so that the first winning is likely to occur continuously. For example, the probability of winning the first prize is set to a high probability until the special lottery is executed 20 times.

In addition, the number of times the first win can be won in succession is set in advance, and when the first win is won four times in a row, the next winning probability after the end of the special game state is set to return to the normal probability. . Therefore, the number of consecutive wins for the first win is stored in a storage area provided by the main control RAM 1312 .

Further, when the special lottery is not won for a predetermined number of times in succession after winning the first prize, it is not regarded as consecutive winning, and the number of consecutive winnings for the first prize is cleared. Moreover, even when a predetermined period of time has elapsed after winning the first prize, it may not be regarded as continuous winning.

On the other hand, for the second win, the winning probability of the special lottery is set to the normal winning probability after the special game state (second special game state) ends. In addition, although the second win basically does not occur continuously and becomes a single win, it may be set so that the winning probability of the second win is increased by a lottery or the like. It should be noted that it is not necessary to store the number of consecutive wins for the second win.

Also, in the first win, the amount of game value (the number of prize balls) given in one special game state is not large, but the special game state can occur continuously, so as a result, the amount of the game value is larger than that in the second win. A game value (a prize ball) is given. In the example shown in FIG. 475, when the first win is won four times in a row, the prize balls correspond to 2×4=8 winning balls, while the second win corresponds to six winning balls. become a ball. It should be noted that the number of fraudulent winning determinations and the number of consecutive wins shown in FIG. 475 are examples, and are not limited to these values.

Furthermore, in either case of the first win or the second win, when game balls enter the big winning hole exceeding the predetermined number of possible entering balls, it is judged as an illegal winning. Since the opening time of one big winning hole is short for the first winning, it is determined by the total number of winnings when four (upper limit) consecutive first winnings occur. On the other hand, the second win is determined by the total number of winnings in one winning. The procedure for judging fraudulent winning of each hit will be described later.

When the first win is won, the probability of winning the first win is set so that the possibility of the first win occurring in succession is high. The possibility of winning the prize is not excluded. After winning the first win, if the second win is won before the upper limit number of times (4 times) of the first win occurs, the first win will be won even if the special game state due to the second win ends. The winning probability is not high.

In addition, even if the game ball enters either the first start port 2002 or the second start port 2004, it is possible to win both the first hit and the second hit. In addition, the winning probability for each hit may be varied according to the start hole into which the game ball enters.

The third win may be a hit in which the opening of the big prize hole is repeated a predetermined number of times (rounds) like the conventional big win, or the second win may be the big win like the conventional big win. The opening may be repeated a predetermined number of times (rounds).

Also, both the first win and the second win may be multi-round jackpots. At this time, the number of rounds for the first win is set smaller than that for the second win. As a result, it is possible to improve the determination system of fraudulent prize winning by grouping together a plurality of wins in a small number of rounds.

Furthermore, it is not necessary to set the winning probability to a high probability after the first win. For example, the winning probability of the first win is originally set higher than the winning probability of the second win, and it is conceivable that the first wins are likely to be won in succession. Also, even if the winning probability after the first win is in a normal state, the winning probability per unit time may be increased by setting a time-saving state in which the variation time of the special symbol is shortened. At this time, the number of fluctuations that are regarded as consecutive wins may be set higher than normal.

Further, the same big prize opening may be opened and closed for the first win and the second win, or separate big prize openings may be opened and closed.

[33-2. hit judgment]
Next, a special lottery method (hit determination method) in the gaming machine of the present embodiment will be described. The lottery method of the special lottery generates random numbers within a predetermined range, and determines a win when the value of the generated random number matches a preset win value, as in the conventional method. Note that the hit value may be set as a range, and in this case, if the generated random number value is included in the hit range, it is determined as a hit.

476A and 476B are diagrams for explaining the hit determination random numbers in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, in which pattern 1 is shown in FIG.

In pattern 1 shown in (A), corresponding ranges are set for misses, first hits, and second hits. Then, a lottery result corresponding to a range including the value of the generated random number for winning judgment is obtained. As a result, it is possible to specify even the type of win with one random number, and the processing and data relating to determination can be simplified.

In pattern 1 shown in (B), a two-stage lottery is performed. First, random numbers for winning determination are generated to determine winning or losing. Furthermore, when it is determined as a win, a random number for a win type is generated, and the type of win is determined. By making a stepwise determination in this way, it is possible to set the hit type (type of hit) in detail. In addition, as compared with the pattern (A), it is possible to separate the hit determination and the hit type determination, and set the respective ranges individually, so that data management can be facilitated.

Incidentally, when the first hit and the second hit are common regardless of the starting hole where the game ball has won, the hit determination is executed by common processing including the hit determination value. On the other hand, when the probability of winning the first win and the second win are different for each start hole where the game ball has won, the hit determination value may be defined for each start hole.

[33-3. Judgment of Unfair Winning]
[33-3a. overview]
When the special lottery is won and the state shifts to the special game state, the number of game balls that can be accepted while the large winning opening is in an open state is predetermined, and the number of winning game balls exceeds the predetermined number. When it exceeds, the big winning opening shifts to a closed state. At this time, since there is a time lag between when the predetermined number is reached and when the big winning port shifts to the closed state, it is permissible for the number of winning game balls to exceed the predetermined number, but the number of winning game balls greatly exceeds the predetermined number. If it exceeds , it will be judged as illegal winning.

However, in the first hit in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, since the game value (prize ball) is obtained by continuously opening the big winning hole for a relatively short time, each hit Determining fraudulent winning may reduce the accuracy of fraud detection.

Therefore, in the first winning that occurs continuously, fraudulent winning is determined based on the total number of winnings until the end of the continuous winning. For example, the number of consecutive occurrences of the first hit is multiplied by the possible number of hits for one hit to calculate the threshold value for fraud determination. Then, the threshold value calculated when the continuous winning ends is compared with the number of winnings counted in a series of continuous big winnings to determine fraudulent winning. In addition, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, when the number of consecutive wins for the first win reaches the upper limit value (4 times), the total number of wins is compared with the fraud determination value to determine fraudulent winning.

In the case of the second hit, as in the conventional case, when a predetermined number or more of game balls enter the big winning hole, it is determined as an illegal winning.

[33-3b. Fraud Detection Processing]
Next, the process of judging fraudulent winning will be described. Determination of fraudulent winning is executed in fraud detection processing (step 01TKS0060 in FIG. 354) of playable time processing (FIG. 354) of timer interrupt processing (FIG. 329). The fraud detection process will be described below.

FIG. 477 is a flow chart showing the procedure of fraud detection processing in the gaming machine of this embodiment. The fraudulent action detection process detects fraudulent prize winning to a large winning prize opening or a start winning prize opening, or detects fraudulent magnetism.

Specifically, the main control MPU 1311 first executes a fraudulent winning opening detection process (step 07TKS0010). In the large winning opening fraudulent detection process, fraudulent winning of a large winning opening is detected. Details of the fraudulent prize winning opening detection process will be described later with reference to FIG. 478 .

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes magnetic fraud detection processing (step 07TKS0020). In the magnetic fraud detection process, when a detection signal from the magnetism detection switch 3024 for detecting fraud using a magnet is input to the main control MPU 1311, a number corresponding to the game stop due to magnetism detection is set as the game stop factor number. and stop playing.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes normal electric accessary product fraud detection processing (step 07TKS0030). In the ordinary electric accessory fraudulent detection process, an unauthorized operation of the ordinary electric accessory is detected. For example, the game ball is not accepted in the second start port 2004, that is, the second start port door member 2549 is not in an open state, but the game ball enters the second start port 2004 and so on. When fraud is detected, by executing fraud notification setting processing, the normal electric accessory winning abnormal command is stored in the command buffer, and a signal notifying fraud is output to the outside (hall computer).

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 executes hardware error detection processing (step 07TKS0040). In the hardware error detection process, for example, an abnormality in the hardware random number generation circuit is detected. If an abnormality is detected, a hard error command is stored in the command buffer. In this case, since it is considered as a hardware failure, it is not necessary to output a signal for notifying fraud to the outside (hall computer) because it is distinguished from fraud. Also, a signal different from the signal output upon detection of fraud may be output to the outside.

[33-3c. Large winning mouth fraud detection process]
Next, the processing for detecting fraudulent prize winning openings will be described. FIG. 478 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the big winning hole fraud detection process in the gaming machine of this embodiment.

The main control MPU 1311 first determines whether or not the special lottery has been won and the game state has shifted to a winning state (special game state) (step 07TKS0110). This is because the game state must be in a winning state (special game state) in order for the game ball to be able to win by opening the big winning hole. If it is not a winning state (the result of step 07TKS0110 is "No"), the game ball cannot enter the big winning hole, so this processing is terminated without checking for illegal winning. In addition, if the game ball enters the big winning hole in spite of the fact that the game ball cannot enter the big winning hole unless it is in a winning state, the game ball enters the big winning hole because it is obviously an illegal winning. is only checked, and if a ball entry is detected, it may be processed as an illegal winning.

The main control MPU 1311 determines the type of winning when the game state is the winning state (the result of step 07TKS0110 is "Yes") (step 07TKS0120). As described above, the gaming machine of the present embodiment has two types of wins, and since the method of determining fraudulent winning differs depending on the type of win, settings necessary for each determination are made.

The main control MPU 1311 acquires the number of consecutive wins of the first win when the type of win is the first win (the result of step 07TKS0120 is "first win") (step 07TKS0130). As described above, the first win is a succession of wins with relatively few prize balls, and the determination of fraudulent winning is not based on a single hit, but on a series of first hits up to a predetermined upper limit. When it occurs (won a special lottery), fraud is detected by comparing the total number of winnings to the big winning opening with the fraud judgment value.

After obtaining the number of consecutive wins for the first win, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the number of consecutive wins for the first win has reached the upper limit (step 07TKS0140). If the number of consecutive wins for the first win has not reached the upper limit (result of step 07TKS0140 is "No"), this process is terminated. In addition, even if the number of consecutive wins for the first win does not reach the upper limit, the fraud judgment value corresponding to the number of consecutive wins at the time of judgment is defined or calculated, and compared with the total number of wins. fraud detection may be performed.

The main control MPU 1311, when the number of consecutive wins for the first win reaches the upper limit (result of step 07TKS0140 is "Yes"), sets the fraud judgment condition for the first win (step 07TKS0150). The condition for judging that the first win is fraudulent is that the total number of prizes won in the big winning opening after the start of consecutive winning of the first win is greater than a predetermined fraud judgment value. Setting the fraud determination condition means setting the first determination value as the fraud determination value.

In addition, when the number of consecutive winnings of the first win does not reach the upper limit value and the fraud detection of the big winning port is performed, for example, when the first win continues for more than half of the upper limit value, the fraud of the big winning port is detected. detect. At this time, the fraud judgment value may be set to the same value (first judgment value) as in the case where the number of consecutive wins is the upper limit value, or may be changed according to the number of consecutive wins. By using a common fraud determination value, the area for storing the determination value can be reduced, and the procedure for setting the value can be omitted, thereby simplifying the processing. On the other hand, by setting the fraud determination value in accordance with the number of consecutive wins, it becomes possible to perform a more accurate determination.

On the other hand, if the type of win is the second win (the result of step 07TKS0120 is "second win"), the main control MPU 1311 sets the fraud judgment conditions for the second win (step 07TKS0160). The second win is determined based on the total number of winnings to the big winning openings in one winning. The condition for judging that the second win is fraudulent is that the total number of game balls that have entered the big winning opening after the special game state due to the second win is started is larger than a predetermined fraud judgment value, and fraud judgment. The value is set to the second judgment value. By setting the upper limit value of the number of consecutive wins for the second win to 1, the first win and the processing may be shared.

When the judgment value corresponding to the type of win is set as the fraud judgment value, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the total number of winnings to the big winning opening (step 07TKS0170). The total number of prizes won into the big winning opening is counted in another process, for example, the big winning opening opening process. In addition, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the counter for storing the total winning number is shared between the first win and the second win. As a result, when the second win occurs while the continuous winning of the first win continues, the total number of wins in the first win is cleared, and the processing for initialization can be omitted, thereby simplifying the processing. be able to. Also, by using a common counter, it is possible to share the processing of acquiring the total winning number corresponding to the win. Note that the counter for storing the total winning number may be different between the first win and the second win.

When the main control MPU 1311 acquires the total number of winnings to the big winning opening, it compares the total number of winnings with the judgment value set in the process of step 07TKS0150 or step 07TKS0160 (step 07TKS0170). If the total number of prizes won is greater than the judgment value (the result of step 07TKS0180 is "No"), it is not an illegal prize, so this process is terminated.

On the other hand, when the total winning number is equal to or less than the judgment value (the result of step 07TKS0180 is "Yes"), the main control MPU 1311 judges that it is an illegal winning and issues an illegal winning command indicating illegal winning (step 07TKS0190). In the processing of step 07TKS0190, the illegal winning command is a common command, but the command may be distinguished between the illegal winning of the first winning and the illegal winning of the second winning. As a result, it is possible to distinguish the mode of fraud notification according to the type of win, and to specify in more detail the circumstances in which the fraudulent act was performed.

Further, a fraudulent notification setting process for reporting fraudulent winning is executed (step 07TKS0200). The fraud notification setting process will be described with reference to FIG.

When the fraud notification setting process is completed, the main control MPU 1311 initializes the total number of winnings to the big winning opening and the number of consecutive wins for the first prize (step 07TKS0210), and ends this process. It should be noted that the values of the total number of winnings to the big winning opening and the number of consecutive winning times for the first winning may be initialized at the timing of starting the special game state when the special lottery is won. In this case, it is determined whether or not the first win is being continuously won, and if it is not being continuously won, the game is initialized. In the case of the second win, it may be initialized each time the second win is won. In addition, the timing for initializing the total number of winnings to the big winning slot and the number of consecutive wins for the first win may be at the time of winning the second win or at the end of the special game state due to the second win. good too. By constructing in this way, it is not necessary to determine whether or not the first win is continuously won when the first win is won, and to initialize the number of successive wins, so that the processing can be simplified.

In addition, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the counter for the number of total winnings has an initial value of 0, and is added each time a game ball wins. However, the initial value of the counter may be initially set as a fraud determination value, subtracted each time a game ball wins, and determined to be fraud when it reaches 0 (calculation result is negative).

[33-3d. Fraud notification setting process]
Next, the fraud notification setting process will be described. FIG. 479 is a flow chart showing the procedure of fraud notification setting processing in the gaming machine of this embodiment. In addition, the fraud notification setting process can be used not only in the big winning mouth fraud detection process, but also when other fraud is detected. is also executed.

The main control MPU 1311 first stores the command indicating that fraud has been detected issued when calling the fraud notification setting process from a predetermined register (HL register) in the transmission buffer (step 07TKS0310). By storing the command to be transmitted in a predetermined register in the process of calling the fraud notification setting process, general-purpose processing can be achieved. Then, based on the transmitted command, the peripheral control board 1510 performs warning display on a display device such as a liquid crystal, lighting or blinking of the decorative lamp of the game board or frame, output of voice, sound effect, warning sound, etc. do.

Further, the main control MPU 1311 outputs a signal indicating illegality to the outside (hall computer) via the external terminal board 784 (step 07TKS0310). The gaming machine of this embodiment outputs a common signal (security signal) indicating that fraud has been detected. As a result, it becomes possible to share the processing as the fraudulent notification setting processing, and to simplify the control. Instead of using the generalized fraud notification setting process, a command may be set and a signal may be output in each fraud detection process. By configuring in this way, it is possible to transmit a command and output a signal according to the type of fraud.

The signal indicating fraud (external output signal) may be output for a predetermined period after determination of fraud, or may continue to be output until the RAM clear switch is operated. Further, in the case where the game is configured to stop when fraud is detected, the output may be continued until the power of the gaming machine is turned on again.

In the above, the processing for detecting fraudulent winning to the big winning opening has been described. It should be noted that in the flowchart of the fraud detection processing for the large winning opening shown in FIG. It is also possible to count the number of excess winning prizes (the upper limit of the number of winning prizes) and determine fraudulent winning based on the number of excess winning prizes.

[33-4. Timing chart]
[33-4a. Illegal Winning Judgment for the First Hit]
Next, a case in which fraudulent winning into the big winning slot is detected will be described in chronological order. FIG. 480 is a diagram showing a timing chart when winning the first prize in the gaming machine of this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 480, when the first hit occurs four times (upper limit) in succession and 10 or more game balls enter, it is determined that the game is illegally won. In addition, the numerical information and time values shown in the timing chart are examples, and are not limited to these values. can be a value.

First, at time t11, the first win is won for the first time, the big winning opening is opened for a predetermined period, and the winning of game balls becomes possible. Then, at times t12 and t13, entry of a game ball into the big winning opening is detected by the big winning opening switch (SW). Further, at time t14, the second first win is won, and similarly, the third first win occurs at time t15, and the fourth first win occurs at time t16. A game ball enters the special game state by each first hit, a prize ball command is transmitted to the payout control board 951, and a predetermined number of prize balls are paid out for each win (game value is given). ).

At time t17, the total number of winnings from the start of continuous winning reaches the fraud determination value (=10), and the security signal (external output signal) starts to be output. At this time, a fraudulent notification command is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510, and fraudulent notification is performed by warning display by the performance display device 1600, output of warning sound from the speaker, lighting of a lamp, and the like. If it is determined to be unfair, the prize ball command is not transmitted and the prize balls are not paid out.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, there is a possibility that the second win will be won before the number of consecutive wins for the first win reaches the upper limit. FIG. 481 is a diagram showing a timing chart when the second win is won before the number of consecutive wins for the first win reaches the upper limit in the gaming machine of this embodiment.

After winning the 1st win at time t21, if the 2nd win is won in spite of the high probability of winning the 1st win (time t22), the number of consecutive wins and the total number of winnings of the 1st win are cleared. be done. Also, the special game state due to the second win continues until time t23. At this time, the area for storing the cleared total number of prizes won is used for counting the second wins, and determination of fraudulent prizes for the second wins is also performed. In this way, the memory capacity can be reduced by sharing the area for storing the total winning number regardless of the type of win. A timing chart for determination of fraudulent prize winning for the second win will be described later with reference to FIG. 482 .

When the first win is won at time t24, a special game state is started in a state in which the number of consecutive winnings has been cleared. Specifically, although the number of consecutive wins was 1 at time t22, the number of consecutive wins for the first win is cleared by winning the second win. After that, at time t25, the winning number is the second in a row, and the first win is won. Similarly, the third first win is won at time t26, and the fourth first win is won at time t27.

At time t28, the number of consecutive wins reaches the upper limit of 4 times, and the total number of prizes won since the start of consecutive wins reaches the fraud determination value (=10). At this time, as described at time t17 in FIG. 480, the output of the security signal (external output signal) is started and the fraud notification command is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 to notify the fraud.

As described above, in the gaming machine according to the present embodiment, when the opening time of the big winning opening is short and a win that can be won continuously occurs, such as the first win, a series of consecutive wins are performed. Illegal winning is determined by the total number of winnings until the game ends. If the opening time of the big prize opening is short, it is impossible to win a prize that greatly exceeds the prescribed number. There is a risk of hindering the provision of Therefore, as in the present embodiment, by collectively determining fraudulent winning in a series of consecutive winnings, it is possible to improve the determination accuracy of fraudulent winning, and it is possible to suppress frequent stoppages of the game. can.

[33-4b. Unfair Winning Judgment for Second Hit]
In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, even when the second win is won, determination of fraudulent winning is also performed. As described above, the first win is judged to be fraudulent by the total number of prizes won during consecutive winnings, but the fraud is judged by the total number of prizes won in one win for the second win.

FIG. 482 is a diagram showing a timing chart when the second win is won in the gaming machine of this embodiment. As described above, the fraudulent winning of the second prize is determined for each winning.

At time t31, when the second hit is won, the big winning opening is opened and the entry of game balls becomes possible. After that, the game ball enters the big winning hole (time t32), and the game is continued. In this example, the number of possible entries (the upper limit of the total winning number) is 6, and the opening of the big winning opening (second win) ends when 6 game balls enter (time t33).

Even after the number of game balls entering the big winning hole reaches the number of possible balls, a time lag occurs until the big winning hole is actually closed. Therefore, even if the number of game balls entered into the big winning hole exceeds the number of allowed balls, it is permitted up to a predetermined number. Taking the second win of the gaming machine of this embodiment as an example, as shown in FIG. While the possible number of hits is 6, 7 or 8 hits are allowed, and 9 hits are determined to be illegal.

At time t34, when the ninth ball that reaches the fraud determination value is detected by the big winning hole SW, output of a security signal (external output signal) is started, and a fraud notification command is sent to the peripheral control board 1510. Unauthorized reporting is performed by transmitting.

[33-5. Response to power failure]
In the gaming machine described above, the counter for storing the total number of wins and the number of consecutive wins for the first prize is a storage area provided by the main control RAM 1312 in which the contents are retained in the event of a power failure (backup possible area). placed in Therefore, the value of the counter is maintained even when the power is cut off, but is initialized regardless of the value of the counter when a predetermined condition is satisfied. That is, the counter value is cleared to 0 or set to an initial value (unauthorized determination value). The predetermined conditions are, for example, when the RAM clear switch 954 is operated, when an error (such as a RAM error) that makes it impossible to return to the game occurs, when a setting is changed, and when the game cannot be continued. be.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, even when the power supply of the gaming machine is cut off, the value of the counter for judging fraudulent winning is retained. can be done. As a result, it is possible to prevent the counter from being initialized due to an unauthorized power interruption, thereby avoiding the detection of fraudulent activity.

[33-6. Modification (simultaneous variation of special design 1 and special design 2)]
[33-6a. Application to gaming machines that enable simultaneous variation of multiple types of special symbols]
In the above-described example, when the game ball wins both the first start port 2002 and the second start port 2004, only one of the special symbol 1 or the special symbol 2 is variably displayed. It is configured such that the symbol variation of the special symbol (special symbol 1 or special symbol 2) corresponding to the winning starting port is executed. On the other hand, in the example shown below, when the game ball wins both the first starting port 2002 and the second starting port 2004, the symbol variation of each special symbol (special symbol 1 and special symbol 2) is executed at the same time It is possible.

When the special symbol 1 and the special symbol 2 are variably displayed at the same time, both special symbols are variably displayed on the function display unit 1400. - 特許庁Further, the effect display device 1600 can display any effect pattern (decorative pattern), but the main effect pattern is displayed so as to be easily visually recognized. For example, in addition to the 1st to 3rd patterns, which are the production patterns, the 4th pattern is displayed at an inconspicuous position on the display screen of the production display device 1600, and the main special patterns are the 1st to 3rd patterns. And the fourth design are displayed, and only the fourth design is displayed for the other special design.

Also, when the special pattern 1 and the special pattern 2 are fluctuating at the same time, if a hit occurs in one pattern, the other pattern is forcibly lost and stopped, or the fluctuation display of the pattern is interrupted. After the end of the special game state corresponding to the winning special symbol, the variable display of the symbol is resumed so as not to generate a win at the same time.

A description will be given of an example in which the above-described game for generating the first and second wins is carried out by a gaming machine capable of simultaneously varying two types of special symbols. For example, when the first hit occurs in the special symbol 1 symbol variation while the simultaneous variation is being executed, the special symbol 2 symbol variation is interrupted. Then, when the special game state by the first hit ends, the pattern variation of the special pattern 2 is restarted. At this time, even if the first win occurs due to the symbol variation of the special symbol 2, the continuous winning of the first win is continued. In this way, it is determined whether or not continuous winning is continued depending on the type of hit generated regardless of the starting hole in which the game ball has won.

Further, when the special symbol 1 and the special symbol 2 are fluctuating simultaneously, when a hit occurs due to the symbol variation of one special symbol, instead of stopping or interrupting the other symbol variation as described above, The variable time may be extended. Furthermore, the behavior of the other symbol variation may be changed depending on whether the hit that occurred is the first hit or the second hit. Also, the variation time of each special symbol may be changed according to the game state.

[33-6b. Change of behavior of symbol fluctuation based on game state and result of fluctuation display]
Here, the behavior of the symbol variation is made according to the game state, and when the variation display of the other special symbol is started or stopped during the variation display of one special symbol, depending on the result of the variation display (hit/miss) An example of changing the behavior of the other symbol variation will be described.

The starting port for starting the variable display of the special symbol 1 is arranged in the area on the left side of the game area, and the starting port for starting the variable display of the special symbol 2 is arranged in the area on the right side of the game area. In the normal game state, the special symbol 1 performs symbol variation in a normal variation time, while the special symbol 2 performs symbol variation in a special variation time (for example, a long variation time of several minutes or more). In such a game machine, if the player is not aiming at the area on the left side of the game area in the normal game state, the possibility of a hit will be extremely low.

As a result of the pattern variation of the special pattern 1, when a hit occurs and the game state changes, the variation time of the special pattern 2 is changed to the normal variation time. This allows the player to aim at the area on the right side of the game area. At this time, an opening/closing member (for example, a second starting opening door member 2549) is provided so that the winning frequency of the starting opening (second starting opening 2004) that starts the variable display of the special symbol 2 is increased, and this opening/closing member is opened. By doing so, the player may be made to aim at the start opening for starting the variable display of the special symbol 2.例文帳に追加

In addition, it is possible to continue aiming at the area on the left side even after a win has occurred due to the symbol variation of the special symbol 1. For example, the player may be made to aim at the left area by setting a long variation time of several minutes or longer.

Further, when the game state is changed so as to set the winning probability of the first win higher due to the occurrence of the win due to the pattern variation of the special symbol 1, the first win is continuously performed until the second win occurs. Hits are more likely to occur. With this configuration, while the first win is continuously won, the fraudulent win is determined by the total number of wins until the number of consecutive wins reaches the upper limit. As a result, if the number of possible wins per first win is small, it is possible to make a determination with higher accuracy than the determination of dishonesty for each win.

When the number of consecutive wins for the first win reaches the upper limit, or when the second win is won, the normal game state is restored and the player again aims at the area on the right side of the game area. The second win includes the win to return to the normal game state after the end of the special game state, and the win to continue the game state in which the number of consecutive wins of the first win is cleared and the winning probability of the first win is set high. You can also try to In addition, when the special game state by the second win ends or when the number of consecutive wins for the first win reaches the upper limit, it is determined whether or not to restart the game state in which the probability of winning the first win is set high. A lottery for determination may be executed, and if the winning is won, the game may be continued in a game state in which the probability of winning the first win is set high.

Furthermore, when the second win is won, a game state may be generated in which the winning probability of the first win is set high. At this time, the winning probability of the first win may be set high only when the second win is won.

Also, the winning probability of the first win may be fixed at a high probability, and the winning may be possible only with the special symbol 2 by the symbol variation. In the normal game state, since the variation time of the special symbol 2 is a special variation time, it is difficult to win the first prize. Therefore, first, a game is played for the purpose of winning the second win with the special symbol 1, and the second win is won with the symbol variation of the special symbol 1.例文帳に追加As a result, when the special pattern 2 reaches the normal fluctuation time, the player aims at the second starting port 2004 to start the pattern fluctuation of the special pattern 2, and the first hit can be generated. After that, the game value (prize ball) provided by the continuous winning of the first win is increased until the second win occurs due to the pattern variation of the special symbol 2 or the number of winning times of the first win reaches a predetermined number. can be done.

In this way, by making it possible to win the first prize by the pattern variation of the special pattern 2 only when the second prize is won by the pattern variation of the special pattern 1, the continuous winning of the first prize is won by the second prize. After that, it will start. In addition, the number of consecutive wins for the first win is initialized at the timing when the first win first occurs due to the pattern variation of the special pattern 2 after the win for the second win, and fraudulent winning in the consecutive wins for the first win is performed. is also started at this timing. In this way, by clarifying the execution condition of the control for determining fraudulent winning (when the first hit occurs in the special pattern 2 pattern variation after the second hit occurs in the special pattern 1 pattern variation), It is possible to prevent the determination control of illegal winning from being executed at unnecessary timing, and to suppress the increase in the processing load of the game control and the complication of the game control.

As described above, even in a game with a variety of behaviors that change according to the game state and the relationship between special symbols that are variably displayed at the same time, fraudulent winnings can be made to correspond to the game state and the type of winning. It becomes possible to switch the judgment conditions. While providing a variety of games, it is possible to detect fraudulent winnings appropriately. can be suppressed.

In addition, since the number of balls that can be entered per time is small, the first win is a small win with a short opening time of the big prize opening, and the second win is a big win with a long opening time of the big prize opening. A determination method may be applied.

[34. How to update the number of consecutive times of reduced working hours]
[34-1. Game Overview]
Here, a game machine having an upper limit on the number of times the time saving state occurs continuously will be described. For example, in the case of winning consecutive big wins as a result of a special lottery, the time-saving state is not caused to occur continuously for a predetermined number of times or more after the special game state due to the big win is over. The gaming machine of the present embodiment applies a restriction on the number of continuous times of time saving to a so-called 1 + 2 type gaming machine. In this gaming machine, a big win is generated by arranging three kinds of decorative symbols like a type 1 type gaming machine, and a specific area (V area) is generated by generating a small hit like a type 2 type gaming machine. ), and when the game ball passes through the specific area, a big hit is generated.

The gaming machine of this embodiment is provided with two types of starting ports (first starting port 2002 and second starting port 2004). The first starting port 2002 is arranged in the left area of the game area, and winning is possible by so-called left-handed hitting. On the other hand, the second starting port 2004 is arranged in the right area of the game area, and a prize can be won by so-called right hitting.

In the special symbol 1 which is variably displayed by winning the first starting port 2002, it is possible to win only the big hit. On the other hand, in the special symbol 2 which is variably displayed by winning the second starting port 2004, it is possible to win either a small hit or a big hit. When winning a small win or a big win, a special game state is generated in which a big winning hole is opened for a predetermined time. In the special game state, the time to open the big winning mouth and the number of times (number of rounds) to open the big winning mouth are set according to the type of winning, and winning the big win is more likely than winning the small win Also, the game value given is increased. In addition, there are a plurality of types of jackpots, and the opening time and number of rounds of the jackpot are different depending on the types. Also, two types of big winning openings may be arranged, one big winning opening being operated when a big winning is won, and the other big winning opening being operated when a small winning is won.

To explain the flow of the game of the gaming machine of this embodiment, first, a special game state is generated by aiming at the first starting port 2002 with a left-handed strike and winning a big hit due to the symbol variation of the special symbol 1 . When the special game state ends and shifts to the time saving state, it becomes possible to win the game ball to the second start port 2004.例文帳に追加At this time, the player can start the pattern variation of the special pattern 2 by aiming at the second starting port 2004 with a right-hand shot.

In the symbol variation of the special symbol 2, as described above, it is possible to win a small hit. When a small win is won, a corresponding special game state is generated, and the opening and closing of the big winning opening arranged in the right side area of the game area is repeated a predetermined number of times (predetermined rounds). As a result, it becomes possible for the player to win the game ball into the big winning hole by continuing to hit to the right. A specific area (V area) is arranged inside the big winning hole, and a big win can be won by passing a game ball through the specific area. It should be noted that even if the game ball wins the big winning hole, the game ball does not necessarily pass through the specific area.

When a game ball passes through a specific area and wins a big win, a special game state due to the big win is generated. The special game state generated at this time is the same as the special game state based on the big hit of the special pattern 1, and while the predetermined condition is established, the opening of the big winning opening is repeated a predetermined number of times (predetermined rounds). .

Also, when winning a small prize, the game state before winning is maintained. That is, if the game state is the time saving state, the time saving state is maintained, and if the game state is the non time saving state, the non time saving state is maintained. When the game ball passes through the specific area and wins the big win, after the special game state due to the big win is finished, the state shifts to the time saving state based on the kind of the big win.

[34-2. Method of updating the number of consecutive times of time saving (first embodiment: specification that time saving continues even with a small hit)]
Next, a procedure for updating the number of continuous time reductions will be described in chronological order. In the above-described gaming machine, when a big hit is won due to a change in special symbols (when a special lottery is won), a special game state is generated, and then the state shifts to a time saving state when a predetermined condition is established. If a jackpot (special lottery) is won while the time saving state continues, the time saving state is likely to occur up to a predetermined number of times (limit number of times, upper limit, for example, 4 times) after the special game state ends. On the other hand, when the number of consecutive occurrences of the time saving state (time saving consecutive number) reaches a predetermined number of times (limit number of times), the predetermined condition is not satisfied and the game shifts to a non-time saving state (normal game state) after the special game state occurs. By constructing in this way, when one big win is won, the occurrence of a time-saving state of a predetermined number of times (limit number of times) can be expected thereafter, and the expectations of the players can be heightened and the amusement of the game can be heightened. can.

The time saving continuous number is updated at the timing when the time saving state is started after the end of the special game state. In the present embodiment, the initial value of the continuous number of time saving is set to "0" and added at the time of starting the time saving state (at the time of transition). In addition, an upper limit number of times (limit number of times) may be set as the initial value of the continuous number of times of time saving, and count may be performed so as to be subtracted at the time of starting the time saving state (at the time of transition).

In the above-mentioned type 1+2 type gaming machine, a special game state occurs even when a small win occurs, and the big winning hole is opened. Also, when winning a small prize, the game state before winning is maintained. A procedure for updating the number of continuous time reductions in a gaming machine with such specifications will be described in chronological order with reference to FIG. 483 .

FIG. 483 is a timing chart for explaining the operation when a game ball passes through a specific area when a small win is won in a gaming machine designed to maintain the game state when a small win is won.

First, since the current game state is a non-time-saving state (normal game state), the first starting port 2002 is aimed at by hitting to the left, and the pattern variation of the special pattern 1 is started (time t41). After that, the symbol variation is stopped at time t42, and the stop symbol is displayed. When the result of the symbol variation (special lottery) of this special symbol 1 is a big win, the conditional device is activated (time t43), and a special game state (second special game state) due to the big win is generated. Furthermore, after the end of the operation of the conditional device (after the end of the special game state), it shifts to the time saving state (time t44). At this time, 1 is added to the number of times of continuous time saving by shifting to the time saving state, and the number of times of continuous time saving is updated from 0 to 1.

Furthermore, by shifting to the time-saving state, it becomes possible for the game ball to enter the second starting hole 2004, and the player aims at the second starting hole 2004 by striking to the right. When the game ball wins in the second starting port 2004, the symbol variation of the special symbol 2 is started (time t45). In the pattern variation of the special pattern 2, it is possible to win a big hit or a small hit.

In the example shown in FIG. 483, at time t46, the variable display of the special symbol 2 is stopped, and a small hit is won as a result of the variable display. When the small win is won, the condition device is not operated, and the game state (time saving state) before the small win is maintained. In addition, since the state has not newly shifted to the time saving state, the number of continuous time saving operations is maintained as it is. It should be noted that there may be one or more loss fluctuations between the winning of the big win and the occurrence of the small win.

At time t47, a special game state occurs due to the winning of a small prize, a large winning opening is opened, and a game ball can win a prize. Furthermore, when the game ball passes through the specific area arranged inside the big winning hole, the winning of the big win is confirmed, and the condition device is activated (time t48). Further, the special game state by winning the small win is ended and the special game state by winning the big win is started (the special game state by winning the small win is switched to the special game state by winning the big win).

Then, with the end of the special game state due to the big hit, the operation of the condition device ends, and the time saving state is newly started (time t49). At this time, the number of continuous time saving is updated from 1 to 2 based on the fact that the time saving state is newly started.

In the above-described gaming machine, when a small win is won, the game state is maintained, and when a big win is won and the time saving state is newly started, the number of consecutive times of time saving is updated. In addition, when the time saving state is not started anew even if a jackpot is won, the number of times of time saving continuation is initialized. Furthermore, when the game ball does not pass through the specific area when the small win is won and the big win is not won, the time-saving continuous number of times before winning the small win is maintained while maintaining the game state. configured to

[34-3. Method of updating the number of consecutive times of time saving (second embodiment: specification to move to non-time saving state when winning a small hit)]
In the gaming machine configured as described above, since the game state is maintained when a small hit occurs, it is possible to accurately count by updating the time-saving continuous number when switching the game state. However, due to the diversification of game specifications, the condition for switching the game state may not be limited to the end of the special game state, and the above-described procedure may not be able to accurately count the number of time-saving consecutive games.

For example, when a small win is won, the big prize opening is opened so that a prize ball can be expected. To prevent the game value from deviating from the prescribed range. In a game machine with such specifications, the number of continuous time-savings is cleared at the timing of transition to a non-time-saving state, so the above-described updating method for the number of continuous time-savings cannot accurately count the number of continuous time-savings. Hereinafter, a procedure for accurately counting the number of continuous times of time reduction in the gaming machine with the above specifications will be described with reference to FIGS. 484 and 485. FIG. In addition, although it shifts to a non-time-saving state at the timing of winning a small hit, the number of times of continuous time-saving is cleared after the special game state ends due to the small win.

Figure 484 is a timing chart for explaining the timing of updating the number of continuous time reductions in a gaming machine with specifications that shift to a non-time saving state (normal game state) when a small hit is won, and a game ball is placed in a specific area when a small hit is won. It is a figure which shows the case where it does not pass.

FIG. 484 shows the behavior in chronological order from the state where the game continues in the non-time saving state. An initial value (0) is set to the number of continuous working hours, and 1 is added to the number of continuous working hours when shifting to the time saving state. On the other hand, if it shifts to a non-working-time-saving state, the time-saving continuous frequency|count will be cleared and an initial value (0) will be set. Since the control executed from time t51 to time t56 in FIG. 484 is the same as the control executed from time t41 to time t46 in FIG. 483, description thereof will be omitted as necessary.

As shown in FIG. 484, the variable display of the special symbols is stopped at time t56, and as a result of the variable display, a small hit is won. When a small hit is won, the condition device is not operated, and the time saving state is shifted to the non-time saving state.

At time t57, a special game state (first special game state) due to a small win is generated to open the big winning hole, and a game ball can enter the big winning hole. At this time, if the game ball passes through the specific area (V area) arranged inside the big winning opening, the big hit is won, but in the example shown in FIG. After the end of the special game state, the number of continuous time-saving is cleared (initialized), and the normal game state is entered (time t58).

Next, a case where a game ball passes through a specific area (V area) arranged inside a big winning hole after winning a small win and wins a big win will be described. Figure 485 is a timing chart for explaining the timing of updating the number of continuous time reductions in a gaming machine with specifications that shift to a non-time saving state when winning a small hit, and shows a case where a game ball passes through a specific area after winning a small win It is a diagram. Since the control executed from time t61 to time t67 in FIG. 485 is the same as the control executed from time t51 to time t57 in FIG. 484, description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

At time t67, a special game state occurs due to the winning of a small prize, a large prize winning opening is opened, and game balls can win prizes. Furthermore, when the game ball passes through the specific area arranged inside the big winning opening, winning of the jackpot is confirmed, and the condition device is activated (time t68). Further, the special game state by winning the small win is terminated and the special game state by winning the big win is started. At this time, the continuous number of times of time saving is cleared (initialized) at the timing when the special game state due to the winning of the small prize ends because the game moves to the non-time saving state.

Then, with the end of the special game state due to the big hit, the operation of the condition device ends, and the time saving state is newly started (time t69). At this time, the number of consecutive times of time saving is updated from 0 to 1 based on the new start of the time saving state.

[34-4. Method of updating the number of consecutive times of time saving (third embodiment: specification to move to non-time saving state when winning a small hit: improvement)]
By the way, when winning a jackpot with the pattern variation of the special pattern 1 and shifting to a time-saving state, and when winning a small hit with the variation of the special pattern 2, the game ball passes through a specific area (V area) to win the jackpot. It is natural to think that when a worker shifts to a time-saving state, the time-saving state occurs continuously, even if it actually temporarily shifts to a non-time-saving state. That is, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, even if it temporarily shifts to a non-time-saving state via winning a small hit, the game ball passes through the specific area in the special game state due to the winning of the small win and wins a big hit. Even if it shifts to the time saving state again by doing so, it is considered that the time saving state has occurred continuously.

However, when the number of continuous time saving is updated in the above-described procedure, the continuous number of time saving is initialized in order to shift to the non-time saving state once when the small hit is won, so it is determined that the time saving state has occurred continuously. I can't do it.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, by setting an upper limit (limit) for the number of continuous time-savings, if the number of continuous time-savings is less than the upper limit, it is configured to easily shift to the time-saving state. If the game is initialized without the first time, there is a possibility that a time-saving state may occur more often than expected, resulting in a problem that a large amount of game value is awarded. Therefore, an improved method for updating the number of consecutive times of time reduction is proposed in order to solve the above-described problem.

In the improved updating method, it is determined whether or not to update the number of continuous time reductions at the timing when the special game state ends, and when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the number of continuous time reductions is updated. Specifically, it is determined whether or not to update the time-saving continuous number based on whether or not the condition device is in operation at the end of the special game state.

When the game ball passes through the specific area during the continuation of the special game state due to the small win, winning of the big win is decided and the condition device is activated. In this case, when the special game state with the small win ends, the special game state with the big win starts (switching from the special game state with the small win to the special game state with the big win), and after the special game state ends, the state shifts to the time saving state. there is a possibility. Therefore, the update of the time-saving continuous number at the end of the special game state due to the small hit is suspended (the value of the time-saving continuous number is maintained). Then, after the special game state due to the big win is completed, the continuous number of times of time saving is added (updated) or cleared (initialized) based on whether or not to shift to the time saving state. On the other hand, if the game ball does not pass through the specific area during the continuation of the special game state due to the small win, the conditional device does not operate, so the continuous number of time reduction is cleared (initialized) when the special game state due to the small win ends.

By configuring in this way, if there is a possibility of re-shifting to the time saving state after the special game state ends, the clearing (initialization) of the time saving continuous number is withheld, and the time saving continuous number is updated when the special game state ends. Alternatively, by performing initialization, an accurate value can be set for the number of continuous time saving operations. Below, in chronological order with reference to the timing chart, the case where the game ball clears the number of times of continuous time reduction without passing through the specific area and the case of updating the number of consecutive times of time reduction by passing the game ball through the specific area. I will explain along the lines.

In addition, if the game ball does not pass through the specific area at the time of winning the small hit, the number of time saving updates is initialized (cleared) after the end of the special game state due to the winning of the small hit, and even if the improved update method is applied. The behavior is the same as the timing chart shown in FIG.

Figure 486 is a timing chart with improved timing for updating the number of continuous time reductions in a gaming machine with specifications that shift to a non-time saving state when a small win is won, and shows a case where a game ball passes through a specific area when a small win is won. It is a diagram. The control executed from time t71 to time t75 in FIG. 486 is the same as the control executed from time t61 to time t65 in FIG. 485, so description thereof will be omitted.

At time t76, like the example shown in FIG. 485, the symbol variation stops and a small win is won. Further, the time-saving state is shifted to the non-time-saving state, and at time t77, a special game state occurs due to winning of a small prize, a large winning opening is opened, and a game ball can win a prize. Furthermore, while the special game state due to the small win is continuing, the game ball passes through the specific area arranged inside the big win opening, thereby confirming the winning of the big win and activating the condition device (time t78). ). At this time, the special game state due to the winning of the small win is terminated and the special game state due to the winning of the big win is started.

In the improved method for updating the number of continuous time-savings, it is determined whether or not to update (maintain) the number of continuous time-savings at the timing when the special game state due to the winning of a small prize ends. Whether or not to update the continuous number of time reduction is determined based on whether or not to start the special game state by winning the big win at the timing when the special game state by winning the small win ends. At this time, it may be determined based on whether or not the conditional device is activated at the timing when the special game state by winning the small prize is terminated. In the example shown in FIG. 486, a jackpot is won by passing the game ball through the specific area, and the condition device is activated. keep the value as it is.

Then, with the end of the special game state due to the big hit, the operation of the condition device ends, and the time saving state is newly started (time t79). At this time, the time-saving continuous number is 1 because the value was maintained at the end of the special game state due to the small hit, and is updated to 2 by adding 1 based on the new start of the time-saving state. be. In addition, if you do not shift to the time saving state after the special game state ends, for example, if the number of time saving consecutive times reaches the upper limit value and shifts to the normal game state without moving to the time saving state, clear the time saving consecutive number of times ( Initialize) and update the value of the number of times of continuous time saving to 0.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, if the big hit is not won in the special game state due to the small win, the special game state is not continued (the condition device is not operated), so the number of consecutive times of time reduction is initialized. Update to be done. On the other hand, if the jackpot is won in the special game state due to the small win, the special game state continues at the end of the special game state due to the small win, and the conditional device is activated, so the number of consecutive times of time saving is updated (initialized). At the end of the special game state due to the big hit (when the operation of the conditional device is finished), the continuous number of times of time reduction is updated based on the game state after the end of the special game state. As a result, it is possible to accurately count the number of consecutive time-savings as intended by the designer, so that game value can be given as expected, and the above-described problems can be resolved.

Further, in the control shown in FIGS. 484 and 485, the number of times of continuous time saving is the timing when the special game state ends, and is updated based on whether or not the time saving state shifts to the non-time saving state. Therefore, if it is a specification that performs control to shift from the time saving state to the non-time saving state after the end of the special game state due to the small hit, the game ball passes through the specific area in the special game state due to the small hit, and the special game state due to the big hit Even in the case of switching, the number of consecutive times of time reduction was supposed to be cleared.

On the other hand, in the improved updating method of the time-saving continuous number shown in FIG. The continuous number of times of time saving is updated based on whether or not the time saving state is shifted to the non-time saving state when not continuing. As a result, when the game ball passes through the specific area in the special game state due to the small hit and switches to the special game state due to the big win, the number of times of continuous time reduction is not cleared, and the number of continuous times of time reduction is initialized at the end of the special game state due to the big win. On the other hand, when the special game state due to the small win ends as it is, it is possible to clear the number of consecutive times of time reduction, and the above-mentioned problem can be solved.

In addition, in the special game state due to the small hit, when the game ball passes through the specific area and the special game state is switched to the special game state due to the big win, the small winning ending is not executed. Therefore, in this case, the interval processing before opening the large winning opening for starting the special game state due to the big winning is performed without executing the large winning opening opening end interval processing which is executed when the special game state due to the small winning ends. will be executed. Therefore, by updating (clearing (initializing) or updating (addition, subtraction)) the time-saving continuous number in the big winning opening end interval processing, the processing can be made common regardless of the type of winning. Also, the interval processing for ending the opening of the big prize winning opening may be different between the case of the big prize and the case of the small prize, and in this case, the processing for updating the number of times of continuous time reduction can be made common by making it a subroutine. By configuring as described above, it is possible to suppress the complication of game control while compressing the program capacity, simplify the program code, and improve the development efficiency of the game machine (game control program).

[34-5. Method of updating the number of continuous times of time saving (fourth embodiment: specifications to shift to a non-time saving state when winning a small win, and start a special game state by a big win after a special game state by a small win ends)]
Subsequently, unlike the control shown in FIG. 486, even if the game ball passes through the specific area while the special game state by winning the small win continues, the special game state by winning the big win is immediately started. First, a procedure for updating the time-saving continuous number will be described in a game machine in which a special game state by winning a big win is started after the special game state by winning a small win is finished.

Figure 487 is a case where a game ball passes through a specific area at the time of winning a small hit in a gaming machine with specifications that shift to a non-time saving state when winning a small win and start a special game state due to a big win after finishing the special game state due to a small win 4 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of Since the control executed from time t81 to time t88 in FIG. 487 is the same as the control executed from time t71 to time t78 in FIG. 486, description thereof will be omitted as necessary.

At time t87, a special game state is started by winning a small prize. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the game ball can pass through the specific area while the special game state by winning the small win continues. The special game state by winning a small prize is continued even after the game ball has passed through.

Furthermore, when the game ball passes through the specific area (time t88) during a predetermined effective period (during the special game state due to the winning of the small prize), a specific area passage flag (V passage flag) is set. After that, the special game state by winning the small prize is terminated.

In the large winning opening opening end interval process executed when the special game state ends due to the winning of a small prize, the number of winnings that have entered the big winning opening and the number of discharges that have been discharged from the big winning opening are compared, and malfunctions and cheating are detected. Determine occurrence. In addition, since there is a possibility that a time lag occurs between the game ball entering the big winning hole and being ejected, the judgment is executed after waiting for a certain period of time. If the number of prizes won does not match the number of discharges, regardless of whether the specific area passing flag is set or not, the special game state due to the winning of the small win is terminated, and an alarm sound is output as necessary. or output a signal to the outside. At this time, the number of continuous time reduction is cleared.

If the number of wins matches the number of discharges and no failure or fraud has occurred, it is determined whether or not the specific area passing flag is set. When the specified area passage flag is not set, the number of consecutive times of time saving is cleared, the special game state due to winning of a small prize is ended, and the non-time saving state is continued while shifting to the normal game state. In this case, the behavior is similar to that of the timing chart shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when the specific area passage flag is set, the special game state by winning the small prize is terminated (time t89). At this time, the value is maintained as it is without updating the continuous number of working hours. Furthermore, a special game state is started by winning a jackpot, and a conditional device is activated (time t90).

After that, the operation of the condition device ends with the end of the special game state due to the big hit, and the time saving state is newly started (time t91). At this time, the time-saving continuous number is 1 because the value was maintained at the end of the special game state due to the small hit, and is updated to 2 by adding 1 based on the new start of the time-saving state. be. In addition, when not shifting to the time saving state after the end of the special game state, the number of continuous time saving is cleared (initialized), and the value of the continuous number of time saving is updated to 0. The processing at time t91 is the same as the processing executed at the timing when the special game state ends at time t79 in FIG.

In the fourth embodiment, when the occurrence of a big hit is determined by the specific area passage flag, the time-saving continuous number of times is maintained. Further, the continuous number of time-saving is updated based on whether or not the state is shifted to the time-saving state at the end of the special game state due to the winning of the jackpot. By performing control based on the specific area passage flag in this manner, the above-described problems can be resolved in the same manner as in the gaming machine of the third embodiment.

[34-6. Configuration of gaming machine of the present embodiment]
When the configuration of the gaming machine that implements the improved update method for the number of continuous time-savings described above is arranged, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, a lottery is executed by the game ball entering the start winning opening, and the result of the lottery Based on this, variable display of special symbols is started, and it is possible to generate a special game state based on the result. The special game state is generated according to the lottery result, and includes, for example, a special game state (first special game state) by winning a small win and a special game state (second special game state) by winning a big win.

Also, while the first special game state (small win) is occurring, the game ball can pass through the specific area, and when the game ball passes through, the second special game state (big win) can occur. Furthermore, after the end of the special game state (second special game state) due to the winning of the jackpot, a time-saving state (advantageous game state) more advantageous to the player than the normal game state can occur.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the number of continuous times of time reduction (advantageous gaming state) is recorded, which indicates the number of times that the time reduction state (advantageous gaming state) has occurred in succession. In the case of winning a small hit (first special game state occurs), when the fluctuation display of the special pattern that causes the small hit starts or at the start of the special game state, the time saving state (advantageous game state) to non-time saving state (Normal game state).

Further, the number of times of continuous time saving is maintained at the value before shifting to the non time saving state without being updated at the timing of shifting from the time saving state (advantageous game state) to the non-time saving state (normal game state).

If the number of continuous time saving does not reach the predetermined upper limit (predetermined condition is satisfied), the special game state after transitioning from the time saving state (advantageous game state) to the non-time saving state (normal game state) ends Update (add or subtract) the number of times of continuous working hours at the timing.

When the number of continuous time reduction reaches the upper limit (specific conditions are established), the number of continuous time reduction is not added or subtracted at the timing when the special game state ends after shifting from the advantageous game state to the normal game state. initialize. At this time, after moving from the time saving state (advantageous game state) to the non-time saving state (normal game state) After the special game state ends, it does not move to the time saving state (advantageous game state), and the non-time saving state (normal game state ) remains unchanged.

In addition, when the game ball does not pass through the specific area in the special game state by winning the small win and the big win is not won, the number of times of continuous time reduction may be initialized without comparing with the upper limit value.

[34-7. How to update the number of consecutive times of reduced working hours (modified example)]
In the above, the update method of the time-saving continuous number in the gaming machine of the present embodiment has been described. Next, a modification will be described in which the variation time of the special symbol is changed according to the number of continuous times of time saving (remaining limit number of times). In the example described here, the upper limit of the number of continuous times of time saving is set to 10 times, and the types of variation time of special symbols are set to three types. The fluctuation time of the special symbol is defined by the fluctuation pattern table, and three kinds of fluctuation pattern tables are defined in this modified example.

FIG. 487 is a diagram for explaining the types of variation pattern tables set during the variation display of special symbols in the gaming machine of this embodiment. The example shown in FIG. 487 shows the variation time when each variation pattern table is deviated, which is the shortest variation time during which effects such as reach do not occur.

Referring to FIG. 487, in the pattern variation based on the variation pattern table A, if the variation pattern with the shortest time of shortened variation is selected, the variation time is 5.000 seconds. Similarly, the symbol variation based on the variation pattern table B has a variation time of 1.000 seconds, and the symbol variation based on the variation pattern table C has a variation time of 3.000 seconds.

The variation pattern table may be selected based on the game state or the like. For example, the variation pattern table B with the shortest variation time is selected in the time saving state, the variation pattern table C with the intermediate variation time in the normal game state, and the variation pattern table with the longest variation time in the specific production mode or game state. A is selected.

Here, instead of selecting the variation pattern table based on the game state, the specification of selecting the variation pattern table according to the remaining number of times up to the upper limit where the time saving state can occur continuously will be described. FIG. 488 is a diagram showing an example of a pattern for selecting a variation pattern table according to the remaining number of times up to the upper limit in which the time saving state can occur continuously.

In the example shown in FIG. 488, pattern 1 that selects the same variation pattern table regardless of the remaining number of times, pattern 2 that selects a variation pattern table with a short variation time at the time of loss as the number of remaining times increases, and the remaining number of times decreases, A pattern 3 is defined for selecting a variation pattern table with a short variation time at the time of loss.

In pattern 1, when shifting to the time saving state, the same variation pattern table is always selected. Therefore, it is possible to stably continue the common game in the time saving state. Also, by setting a variation pattern table (for example, variation pattern table C) different from the non-working time saving state, different games can be provided and interest can be enhanced. In the example shown in FIG. 488, since the variation pattern table with the longest variation time at the time of failure is selected, it is possible to continue for a long time the time when the sense of expectation increases. Furthermore, since the same variation pattern table is selected, the game control in the time saving state can be simplified.

In pattern 1, the same variation pattern table may be selected regardless of the remaining number of times, and instead of pattern table A, pattern table B or pattern table C may be used. In this way, by selecting a variation pattern table with a short variation time, the game can be progressed at a good tempo, and the interest in the game can be improved.

In pattern 2, the higher the number of remaining times, the shorter the fluctuation time at the time of loss is selected from the fluctuation pattern table. It is possible to maintain a state in which the player's sense of expectation is heightened for a long time by increasing the feeling and making the fluctuation time longer as the upper limit is approached.

In pattern 3, the less the number of remaining times, the shorter the fluctuation time at the time of loss is selected, so the player's expectation is gradually increased by lengthening the fluctuation time at the initial stage of the continuous occurrence of the time saving state. On the other hand, by shortening the fluctuation time as the upper limit is approached, the player's expectation can be raised at once. In pattern 3-1 shown in FIG. 488, the variation pattern table is selected so that the variation time gradually increases from the initial stage to the final stage. In pattern 3-2, after selecting the variation pattern table A with a long variation time, the variation pattern table B with a short variation time is selected continuously. Furthermore, the fluctuation pattern table A is selected again, and fluctuation pattern tables with shorter fluctuation times are gradually selected. In patterns 3-3 and 3-4, the variation pattern table A with the long variation time is selected first, and the variation pattern table C with the short variation time is selected last. In the intermediate stage, by selecting a variation pattern table with different variation times, a game rich in variety is realized and the interest in the game is heightened.

[34-8. Fraudulent prize detection method]
Next, an example of means for detecting fraudulent winning in the gaming machine of the present embodiment will be described. In the fraudulent prize detection method described in FIG. 477 and the like, in the case of the first hit, fraud is determined based on the total number of winnings of the game balls into the large winning opening in a plurality of special game states, while in the case of the second hit, Injustice was determined by the number of winning game balls into the big winning hole in one special game state.

Here, if the time-saving state occurs continuously, fraud is determined by the total number of winnings of game balls to the big winning opening in a plurality of special game states (first fraudulent winning determination means), and a single big hit or small hit is determined. If a win occurs, fraud may be determined based on the number of winnings of game balls into the big winning opening in one special game state (second fraudulent winning determination means). That is, the above-described fraudulent winning detection method is applied by setting a big win or a small win while the time saving state is continuously occurring as a first win and a single big win or small win as a second win.

Further, the first fraudulent prize determination means may determine fraudulent prize winning only when the number of times of continuous time reduction reaches the upper limit value. On the other hand, every time a time-saving state occurs (a special game state ends), a determination value may be set based on the number of continuous time-savings to determine fraudulent winning. As a result, it becomes possible to determine whether or not a fraudulent prize has been won according to the progress of the game, and it is possible to improve the accuracy of determination of whether or not a fraudulent prize has been won.

Determination of fraudulent winning is executed in the special winning opening opening end interval process executed at the end of the special game state. Therefore, when judging fraudulent winning by the total number of winnings of game balls to the big winning opening in the special game state until the number of times of continuous time reduction reaches the upper limit, the last (when the number of times of continuous time reduction reaches the upper limit) The judgment is made in the large winning opening opening end interval processing executed at the end of the special game state, and the judgment is not made in the large winning opening opening end interval processing executed before this. On the other hand, when the time saving state occurs (the special game state ends), the determination value is set based on the number of consecutive times of time saving to determine the illegal winning, the special game until the number of consecutive times of time saving reaches the upper limit Unauthorized winning is determined in the big winning opening opening end interval process executed at the end of the state.

In addition, the timing for judging fraudulent prize winning may be the timing at which the number of consecutive times of reduced working hours is cleared. Since the frequency of doing so is reduced, it is possible to prevent an excessive payout of prize balls due to a fraudulent act or the like while suppressing an increase in the processing load.

Furthermore, every time the time saving state occurs (the special game state ends), the determination value is set based on the number of times of continuous time saving to determine fraudulent winning, even if the determination value is set before the determination Alternatively, the judgment value for the next judgment may be set after the judgment. In addition, when setting the judgment value for the next judgment, it is necessary to initialize the judgment value before making the judgment for the first time. good.

Also, even if the game ball does not pass through the specific area before the number of continuous time saving reaches the upper limit value and the jackpot is not won, if the judgment value is set immediately before the judgment, judgment is made at this timing. No need to initialize the value. On the other hand, when the determination value for the next determination is set after the determination, the determination value for the first determination may be set, or the determination value may be initialized when the time saving state occurs for the first time.

The determination value of fraudulent winning is defined by the type of special game state. For example, a value corresponding to a special game state by winning a small win and a value corresponding to a special game state by winning a big win are defined. If there are many kinds of special game states, a table for storing the judgment value may be defined in advance, or the judgment value may be calculated based on the opening time of the big winning opening. Furthermore, the judgment value in the case of judging fraudulent winning based on the number of continuous time-savings may be calculated based on the number of continuous time-savings, or a table in which values corresponding to the number of continuous time-savings are defined may be provided. good.

Further, the first fraudulent prize determination means and the second fraudulent prize determination means may be used together. For example, every time a special game state occurs, the second fraudulent winning determination means determines fraudulent winning, while the first fraudulent winning determination means determines the continuous occurrence of the time saving state when the number of times of continuous time reduction reaches the upper limit value. Illegal winning is determined based on the total number of winnings since the game started.

In addition, while judging fraudulent winning every time a special game state occurs by the second fraudulent winning determination means, based on the total number of winnings after the continuous occurrence of the time saving state is started by the first fraudulent winning determination means, special It is also possible to determine fraudulent winning every time a game state occurs.

In the case where the second fraudulent winning determination means determines fraudulent winning, the determination value in one special game state is set to 20, for example. At this time, the judgment value in the first fraudulent award judgment means is 1×20 and the judgment value is 20 when the number of consecutive times of time saving is 1, and 5×20 and the judgment value is 100 when the number of consecutive times of time saving is 5. . In this case, when the total winning number is 76 when the number of time-saving consecutive times is 4, and when the winning number is 21 in the fifth special game state, the second fraudulent winning determination means determines fraudulent winning, but total winning. Since the number is 97, it is not judged as an illegal winning (judgment value is 5×20=100). In this case, if both the first fraudulent winning determination means and the second fraudulent winning determination means do not determine fraudulent winning, it may not be determined as fraudulent. This is because it may be desirable to allow the game to progress smoothly without causing damage to the game arcade, since the resulting prize balls are within the expected range.

[35. Lottery execution control]
Up to this point, the update of the number of consecutive times of reduced working hours has been described. Next, the control at the time of lottery execution in the gaming machine of the present embodiment will be described. For example, the control of the special lottery executed based on the random number value (starting memory, holding memory) acquired when the game ball wins the starting hole will be described. As described above, when the special lottery is won, a special game state is generated. At this time, in the special lottery, it is not only determined whether the result of the lottery is "big win", "minor win" or "lose", but also a special game state generated when the big win (or minor win) is won. A mode (number of rounds, etc.), a game state to be shifted after the end of the special game state, a variation pattern at the time of variable display of special symbols, etc. are also drawn.

[35-1. Type of random number]
The special lottery is executed based on the random number value (starting memory) acquired when a predetermined condition is established (for example, when the game ball wins the starting hole), but in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the main control A random number value is generated by a hardware random number generation circuit incorporated in the MPU 1311 . Also, the range of random numbers generated differs depending on the lottery target, and will be described with reference to a specific example in FIG. The generation of random numbers need not be limited to hardware random numbers, and may be software random numbers generated by executing a program.

FIG. 490 is a diagram showing an example of the type of random number and the range of the random value acquired when the game ball wins the starting hole. In the example shown in FIG. 490, there are random numbers for judging big hits, random numbers for reach judging, random numbers for variation patterns, random numbers for variation types, and random numbers for special symbols.

The big hit determination random number is a random number for determining whether the result of the special lottery is a "big hit", a "minor win" or a "lose". A 2-byte area is allocated to the jackpot determination random number, and values from 0 to 65,535 can be stored.

In the special lottery in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, a big hit determination random number is acquired, and it is determined whether or not the acquired random number value is within a predetermined range. Also, as described above, the predetermined range differs depending on the setting value of the gaming machine.

FIG. 491 is a diagram showing an example of a range in which the result of the special lottery for each set value of the gaming machine is a big win. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 491, threshold values (upper limit and lower limit) are defined corresponding to game states (high probability, low probability) and setting values (1 to 6). Also, by setting the upper limit to a common value (63534), the storage capacity for storing the threshold is reduced. Also, as shown in FIG. 491, setting is made so that the possibility of winning a big hit is higher when the set value is 6 than when the set value is 1.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the upper limit for generating random numbers is set to 63534, but for the random numbers for judging a big hit, the upper limit is set to 65535 so that a value outside the generation range is not generated. It is desirable to set the value as the generation range.

The reach determination random number is a random number for determining whether or not to generate a reach, a 1-byte area is allocated, and a value from 0 to 255 is stored. The random number for the variation pattern and the random number for the variation type are random numbers for determining the variation pattern for variably displaying the special symbols. A 1-byte area is assigned to these random numbers, and values from 0 to 255 can be stored.

The special symbol random number is a random number for judging the type of jackpot (species of special game state, game state after completion of special game state, etc.) when a jackpot is won as a result of a special lottery. A 1-byte area is assigned to the special symbol random number, and a value from 0 to 255 can be stored. This is for acquiring a special pattern number corresponding to the result of the special lottery, and the special pattern number can specify not only the results of big wins, small wins, and losses, but also the types of big wins and small wins.

If the random number cannot be generated normally due to a problem with the random number generation circuit, for example, the value generated as the random number always becomes a specific value, or the random number cannot be obtained normally, and the obtained random number is changed when the random number is obtained. It is conceivable that a problem such as a specific value may occur. In such a case, there is a high possibility that the specific value will be 0, so it is preferable to set the lottery details so that the game is less likely to be affected when various random numbers become 0. For example, when the random number for judging a big hit is 0, the winning range is set so that the win is always lost. If the random number for the special symbol is 0 in the event of a big win, the big win is decided, so a big win symbol type that is least disadvantageous to the player is selected. Further, when the random number for judging a big hit is 0, a variation pattern is selected so that the random number for judging reach is non-reach, and the random number for variation pattern is the shortest variation time. As a result, a game affected by noise or the like can be quickly ended, and the stability of the game can be improved.

In addition, the gaming machine of the present embodiment mainly uses random numbers (hardware random numbers) generated by a hardware random number generation circuit. It may be a software random number that is generated.

Furthermore, the generating means may be changed according to the type of random number. For example, the random numbers used in the special symbol lottery may be generated by a hardware random number generating circuit, while the random numbers used in the normal symbol lottery may be software random numbers generated by a program. Random numbers related to lottery wins and losses (for example, random numbers for judging big hits) may be hardware random numbers, and random numbers only related to symbol fluctuation display (for example, random numbers for fluctuation patterns) may be software random numbers.

[35-2. Lottery related control]
Next, control for executing the special lottery will be described. As mentioned above, the special lottery is executed based on the random number value obtained when the predetermined condition is satisfied (when the game ball wins the starting hole). After that, the process of actually executing the lottery after the random number is acquired will be described.

[35-2-1. Preparation process for random number generation]
The random number used for the special lottery is initialized in the power-on process (Fig. 382) which is executed at power-on. Specifically, in the random number setting activation process of step 02TK0050, the hardware random number generation circuit incorporated in the main control MPU 1311 is activated. Furthermore, the maximum value of random numbers to be generated (random number generation range) is set. The random number generation range stores a value in a register corresponding to whether the random number is 8 bits (1 byte) or 16 bits (2 bytes), variable length or fixed length. In addition, it is not necessary to specify the generation range of all random numbers in the random number setting start-up process, and the range may be set when the random numbers are obtained.

[35-2-2. Processing related to special lottery]
As described above, the special lottery acquires various random numbers (reserved memory) when a predetermined condition is established (when a game ball wins at the starting port), and is executed at the start of variable display of special symbols based on the reserved memory. be. Judgment of whether or not the result of the special lottery is a big hit (random number for judging the big hit), judgment of the special game state generated by winning the big hit and the game state after the special game state (random number for special design), special design Determination of the variation display mode (random number for variation pattern, etc.) will be described.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the special lottery is executed in the special symbol determination process. The special symbol determination process is called from the special symbol/flag setting process of the special symbol variation waiting process. The special symbol variation waiting process is a process that is executed when the special symbol variation starts, and the special symbol/special electric auditors control process ( It is called from step 01TKS0080). Timer interrupt processing (Fig. 329) and playable time processing (Fig. 354) are as described above, so the description is omitted, and the processing after the special symbol/special electric auditors control processing is performed until the special lottery is executed. Processing and processing for executing various lotteries will be described.

[35-2-2a. Processing before executing the special lottery]
(Special symbol/special electric accessories control process)
First, the special symbol/special electric accessary product control process will be described as the process until the special lottery is executed. In the special symbol/special electric accessory control process, when a game ball wins in the start hole, various random numbers (reserved memory, start memory) are acquired, and a process corresponding to the current progress of the game is executed. Each process will be specifically described below.

FIG. 492 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the special symbol/special electric accessory control process in the gaming machine of this embodiment.

When the special symbol/special electric auditors product control process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 first determines whether or not a game ball has entered the first start port 2002 (step 08TKS0110). When the game ball wins the first start opening 2002 (the result of step 08TKS0110 is "Yes"), the start opening winning process is executed, various random numbers (holding memory, starting memory) are obtained, and a predetermined area is obtained. (step 08TKS0120).

Next, the main control MPU 1311, when the game ball does not win the first starting hole 2002 (the result of step 08TKS0110 is "No"), or the starting hole winning process accompanying the winning to the first starting hole 2002 is completed, it is determined whether or not the game ball has entered the second starting port 2004 (step 08TKS0130). When the game ball wins in the second starting port 2004 (the result of step 08TKS0130 is "Yes"), in the same way as in the case of winning in the first starting port 2002, the starting port winning process is executed, and various random numbers (holding memory, starting memory) are acquired and stored in a predetermined area (step 08TKS0140).

After finishing the processing related to winning the starting hole, the main control MPU 1311 executes processing according to the progress of the game (steps 08TKS0210 to 08TKS0290). The progress of the game is specified by the special symbol/electric accessary product operating state number, and updated in each process. Specifically, when there is no pending memory (starting memory) (customer waiting state), the special symbol/electric accessary product operating state number is TZ_IDOL, and in this case, the main control MPU 1311 performs special symbol variation waiting processing. is executed (step 08TKS0210). TZ_IDOL is set as the special symbol/electric accessary product operating state number at the start of the game.

The special symbol variation waiting process is executed until the game ball wins in the starting port, and when the game ball wins in the starting port, various random numbers (holding memory, starting memory) are acquired. Furthermore, by updating the special symbol/electric role product operation state number to TZ_HEND, when the special symbol/special electric role product control process is executed next time, the special symbol fluctuation process for displaying the special symbol is executed. . The details of the special symbol variation waiting process will be described later with reference to FIG.

When the special symbol/electric accessary product operating state number becomes TZ_HEND, the main control MPU 1311 executes the special symbol fluctuating process (step 08TKS0220). In the special symbol variation process, a process for controlling the variation display of the special symbol is performed. Specifically, when the special symbol fluctuation time elapses, a special symbol jackpot determination transition setting process (not shown) is executed, a special symbol stop command is set, and a special symbol / electric accessory operation state number is set. Update to TZ_JUDG.

When the special symbol/electric accessary product operating state number becomes TZ_JUDG, the main control MPU 1311 executes the special symbol jackpot determination process (step 08TKS0230). In the special symbol jackpot determination process, it is determined whether or not the fixed and stopped special symbol generates a special game state (jackpot game state), and the special symbol/electric accessory operating state number corresponds to the result of the special lottery. Update to value (TZ_HSTOP or TZ_ASTOP).

When the special symbol/electric accessary product operating state number becomes TZ_HSTOP, the main control MPU 1311 executes special symbol deviation stop processing (step 08TKS0240). In the special symbol deviation stop processing, when the special game state (jackpot game state) is not generated, the special symbol fluctuation display is stopped and the process of notifying that effect is performed. It is updated to TZ_IDOL, and the special symbol variation waiting process is executed.

When the special symbol/electric accessary product operating state number becomes TZ_ASTOP, the main control MPU 1311 executes special symbol jackpot stop processing (step 08TKS0250). In the special symbol jackpot stop processing, when a jackpot game state is to be generated, a process of stopping the variable display of the special symbols and notifying that effect is performed. Furthermore, in order to open the big winning hole by shifting to the special game state (jackpot game state), the special symbol/electric accessory operating state number is updated to TD_FINT, and the interval processing before opening the big winning hole is executed.

When the special symbol/electric accessary product operating state number becomes TD_FINT, the main control MPU 1311 executes interval processing before opening the big winning opening (step 08TKS0260). In the interval processing before opening the big winning opening, a special game state (jackpot game state) is generated to notify that the jackpot action is started, and the special symbol/electric accessory operation state number is set to TD_OPEN. , and execute the big winning opening opening process.

When the special symbol/electric accessory operating state number becomes TD_FOPEN, the main control MPU 1311 executes the big winning opening opening process (step 08TKS0270). In the big winning hole opening process, by opening the big winning hole, a process related to the big win operation that makes it easier for game balls to enter each big winning hole is performed, and the special symbol/electric accessory operation state number is set to TD_CLOSE. , and execute the processing during closing of the big winning opening.

When the special symbol/electric accessary product operating state number becomes TD_CLOSE, the main control MPU 1311 executes the big winning opening closing process (step 08TKS0280). In the processing during the closing of the big winning prize gates, by changing the state from the open state to the closed state of the big winning prize gates, the processing related to the big win operation that makes it difficult for the game balls to enter the respective big winning prize gates is performed, and the special symbols and the electric accessories operation are performed. The state number is updated to TD_CLOSE, and the big winning opening opening end interval process is executed.

When the special symbol/electric accessory operating state number becomes TD_EINT, the main control MPU 1311 executes the big winning opening opening end interval process (step 08TKS0280). In the process during closing of the big winning opening, when the big winning operation is finished, a process of notifying that effect is performed. Furthermore, the game state after shifting to the special game state (jackpot game state) is set, and the special symbol/electric accessary product operating state number is updated to TD_IDOL.

As described above, by updating the special symbol/electric accessary product operating state number, it is possible to execute processing according to the progress of the game.

(Special symbol variation waiting process)
Next, the special symbol variation waiting process will be described as the process until the special lottery is executed. In the special symbol variation waiting process, as described above, the special symbol variation waiting process is executed until the game ball wins the start port, and when the game ball wins the start port, various random numbers (reserved memory, start memory ). Details of the special symbol variation waiting process will be described below.

FIG. 493 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the special symbol variation waiting process in the gaming machine of this embodiment.

When the special symbol variation waiting process is started, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the number of special symbols pending, in which the variable display of special symbols is suspended, is 0 (step 08TKS0310). If the number of reserved special symbols is 0 (the result of step 08TKS0310 is "Yes"), the special symbols cannot be variably displayed and the special lottery is not executed, so this processing is terminated.

If the number of reserved special symbols is not 0 (the result of step 08TKS0310 is "Yes"), that is, if the variable display of special symbols is reserved, the main control MPU 1311 determines that the number of reserved special symbols 2 is 1 or more. It is determined whether or not there is (step 08TKS0320).

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, since the variable display by the special symbol 2 is prioritized over the variable display by the special symbol 1, when the number of pending special symbols 2 is 1 or more (the result of step 08TKS0320 is "Yes" ), the special symbol 2 variation setting data is set (step 08TKS0330), and the setting for executing the variation display by the special symbol 2 is performed. On the other hand, if the number of reserved special symbols 2 is not 1 or more (the result of step 08TKS0320 is "Yes"), that is, if the number of reserved special symbols 2 is 0 and the number of reserved special symbols 1 is 1 or more , the special symbol 1 variation setting data is set (step 08TKS0340), and the setting for executing the variation display by the special symbol 1 is performed.

In addition, the special symbol variation setting data is information for identifying whether the execution target of the process is the special symbol 1 or the special symbol 2. FIG. That is, when the object to be processed is the special symbol 1, the special symbol 1 variation setting data is set, and when the special symbol 2 is to be performed, the special symbol 2 variation setting data is set. Thus, by setting the special symbol variation setting data in advance, the work area and the data table corresponding to the special symbol variation setting data can be referred to for the processing to be executed thereafter. , and the special pattern 2, common processing can be executed.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 updates the pending display of the effect display device 1600 and sets a pending command at the start of change of the pending display in order to reflect it in the effect (step 08TKS0350).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes a special symbol/flag setting process (step 08TKS0360). The special symbol/flag setting process is a process for executing a special lottery, and when the special lottery is won, the jackpot symbol, that is, the mode of the special game state and the game state after the end of the special game state are determined based on the lottery result. process, etc. Details of the special symbol/flag setting process will be described later with reference to FIG.

When the result of the special lottery is derived by the special symbol/flag setting process, the main control MPU 1311 executes the special symbol variation pattern setting process for setting the correspondence of the special symbol variation display (step 08TKS0370). Details of the special symbol variation pattern setting process will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 updates the pending storage (step 08TKS0380). Specifically, the various random numbers stored in the area storing the reserved memory are shifted, and the various random numbers of the special symbols for starting the variable display are cleared. Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 executes a setting process during transition to special symbols for setting data necessary for starting variable display of special symbols (step 08TKS0390). In the special symbol fluctuation transition time setting processing, processing relating to symbol variation display such as special symbol change time, processing relating to a special symbol test signal to be output to the outside, and the like are performed.

Further, the main control MPU 1311 sets various commands to be sent to the peripheral control board 1510 (step 08TKS0400). The various commands to be set include a state display count command, a special symbol variation pattern command, a special symbol symbol type command and a variation start time state command.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 updates the special symbol reservation identification history (step 08TKS0410). The history of information on the variable display of special symbols is stored chronologically in the special symbol reservation identification history, and for example, the type of reserved special symbols (special symbol 1 or special symbol 2) is stored. When the special symbol 1 is set to "1" and the special symbol 2 to "2", and "0" is stored when not reserved, it is determined whether or not the special symbol reservation identification history is 0 at the start of fluctuation, If it is 0, it can be controlled to end the process (step 08TKS0310).

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 updates the special symbol/electric accessary product operating state number from waiting for change (TZ_IDOL) to changing (TZ_HEND) (step 08TKS0420).

(Special symbol/flag setting process)
Finally, the special symbol/flag setting process (step 08TKS0360) will be described as the process until the special lottery is executed. FIG. 494 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the special symbol/flag setting process in the gaming machine of this embodiment.

When the special symbol/flag setting process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 first acquires various random numbers (reserved memory) targeted for special lottery, storage area) (step 08TKS0510).

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes special symbol determination processing for determining the result of the special lottery (step 08TKS0520). In the special pattern determination process, it is determined whether the result of the special lottery is a big win, a small win, or a loss based on the random numbers for judging the big win from various random numbers stored in the starting memory area. Furthermore, a special design number (jackpot design number) is drawn based on the special design random number.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes a stop symbol/flag setting process for setting a stop symbol of the special symbols to be variably displayed (step 08TKS0530). Finally, a special symbol conversion process for converting the special symbol number into a symbol information value is executed (step 08TKS0540).

[35-2-2b. Processing for executing various lotteries]
The processing up to the execution of various lotteries has been described above. Next, the procedure for actually performing the lottery will be described. Here, a special symbol determination process for lottery of jackpot determination and stop symbol (special symbol, big hit symbol) and a special symbol variation pattern setting process (variation pattern selection determination process) for lottery of variation pattern of variation display of special symbol will be explained. do.

(Special symbol determination process)
FIG. 495 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the special symbol determination process of the gaming machine of this embodiment.

The main control MPU 1311 first acquires a jackpot determination random number from the jackpot determination random number buffer in the start storage area (step 08TKS0610). Furthermore, when the setting value of the gaming machine is obtained (step 08TKS0620). In the gaming machine of this embodiment, values from 1 to 6 can be set as the setting value of the gaming machine, and as shown in FIG. It has become. Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the game state (probability state) (step 08TKS0630). The game state (probability state) indicates whether the winning probability of the special lottery is high probability or low probability, and can be obtained, for example, based on the variable probability flag set in the case of high probability.

Here, the main control MPU 1311 may determine whether or not the random number for big hit determination is within the generation range. At this time, when the random number value for judging a big hit is within the generation range, the processing from step 08TKS0640 is executed. On the other hand, when the random number value for judging the big hit is not within the generation range, the judgment result is set as "losing", and the losing setting process (step 08TKS0780) may be executed.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the upper limit value for judging a big hit (step 08TKS0640). In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, whether or not the result of the special lottery is a big win is determined based on whether or not the value of the random number for judging the big win is between a predetermined lower limit value and an upper limit value. be. At this time, the upper limit value and the lower limit value may be held in a table format, or may be derived by setting a reference value and using a calculation formula. Also, one of the upper limit value and the lower limit value may be a fixed value. Thereby, the storage capacity of the area for storing the threshold value (upper limit value, lower limit value) for big hit determination can be reduced. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 490, the upper limit value is a common value.

The main control MPU 1311 compares the big hit determination random number with the upper limit value, and determines whether or not the big hit determination random number is equal to or less than the upper limit value (step 08TKS0650). When the random number for judging a big hit is equal to or less than the upper limit (the result of step 08TKS0650 is "Yes"), the lower limit for judging a big hit is acquired (step 08TKS0660). Furthermore, the big hit determination random number is compared with the lower limit, and it is determined whether or not the big hit determination random number is equal to or higher than the lower limit (step 08TKS0670). If the random number for judging a big hit is equal to or higher than the lower limit (result of step 08TKS0670 is "Yes"), the result of the special lottery is a big win. Details of the jackpot determination will be described later.

When the special lottery results in a big win, the main control MPU 1311 first sets a big win set value (flag) (step 08TKS0680). Furthermore, the special symbol determination data is set (step 08TKS0690), and the special symbol random number is stored in a predetermined area (register) (step 08TKS0700).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 retrieves the jackpot symbol type number (special symbol) from the special symbol determination data based on the special symbol random number (step 08TKS0710). The special symbol determination data is configured in a table format having a plurality of records, with a combination of a threshold value and a jackpot symbol type number as one record. In the search for the jackpot symbol type number, the special symbol random number is compared with the threshold to specify the jackpot symbol type number (symbol type number) that meets the conditions.

In this embodiment, the threshold value is the lower limit value, and the special symbol determination data is composed of a combination of the lower limit value and the jackpot symbol type number. A specific search procedure will be described later. Note that the threshold value may be composed only of the upper limit value. Also, the threshold value may be composed of an upper limit value and a lower limit value, and the upper limit value and the lower limit value may be compared in the same manner as in the case of judging a big hit. The processing from step 08TKS0640 to step 08TKS0670 for acquiring the jackpot symbol type number is defined as jackpot setting processing.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes a class command setting process for setting a class command based on the specified jackpot symbol class number (step 08TKS0720). Furthermore, a special symbol number (big hit symbol number) is set (step 08TKS0730). The special symbol number (big hit symbol number) is data for converting into a symbol information value in a special symbol conversion process (not shown) to be described later. The special symbol number is determined based on the value of the special symbol random number. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the special symbol random number is set to a value from 0 to 199, but by adding 1, it is corrected to a value from 1 to 200, and the special symbol number (jackpot symbol) number). After that, this process is terminated.

On the other hand, when the random number for judging a big hit is larger than the upper limit (the result of step 08TKS0650 is "No"), or when the random number for judging a big hit is smaller than the lower limit (the result of step 08TKS0670 is "No"), The main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not a small hit has been won (step 08TKS0740). The processing of step 08TKS0740 corresponds to the processing from step 08TKS0640 to step 08TKS0670 in the case of big hit determination.

The procedure for determining whether or not a small win has been won may be determined by comparing the upper limit value and the lower limit value in the same manner as in the case of judging the big win, or the winning value may be held. good. When the upper limit value and the lower limit value are compared, they are set to be different from the jackpot winning range. Alternatively, the upper limit value and the lower limit value may be fixed regardless of the set values. As a result, it is possible to reduce the storage area for storing the threshold value necessary for judging winning of the small prize.

When a small hit is won (the result of step 08TKS0740 is "Yes"), the main control MPU 1311 executes a small hit setting process (step 08TKS0750). In the small-hit setting process, similarly to the big-hit setting process, a small-hit design type number (symbol type number) is specified. Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 executes a class command setting process for setting a class command based on the identified small winning symbol class number (step 08TKS0760).

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 sets a special symbol number (small hit symbol number) (step 08TKS0730). The special symbol number (small winning symbol number) is based on a random number for special symbol, similarly to the big winning symbol number, and therefore has a value in the range from 0 to 199. However, in order to avoid overlapping with the jackpot symbol number, the random number for special symbol is converted to a value from 0 to 49 by 1/4. Further, the value converted to 200, which is the upper limit of the jackpot pattern number, is added, and 1 is added to convert the value from 201 to 250. As a result, the big hits are from 1 to 200, and the small hits are from 201 to 250, making it possible to specify the type of hits by the special symbol numbers. When the setting of the special symbol number (small hit symbol number) is completed, then this process is terminated.

On the other hand, if no small hit is won (the result of step 08TKS0740 is "No"), the main control MPU 1311 executes a loss setting process because the result of the special lottery is a loss (step 08TKS0790). In the loss setting process, the special symbol number is set to 0. As a result, the special symbol number is set in the range from 0 to 250.

(jackpot judgment)
Here, the lottery based on the big hit determination random number will be described. FIG. 496 is a diagram for explaining means for determining a lottery result. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, as described above, the small win is also determined based on the big win determination random number. Also, the odds of winning a big win differ depending on the probability state, the setting value of the gaming machine, and the like. (A) is a table for judging the result of the variable display (special lottery) of special symbol 2 when the set value of the game machine is 1 in a high probability state, and (B) is the set value of the game machine in a high probability state. (C) is a table for determining the result of the variable display (special lottery) of the special symbol 2 when is 6, and (C) is a variable display of the special symbol 1 when the setting value of the gaming machine is 6 in a high probability state (special (D) is a table for determining the result of the variable display (special lottery) of the special symbol 2 when the setting value of the gaming machine is 6 in a low probability state, (E ) shows a table for judging the result of the variable display (special lottery) of the special symbol 2 when the set value of the gaming machine is 1 in the low probability state.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the small winning is set to be won in the case of a special lottery based on the special symbol 2.例文帳に追加In the case of the special symbol 1, a small win is won only when the value of the random number for judging a big win is 60254, and it is set so as to hardly win. Further, since the probability state indicates the winning probability of the big win, the winning probability of the small win is the same in both the high probability state and the low probability state. In addition, the winning range of the small hit is fixed according to the type of the special pattern. When is from 60050 to 60254, a jackpot is won.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, a common value (range) is set for the special symbol 1 and the special symbol 2 regardless of the probability state and the setting value of the gaming machine for the jackpot determination value. . On the other hand, the judgment value of the small hit is not shared between the special symbols 1 and 2, but may be common between the special symbols 1 and 2. - 特許庁It should be noted that the winning range of the big win and the small win shown in the figure is an example, and is not limited to these values.

Also, as shown in FIG. 490, the random numbers for judging a big hit have values from 0 to 63534, but since a 2-byte area is allocated, values up to 65535 can actually be stored. can. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the values from 63535 to 65535 are reserved as a reserve area and are outside the random number generation range.

Also, as shown in FIG. 491, the upper limit of the jackpot range coincides with the upper limit of the jackpot determination random number generation range. Furthermore, the upper limit value of the jackpot range is the same regardless of the probability state, the setting value of the game machine, and the type of special symbol, and the lower limit value is changed according to the probability state and the setting value of the game machine.

Moreover, since the area for storing the random number for judging a big hit is 2 bytes, it is possible to store a value exceeding the random number for judging a big hit. Normally, neither hardware random numbers nor software random numbers are generated outside the specified range. There is a risk that the random number for judging the big hit will be acquired.

FIG. 497 is a diagram for explaining a process in which some bits of the jackpot judging random number are changed due to factors such as noise and change to values outside the range.

In the example shown in FIG. 497, when "48172" ("1011110000101100b") is generated as a random number for judging a big hit, but the second bit "0" changes to "1" due to the influence of noise, etc. is shown. As a result, the acquired random number for judging a big hit becomes "1111110000101100b" ("64556"). Thus, the upper limit value of the random number for judging a big hit is "63534", which exceeds the upper limit value.

On the other hand, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, since the judgment based on the big hit judgment random number is compared with the upper limit value and the lower limit value, even if the big hit judgment random number out of the range is acquired It will not be judged as a big hit. Specifically, since the determination result of step 08TKS0650 in FIG. 495 is "No", the process of winning determination for a small hit is executed as it is. If it is out of the range below the lower limit value, the determination result of step 08TKS0670 in FIG.

That is, even if the random number for judging a big hit is out of range, normal control is continued without going through exception processing such as judging whether the range of the random number obtained as it is is a value exceeding a predetermined range. will be As with the determination of the big hit, the judgment of the small hit is also compared with the upper limit value and the lower limit value, respectively, so that normal control can be continued without executing exception processing. Further, even if the acquired random number is out of the range, it is possible to prevent the hole from being damaged by performing control so as not to cause a big hit.

In addition, when the random number for judging a big hit is out of the range, it is determined that the win is lost, so the occurrence of reach may be suppressed. For example, the value of the reach determination random number may be updated to a non-reach value. At this time, the variation pattern with the shortest variation time may be selected. As a result, a game affected by noise or the like can be quickly ended, and the stability of the game can be improved.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, even if the value of the random number for judging a big hit is outside the range, it is treated in the same way as if it is judged to be out of range. Processing can be continued under normal control. As a result, it is possible to simplify the game control and improve the development efficiency of the game machine while suppressing an increase in the processing load.

(Jackpot pattern judgment)
Subsequently, a procedure for specifying (retrieving) the jackpot symbol type from the special symbol determination data based on the special symbol random number will be described (step 08TKS0710 in FIG. 495). FIG. 498 is a diagram showing an example of data for special design determination, (A) shows the case of special design 1, and (B) shows the case of special design 2. FIG. As for the data for special symbol determination, tables for special symbol 1 and special symbol 2 are defined, but a common table may be used, or one of them may be a fixed value.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, in the case of special symbol 1, special figure 1 jackpot symbol type 3, special figure 1 jackpot symbol type 2, special figure 1 jackpot symbol type 1, special figure 1 jackpot symbol type 0 in this order. It is set so as not to be disadvantageous to the player. In the case of the special symbol 2, similarly, the special symbol 2 jackpot symbol type 9 is set so as not to be most disadvantageous to the player.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, special symbol random numbers are generated in the range of 0 to 199, as shown in FIG. For example, if it is a special figure 1 jackpot symbol type 3, it is selected when the value of the special symbol random number is between 190 and 199 in the variable display of the special symbol 1.

As a procedure for specifying (searching) the jackpot symbol type from the special symbol determination data based on the special symbol random number, first, the special symbol 1 or the special symbol 2 is specified, and the special symbol random number is selected from the top record of the corresponding table. Compare the threshold (lower limit). As a result of the comparison, if the special symbol random number is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the corresponding jackpot symbol type is selected. On the other hand, when the special symbol random number is smaller than the threshold, the next record is similarly compared. Since the threshold value (lower limit value) of the final record is 0, the special symbol random number is always equal to or greater than the threshold value at the end, and the jackpot symbol type is selected.

Next, a case where a special symbol random number outside the generation range is acquired will be described. FIG. 499 is a diagram for explaining the symbol type corresponding to the special symbol random number, (A) shows the case of the special symbol 1, and (B) shows the case of the special symbol 2. FIG.

A 2-byte area is assigned to the special symbol random number, and values from 0 to 255 can be stored. As shown in FIG. 499, since the special symbol random number generation range is from 0 to 199, values from 200 to 255 are out of the generation range. Therefore, as in the case of the random number for judging a big hit, there is a possibility that a special symbol random number outside the range may be acquired due to the influence of noise or the like. In the method for specifying the jackpot symbol type described above, when a special symbol random number outside the range is acquired, the value is larger than the first compared lower limit value, so the special figure 1 jackpot symbol type 3 is retrieved. In other words, if the threshold is the lower limit, the comparison is made in descending order of the threshold, so the value outside the range will be a larger value than the original generation range, so the condition will be satisfied at the first comparison. Become. In the example described above, the jackpot symbol type that is most advantageous to the player is selected.

When the random number for judging a big hit is out of range, it is controlled so that the player is most disadvantaged, but even if the random number for special symbols is out of range, it is confirmed that a big win (or a small win) is made. Therefore, if the player is controlled so as to be most disadvantageous, it will be disadvantageous to the player. Therefore, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, as described above, control is performed so as not to be the most disadvantageous (it is desirable to control so as to be the most advantageous).

Therefore, by arranging the jackpot pattern type to be selected when the value of the special pattern random number is out of the generation range, it is possible to intentionally select the specific jackpot pattern type. Also, by setting the upper limit of the generation range in the top record, it is possible to set the jackpot symbol type that is selected only when a random number outside the generation range is obtained.

In addition, if the threshold is the upper limit, the comparison is made in ascending order of the threshold, so the condition is satisfied in the last comparison. do it.

By configuring as above, it is possible to set the jackpot pattern type to be selected when a random number outside the generation range is acquired only by arranging or adding data without adding exception processing to the program, Since normal game control can be continued even when a random number outside the generation range is acquired, processing load can be reduced by simplifying game control, and stability can be improved.

(Special symbol variation pattern setting process)
Next, the special symbol variation pattern setting process (step 08TKS0370) for setting the variation pattern in the special symbol variation display will be described. The special symbol variation pattern setting process includes a process for selecting a variation pattern (variation pattern determination process). FIG. 500 is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure of special symbol variation pattern setting processing.

The main control MPU 1311 first acquires the number of special symbol operation pending balls (step 08TKS0810). The number of special symbol operation pending balls is stored in the reach probability selection pending ball number area.

Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 executes a variation pattern selection determination process for selecting a special symbol variation pattern based on the number of special symbol operation pending balls and the big hit flag (step 08TKS0820). Details of the variation pattern selection determination process will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 acquires the variation pattern value extracted by the variation pattern selection determination process, and searches for data (variation time value) corresponding to the variation pattern value from the special symbol variation time data (step 08TKS0830).

Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 executes variation type determination processing for selecting the variation type defined in the variation pattern in the variation display of the special symbol (step 08TKS0840). Set the variation type classification value acquired by the variation type determination process.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 retrieves the variable time addition value corresponding to the variation type type value from the variation time addition value data (step 08TKS0850). The variation time addition value is the addition time corresponding to the variation type, and corresponds to, for example, the addition time according to the number of times of pseudo consecutive. Furthermore, the searched variable time addition value is stored in the special symbol addition timer area, and the special symbol variation pattern setting process is terminated.

(Variation pattern selection determination process)
Next, the variation pattern selection determination process (step 08TKS0820) will be described. FIG. 501 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of variation pattern selection determination processing. The variation pattern selection determination process is a process for selecting a variation pattern in the variation display of special symbols. In addition, this process is also called in the prefetch process that is executed at the time of starting winning.

The main control MPU 1311 first acquires the special symbol-specific variation distribution information source table based on the variation table number (step 08TKS0910). A plurality of special symbol-by-symbol variation distribution information source tables are defined corresponding to the variation table numbers. In the special symbol-by-symbol variation distribution information source table, a hit variation selection information table, a reach variation selection information table, a losing variation selection information table and a special symbol reach probability table are specified for each of the special symbols 1 and 2. .

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the result of the special lottery is a big win or a small win (step 08TKS0920). If a big hit or a small hit is not won (the result of step 08TKS0920 is "No"), that is, if the result of the special lottery is a loss, it is determined whether or not reach occurs (step 08TKS0930). Whether or not reach occurs is determined by determining a special symbol reach probability table (reach probability data) based on the game state, the number of held balls, etc., and drawing lots based on the reach determination random number.

When it is determined that reach does not occur (the result of step 08TKS0930 is "No"), the main control MPU 1311 selects the losing variation pattern selection table (step 08TKS0940). In addition, when the random number for judging a big hit is out of range, it may be judged that the reach will not occur without fail. Minimize the influence on the game by quickly shifting to the next variation.

The main control MPU 1311 executes the losing variation pattern selection process when the losing variation pattern selection table is created (step 08TKS0950). In the loss variation pattern selection process, the loss variation pattern selection value data table is specified, and one loss variation pattern selection data is selected from a plurality of loss variation pattern selection data based on the game state (time saving state, etc.), the number of held balls, etc. Identify. In addition, when the random number for judging a big hit is out of the range and in a time-saving state, by selecting a variation pattern with the shortest variation time, control is performed so as to minimize the influence on the game. It should be noted that the selection of the variation pattern with the shortest variation time may be determined based on the number of special symbol operation pending balls in addition to the time saving state. For example, the variation pattern with the shortest variation time may be forcibly selected only when the number of special symbol operation pending balls is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

On the other hand, if it is determined that reach occurs (the result of step 08TKS0930 is "Yes"), the main control MPU 1311 selects the reach fluctuation pattern selection table (step 08TKS0960) and executes the reach fluctuation pattern selection process ( step 08TKS0970). The reach fluctuation pattern selection process performs the same process as the deviation fluctuation pattern selection process. Specifically, a reach variation pattern selection value data table is specified, and a variation pattern is selected based on the game state, the number of held balls, and the like.

It should be noted that when a big hit or a small hit is not won (the result of step 08TKS0920 is "No"), the case of being called from the look-ahead process is also included. Also, when called from the look-ahead process, it selects a variation pattern selection table based on reach probability data for reach determination random numbers and look-ahead.

If a big hit or a small hit is won (the result of step 08TKS0920 is "Yes"), the main control MPU 1311 selects the winning variation pattern selection table (step 08TKS0980), and executes the winning variation pattern selection process ( step 08TKS0990). The variation pattern selection process at the time of winning performs the same process as the loss variation pattern selection process. Specifically, a variable pattern selection value data table at the time of winning is specified, and a variable pattern is selected based on the game state, the number of held balls, and the like. In addition, when the random number for the special symbol is out of range, the variation pattern with the shortest variation time is selected from among the selectable variation patterns, and the influence on the game is suppressed.

When the fluctuation pattern selection process (loss fluctuation pattern selection process, reach fluctuation pattern selection process, winning fluctuation pattern selection process) is completed, the main control MPU 1311 executes the fluctuation setting process (08TKS1000). In the variation setting process, the variation pattern number is specified from the variation pattern selection data (loss variation pattern selection data, reach variation pattern selection data, winning variation pattern selection data) specified in each variation pattern selection process. After the change setting process ends, the change pattern selection determination process ends.

Here, a case will be described where the result of the special lottery is a loss and the random number for the variation pattern is outside the range when reach occurs. FIG. 502 is a diagram showing an example of reach fluctuation pattern selection data. Incidentally, the losing variation pattern selection data and the hit variation pattern selection data have the same configuration.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, a variation pattern is selected from the reach variation pattern selection data based on the variation pattern random number. The method of selecting a variation pattern is to compare the threshold and the random number (variation pattern random number) from the beginning of the reach variation pattern selection data in the same way as when selecting the jackpot pattern type, and the variation pattern random number is larger than the threshold. A variation pattern corresponding to the case is selected.

A 1-byte area is allocated to the random number for the variation pattern, and values from 0 to 255 can be stored. As shown in FIG. 490, since the generation range of random numbers for variation patterns is from 0 to 149, values from 150 to 255 are out of the generation range. Therefore, as in the case of the random number for judging a big hit or the random number for a special symbol, there is a possibility that a value outside the range may be obtained due to the influence of noise or the like. As mentioned above, when identifying the fluctuation pattern, the threshold value is the lower limit value, so the value outside the range will be a larger value than the original generation range. The SPSP reach, which is the most expected variation pattern, will be searched. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, as in the case of the special symbol random number, it is controlled so as not to select the most disadvantageous variation pattern, and by configuring in this way, it is possible to suppress the decline in the interest of the game. be able to.

[35-3. Effects/Others]
As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, even if the random number for judging a big hit is out of range, exception processing such as judging whether or not the range of the obtained random number exceeds a predetermined range is performed. Normal control will continue without going through. As with the determination of the big hit, the judgment of the small hit is also compared with the upper limit value and the lower limit value, respectively, so that normal control can be continued without executing exception processing. As a result, it is possible to simplify the game control and improve the development efficiency of the game machine while suppressing an increase in the processing load. Further, even if the acquired random number is out of the range, it is possible to prevent the hole from being damaged by performing control so as not to cause a big hit.

In addition, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, it is possible to set the jackpot pattern type and variation pattern to be selected when a random number outside the generation range is acquired only by arranging or adding data without adding exception processing to the program. is possible, and even if a random number outside the generation range is acquired, normal game control can be continued, so by simplifying the game control, the processing load can be reduced and stability can be improved. Furthermore, when the random numbers obtained for selecting the jackpot symbol type and the variation pattern are out of range, control is performed so that the most disadvantageous result is not selected, thereby suppressing the decline in the interest of the game. .

(Normal design)
It should be noted that the lottery can be similarly executed not only for the special symbols but also for the normal symbols. Specifically, "random number for jackpot judgment" is "random number for hit judgment", "random number for special design" is "random number for winning design", "random number for fluctuation pattern" for special design is "variation "random number for pattern" and apply the processing for the above-described special symbol. At this time, in the case of random numbers relating to special symbols, hardware random numbers may be generated, and in the case of random numbers relating to normal symbols, software random numbers may be generated.

In addition, lottery with special symbols (special lottery) has many types of hits, and lottery with normal symbols (normal lottery) has few types of hits. By setting the range (0 to 65535), the outside of the range is eliminated, while the generation range of the random numbers for hit determination of normal symbols may be a part of the range instead of the entire range of 2 bytes. As a result, a fine lottery can be performed for the special lottery, and an appropriate range can be set for the ordinary lottery.

(others)
In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the case where the obtained random number is out of range is not limited to the case where the random number generated by the random number generation circuit is out of range. For example, even if the generated random number is normal, the value may be out of range due to noise or the like when stored in the main control RAM 1312, or the value may be read out of range in the process of reading the value from the main control RAM 1312. It also includes cases where

In addition, even if the value of all 2 bytes of the random number for judging a big hit is set as the generation range, if an abnormality occurs in the random number generation circuit, the game will The determination result is derived so as to be the most disadvantageous result for the user, and the subsequent processing is continued. An abnormality in the random number generation circuit can be detected from the value of a predetermined register of the main control MPU 1311 . Further, when an abnormality is detected from a predetermined register of the main control MPU 1311, the game may be stopped without continuing the processing, and control may be performed to output a security signal. The return from the game stop may be performed by shutting off the power supply and turning it on again.

As mentioned above, the game is stopped when an abnormality occurs in the random number generation circuit itself. Unlike the case of an abnormality when detecting a vibration sensor, the game is not stopped and the random number abnormality (outside the generation range) is not notified. This is because the game arcade is an environment where noise is likely to occur, and frequent stoppages of the game may reduce the enjoyment of the game.

It should be noted that the game may be stopped by announcing an abnormality with respect to the random number for judging a big hit. Abnormality of the random numbers for judging a big hit is also closely related to the provision of game value, and the acquisition of random numbers outside the generation range results in the most disadvantageous result for the player, which reduces the interest in the game. Because it is. Since the special symbol random number and the variation pattern random number do not affect the judgment result of the big hit, as described above, the game is continued without stopping the game or announcing an abnormality.

Also, when the random number for judging a big hit is out of range, a security signal may be output in the same manner as in the case of abnormality when detecting a magnet or a vibration sensor or when changing/confirming settings. Also, if there is a vacant external output terminal, a signal other than the security signal may be output. As for the abnormality of the random number for the special symbol or the random number for the fluctuation pattern, the game is continued without outputting the external signal, as in the case of the game stop or the abnormality notification.

(Summary of inventions related to random number range)
Representative aspects of the invention disclosed herein include the following.

(1) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
random number generation means for generating a random number within a specified range for executing the lottery;
Lottery result determination means for obtaining a random number generated by the random number generation means and determining the result of the lottery based on the random number;
with
The game machine, wherein the lottery result determination means determines that the lottery result is not advantageous to the player when the random number obtained from the random number generation means is not within the designated range. .

(2) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is established and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
random number generation means for generating a random number within a specified range for executing the lottery;
lottery result determination means for acquiring the random number generated by the random number generation means and determining the result of the lottery;
Symbol variation display means for executing symbol variation display based on the result of the lottery;
with
When the random number obtained from the random number generation means is not within the designated range, the lottery result determination means determines the result of the lottery to be the most disadvantageous result for the player,
The symbol variation display means executes the symbol variation display based on the lottery result by the lottery result determination means even if the random number obtained from the random number generation means is not within the specified range. Characteristic game machine.

In the configurations of (1) and (2), even if the acquired random number is out of range due to the influence of noise or the like, it is determined that the result is the most disadvantageous for the player, so that exception handling is not provided. Processing can be continued under normal control. For example, even if the random number for judging a big hit is out of range, it is determined that it is lost (a result that is not advantageous for the player), and processing can be continued under normal control without providing exception handling, so game control can be simplified, and the development efficiency of the game machine can be improved while suppressing an increase in the processing load. In addition, even if the obtained random number is out of range, it is possible to prevent the hole from suffering damage by controlling so that it will not be a big hit (FIGS. 495 to 497).

(3) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
random number generation means for generating a random number within a specified range for executing the lottery;
lottery result determination means for acquiring the random number generated by the random number generation means and determining the result of the lottery;
with
The special game state includes a first special game state (special game state by big win) and a second special game state (special game state by small win) different from the first special game state,
The lottery result determination means is
After determining whether or not to generate the first special game state, determining whether or not to generate the second special game state,
Even if the random number obtained from the random number generating means is not within the designated range, whether or not to generate the second special game state after determining whether or not to generate the first special game state. A game machine characterized by determining whether or not.

In the configuration of (3), even if the random number for judging a big hit is out of range, it is judged to be lost (result most unfavorable to the player), and then the judging of a small hit is continued as it is. In this way, since processing can be continued under normal control without providing exception processing, it is possible to simplify game control, suppress an increase in processing load, and improve development efficiency of the gaming machine. (Figures 495-497).

(4) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
random number generation means for generating a random number within a specified range for executing the lottery;
lottery result determination means for acquiring the random number generated by the random number generation means and determining the result of the lottery;
with
The lottery includes a first lottery (for example, a lottery based on a random number for judging a big hit) to determine whether or not the lottery has been won, and a second lottery (for example, a lottery for special symbols) that is executed following the first lottery. Lottery based on random numbers or random numbers for fluctuation patterns)
The generated random numbers are a first random number for determining the result of the first lottery (for example, a random number for judging a big hit) and a second random number for determining the result of the second lottery (for example, a special symbol random number for use, random number for variation pattern), and a generation range is specified for each random number,
The lottery result determination means executes the second lottery even if the first random number is not within the specified range, and if the second random number is not within the specified range, A gaming machine characterized by making the result of the second lottery the least disadvantageous result for the player.

In the configuration of (4), even if the random number for judging a big hit is out of the range, it is judged to be lost (the most disadvantageous result for the player), and then a lottery based on the random number for special symbols and the random number for fluctuation pattern is executed. Even if the random number is out of the range, the normal processing is continued as it is as a result that is not the most disadvantageous to the player. In this way, since processing can be continued under normal control without providing exception processing, it is possible to simplify game control, suppress an increase in processing load, and improve development efficiency of the gaming machine. (Figures 495, 498, 499). In addition, the configuration of (4) can also be applied to the lottery of normal symbols.

(5) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is established and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
random number generation means for generating a random number within a specified range for executing the lottery;
lottery result determination means for acquiring the random number generated by the random number generation means and determining the result of the lottery;
with
The lottery includes a first lottery (for example, a lottery based on a random number for judging a big hit) to determine whether or not the lottery has been won, and a second lottery (for example, a lottery for special symbols) that is executed following the first lottery. Lottery based on random numbers or random numbers for fluctuation patterns)
The generated random numbers are a first random number for determining the result of the first lottery (for example, a random number for judging a big hit) and a second random number for determining the result of the second lottery (for example, a special symbol random number for use, random number for variation pattern), and a generation range is specified for each random number,
When the first lottery is won and the second random number is not within the specified range, the lottery result determination means determines the result of the second lottery as the least disadvantageous result for the player. A game machine characterized by

In the configuration of (5), even if the random number for the special symbol or the variable pattern random number is out of range, the result is always the least disadvantageous to the player, and the normal processing is continued as it is. In this way, since processing can be continued under normal control without providing exception processing, it is possible to simplify game control, suppress an increase in processing load, and improve development efficiency of the gaming machine. (Figures 495, 498, 499). In addition, the configuration of (4) can also be applied to the lottery of normal symbols.

(6) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
random number generation means for generating a random number within a specified range for executing the lottery;
lottery result determination means for acquiring the random number generated by the random number generation means and determining the result of the lottery;
with
The generated random number is a winning judgment random number (random number for judging a big hit or a random number for judging a hit) for judging whether or not the lottery is won, and the mode of the special game state when the lottery is won. Design random number to be determined (random number for special design or random number for normal design), and the generation range is specified for each random number,
The lottery result judging means wins a lottery based on the hit determination random number, and if the pattern random number is not within the specified range, the lottery result based on the pattern random number is not the least disadvantageous to the player. A game machine characterized by:

In the configuration of (6), in addition to the same effect as in (5), even if the symbol random number is out of range, the result is always the least disadvantageous to the player, and the normal processing is continued as it is. In this way, since processing can be continued under normal control without providing exception processing, it is possible to simplify game control, suppress an increase in processing load, and improve development efficiency of the gaming machine. (Figures 495, 498, 499).

(7) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
random number generation means for generating a random number within a specified range for executing the lottery;
lottery result determination means for acquiring the random number generated by the random number generation means and determining the result of the lottery;
with
The generated random number is a winning judgment random number (random number for judging a big hit or a random number for judging a hit) for judging whether or not the lottery is won, and the mode of the special game state when the lottery is won. Design random number to be determined (random number for special design or random number for normal design), and the generation range is specified for each random number,
Having symbol determination information composed of a plurality of records including a combination of a threshold value to be compared with the symbol random number and a mode of the special game state,
The lottery result judging means, when winning a lottery based on the hit determination random number and when the symbol random number is not within the specified range, displays the result of the lottery based on the symbol random number at the head of the symbol determination information. A gaming machine characterized in that the result corresponds to a record or a final record. "

In the configuration of (7), in addition to the same effect as (5), even if the symbol random number is out of range, the first or last record of the symbol determination data (special symbol determination data or normal symbol determination data) Select it and continue normal processing. In this way, since processing can be continued under normal control without providing exception processing, it is possible to simplify game control, suppress an increase in processing load, and improve development efficiency of the gaming machine. (Figures 495, 498, 499).

(8) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
random number generation means for generating a random number within a specified range for executing the lottery;
lottery result determination means for acquiring the random number generated by the random number generation means and determining the result of the lottery;
Symbol variation display means for executing symbol variation display based on the result of the lottery;
with
The generated random number includes a winning determination random number (big hit determination random number or winning determination random number) for determining whether or not the lottery has been won, and a variation pattern random number that determines the variation display mode. In addition, a generation range is specified for each random number,
The lottery result judging means wins a lottery based on the hit determination random number, and if the variation pattern random number is not within the specified range, the lottery result based on the pattern random number is the most disadvantageous to the player. A gaming machine characterized in that the result is not

In the configuration of (8), in addition to the same effect as in (5), even if the random numbers for the fluctuation pattern (for special symbols and for normal symbols) are out of range, the result is always the least disadvantageous to the player. continue processing. In this way, since processing can be continued under normal control without providing exception processing, it is possible to simplify game control, suppress an increase in processing load, and improve development efficiency of the gaming machine. (Figures 501 and 502).

(9) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
random number generation means for generating a random number within a specified range for executing the lottery;
lottery result determination means for acquiring the random number generated by the random number generation means and determining the result of the lottery;
Symbol variation display means for varying and displaying symbols based on the result of the lottery;
with
The generated random number includes a winning determination random number (big hit determination random number or winning determination random number) for determining whether or not the lottery has been won, and a variation pattern random number that determines the variation display mode. In addition, a generation range is specified for each random number,
It has variation pattern determination information composed of a plurality of records including a combination of a threshold value to be compared with the variation pattern random number and the mode of the special game state,
The lottery result determination means wins a lottery based on the hit determination random number, and when the variation pattern random number is not within the specified range, determines the variation pattern determination result of the lottery based on the variation pattern random number. A gaming machine characterized in that a result corresponding to the first record or the last record of information is obtained.

In the configuration of (9), in addition to the same effect as (5), even if the random number for the variation pattern (for special symbols and for normal symbols) is out of range, the variation pattern selection data (for special symbols and for normal symbols) select the first or last record of the , and continue normal processing. In this way, since processing can be continued under normal control without providing exception processing, it is possible to simplify game control, suppress an increase in processing load, and improve development efficiency of the gaming machine. (Figures 501 and 502).

(10) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
random number generation means for generating a random number within a specified range for executing the lottery;
lottery result determination means for acquiring the random number generated by the random number generation means and determining the result of the lottery;
Symbol variation display means for executing symbol variation display based on the result of the lottery;
with
The generated random number includes a winning determination random number (big hit determination random number or winning determination random number) for determining whether or not the lottery has been won, and a variation pattern random number that determines the variation display mode. In addition, a generation range is specified for each random number,
When the hit determination random number is not within the specified range, the symbol variation display means displays the variation pattern random number with the shortest variation display time of the symbol regardless of the value of the variation pattern random number. A gaming machine characterized by executing variable display of symbols.

In the configuration (10), in addition to the effect of (1), when the value of the winning judgment random number is out of the range, the fluctuation time of the symbol display is minimized, thereby quickly ending the game affected by noise etc. It is possible to improve the stability of the game (Fig. 495).

(11) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
random number generation means for generating a random number within a specified range for executing the lottery;
lottery result determination means for acquiring the random number generated by the random number generation means and determining the result of the lottery;
Symbol variation display means for executing symbol variation display based on the result of the lottery;
with
When the random number obtained from the random number generation means is not within the specified range, the lottery result determination means determines the result of the lottery to be the most disadvantageous result for the player,
The gaming machine, wherein the symbol variation display means suppresses the execution of the ready-to-win effect in the process of executing the effect of displaying the symbols in a variable manner.

In the configuration (11), in addition to the effect of (1), the execution of the ready-to-win effect is suppressed when the value of the random number for judging a big hit is out of the range, thereby speeding up the game affected by noise and the like. It can be terminated, and the stability of the game can be improved (Fig. 495).

[36. Return control from game stop]
The lottery control has been described above. Next, the return control when the game is stopped due to the occurrence of an abnormality or the like during the progress of the game will be described. In order to return from a game stop, the power is turned off and then on again, but since the contents of the main control RAM 1312 are maintained by the backup power supply, it may not be possible to return from a game stop. In such a case, by turning on the power while operating the RAM clear switch 954, the game stop can be released, but the state before the game stop cannot be restored. However, depending on the cause of the game stop, it may be possible to return to the game without clearing the RAM. This can contribute to suppressing the decline in game interest.

The gaming machine of the present embodiment is provided with a plurality of game stop canceling means, and selects and executes these game stop canceling means according to the game state or the like. The game stop release means may be executed by operating the corresponding operation means (game stop release operation means), or existing operation means (for example, RAM clear switch 954 or power supply It may be executed by operating a switch 932, etc.). Further, operations of a plurality of operation means may be combined, or operations of a dedicated operation means and existing operation means may be combined and executed. Hereinafter, game stop factors will be described, and then an outline of the game stop canceling means will be described. Finally, a specific example of the game stop canceling means will be described.

[36-1. Game stop factor]
[36-1-1. overview]
As a factor for stopping the game, first, there is a case where a signal such as a fraud detection sensor that detects magnetism, vibration, radio waves, or the like is detected. Detection of these signals may be caused by fraudulent activity, making it difficult to continue the game. When canceling the game stoppage, it is necessary to restart the game from the initial state by clearing the RAM or the like.

In addition to cases where there is a possibility of being caused by the fraudulent act described above, an error may occur in the game control due to factors such as noise, and the game control program may not operate normally. In this case, since there is a high possibility that the game cannot be continued normally even if the game suspension is simply canceled, it is necessary to restart the game from the initial state by clearing the RAM or the like when canceling the game suspension. In addition, when the game stops due to the influence of noise or the like, there is a possibility that the cause of the game stop cannot be identified due to poor reproducibility. In this case, the game is restarted from the initial state by clearing the RAM or the like when canceling the game stop, as in the case where an abnormality that makes it difficult to continue the game occurs. Similarly, when an abnormality occurs in the main control board 1310, such as when an abnormality occurs in the random number generation circuit incorporated in the main control MPU 1311, the game is stopped.

In addition, when the entry of a game ball is detected while the big winning opening is closed, or when a predetermined number or more of winnings are detected in the jackpot game state, the game ball does not pass through the probability variable area (V-AT area). To control to stop a game even when an abnormality such as a game ball passing through a variable probability area despite the occurrence of a big hit occurs.

In addition, in the case of minor abnormalities such as ball clogging and full tank errors, the game itself continues, and after the abnormality is resolved, the game continues as it is (however, the payout of the game value (prize balls) is stopped).

Furthermore, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, a mechanism (excess prize balls) that stops the game when the difference (difference ball) between the expected paid out balls and the actual paid out balls is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value (excess prize balls) suppression means). By providing the excessive prize ball suppressing means, it is possible to prevent excessive fanning of the gambling spirit. Excess prize ball suppression means will be described later.

It should be noted that even if another game stop factor occurs in duplicate while the game is stopped, the decision to stop the game is not made again. For example, while the game is stopped due to the excess prize balls, even if the magnetic sensor detects the magnetic abnormality, the game stop is maintained without notifying. This is because, in this case, since the game has already stopped, problems such as illegal acquisition of prize balls do not occur.

[36-1-2. Excess Prize Ball Suppression Means]
(Determination of Excess Prize Balls)
First, the calculation method of the difference ball (comparative value) for the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means will be described. The difference ball is a value (first count value) counted based on the game balls consumed in the game (launched balls, out balls, safe balls), and a value counted based on the prize balls (second count value). is the difference between The comparison value is calculated based on the difference ball. FIG. 503 is a diagram for explaining a comparison value for operating the excess prize ball suppression means.

In the excessive prize balls suppression means, the maximum value of difference balls (first comparison value) when the start time of the measurement period is set to 0, and the minimum and maximum values of difference balls within the measurement period are used as values to be compared with the threshold value. There is a difference (second comparison value) from the value. For example, if the maximum value of difference balls within the measurement period is 6000 and the minimum value is -2000, the first comparison value is 6000 and the second comparison value is 8000.

Note that the measurement period is the period from when the difference ball value is cleared to when it is cleared again. It will be a period (1 day) until the start of business). In this case, it may be cleared in the initialization process when the gaming machine is powered on. Also, the counting of the extra balls may be cleared when the hall is closed. In this case, it may be cleared by processing when power is turned off (power failure processing).

Further, it may be possible to manually clear the count of difference balls by performing a predetermined operation. For example, a button for clearing the difference ball count may be provided, and the count of difference balls may be cleared by turning off and on the power while operating the button. This makes it possible to clear the difference ball count at any time, and even if an abnormality is detected in the count value such as the number of prize balls due to noise, it is possible to continue playing after clearing. becomes.

In addition, even when the excess prize ball restraining means operates, since the game control itself operates normally, it is possible to control the timing of stopping the game. Specifically, (1) immediately after the comparison value exceeds the threshold regardless of the game state, (2) if the threshold is exceeded during the jackpot game, after the jackpot game ends, (3) time saving state (predetermined number of times If the threshold is exceeded in the probability variable state, after the game state ends (after the normal game state transition), (4) after the pattern fluctuation ends (if there is a hold, after all holds are digested), (5) After the big win game state is completed if the pattern is changing to become a big hit, (6) if the pattern is changing to become a big win, the lottery result is forcibly changed to lose, and after the pattern change is completed, etc. Conceivable.

By stopping the game when the comparison value exceeds the threshold as in (1), it is possible to strictly manage the number of balls released. Further, by continuing the game until the state advantageous to the player ends as in (2) to (5), it is possible to suppress the loss of interest in the game. By controlling as in (6), it is possible to prevent the game from being stopped once a big win has occurred, and to prevent the player from recognizing that the game has actually been a big win, thereby preventing the player from significantly losing interest in the game. can do.

A program for executing the process of determining excess prize balls (excess prize ball suppression means) is arranged in an area outside the game control area 13126 . For example, it may be placed in the base calculation area 13128 as in the base calculation process or the like, or may be placed in another area.

Also, the area for storing the number of out balls and the number of safe balls counted by the excess prize ball suppression means is stored in a different area of the main control RAM 1312 from the number of out balls and the number of safe balls counted for base calculation. be. The number of out balls and the number of safe balls counted by the excess prize ball suppression means may be cleared as necessary, so if stored in a common area, it may not be possible to accurately calculate the base. is.

If a process for clearing the number of out balls and the number of safe balls is separately prepared, the process (program) for counting the number of out balls and the number of safe balls can be shared. For example, an area for storing the number of out-balls and the number of safe-balls may be specified, and the stored values may be updated according to the detection result of the sensor. This makes it possible to reduce the program capacity.

In addition, the processing for counting the number of out balls and the number of safe balls by the excessive prize ball suppression means and the processing for counting the number of out balls and the number of safe balls for base calculation are respectively called in the same timer interrupt processing.

(Operation at the time of excessive prize ball control means operation)
Next, the operation of the gaming machine when the excess prize ball suppression means is activated will be described. When the excess prize ball restraining means operates, the progress of the game is stopped at the timing described above, and various operations are performed. Also, instead of stopping the game, the shooting of the game ball may be stopped, or both the game stop and the shooting stop may be performed.

In addition, when there are prize balls that have not been paid out when the excess prize ball restraining means is activated, the game is stopped after all the prize balls have been paid out. In this case, the game may be immediately stopped because the excessive prize balls are paid out at the timing when the excess prize ball suppression means operates (the timing when the comparison value exceeds the threshold value). It is also possible to stop the game while there are unpaid prize balls when the excessive prize ball suppression means is activated.

In addition, the threshold is set stepwise, and when the accessory is activated such as in a jackpot game state, the actuation of the excess prize ball suppression means is determined at the time when the threshold of the first stage is reached, and the accessory is activated. Stop the game after finishing. On the other hand, when the accessory is not activated, the game is stopped at the timing when the comparison value reaches the second stage threshold value. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in excessively given gaming value.

The game state that continues when the excessive prize ball suppression means is activated may be forcibly shifted to the normal game state.

As the game stop condition, only one of the first comparison value and the second comparison value may be used for comparison determination. Also, the first comparison value and the second comparison value may be alternately switched each time the power is turned on, or whether the first comparison value or the second comparison value is to be used is arbitrarily determined by the store clerk at the game parlor. You may enable it to be switched to . As the switching means, a substrate volume for sound volume adjustment may also be used. For example, a part of the substrate volume may be used as a volume value, and a part thereof may be used as a comparison value. Specifically, in the case of a rotary switch, 16 steps can be set with one switch, so 0 to 7 are substrate volumes and 8 to F are comparative values. More specifically, "8" is the first comparison value, "9" is the second comparison value, "A" switches between the first comparison value and the second comparison value after power-on, and "B" to "F" are For reserve (preliminary) use.

It should be noted that means for canceling the game stoppage when the game is stopped by the excess prize ball suppression means is basically the same as when the game is stopped due to other factors. If the RAM is not cleared, the difference ball (comparison value) count is cleared as necessary.

(Announcement of Excess Prize Ball Suppression Means Operation)
Next, the notification of the excess prize balls restraining means will be described. When the game is to be stopped by the excess prize balls suppressing means, the player is notified of this fact. The types of notifications include a notification that the comparison value is approaching the threshold value, a notification that the comparison value has reached the threshold value, and a notification that the comparison value exceeds the threshold value and the game is stopped. In addition, an external output signal is output for notifying the outside of the gaming machine (such as a hall controller). The external output signal may also be used as a security signal, or a dedicated signal may be provided.

In addition, when the threshold is exceeded by a game ball entering a big winning hole in a big win game state, or when a game ball enters a general winning hole other than a big winning hole or a starting winning hole, the threshold is exceeded. You may change the aspect of alerting|reporting in the case of exceeding. In the former case, the threshold may be significantly exceeded, so it may be easier to manage if the administrator is made aware of it. In addition, unless the threshold value is exceeded by the prize balls due to the game balls entering the big prize opening, the number of game balls consumed in the game does not greatly exceed the number of prize balls, so it is common without distinction may be used as a notification mode.

Next, an example of notifying the player will be described. As a mode of notification, for example, a specific lamp is turned on. At this time, the lamp is normally turned off, the lamp is blinked when the difference between the comparison value and the threshold value is within a predetermined value, and the lamp is turned on when the comparison value reaches the threshold value. may be notified to. With such a configuration, the player can recognize that the game is about to stop by blinking the lamp, and can recognize that the game will be stopped by turning on the lamp.

Also, the notification may be made by means of a dramatic sound or voice. At this time, the output of the effect sound is stopped or the volume is lowered, and the notification sound is output. Furthermore, when the difference between the comparison value and the threshold value is within a predetermined value, the output of the notification sound is started, and when the comparison value reaches the threshold value, the output of the effect sound is stopped and only the notification sound is output. You may do so.

In addition, the liquid crystal display device 1600 may be notified of the excess prize balls suppressing means. At this time, the content of notification is displayed on the highest (foremost) layer or the highest (foremost) layer of the production layers. As a result, it is possible to continue the effect on the back side. For example, when the difference between the comparison value and the threshold value is within a predetermined value, the effect can be continued while an advance notice is given. At this time, the advance notification of the excess prize balls restraining means does not affect the advance notification and the pending display. This is because the game is progressing normally, and by hindering the normal performance, the game's interest is suppressed. On the other hand, since the game cannot progress when the game is stopped, priority may be given to the player's recognition.

In addition to the notification means described above, the notification may be performed by causing the movable accessory to perform a predetermined action. If it is difficult for the player to recognize the notification by the movable accessory, the notification may be made by other means, and the movable accessory may be operated to notify that the game has been stopped. At this time, the initial operation may be executed as when the gaming machine is turned on, or it may be operated in a specific mode (a mode for executing the excess prize ball suppression means). For example, in the case of a movable accessory that can cover the entire screen during operation, the movable accessory covers the liquid crystal display device. At this time, although it appears on the liquid crystal display screen in the same way as in the presentation, it should not return to the initial position as in the presentation. Further, when the movable accessory is provided with a lamp or the like, it emits light during the performance, but does not emit light when the game is stopped, or may have a different light emission mode from that during the performance. In this way, the player recognizes that the game is stopped by operating the movable accessory in different modes in the normal state and the game stop state.

Regarding the example of notification described above, the notification may be performed by a plurality of means instead of being performed independently. For example, the lighting of the lamp and the sound output may be used together, or the notification sound may be output while the notification screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 as an effect. In addition, a warning screen may be displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 to give notice of the excess prize ball suppression means, and when the actual game is stopped, a lamp may be turned on or a notification sound may be output.

(Notification to peripheral control board)
As described above, when performing the notification of the excess prize ball suppression means, it is necessary to notify the peripheral control means 1510 of the execution of the excess prize ball suppression means. Also, in the case of announcing the execution of the excess prize ball suppression means (for example, displaying the number of remaining difference balls until the excess prize ball suppression means is executed), it is necessary to notify information about this.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, a command is transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510 to notify the remaining number until the comparison value reaches the threshold value. As a result, it is possible to perform notification or advance notice of game stop by the excess prize balls restraining means. The command may be transmitted at any time according to the change of the comparison value (difference ball), or may be transmitted each time a predetermined number is reached.

The command to be transmitted (split ball command) is configured such that, for example, the upper part indicates "31H" indicating the spawned ball command, and the lower part indicates the remaining number. Since the area for storing the remaining number in the command is limited, it may not be possible to store it as it is. Therefore, the command may not be transmitted until the difference from the threshold becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value. For example, the command may be transmitted when the remaining number reaches 1,000.

Also, the remaining number may be notified by associating the content of the lower order command with the remaining number. For example, when the remaining number reaches 1000, command transmission is started, and the value of the lower command at this time is set to "01H". ), ..., "80H" (100 pieces). When the remaining number reaches 100, a command is transmitted every 10, for example, "81H" (90), "82H" (80), ..., "89H" (10). do. At this time, a table that stores the correspondence between the command contents and the remaining number is held.

FIG. 504 is a diagram showing an example of a table showing the relationship between commands and remaining numbers. By providing a table as shown in FIG. 504, the remaining number can be flexibly notified. In addition, as shown in FIG. 504, even if the threshold differs for each gaming machine setting or model, the display of the remaining number can be adjusted for each threshold. At this time, the upper byte of the command may be changed for each threshold. For example, when the threshold is 100,000, it is set to "31H", and when it is 60,000, it is set to "32H". It should be noted that when suggesting the game stop to the player, it is not necessary to notify the remaining number itself, so instead of the remaining number, the number of big wins until the game is stopped may be used.

[36-2. Game stop release means]
Next, means for canceling the game stoppage of the gaming machine will be described. The gaming machine of the present embodiment is provided with a plurality of types of game stop release means, and each game can be activated by operating a combination of game stop release operation means and existing operation means (RAM clear switch 954, setting key 971, etc.). Activate the stop release means. The game stop release operation means may be an operation means dedicated to game stop release, or may be one that uses another operation means that is not directly related to game stop release to release the game stop.

(Game stop first release means)
In the game stop first release means, the game stop second release operation means is operated (ON to OFF) while the game stop first release operation means is operated (OFF to ON). As a result, only the game stop is canceled without clearing the RAM. On the other hand, when the game stop first release operation means is not operated (maintains OFF) and the game stop second release operation means is operated (ON to OFF), the game stop is not released and the game stop first release is operated. Only functions corresponding to the operating means are executed. The control will be described in chronological order with reference to FIG.

FIG. 505 is a timing chart for explaining the flow of releasing the game suspension by the first game suspension releasing means.

First, at time t101, the game is forcibly stopped due to the occurrence of an abnormality in the gaming machine. At this time, a security signal is output to the outside. It should be noted that another signal indicating a game stop may be used instead of the security signal. Also, the game stop release confirmation means switches from "normal display" to "stop display".

Subsequently, in order to cancel the game stop, the first game stop release operation means is operated (time t102). Further, the second game stop release operation means is operated while the first game stop release operation means is being operated (time t103). As a result, processing for canceling the game stop is started, and the game state shifts to "returning". At this time, the game stop release confirming means is "turned off". In this way, by simultaneously operating a plurality of game stop release operating means, it is possible to prevent the game stop from being easily released and to prevent erroneous operations.

After that, the operation of the game stop second release operation means is ended (time t104), and the operation of the game stop first release operation means is ended (time t105). As a result, the game stop release confirming means is "all lit", and the game state shifts to the preparation period for restarting the game. After that, when the preparation for restarting the game is completed (time t106), the game stop cancellation confirmation means becomes "normal display", and the game state shifts to the normal game state.

(Second Game Stop Releasing Means)
After executing the same operation as the first game stop canceling means, the second game stop canceling means selects whether to cancel or continue the game stop from the game stop cancel confirming means when the game stop can be canceled. It becomes possible to It is determined whether or not to release the game stop by the game stop third release operation means, and when the release is selected, the game is resumed by shifting to the normal game state.

In this case, it is necessary that only the employees of the game arcade can perform the operation to cancel the game suspension, and the player cannot perform the operation. This is because if the player can cancel the suspension of the game due to fraud or the like, the game will be restarted, and it is necessary for the employee to check the situation when a failure occurs.

In addition, if the game state is advantageous to the player, such as a jackpot game state, a time-saving state, or a variable probability state, the game can be continued as long as possible, thereby suppressing a decline in the interest in the game. Furthermore, in the normal game state, even if the game can be continued, the game can be restarted after clearing the RAM, thereby reducing the possibility of the game being stopped again. Thus, it is possible to select whether or not to restart the game while confirming the situation according to the game state before the game was stopped.

The game stop third release operation means may be a dedicated operation means, or may be an existing operation means such as a production button.

FIG. 506 is a timing chart for explaining the flow of releasing the game suspension by the second game suspension releasing means. Note that the timing chart shown in FIG. 505 and the time from time t101 to time t105 are common, so description thereof will be omitted.

At time t106, the preparatory period for resuming the game is completed, and it becomes possible to accept a selection as to whether or not to cancel the game suspension. At this time, the display of the game stop release confirmation means becomes "selected", and the game state becomes a standby state. After that, when the game restart is selected (time t107), the game stop cancellation confirmation means becomes "normal display", and the game state becomes the normal game state. In addition, when restarting the game is not selected by the third game stop canceling operation means, the selected state may be maintained without restarting the game, or the game may be returned to the stopped state.

(Game stop third releasing means)
By operating the RAM clear switch 954 in the game stop third canceling means, the game is restarted with the contents stored in the main control RAM 1312 cleared. In this case, the game is restarted in the initialized state instead of the game state before the game was stopped.

(Game Stop Fourth Releasing Means)
The game stop fourth releasing means releases the game stop by executing the setting change operation. When the setting change operation is executed, the contents stored in the main control RAM 1312 are cleared, so the game is restarted in the initialized state instead of the game state before the game was stopped. A specific example of how the game stop is canceled by the fourth game stop canceling means will be described later. Further, when the setting confirmation operation is executed, the game stop is continued (maintained) without being canceled after the setting confirmation.

(others)
Depending on the type of game stop factor, the game may be automatically returned after the game is stopped. For example, when the game is stopped by the excess prize balls restraining means, the comparison value may be automatically initialized, and the game may be continued after the notification (effect) that the game has been stopped is executed. Alternatively, the game may be stopped and the game may be automatically restarted after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. For example, after the game is stopped, the game may be automatically resumed so that the game can be started as usual at the start of business on the next day.

When the game is restarted without clearing the RAM when the game is stopped by the excess prize ball suppression means, the counts such as the number of out balls and the number of safe balls (comparative value) are cleared. At this time, the count values for base calculation (total number of out balls, base value, number of safe balls) are not cleared. That is, by executing the game stop canceling means without clearing the RAM, the count value by the excess prize ball suppression means is cleared, while the count value for base calculation is maintained. In other words, on the condition that the game stop first canceling means is executed, the count value for base calculation is not cleared, but the count value by the excess prize balls suppression means is cleared without executing the initialization processing of the main control RAM 1312. . As a result, while the calculation of the base can be continued after the game is restarted, the counting of the comparison value used in the excess prize ball suppression means can be newly started.

Also, the game stop canceling means may be executed in response to the game stop factor. For example, when a setting value abnormality occurs, the game stop is canceled while executing the setting change function by executing the fourth game stop canceling means.

Further, priority may be assigned according to game stop factors, and means for canceling the game stop may be selected based on the game stop factors with high priority. For example, if a serious abnormality such as a set value abnormality or RAM abnormality occurs, it will be given the first priority. may be given the second priority, and the game stop canceling means to be executed may be changed according to the priority.

Specifically, in the game stop canceling means for the game stop factor of the first priority, the game stop is canceled by the game stop canceling means whose setting is changed. On the other hand, the game stop canceling means for the game stop factor of the second priority cancels the game stop by the game stop canceling means that does not change the setting. Alternatively, the game stop canceling means for the game stop factor of the first priority may execute RAM clearing, and the game stop canceling means for the game stop factor of the second priority may not execute RAM clearing.

Since the game stop canceling means for the game stop factor of the first priority accompanies setting change (RAM clearing), the game stop can be canceled even when the game stop canceling means for the game stop factor of the second priority cannot cancel the game stop. On the other hand, if the game stop canceling means for the game stop factor of the second priority can cancel the game stop without clearing the RAM, the game can be restarted from the state before the game stop. If the game is not restarted from the state before the game is stopped, it is possible to cancel the game stop by the game stop canceling means for the game stop factor of the first priority even if it is the game stop factor of the second priority.

In addition, the game stop canceling means to be executed according to the priority of the game stop factor at the time of game stop may be suggested by notification means such as a liquid crystal display screen to assist the game stop canceling operation by the hall employee. Incidentally, even when a plurality of game stop factors occur in duplicate before the game stop, the notification according to the priority may be executed to select the game stop canceling means.

[36-3. Specific example of game suspension release means]
Next, a specific example of the game stop release operating means will be described. As described above, the game stop release means is executed by combining one or more game stop release operation means and the operation of existing operation means such as the RAM clear switch 954 and the setting key 971 . Also, the game stop release operating means may be assigned to an existing configuration provided in the gaming machine. Furthermore, the game stop release operating means does not necessarily need to be a switching means such as a button or a switch, as long as a change of ON/OFF can be detected by a sensor or the like.

Further, the game stop release confirmation means is provided with a dedicated display section (game stop state display section) capable of confirming whether or not the game stop has been released. For example, it may be composed of one or a plurality of LEDs, and may be turned on in the game stop state and turned off in the game stop release state. In addition, when a plurality of LEDs are used, it is also possible to notify by changing the form depending on related states other than the above, for example, whether setting change/setting confirmation is being executed. Furthermore, the game stop state display section may be a 7-segment LED, and the setting value may be displayed when the setting change/setting confirmation is being executed.

[36-3-1. Cancellation of game suspension conditional on door opening]
In the gaming machine described below, the first game stop release operation means is the opening/closing (ON/OFF) of the door (one or both of the frame, the door frame 3 and the body frame 4), and the second game stop release operation means is The power switch 932 is turned on/off. The game stop first release operation means may determine ON/OFF based on the detection result of the door opening sensor (specifically, the body frame sensor or the like). At this time, the first game stop canceling means cancels the game stop by cutting off and then turning on the power while opening the door. The door need only be opened when the power is turned on, and does not necessarily have to be open before the power is turned on. For example, the power may be turned on at the same time as the door is opened.

Hereinafter, as a specific example of the game stop first releasing means, the control for releasing the game stop on the condition that the door is opened will be described with reference to the timing chart. It should be noted that the same event occurs at the same time in each timing chart, and the description of the event will be omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 507 is a timing chart showing an example of control for canceling the game suspension by turning on the power again when the door is opened. FIG. 508 is a timing chart showing an example of control for not canceling the game suspension by turning on the power again when the door is closed.

Referring to FIG. 508, at time t201, the game is forcibly stopped due to the occurrence of an abnormality in the gaming machine. At this time, a security signal is output to the outside. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, it is necessary to turn on the power again while opening the door when the game is stopped. Therefore, first, the door is opened (time t202), the power is turned off (time t203), and then the power is turned on again (time t204).

The opening of the door can be detected by a door frame open switch and a body frame open switch (not shown), and a detection signal is output to the main control board 1310 via the payout control board 951 . The door frame open switch detects opening of the door frame 3 with respect to the body frame 4 , and the body frame open switch detects opening of the body frame 4 with respect to the outer frame 2 . In this embodiment, when a detection signal (door open detection signal) is output from one of the switches, it is determined that the door is in the open state, but only one door (for example, the body frame 4) is opened. The open state may be detected, or the open state may be recognized when detection signals are output from both the door frame open switch and the body frame open switch. In addition, the contents of the main control RAM 1312 are retained by the backup power source until the game machine power is turned off and then turned on again.

When the power is turned on again, the main control board 1310 starts to activate the game machine, and cancels the game stop based on the door open detection signal in the initial setting process. At this time, the game stop state display section is turned off. After that, when the gaming machine finishes starting up, it becomes a preparation period for shifting to the normal game state (game start possible state) (time t205). During the preparation period, the game stop state display section is in a state of being fully lit. It should be noted that the game stop state display section may be fully lit while the gaming machine is running. In this case, the lighting may be performed in a different manner during the preparation period than during activation. Also, the lighting mode of the game stop state display portion during the preparation period may be different from that in the case of RAM clearing (when the gaming machine is started while operating the RAM clear switch 954).

Here, the cancellation of the game stop will be supplemented. When the game is to be stopped due to the occurrence of an abnormality in the gaming machine, the main control MPU 1311 sets a game stop flag in a predetermined area of the main control RAM 1312 . Then, the game machine is powered on again, and the game stop flag is cleared by detecting the door open detection signal when the game machine is started. Also, while the game stop flag is set, the abnormality notification is continued, and when the game stop flag is cleared, the abnormality notification (abnormal state notification period) is forcibly terminated (in the middle of the notification period) can be With this configuration, if an abnormality occurs after the power of the game machine is turned on again, the game stop flag is set again and the abnormality notification is started, so that it is immediately determined whether or not the game can be continued. becomes possible. If the anomaly notification continues, the game cannot be continued in the state before the power failure, so the RAM is cleared and the power is turned on again. Further, if the abnormality notification has ended, the game can be continued as it is.

When the preparation period ends (time t206), the main control board 1310 shifts to the normal game state. At this time, the game stop state display section is turned off to indicate that the game stop has been released, that is, the normal state.

Also, referring to FIG. 508, the power is turned off and on again without opening the door. Therefore, since the condition for canceling the game stop is not met, the game stop state continues even after the preparation period ends. The power switch 932 may be arranged on the back side of the gaming machine, but since the back side of the gaming machine can be accessed from the opposite side of the island, the power switch 932 can be operated without opening the door. It is also possible to operate.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, it is possible to try to cancel the game stoppage without clearing the RAM, so that the game can be expected to continue from the state before the stoppage. Also, even if the game stop cannot be canceled, the RAM clearing switch 954 can be operated to clear the RAM in the conventional procedure, thereby canceling the game stop.

Therefore, if the game cannot be continued, it is possible to continue the game even after the game is stopped, and it is possible to suppress the decrease in interest in the game. In addition, it is possible to perform control so as to temporarily stop the game when minor troubles occur continuously. For example, when a random number outside the generation range is obtained more than a predetermined number of times during random number generation in the special lottery, the game is temporarily stopped, the state of the gaming machine is checked, and then the game is restarted without clearing the RAM. is also possible.

[36-3-2. Cancellation of game stop when changing/confirming settings]
Next, a case of changing settings or checking settings when returning from a game stop will be described. Releasing the game stoppage by changing the setting corresponds to the above-described fourth game stop release means. First, the case of setting change will be described, and then the case of setting confirmation will be described. Finally, a case where opening the door is set as a condition for executing the setting change function will be described.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, setting changes are executed by turning on the power while operating the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 . Setting confirmation is executed by turning on the power while operating the setting key 971 without operating the RAM clear switch 954 .

(setting change)
FIG. 509 is a timing chart showing an example of control for changing settings while opening the door after the game is stopped. FIG. 510 is a timing chart showing an example of control for executing setting change while opening the door after the game is stopped and closing the door after starting the gaming machine. FIG. 511 is a timing chart showing an example of control for changing settings while closing the door after the game is stopped.

Referring to FIG. 509, the game is forcibly stopped at time t201, similar to the example shown in FIG. Further, after opening the door (time t202) and turning off the power (time t203), the power is turned on while operating the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 (time t204).

Furthermore, when the activation of the gaming machine is completed, the setting change function is executed (time t205). At this time, a security signal is output in the same manner as when the game is stopped. While the setting change function is being executed, the game stop state display section is in a display mode indicating that the setting change function is being executed, but the setting value itself may be displayed. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the setting value being changed (undecided) is displayed in a blinking state, and the setting value is displayed in a display mode indicating that the setting value is being changed.

After that, when the setting key 971 is switched to OFF and the setting change is completed (time t207), the normal game state is entered after a preparation period (time t208). The game stop state display section in the preparation period is in a mode (for example, all lights) indicating that the game is in the preparation period.

Note that the preparation period after the setting change may be different from the preparation period after the gaming machine is started. For example, in the preparatory period after the setting change, the display mode of the game stop state display section may be a high-speed flashing display instead of full lighting. Also, the display mode may be changed, for example, by making the brightness of the game stop state display section different from that when the set value is being changed.

Next, in the example shown in FIG. 510, the period from time t201 to time t208 is the same as the example shown in FIG. The preparatory period ends at time t208, and the preparatory processing necessary for starting the game has ended (although the game stoppage has been canceled), but the door is not closed, so the standby state is entered. ing. After that, by closing the door, the game can be started, and the normal game state is entered (time t209).

Finally, referring to FIG. 511, similarly to the example shown in FIG. And the power is turned on while operating the RAM clear switch 954 (time t204).

Furthermore, when the activation of the gaming machine is completed, the setting change function is executed (time t205). When the setting change is completed (time t207), the game transitions to the normal game state after a preparation period (time t208).

In this way, even if the door is closed (even if the first game stop release operation means is not executed), the game stop is released by executing the setting change operation. This is because the main control RAM 1312 is cleared when the setting change is completed, similarly to when the power is turned on while the RAM clear switch 954 is being operated. It should be noted that the game stop can be canceled without executing the game stop first release operation means for the game stop third release means for clearing the main control RAM 1312 by operating the RAM clear switch 954 .

(Check settings)
Next, the case of setting confirmation will be described. FIG. 512 is a timing chart showing an example of control for executing setting confirmation while opening the door after the game is stopped. FIG. 513 is a timing chart showing an example of control for executing setting confirmation while closing the door after the game is stopped.

Referring to FIG. 512, the game is forcibly stopped at time t201, similar to the example shown in FIG. Further, after opening the door (time t202) and turning off the power (time t203), the power is turned on while operating the setting key 971 (time t204). At this time, since the game machine is turned off and on again while the door is open, the game stop first release operation means is executed.

When the activation of the game machine is completed, the setting confirmation function is executed (time t205), and the security signal is output in the same manner as when the game is stopped or when the setting change function is executed. While the setting confirmation function is being executed, the game stop state display section is in a display mode indicating that the setting confirmation function is being executed, but the setting value itself may be displayed. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the setting values that have been set are displayed in a manner different from the display of the setting values that are being changed.

After that, when the setting confirmation is completed (time t207), since the game stop first canceling operation means has been executed, the normal game state is entered after the preparation period (time t208). It should be noted that the duration of the preparation period may be the same as the setting change, or may be different.

Subsequently, referring to FIG. 513, similarly to the example shown in FIG. is operated (time t204).

Furthermore, when the activation of the gaming machine is completed, the setting confirmation function is executed (time t205). After that, when the setting key 971 is switched to OFF and the setting confirmation is completed (time t207), the game stop release operation means is executed because the door is closed and the RAM is not cleared even after the preparation period has ended. Since it has not been done, the game stop is maintained (time t208).

It should be noted that even when the setting confirmation is executed, the game stop may be canceled in the same manner as the setting change. That is, when a function related to the setting value of the game machine (a function that enables display of the setting value) is executed, the game stop may be released. At this time, if only the setting value display function is executed, the game stop is released without performing RAM clearing, and if the setting value changing function is executed, RAM clearing may be performed. Also, when the set value display function is executed, the RAM may be cleared in the same manner as when the set value change function is executed.

(When opening the door as a condition for starting the setting change)
FIG. 514 is a timing chart showing an example of control in which the opening of the door is the condition for canceling the game stop and the condition for starting the setting change. FIG. 514 describes an example of a state in which the door is closed.

Referring to FIG. 514, similarly to the example shown in FIG. 511, after the game is forcibly stopped (time t201), the power is turned off with the door closed (time t203), and the setting key 971 is operated. while the power is turned on (time t204).

At time t205, the door is not opened even though the gaming machine has finished starting up, so the setting change function is not executed, and the game is kept stopped even after the preparation period has ended (time t206).

In the example shown in FIG. 514, the RAM clear switch 954 is operated by the setting change operation, but since the start condition of the setting change function is not satisfied, the game stop is maintained without clearing the main control RAM 1312. This is different from the example shown in FIG.

Note that the game stop state display section may use an existing display section, for example, a performance display monitor or the like. When the game stop state display section is also used as the performance display monitor, the base value is displayed in the normal game state. Further, in setting change/setting confirmation, a display mode may be used to indicate that the function is being executed, or the setting value itself may be displayed. Further, the lights are turned off when the game machine is started, and all lights are turned on during the preparation period after the setting is changed or after the setting is confirmed. While the game is stopped, the base value may be displayed in the same way as in the normal game state, or it may be displayed only when the game is stopped.

As described above, the gaming machine of the present embodiment can resume the game from the state before the game is stopped without clearing the RAM when the game is stopped, which contributes to suppressing the decrease in the interest in the game. can.

(Summary of Inventions Concerning Return Control from Game Stop)
Typical aspects of the invention relating to return control from game stop disclosed in this specification are as follows.

(1) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
a game suspension release means for releasing the suspension of the game when the game is suspended;
a game stop release operation means operated to execute the game stop release means;
with
The game stop release operation means includes a game stop first release operation means (opening and closing the door) and a game stop second release operation means (power switch) different from the game stop first release operation means,
The game stop release means releases the game stop by operating the game stop second release operation means while operating the game stop first release operation means, and restarts the game from the point at which the game was stopped. A game machine characterized by

In the configuration of (1), even if the progress of the game is stopped for some reason, it is possible to try to cancel the game stop without clearing the RAM, so that the game can be continued from the state before the stop. I can expect it. Even if the game suspension cannot be released, the RAM clearing switch 954 can be operated to clear the RAM according to the conventional procedure, thereby releasing the game suspension. Further, by simultaneously operating a plurality of game stop release operating means, it is possible to prevent the game stop from being easily released and to prevent erroneous operations. Therefore, if the game cannot be continued, it is possible to continue the game even after the game is stopped, and it is possible to suppress the decrease in interest in the game. In addition, it is possible to perform control so as to temporarily stop the game when minor troubles occur continuously (FIGS. 505 and 506).

(2) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is established and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
a setting change means capable of changing the setting values of the game machine;
a game suspension release means for releasing the suspension of the game when the game is suspended;
a game stop release operation means operated to execute the game stop release means;
with
The game stop release operation means includes a game stop first release operation means and a game stop second release operation means different from the game stop first release operation means,
The game stop release means releases the game stop by operating the game stop second release operation means while operating the game stop first release operation means, and restarts the game from the point in time when the game was stopped,
When the setting change means is executed while the game is stopped, the game stop is canceled without executing the game stop canceling means, and the game is started after initialization instead of when the game is stopped. A gaming machine characterized by being able to start

In the configuration of (2), in addition to the same effect as the configuration of (1), the game stop is released by executing the setting change operation without executing the game stop first release operation means. As a result, it is possible to prevent the game from being restarted in the game state before the stop after the setting change, and it is possible to perform stable game control, thereby suppressing the loss of interest in the game (FIGS. 509 to 511).

(3) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
a game suspension release means for releasing the suspension of the game when the game is suspended;
a game stop release operation means operated to execute the game stop release means;
with
The game stop release operation means includes a game stop first release operation means and a game stop second release operation means different from the game stop first release operation means,
The game stop release means performs the game stop first release operation means and the game stop second release operation when the game stop second release operation means is operated while the game stop first release operation means is operated. A gaming machine characterized in that the game stop is released after the operation of means is completed, and the game is restarted from the point of time when the game was stopped.

In the configuration of (3), in addition to the same effect as the configuration of (1), it is possible to adjust the timing of canceling the game suspension. As a result, the game can be restarted at an appropriate timing, and it is possible to suppress the loss of interest in the game due to the restart of the game at an unintended timing (FIG. 510).

(4) A gaming machine having a plurality of prize winning openings, executing a lottery based on the ball entering the starting opening, and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
a prize ball awarding means for awarding a prize ball based on winning in the prize winning opening;
a first counting means for counting a first count value based on the number of game balls consumed in the game;
a second counting means for counting a second count value based on the prize balls;
difference ball counting means for counting difference balls for a predetermined period based on the first count value and the second count value;
game stopping means for stopping the progress of the game based on the counted number of extra balls;
a game stop release means for releasing the stop of the progress of the game;
a game stop release operation means operated to execute the game stop release means;
prepared,
The game stop release operation means includes a game stop first release operation means and a game stop second release operation means different from the game stop first release operation means,
When the second game stop release operating means is operated while the first game stop releasing operating means is operated, the game stop releasing means restarts the game from the point in time when the progress of the game is stopped. , the first count value and the second count value are initialized.

In the configuration of (4), the game stop means (excess prize) for stopping the game when the difference between the expected ball and the actual ball (difference ball) is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (excess prize) Since the ball suppressing means) is provided, it is possible to prevent excessive fanning of the gambling spirit. Further, the game can be continued even after the game is stopped by the game stop canceling means, and the decrease in interest in the game can be suppressed (FIGS. 503 and 505).

(5) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is established and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
setting confirmation means capable of confirming the setting values of the game machine;
a game suspension release means for releasing the suspension of the game when the game is suspended;
a game stop release operation means operated to execute the game stop release means;
with
When the setting confirmation means is executed while the game is stopped, the game stop is maintained after the setting confirmation is completed, and the setting confirmation means is executed while the game stop release operation means is operated. is characterized in that the game is restarted from the point at which the game was stopped after completion of setting confirmation.

In the configuration (5), when the progress of the game is stopped, it is possible to try to cancel the game stop without clearing the RAM, so that after confirming the set value, the game can be continued from the state before the stop. (Fig. 512, Fig. 513). It should be noted that ``when the setting confirmation means is executed while the game is stopped'' means that the setting is confirmed when the power to the gaming machine is turned off while the game is stopped and then the power is turned on again. This also applies to the execution of functional means.

(6) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
a setting change means capable of setting the setting values of the game machine;
setting confirmation means capable of confirming the setting values of the game machine;
with
When the setting change means is executed while the game is stopped, the stoppage of the game is canceled and the game machine is initialized so that the game can be resumed, while when the setting confirmation means is executed. A game machine characterized in that it is possible to maintain the stoppage of the game even after the completion of setting confirmation.

In the configuration of (6), when the setting change is executed when the game is stopped, the game can be restarted after being surely initialized. is maintained, and it is possible to determine whether or not to restart the game as necessary. As a result, since it is possible to determine whether or not to restart the game after confirming the state of the gaming machine, flexible operation can be performed (FIGS. 511 and 513). It should be noted that "when the setting change means is executed while the game is stopped" means that the setting is changed when the game machine is turned off while the game is stopped and then turned on again. This also applies to the execution of functional means.

[37. Player Participation Production]
The return control from the game stop has been described above. Next, a description will be given of a player-participation-type presentation by means of operation means capable of controlling the action of the role and the action of the role. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the moving speed of a character modeled after a vehicle such as a car is controlled by controlling the driving strength of the driver, rather than only operating the action start/end of the character. Or control the intensity of hitting a percussion instrument (an object that can output sound) such as a drum.

In conventional gaming machines, there were many presentations that enabled relatively simple operations such as controlling the start of action of a character and controlling the timing of the end of action. Therefore, there is a problem that the performance becomes monotonous and it is difficult to improve the interest of the game.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the gaming machine of the present embodiment increases the variety of effects by making it possible to change the effect mode with a relatively simple operation. to actively participate in the performance to improve the interest of the game.

[37-1. Production overview]
In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, worshipers line up to ring the bell on New Year's Eve, and an effect of ringing the bell in order (hereinafter referred to as "bell ringing effect") is executed. FIG. 515 is a diagram showing a configuration example for executing a bell ringing effect in the gaming machine of this embodiment.

In the bell-ringing performance, worshipers line up in order to ring the bell on New Year's Eve. Also, the timbre and volume differ depending on the intensity of ringing the bell, and the intensity of ringing the bell can be adjusted by the player's operation. In addition, it is possible to suggest the degree of expectation for the lottery result by the number of worshipers.

A configuration for executing a bell-strike effect includes a bell 8000, a bell-strike stick 8001, and a roof 8002. In the bell-strike performance, the sound of the bell is output by striking the bell 8000 with the bell-strike stick 8001 . The sound of the bell changes according to the strength with which the bell striking stick 8001 strikes the bell 8000. Specifically, the type and volume of the sound change. The bell striking stick 8001 can be moved in the horizontal direction by a driving body (solenoid or motor), and the amount of movement (driving strength) can be adjusted by the player by means of an effect operation section (operation means) 301, which will be described later. .

When the bell 8000 is struck by the bell striking stick 8001, it rocks left and right according to its strength. The swing of the bell 8000 is operated by a driver such as a motor. It should be noted that the bell 8000 may be swingably attached to the roof 8002 so that it is swung by physical contact with the bell striking rod 8001 .

In this embodiment, the bell 8000 and the bell striking stick 8001 can be housed in the roof 8002 of the bell hall, and when the bell striking performance is started, the roof 8002 is opened with the bell 8000 and the bell striking stick 8001 housed. moves to a predetermined position (above the liquid crystal display device 1600). When the roof 8002 stops at a predetermined position, the bell 8000 and the bell striking rod 8001 housed inside the roof 8002 move downward, and the bell striking rod 8001 can strike the bell 8000 (start performance). It will be in a state where it is possible to perform.

When the production is ready, an image of a worshiper ringing the bell is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600. - 特許庁The bell ringing effect is composed of a combination of a character such as the bell 8000 and an image displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 . Therefore, by applying the above-mentioned 3D image (stereoscopic image) technology that displays the worshipers ringing the bell and the bell tower other than the roof, it is possible to realize a production that is integrated with the character and enhance the production effect. You may make it heighten interest.

The images displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 are a worshiper 8003 ringing the bell and a waiting worshiper 8004 waiting until the bell is ringed. . In addition, the entire bell hall may be used as an accessory.

When the bell ringing effect becomes a state in which it can be performed, the effect operation section 301 for specifying the motion of the bell striking stick 8001 becomes operable. The effect operating section 301 includes a rotating operating section 302 (first operating section) and a pressing operating section (second operating section) 303 . The rotary operation unit 302 is formed in an annular shape and can be rotated by the player. The pressing operation portion 303 has a button shape arranged at the center position of the rotation operation portion 302 . The details of the configuration of the effect operation unit 301 will be described later.

The strength of striking the bell is the driving strength of the driver that operates the bell striking rod 8001 , and is set (adjusted) based on the amount of operation (rotation) of the rotary operation section 302 . In addition, the strength with which the bell striking stick 8001 strikes the bell (the amount of movement of the bell striking stick 8001) also affects the swing width of the bell 8000 after striking. The amount of movement of the bell-ringing stick 8001 and the swinging width of the bell 8000 may be proportional, or may be changed according to the attributes of the worshiper 8003 who strikes the bell (for example, gender, adult/child). good. Furthermore, the volume of the bell sound and the type of sound may differ depending on the strength of ringing the bell, and this may suggest the degree of expectation of the pattern variation during the ready-to-win progress. Note that the strength with which the bell striking stick 8001 strikes the bell is not limited to the amount of movement of the bell striking stick 8001 and may vary depending on the operating speed of the bell striking stick 8001 . For example, even if the amount of movement of the bell striking stick 8001 is the same, the swinging width of the bell 8000 and the sound of the bell may be varied by varying the operating speed.

The timing of ringing the bell may be designated by the player or may be set automatically. If the player designates the timing at which the bell ringing effect is started, for example, the timing at which the rotary operation unit 302 is operated is set. At this time, the standby state (operation waiting state, standby display) is continued until the player operates the operation unit (rotation operation unit 302), and after the operation (after touching the rotation operation unit 302), the effect is displayed. A start indication is given. If the timing of ringing the bell is to be set automatically, for example, the worshipers may appear at the place where the bell is tolled at predetermined intervals. In this case, the player operates only the intensity of ringing the bell with the rotary operation unit 302 . Furthermore, when the degree of expectation is reported by the number of worshipers, by automatically ringing a bell, the number of worshipers corresponding to the degree of expectation can be made to appear without fail.

Furthermore, the operation of the bell-striking stick may be stopped while the pressing operation unit 303 is being operated while controlling the bell to ring automatically at predetermined intervals. As a result, the ringing of the bell is interrupted while the pressing operation unit 303 is being operated. It is also possible to stop the ringing of the bell and further heighten the sense of anticipation until the notification effect after the ringing of the bell or the result of the lottery is presented.

When all worshipers ring the bell, a notification effect that suggests the result (expectation) of the pattern change is executed. The notification effect to be executed may be varied according to the process of the bell ringing effect. For example, when a player participates in a bell-ringing performance and all the worshipers have struck the bell, a highly reliable notification performance or a special performance that is executed only when participating in the bell-ringing performance is executed. You may make it In this way, by executing a more interesting performance when participating in the bell ringing performance, the player's willingness to participate can be enhanced.

When the bell-strike effect ends, the bell 8000 and bell-strike stick 8001 are accommodated inside the roof 8002, and the roof 8002 moves to the standby position. The result of the pattern variation is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1600 . If the result of the symbol variation is a big hit, the game is shifted to a big win game state (special game state), and prize balls are given to the player. When the result of the symbol variation is a loss, the next symbol variation is started based on the reserved starting memory.

Note that the bell 8000, the bell striking stick 8001, and the roof 8002 may be displayed as images instead of the accessories, and all of them may be displayed as images.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a special performance that is more interesting than usual by actively participating in the performance by the player in the player participation type performance. there is The configuration and specific effects for executing the bell ringing effect will be described below.

[37-2. composition]
First, the configuration for executing the bell ringing effect will be shown. In particular, the operating means for operating the bell striker 8001 will be described. First, the arrangement of the operating means operated by the player in the gaming machine will be described, and then the configuration and function of the operating means will be described.

[37-2-1. Pachinko machine front view]
FIG. 516 is a front view (front view of the door frame) of the pachinko machine that is one embodiment of the present invention. Since the basic configuration of the game machine is the same as that of the pachinko machine shown in FIG.

The pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, like the pachinko machine shown in FIG. a door frame 3 that closes to the outside, a body frame 4 that supports the door frame 3 so that it can be opened and closed and is attached to the outer frame 2 so that it can be opened and closed, and a door frame that is detachably attached to the body frame 4 from the front side and the door frame A game board 5 having a game area 5a which is visible from the player side through 3 and into which game balls are hit by the player.

The door frame 3 is a plate unit 200 which is attached to the front lower part of a frame-shaped door frame base unit which has a rectangular shape extending vertically when viewed from the front, and which has an upper plate 201 and a lower plate 202 capable of storing game balls. , a left side unit 400 attached to the front left part of the door frame base unit above the dish unit 200, and a right side unit 450 attached to the front right part of the door frame base unit 100 above the dish unit. , the top unit 350 attached to the front upper part of the door frame base unit above the left side unit 400 and the right side unit 450, the handle unit 500 attached to the front lower right corner of the door frame base unit, the door frame A glass unit 560 is detachably attached to the base unit and closes the game area 5a of the game board 5 attached to the main body frame 4 so as to be visible from the front.

An operation means for the player to participate in the bell ringing performance is included in the performance operation unit 300. - 特許庁The effect operation unit 300 is provided in the center of the plate unit 200 in the left-right direction, decorates the plate unit 200, and is operated by the player when a player-participation type effect such as a bell ringing effect is executed. A performance operation unit 301 (operation means) that enables participation in performance is provided.

[37-2-2. Configuration of production operation unit (production operation unit)]
Next, the effect operation unit 300 will be described, and in particular, the effect operation unit 301 operated by the player will be mainly described.

The effect operation unit 301 is composed of a rotation operation unit 302 that allows the player to perform a rotation operation (first operation) and a pressing operation unit 303 that allows the player to perform a pressing operation (second operation). there is In the effect operation part 301, the rotation operation part 302 is formed in an annular shape having an inner diameter about 3/5 of the outer diameter, and the pressing operation part 303 is arranged in the ring. . The pressing operation portion 303 is configured by a pressing portion (operation receiving portion) 303a and an outer peripheral portion 303b. Note that the pressing operation portion 303 does not necessarily need to be arranged within the ring of the rotation operation portion 302 , and may be provided so as to protrude from the outer edge (side surface) of the rotation operation portion 302 or outside the rotation operation portion 302 . may be placed in

FIG. 517 shows the plate unit including the effect operation section 301, (A) is a front view of the plate unit shown in a normal state, and (B) is the plate unit when the pressing operation section is in the raised position. and (C) is a front view of the plate unit when the central pressing operation portion of the pressing operation portion is pressed.

The performance operation unit 300 has a performance operation section 301 that can be operated by the player on its upper surface. The effect operating section 301 is composed of a large annular rotating operating section 302 and a pressing operating section 303 arranged in the ring of the rotating operating section 302 . Further, the effect operation unit 300 may be provided with unevenness that allows the player to put his/her finger on when operating the rotary operation unit 302 . By putting a finger on the concave and convex portion, it is possible to smoothly perform the rotating operation and enhance the amusement of the game.

The effect operation unit 300 is assembled to the plate unit 200 in a state in which the front side of the imaginary plane formed by the upper surface of the annular rotary operation part 302 is inclined so that the front side is lower. Therefore, the pressing direction of the pressing operation portion 303 arranged in the ring of the rotary operation portion 302 is inclined so that it moves backward as it goes downward (in other words, it moves forward as it goes upward). .

In a normal state, the effect operation unit 300 is in a state in which the pressing operation portion 303 slightly protrudes upward from the upper surface of the rotation operation portion 302 . In a normal state, the pressing operation portion 303 may be partially hidden in the ring of the rotation operation portion 302 . The rotation operation part 302 can be rotated by the player. Rotation (amount of rotation) of the rotation operation unit 302 is detected by a rotation detection sensor (not shown). Also, a sensor for detecting the rotation speed may be provided.

In this embodiment, as described above, in the bell-ringing presentation, it is possible to designate the strength of the action of the bell-striking stick 8000 by a rotating operation. By configuring the rotary operation unit 302 so as to be rotationally driven by a motor, the rotary operation unit 302 is rotationally driven in the same direction as the rotational operation direction to lighten the rotational operation to assist, or rotationally driven in the opposite direction to the rotational operation direction. By doing so, it is possible to make the rotation operation heavy. In addition, normally, the feel of the rotation operation does not change according to the amount of rotation. For example, even if the amount of rotation is increased, the rotation operation does not become heavy. Furthermore, it is also possible to return the rotation position of the rotation operation unit 302 to the reference position at the start of the effect.

The rotary operation part 302 is formed in a shape in which an arc that is more than half of a circle extends annularly. In other words, the rotation operation portion 302 is formed in a donut shape. Since the rotary operation unit 302 is attached with the outer peripheral surface, the upper surface, and a part of the inner peripheral surface exposed, it is formed in a shape that is easy for the player to grasp.

As a result, since the player can touch the rotation operation unit 302 from various directions, the rotation operation unit 302 can be rotated by any method that is easy for the player to operate. is enhanced. Also, when operating the rotation operation unit 302 from the reference position, only right rotation may be allowed. In this case, the rotation operation unit 302 rotated to the right may be automatically returned to the reference position at the end of the presentation or after the rotation operation is completed (when the player releases the rotation operation unit 302). Further, the rotary operation portion 302 can be rotated regardless of whether the pressing operation portion 303 is in the initial position or the raised position. It should be noted that since the lower surface side of the rotary operation unit 302 is attached to the operation unit base, it cannot be gripped like a steering wheel of an automobile.

It should be noted that LEDs may be arranged in an annular shape on the rotary operation unit 302 to be decorated with light. A plurality of LEDs arranged in a line may be sequentially illuminated in accordance with the rotation of the rotary operation unit 302, so that only a specific portion of the rotating rotary operation unit 302 may be decorated with light. Also, it is possible to present the reference position to the player by causing only a specific part to emit light. Alternatively, a luminous body such as an LED may be arranged on the pressing portion 303a of the pressing operation portion 303 to decorate the pressing portion 303 with light.

In the normal state, the effect operation unit 300 is such that the pressing operation part 303 arranged in the ring of the rotation operation part 302 has a higher surface than the upper surface of the rotation operation part 302, as shown in FIG. 517(A). It is in the state of the initial position protruding slightly upward. In this state, the rotary operation unit 302 can be rotated and the pressing operation unit 303 can be pressed. When the pressing operation portion 303 is pressed downward, the upper surface of the pressing operation portion 303 descends, and the pressing is detected by a pressing detection sensor (not shown).

In a normal state, when the rotation operation portion 302 is rotated clockwise, the outer peripheral portion 303b extends upward, and the entire pressing operation portion 303 rises (see FIG. 517(B)). In the state of the raised position, the upper surface of the pressing operation portion 303 is positioned significantly higher than the upper surface of the rotary operation portion 302 . It should be noted that even if the rotary operation unit 302 is further rotated clockwise at the raised position, the pressing operation unit 303 will not be raised. Although the pressing operation portion 303 can be pressed in the initial position state, the pressing operation may not be performed unless the rotary operation portion 302 is rotated clockwise.

Further, when the rotation operation portion 302 is rotated counterclockwise at the raised position, the pressing operation portion 303 descends (see FIG. 517(C)). It should be noted that even if the rotation operation portion 302 is further rotated in the counterclockwise direction at the initial position, the pressing operation portion 303 does not descend. Further, when the pressing operation portion 303 is at a position (protruding position) between the raised position and the initial position, the pressing operation portion 303 is raised or lowered according to the rotation direction of the rotary operation portion 302 .

[37-2-3. Operation of production operation unit (production operation unit)]
Furthermore, the operation of the effect operation unit 301 will be described. FIG. 518 is a diagram showing the initial position of the effect operation unit 301, where (A) is a plan view and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane including the center. FIG. 519 is a diagram showing the raised position of the effect operation unit 301, where (A) is a plan view and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane including the center. A reference mark 302 a is a mark for judging the amount of operation of the rotary operation unit 302 . Note that the reference mark 302a may be formed by emitting LEDs arranged in an annular shape on the rotary operation unit 302 .

As shown in FIG. 518, at the initial position, the reference mark 302a is at the lower position (reference position), and the tip position of the pressing portion 303a of the pressing operation portion 303 is at the lowest position. When the rotary operation unit 302 is rotated clockwise from the initial position, the pressing operation unit 303 is lifted as shown in FIG.

The pressing operation portion 303 is composed of the pressing portion 303a and the outer peripheral portion 303b, as described above. The outer peripheral portion 303b gradually extends upward until the rotary operation portion 302 rotates a predetermined amount, and the pressing portion 303a rises. The height of the pressing operation portion 303 may be changed in conjunction with the amount of rotation of the rotary operation portion 302, or may be changed stepwise for each predetermined amount of rotation. Alternatively, the initial position may be changed to the raised position when the amount of rotation of the rotary operation unit 302 reaches a predetermined amount or more. That is, when the rotation operation unit 302 is operated (rotated) during execution of the effect, the raised position may be maintained continuously during the execution of the effect. Therefore, by raising the pressing operation portion 301 when the rotary operation portion 302 is operated, it is possible to prevent the pressing operation portion 303 from being accidentally pressed while the rotary operation portion 302 is being operated. Note that when the pressing operation portion 303 is not arranged in the ring of the rotating operation portion 302, and is provided so as to protrude from the outer edge (side surface) as described above, the extension direction of the pressing portion 303a The position of the tip (tip position) is displaced by the operation of the rotary operation section 302 . As a result, it is possible to suppress erroneous operations during the execution of the player-participation-type presentation, thereby making the game more interesting.

At the end of the bell ringing performance, the performance operation part 301 is returned to the normal state. The reference mark 302a of the rotary operation portion 302 is returned to the reference position, and the pressing operation portion 303 is returned to the initial position. When returning the rotating operation part 302 and the pressing operation part 303 to the normal state, they may be returned to the initial positions by a driving body such as a motor, or may be returned by using a spring or the like.

Further, by grasping and lifting the pressing portion 303a of the pressing operation portion 303, the pressing operation portion 303 can be lifted upward by the player's hand. Further, when the player releases the pressing operation part 303, it is returned to the position before being lifted. This case will be described with reference to FIG.

520A and 520B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the rotary operation unit 302 when the pressing operation unit 303 is lifted. indicates a state in which the rotation operation unit 302 is rotated by . The pressing operation part 303 can be lifted up to a height where the amount of rotation of the rotation operation part 302 becomes a predetermined amount.

Further, the pressing operation unit 303 may be lifted up to the raised position, but in order to suppress failure of the effect operation unit 301, the liftable distance is set to be small (lower than the raised position), and the pressing operation unit 303 is lifted. I try not to move it to the raised position. For example, in the bell-ringing effect, by lifting the pressing portion 303a, the amount of rotation is such that the worshiper is moved to the bottom of the bell (position to ring the bell). Complicating the production operation is suppressed by limiting it to the operation of .

[37-3. Bell ringing performance]
The operation means for executing the bell ringing effect has been described above. Next, the bell ringing performance will be specifically described. The bell ringing effect of this embodiment can be executed at various timings such as during the variable effect and during the jackpot game. The production pattern inside will be explained. In this production pattern, when the bell is successfully struck, a notice production or a special production is executed to notify the degree of expectation of the result of the pattern variation.

Here, as a bell ringing production, there is a basic production (single-shot production) in which the visitor strikes the bell once to notify the degree of expectation of the pattern change, a specified intensity production in which the bell is struck at a specified intensity, and multiple worshipers A continuous production of ringing the bell in order, and finally a point production in which points are added by multiple worshipers ringing the bell with a specified intensity, and the production is executed based on the total points.

[37-3-1. Basic production]
First, a description will be given of the basic performance (single-shot performance) in which the worshiper strikes the bell once to notify the degree of expectation of the pattern change. FIG. 521 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition when one worshiper rings the bell once and succeeds. Hereinafter, the transition from occurrence of ready-to-win to determination of stop symbols will be described.

In (A), the suspended starting memory is digested, the variable display of the special pattern is started, the left and right decorative patterns stop at the same pattern ("7"), and reach occurs. . From here, the bell ringing effect is started as shown in (B).

At this time, the accessory on the roof 8002 moves to the upper part of the screen, and the bell 8000 and the bell striking stick 8001 housed in the roof 8002 are arranged at predetermined places. After that, worshipers move to the steps of the bell hall. The decorative pattern is reduced and displayed in a visible state, for example, displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. Further, an operation instruction prompting the user to operate the rotary operation unit 302 is displayed.

When the player touches the rotary operation unit 302 after the rotary operation unit 302 becomes ready for operation, a sound indicating the start of the performance may be output, or music for the bell ringing performance may be played. . By doing so, it is possible for the player to strongly recognize that he/she has participated in the bell ringing performance, to heighten the player's sense of expectation, and to heighten the amusement of the game. At this time, the sound or music to be output may be set according to the result of pattern variation or variation pattern.

After that, when the rotary operation unit 302 is rotated clockwise, the worshiper moves below the bell-ringing rod 8001 and becomes ready to ring the bell, as shown in (C). After that, the worshipers ring the bell at the designated timing. At this time, the bell may be struck automatically after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the bell ringing effect (after the occurrence of reach), or the bell may be struck when the player operates the rotary operation unit 302 . When the bell is struck by operating the rotary operation unit 302, it is preferable that the operation of the bell ringing rod is finished after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the operation of the rotary operation unit 302 was started.

As described above, the strength with which the bell-striking rod 8001 strikes the bell (operating speed of the bell-striking rod 8001, drive of the driving body for operating the bell-striking rod 8001, and intensity) are different. As a result, the action of the character changes according to the amount of operation of the operation unit, so that the player feels more strongly that he/she is participating in the production, and the interest in the game can be improved.

(D) shows the result of ringing the bell, indicating a successful state. In the example shown in (D), as a result of striking the bell with greater intensity by increasing the amount of rotation of the rotary operation unit 302, the bell ringing effect is successful. The success or failure of the bell ringing performance may be determined by designating the strength, or may be determined by lottery when the player operates the rotary operation unit 302 without designating the strength. By determining the success or failure of ringing the bell in accordance with the amount of rotation of the rotary operation unit 302, it is possible to improve the game performance of the advance notice effect and increase the interest of the game.

After that, as shown in (E), the worshiper leaves. Furthermore, since the bell has been successfully rung, as shown in (F), notification of the degree of expectation (announcement effect) is executed. After the end of the bell ringing effect, the decorative pattern is enlarged again and the stop pattern is displayed as shown in (G).

Next, a case where the bell-ringing performance fails will be described. FIG. 522 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition when one worshiper rings the bell once and fails. Since (A) to (C) are the same as the successful example shown in FIG. 521, description thereof is omitted.

(D) shows a state in which the amount of rotation of the rotary operation unit 302 is insufficient and the bell cannot be struck properly. In order to actually ring the bell, it is necessary to ring the bell with a certain amount of strength. operation amount), the driving strength of the driving body becomes equal to or greater than the specific driving strength, and the bell is successfully struck. The position of the reference mark 302a at this time is the operating position. As a result, it is possible to execute a notice effect or a special effect. The special effect is, for example, making the bell 8000 perform a special action (specific action effect) or displaying a special character or image on the effect display device 1600 (specific display effect). In other words, when the amount of rotation of the rotary operation unit 302 is less than a predetermined amount, the force for striking the bell, that is, the driving strength of the driving body for operating the bell-striking rod 8001 is weak and fails. If the bell ringing fails, no notice effect or special effect is executed, so the player can be encouraged to actively participate in the game.

After that, as shown in (E), the worshiper leaves. Furthermore, since the ringing of the bell fails, the worshiper leaves the hall as shown in (F) without executing the advance notice effect (announcement of the degree of expectation). In addition, in the example of FIG. 522, the notice effect is not executed, but the notice effect with low reliability may be executed, or the effect for failure may be executed.

After the end of the bell ringing effect, the decorative pattern is enlarged again and the stop pattern is displayed as shown in (G). Since the success or failure of the bell ringing effect is not related to the result of the pattern variation (the result of the special lottery), as shown in (G), even if the game fails during the execution of the effect, it will be a big hit.

Similarly, when the player does not operate the effect operation section 301 at a predetermined timing, the bell ringing fails and the expectation degree notification (notice effect) is not executed. Furthermore, when the amount of rotation (the amount of operation) of the rotary operation unit 302 is less than or equal to the predetermined amount, the ringing of the bell fails. In addition, when the result of the pattern variation (the result of the special lottery) is a big win, even if the bell ringing fails, the notice effect (big win confirmation effect) may be executed as a special effect.

[37-3-2. Single-shot production (intensity specified)]
The basic performance (single-shot performance) in which the worshiper strikes the bell once to notify the degree of expectation of the pattern variation has been described above. Next, a specific example of a bell ringing effect that designates the amount of rotation (the amount of operation) of the rotary operation unit 302 will be described. First, the relationship between the operation amount of the rotary operation unit 302 and the strength of striking the bell (driving strength of the driver that operates the bell-striking rod 8001) will be described.

523A and 523B are diagrams for explaining the amount of rotation of the rotary operation unit 302 and the motion of the bell 8000 corresponding to the strength of hitting the bell 8000 in the bell ringing effect. is "medium", (C) is "weak" in intensity, and (D) is a case in which the intensity is below a predetermined level and the bell is not rung.

In the example shown in FIG. 523, the maximum amount of rotation of the rotary operation unit 302 in the bell ringing effect is 180 degrees. The intensity may be kept unchanged.

Regarding the sound of the bell when striking the bell 8000 with the bell striking stick 8001 in the bell striking performance, the volume is proportional to the intensity of striking the bell. On the other hand, the tone of the bell may be varied according to the game state, expectation (variation pattern), and the like.

Also, in the bell ringing performance, the swing width of the bell when the bell 8000 is struck by the bell striking stick 8001 is proportional to the strength of striking the bell, as shown in (A) to (C). If the strength of ringing the bell is below a predetermined level, as shown in (D), it is treated as a failure, and no bell sound is output or a special sound (sound dedicated to failure) is output. By outputting a special sound, it becomes possible for the player to recognize that he/she has made a mistake, so that the player can distinguish when "weak" is specified for strength, and the amount of rotation can be adjusted. It becomes possible. This makes it easier for the player to cope with the next execution of the bell ringing effect, encourages the continuation of the game, and suppresses the loss of interest in the game.

The intensity of ringing the bell has three levels of "strong," "medium," and "weak," but may be further subdivided. For example, when the amount of rotation of the rotary operation unit 302 is from 0 degrees to 180 degrees, it may be divided into 10 steps every 18 degrees. At this time, the intensity is insufficient in stage 1 and is considered "failure", stages 2 to 4 are "weak", stages 5 to 7 are "medium", and stages 8 to 10 are "strong", and ring the bell according to each range. The driving strength of the driver that moves the rod 8000 may be set.

Next, a specific example of the bell ringing effect when the intensity is specified will be described. FIG. 524 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition when a bell-ringing intensity is designated in a bell-ringing presentation in which one worshiper rings a bell once. It should be noted that the flow of presentation is the same as that shown in FIGS.

In (A), a display specifying the intensity is made. (A) corresponds to the timing at which (C) in FIG. It may be displayed in a startable state (for example, (B) in FIG. 521).

In (A), intensity "medium" is specified. At this time, if the rotary operation unit 302 is not operated or the amount of operation of the rotary operation unit 302 is insufficient and the strength to ring the bell is insufficient, the failure may be notified. The failure effect shown in FIG. 522 may be executed. The effect when the bell is struck with any strength will be described below.

As shown in (B1), when the bell is struck with the strength "strong", the bell swings greatly and the sound of the bell is output with a large volume. However, since it is not at the specified strength, the bell is output with a tone that is not a beautiful tone, for example, a tone for failure, and an effect or display indicating failure is executed as shown in (B2). . At this time, a display for designating the correct intensity (amount of rotation) such as "Please ring the bell with intensity 'medium'" may be provided. After this, an effect may be executed to fail in notifying the degree of expectation, or a screen may be displayed to directly stop the symbols.

Also, as shown in (C1), when the bell is struck with a "medium" intensity, the bell swings moderately and the sound of the bell is output at a medium volume. Since the bell is struck with the designated strength, the bell is output with a beautiful tone (tone for success), and a success effect is displayed as shown in (C2). After that, an effect (for example, FIG. 521(F)) for notifying the degree of expectation is executed.

Furthermore, as shown in (D1), when the bell is struck with a "weak" intensity, the bell sways a little and the sound of the bell is output at a low volume. However, since the sound volume is not the specified volume, the bell sound is output not with a beautiful tone color, but with a tone color for failure, as shown in (D2). An effect or display indicating that is executed. As an effect or display indicating failure, for example, a display specifying the correct intensity (amount of rotation) such as "Please ring the bell with intensity 'medium'" may be performed. After that, an effect may be executed in which notification of the degree of expectation fails, or a screen for directly stopping the design may be displayed.

It should be noted that the failure of the bell-ringing performance may be determined not only when the designated intensity and the intensity of striking the bell are different, but also based on the amplitude and number of times of shaking the bell 8000 caused by striking the bell. For example, a sensor that detects the amount of rotation of the bell 8000 may be used to identify and determine the amplitude of the swing. It may be determined by detecting whether or not by a sensor.

Furthermore, when the result of the pattern variation (the result of the special lottery) is a big hit, the operation amount of the rotary operation unit 302 (the driving strength of the driving body that operates the bell striking stick 8001) regardless of the success or failure of the bell striking effect ), a special effect may be executed. At this time, a special effect may be executed before the bell is rung, or the transition from (A) to (E) may be performed directly. Also, after ringing the bell, the transition from (B2) to (E) may be made instead of (D2). At this time, the special effect may be executed even if the rotary operation unit 302 is not operated or the strength of ringing the bell is insufficient.

As described above, it is possible to increase the interest in the game by adding changes to the performance by the player's operation. In addition, game elements are added to the production, and when the game is successful (for example, when the bell is struck at a specified intensity), the player is actively played by notifying the degree of expectation of the pattern change. can participate in Further, not only the degree of expectation of symbol variation, but also setting values of the gaming machine and game states may be suggested.

[37-3-3. Continuous production]
So far, I have explained the bell-ringing performance in which one worshiper strikes the bell once. Next, an effect in which a plurality of worshipers continuously ring the bell at predetermined intervals will be described. FIG. 525 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition of a bell-ringing effect in which a plurality of worshipers ring the bell in succession.

When the bell ringing production starts, as in the case of the basic production, in (A), the suspended starting memory is digested, so the variable display of the special pattern starts, and the left and right decorative patterns are the same pattern ( "7"), and reach is in a state of occurrence. After that, accessories such as a roof 8002 are arranged to form a bell tower. At this time, as shown in (B), a plurality of worshipers attend the bell ringing hall.

In addition, if the variation pattern has a high degree of expectation, the symbol variation time will be long. Furthermore, since worshipers ring the bell at predetermined intervals and the number of times the bell can be ringed per unit time is predetermined, the upper limit of the number of worshipers is determined according to the variation pattern. Therefore, the number of worshipers fluctuates according to the degree of expectation (fluctuation pattern).

In addition, instead of having all the worshipers attend from the beginning, it is possible to have the first worshipers ring the bell, and after they leave, new worshipers may appear. Furthermore, variations may be added to the pattern of attendance so that worshipers may leave during the procession. By configuring in this way, it becomes possible for the player to first grasp the degree of expectation and prevent them from not participating in the performance, and furthermore, in order to grasp the final number of worshipers, it is necessary to perform the performance. Since the game must be progressed, the game can be continued while the player's sense of expectation is heightened, and the amusement of the game can be improved.

When the worshiper moves to the position to ring the bell and becomes ready to ring the bell (the state in which the rotary operation unit 302 can be operated), as shown in (C) and (D), the worshiper moves at predetermined intervals. are replaced, and a performance is executed in which the worshipers strike the bell at a predetermined timing. For example, the worshipers are replaced every two seconds, and at the timing 1.5 seconds after the designation of the movement of the worshipers to a predetermined position (the position to ring the bell), the intensity corresponding to the amount of operation (rotation amount) of the rotary operation unit 302 is applied. ring the bell. After that, the next worshiper moves to a predetermined position, and the bell ringing effect is continued. It should be noted that the intervals at which worshipers appear are fixed, but it is also possible to give them some width. In this case, the player should be able to grasp the timing of ringing the bell. Also, the appearance interval may be determined according to the attribute of the worshiper (gender, adult/child, etc.).

In the continuous effect explained in FIG. 525, the worshipers are automatically replaced at predetermined intervals, but as shown in (E), when the pressing operation section 303 is operated, the worshipers' replacement is temporarily stopped. there is Therefore, even when the rotary operation unit 302 is operated, the operation of the bell striking rod 8001 (the operation of the driver) is stopped. At this time, since it is not necessary to extend the pattern change time, it is not necessary to make all the planned worshipers appear.

Note that the operation may be stopped for a predetermined time when the pressing operation portion 303 is pressed, or may be stopped while the pressing operation portion 303 is being pressed. Alternatively, instead of stopping the exchange of worshipers when the push operation unit 303 is pressed, the worshipers may be dismissed and the exchange of worshippers may proceed.

In this way, while the game (performance) is progressing by operating the rotary operation unit 302, by operating the pressing operation unit 303, the driver changes the worshipers and operates the bell striker 8001. can stop working. Further, by canceling the operation of the pressing operation section 303, the progress of the game (effect) can be immediately restarted. As a result, the player can easily intervene in the progress of the game (progress of the performance), thereby enhancing the performance effect and enhancing the interest of the game.

In addition, while the continuous performance is continuing, the worshipers are replaced at predetermined intervals, but if the rotary operation unit 302 is not operated, they will leave the stairs without moving to a predetermined position (the position for ringing the bell). can be At this time, a display may be made on the liquid crystal display device 1600 to instruct the player to operate the rotary operation unit 302, or the progress of the bell ringing effect may be stopped. In addition, the effect sound or music may be different between the state in which the player touches the rotary operation unit 302 and the state in which the player does not touch the rotary operation unit 302, or the background color on the display screen may be made different. can be

On the other hand, if the rotation operation unit 302 is operated, the worshiper moves to a predetermined position (the position for ringing the bell). It may be assumed that the part 302 is not operated.

Here, as described above, when the pressing operation portion 303 is lifted upward, the rotary operation portion 302 rotates (FIG. 520). Therefore, as shown in (F), when the pressing operation unit 303 is lifted during the execution of the continuous effect, the bell striking rod 8001 operates (although the driving body operates), but the amount of rotation (driving of the driving body Due to the lack of power), the bell ringing performance itself fails. Under certain conditions, for example, when the worshiper is a child, the required amount of rotation may be set to be small in accordance with the physical strength of the child so that the bell ringing effect is successful. By configuring in this way, the bell ringing effect is usually unsuccessful, while the bell ringing effect can be successful under specific conditions.

After that, as shown in (F), the bell-ringing effect is continued, and when the last visitor strikes the bell, the bell-ringing effect ends. After the end of the bell ringing production, the result of the pattern change may be notified by executing a notice production such as (F) in FIG. Alternatively, the result of the pattern variation may be notified by music during execution of the effect. After the end of the bell ringing effect, a stop pattern is displayed as shown in (G).

As described above, in the continuous effect, since the rotation operation unit 302 is operated for worshipers who appear successively, a highly game-like effect can be provided to the player. In addition, since the worshipers automatically appear at predetermined intervals, the player can provide different aspects of effects simply by adjusting the amount of rotation of the rotary operation unit 302, making it easier for the player to participate. It is possible to improve the interest of the game.

[37-3-4. Point production]
Finally, like a continuous effect, a point effect will be described in which a game is played in which a plurality of worshipers appear in succession and ring the bell with a specified intensity for each worshiper to add points (scores). The point production is a bell-ringing production that enhances the game by specifying the intensity of ringing the bell for each worshiper in a continuous production. Based on the points acquired during the production period, highly reliable advance notice production and special production are executed. If the player does not participate in the game and the points are low, a failure effect is executed, or the result is displayed as it is without executing the effect.

First, a screen configuration example of the point effect will be described. FIG. 526 is a diagram showing a configuration example for executing the point effect of the bell ringing effect in the gaming machine of this embodiment. Compared with the configuration shown in FIG. 515, a score display portion 8101 for displaying the total points and a strength designation portion (gauge) 8102 for designating the motion strength of the bell striking stick 8001 are added. The rest of the configuration is the same as in FIG. 515 and will not be described.

In the point effect, if the bell is struck with a specified strength, points are added, and the total points are displayed on the score display section 8101 . At this time, the points (acquired points) that are added each time the bell is rung may be displayed at any time (Fig. 529). In the example shown in FIG. 526, the total points (score) are displayed numerically, but display other than numerical values may be used. For example, it may be displayed in white at the start and the color may change each time points are added, or it may be expressed so as to indicate the degree of achievement and expand each time points are added.

A strength designating section (gauge) 8102 designates the strength of striking the bell. In the example shown in FIG. 526, the intensity is designated by the length of the gauge, but it may be expressed numerically, or an image designating the amount of rotation of the rotary operation unit 302 may be displayed. Alternatively, the intensity may be directly displayed (“strong”, “medium”, and “weak”).

In the point presentation, the strength of ringing the bell is designated for each worshiper by the strength designation unit 8102, and the player operates the rotation operation unit 302 to adjust the amount of rotation according to the designated strength. At this time, points are added each time the bell is struck with the specified intensity. Also, if the bell is not rung with the specified intensity, the total points may be maintained, or the total points may be deducted as a penalty. It may be the same as when the rotary operation unit 302 is not operated or when the bell ringing fails, or points may be deducted only in this case. Points may be deducted only when the bell is not struck with the designated strength, and the points may be maintained when the rotary operation unit 302 is not operated.

When the last worshiper finishes ringing the bell, a notice effect or a special effect is executed based on the total points. As for the notice effect, when the value of the total points is a predetermined value or more, a highly reliable notice effect or a special effect is executed, and when it is less than the predetermined value, a low reliability notice effect or a normal effect is executed. be. Further, when the player does not participate in the game and the total point value is 0, the stop symbol may be displayed after a predetermined period of time without executing the notice effect. Also, when the value of the total points is equal to or greater than a predetermined value when the big win is confirmed, the big win confirmation effect may be executed as a special effect (for example, FIG. 524(H)).

Next, the setting of the point effect according to the degree of expectation will be described. FIG. 527 is a diagram for explaining the setting of the point effect. In this embodiment, the degree of expectation corresponds to the variation pattern, and the degree of expectation "high" is a variation pattern with a high possibility of a big hit. Also, the degree of expectation may take into consideration the result of pattern variation (special lottery), and for example, a notice effect that is executed only when a big hit is confirmed may be prepared.

The table shown in FIG. 527 is held by the storage unit of the peripheral control board 1510, and specifies the point effect setting information (effect pattern) based on the variation pattern command or the like transmitted from the main control board 1310. FIG.

Also, the degree of expectation (fluctuation pattern) corresponds to the fluctuation time, and the higher the degree of expectation, the longer the fluctuation time. Therefore, since the number of worshipers can be increased in the bell ringing performance, the player can recognize the degree of expectation from the number of worshipers. By setting an upper limit on the number of worshipers displayed on one screen, it becomes impossible to grasp the actual number of worshipers unless they participate in the game, so players should actively participate in the game. can be done.

Referring to FIG. 527, when the degree of expectation is “high”, the number of worshipers is set to be large, and accordingly the upper limit of points is 50 points. If the expectation level is "medium", the number of worshipers is set to be medium, and the upper limit of points is 30 points. When the degree of expectation is "low", the number of worshipers is set to be small, and the upper limit of points is 20 points.

When the bell ringing is successful, points may be added for each worshiper (for example, 5 points), or points may be set for each worshiper's attributes (for example, gender, build, age, etc.). You may make it

The reliability of the notice effect executed after the end of the point effect is set for each acquired point. The higher the number of points obtained, the more reliable the announcement effect is executed. Also, when the point is 0, the stop pattern is displayed without executing the failure performance or the notice performance. The failure effect may be a fixed effect regardless of the degree of expectation.

Next, the transition of the points when the point effect is executed will be described. FIG. 528 is a diagram for explaining transition of points acquired from the start of the point effect. FIG. 528 shows a case where N worshipers appear and ring the bell with a designated intensity. In addition, the expectation level is "high", and it is a production that many worshipers appear.

First, the first worshiper appears, and the strength "strong" corresponding to 5 gauges is specified. At this time, the player operates the rotary operation unit 302 so that the intensity becomes "strong" and obtains 5 points. After that, the third worshiper designates a strength of "medium" corresponding to three gauges. It's like

As described above, the operation of the rotary operation unit 302 is continued until the last (Nth) worshiper finishes ringing the bell. In the example shown in FIG. 528, since the points are 45 points, an effect with high advance notice reliability is executed as shown in FIG. When the result of the pattern variation (special lottery) is a big hit, a special effect indicating the determination of the big win may be executed.

Next, the screen transition of the point effect will be described. The basic flow is the same as the above-described continuous performance (FIG. 525), and the strength of the bell ringing is designated by the strength designation section 8102 as the worshipers appear. In this embodiment, worshipers appear at regular intervals, and the player operates the rotary operation unit 302 to specify the intensity of ringing the bell. Also, by operating the pressing operation unit 303, the appearance of the worshiper can be temporarily stopped.

FIG. 529 is a diagram showing an example of point effect screen transition. When the bell ringing performance is started, worshipers attend as shown in (A). After that, as shown in (B) to (D), the worshipers ring the bell one after another, and when the last worshiper finishes ringing the bell, the announcement effect is executed.

As described above, the advance notice effect is executed based on the total points when all worshipers strike the bell. FIG. 530 is a diagram showing an example of an advance notice effect executed based on the total points acquired in the point effect. (C) is the case where the total points are 50. In addition, the result of the pattern variation is a big hit.

As shown in (A), when the total points are 0, since the player has not actually participated in the game, the point effect is terminated without executing the notice effect, and the stop symbol is displayed.

Also, as shown in (B), when the total points are 20, although the player is participating in the game, the number of points acquired is small, and a low-reliability announcement effect is executed. In the announcement effect with low reliability, the effect is such that it is difficult for the player to grasp whether the game is a big hit or not.

Furthermore, as shown in (C), when the total points are 50, since points have been obtained up to the point upper limit value, a notice effect with a high notice reliability is executed. However, if a highly reliable advance notice effect is executed when the result is a loss, the player will understand that the result is a loss, and there is a risk that the player will be disappointed before the symbols stop. Therefore, in addition to the effect of announcing a big hit, a special effect that cannot be seen normally may be executed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the player from being discouraged even if the result of the pattern variation (special lottery) is a loss, and to make the player actively participate in the game, thereby improving the interest in the game.

It should be noted that if different strengths are designated each time for worshipers appearing in succession, as in the case of continuous effects or point effects, the level of difficulty may become too high and the interest in the game may decrease. Therefore, the difficulty level may be adjusted by continuing to designate the same strength for a predetermined period of time and designating a different strength after the period has elapsed. As a result, it is possible to adjust the difficulty level of the game property of the player-participation type presentation and to maximize the interest of the game.

Also, the points acquired in the point presentation may be recorded, and the difficulty level may be adjusted based on the recorded points. As a result, since the difficulty level is adjusted according to the skill of the player, it is possible to realize a player participation type production with a difficulty level suitable for many players, and the game provided by the gaming machine of the present embodiment can be realized. can increase the interest of

In addition, although the point effect explained above is the effect during reach, it may be the effect during the big hit (jackpot game state). In the case of the performance during the big win, points may be obtained according to winning the big prize slot. In addition, the game state after the big win is finished may be suggested according to the acquired points. By constructing in this way, it is possible to make the player actively participate in the performance even during the jackpot game, and the interest in the game can be enhanced.

Furthermore, in the case of the performance during the big win, the display color of the points, the background color, etc. may be changed step by step according to the acquired points. Furthermore, when the acquired points reach a specific point, the effect during the big win (bell ringing effect) may be terminated. By configuring in this way, the player can easily grasp the progress of the big win game state by making it possible to acquire points according to the number of winnings in the big winning hole.

[37-3-5. Another example of point production]
Finally, another example of the point effect will be described. In the point presentation described above, the strength of bell ringing is designated by the strength designating section 8102, but the strength of bell ringing is designated according to the attribute (gender, age, etc.) of the worshiper. FIG. 531 is a diagram showing an example of bell-ringing intensity according to attributes of worshipers. Referring to FIG. 531, a man with strong physical strength is set to a high strength, and a child with a weak physical strength is set to a low strength. By configuring in this way, it is possible to perform a point presentation without displaying the strength designation portion 8102 . At this time, the strength of ringing the bell may be additionally displayed.

FIG. 532 is a diagram for explaining the transition of points earned from the start of the point presentation when the strength of ringing the bell is specified according to the attribute of the worshiper. FIG. 528 shows a case where N worshipers appear and ring the bell with a designated intensity. In addition, the expectation level is "high", and it is a production that many worshipers appear.

First, the first worshiper appears, and since the worshiper is male, the strength of the bell ringing is designated as "strong." At this time, the player operates the rotary operation unit 302 so that the intensity becomes "strong" and obtains 5 points. Since the next worshiper is a child, the strength is designated as "weak". However, since the bell was struck at "medium" intensity, no points can be earned, and the total points remain the same.

As described above, the operation of the rotary operation unit 302 is continued until the last (Nth) worshiper finishes ringing the bell. When all worshipers finish ringing the bell, the advance notice effect shown in FIG. 530 is executed based on the total points earned.

As described above, the gaming machine of the present embodiment can enhance the interest of the game by providing a player-participation-type effect that can be participated in by a relatively simple operation.

[37-4. Summary of Player Participation Production]
Representative aspects of the invention relating to the player-participation type production disclosed in the present specification are as follows.

The gaming machine that realizes the player participation type production disclosed in this specification is
a game board having a game area; a body frame detachably supporting the game board;
a door frame which is openably and closably supported on the front surface of the main body frame and provided with a game window which allows a player to visually recognize the game area of the game board supported by the main body frame from the front when the door frame is closed; ,
a starting prize opening capable of accepting game balls;
a display device capable of displaying the result of a special lottery that can be executed when a gaming ball is received into the start winning opening;
a driver operated by power.

Further, below the game window provided in the door frame, there is a ball tray portion capable of storing game balls to be paid out in accordance with acceptance of the game balls into the start winning opening, and a player's operation is received. An operation means (effect operation unit 301) capable of changing the display of the display device is provided.

Further, the game board is provided with a special winning hole that operates to accept game balls when the result of the special lottery is a special result.

The operating means is capable of receiving an operation by a player to change the display of the display device, making the driving body operable, and a first operation capable of receiving a first operation (rotation operation) of the player. (rotation operation portion 302) and a second operation portion (rotation operation portion 303) capable of accepting a second operation (pressing operation) different from the first operation by the player.

In addition to the above configuration, the game machine has the following characteristic configuration, whereby the present invention can have its own effects.

(1) the driving strength of the driving body can be changed according to the operation amount of the first operation performed by the player on the first operation unit;
As a display effect that can be executed in the display device, there is a specific display effect that can be executed only when the operation amount of the first operation becomes a specific operation amount or more and the driving body operates with a specific driving strength or more. It is characterized by

With the configuration (1), when the operation amount of the first operation unit (rotation operation unit 302) is appropriate in the player-participation type performance, the driving force required for the game (bell ringing) is applied to the driving body. The game (ringing the bell) fails if the grant is successful and the amount of operation is insufficient. When the game is successful, it is possible to execute a specific display effect that is not executed when the game fails, thereby increasing the interest in the game. In this way, it is possible to add a game effect to the effect, and to encourage the player to actively participate in the game by, for example, executing a specific effect when the game is successful.

(2) the first operation portion (rotation operation portion 302) of the operation means is positioned at a reference position when no rotation operation by the player is received;
The second operation unit capable of accepting an operation different from the rotation operation is capable of accepting a pressing operation by the player,
When the first operating section is operated by the player from the reference position to the operating position, the tip of a receiving section that receives the player's pressing operation on the second operating section in accordance with the player's operation on the first operating section. It is characterized in that the position is displaced.

With the configuration (2), the pressing portion (pressing portion 303a) of the second operating portion (pressing operation portion 303) is displaced by the operation of the first operating portion (rotating operation portion 302). In this embodiment, the outer peripheral portion 303b is extended upward by the rotation of the rotary operation portion 302, and the pressing portion 303a is lifted. As a result, it is possible to suppress erroneous pressing of the pressing operation part 303 during operation of the rotary operation part 302, suppress erroneous operations during execution of the player participation type performance, and increase the interest of the game. can.

(3) It is characterized in that, while the driving body is operating, the movement of the driving body can be stopped by the player's second operation on the second operating section.

By having the configuration of (3), it is possible to temporarily suspend the performance in the player participation type performance, and the player can easily intervene in the progress of the game (progress of the performance). It is possible to improve the interest of the game by increasing it further.

The second operating portion (pressing operation portion 303) of the operating means has an initial position where the tip of the operation receiving portion (pressing portion 303a) that receives the pressing operation of the player is at an initial position, and a position that protrudes from the initial position. configured to be displaceable between protruding positions,
When the tip position of the operation receiving portion of the second operation portion is at the initial position, the player can pick up the operation receiving portion and displace the tip position of the operation receiving portion to the projecting position. cage,
When the player displaces the tip position of the operation receiving portion from the initial position to the projecting position, the first operation portion (rotational operation portion 302) operates according to the displacement of the tip position of the operation receiving portion. and

With the configuration of (4), the position of the tip of the second operating part (pressing operation part 303) is displaced by the operation of the first operating part (rotational operation part 302), but the player can operate the second operation part (pressing operation part 303). By displacing the tip position of the operating section 303), it is possible to rotate the rotating section of the first operating section (rotating operating section 302). As a result, a variety of performance operations can be realized, and the interest in the game can be enhanced.

Note that by displacing the second operation unit (pressing operation unit 303), even if the first operation unit (rotation operation unit 302) is rotated, the strength required for the movement of the driving body (the bell in the bell ringing effect) is increased. The driving strength required for striking) cannot be secured. As a result, the operation of the driving body is limited to the operation of the first operation unit (rotation operation unit 302), thereby suppressing the complication of the effect operation.

(5) When the driving strength of the driving body is designated, if the driving strength of the driving body set based on the operation amount of the first operation unit does not satisfy the designated driving strength, a predetermined driving strength is set. It is characterized in that notification is performed.

By having the configuration of (5), in the player-participation type performance, the player can operate the rotary operation unit with a specified operation amount to add a change to the performance, thereby enhancing the interest of the game. . In addition, game elements are added to the production, and when the game is successful (for example, when the bell is struck at a specified intensity), the player is actively played by notifying the degree of expectation of the pattern change. can participate in

(6) the driving strength of the driving body can be designated by specifying a period;
When a predetermined drive strength is designated as the drive strength of the driver during the identified period, a drive strength different from the predetermined drive strength can be designated after the elapse of the identified period. and

If different strengths (driving strengths of driving bodies for operating the bell striking sticks) are specified each time for worshipers appearing in succession, as in the continuous effects and point effects in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the degree of difficulty is high. There is a risk that it will become too much and the interest in the game will decrease. Therefore, by having the configuration of (6), the same intensity is specified continuously for a predetermined period, and the difficulty level is adjusted by specifying a different intensity after the period has elapsed. It is possible to adjust the degree of difficulty and maximize the interest of the game.

(7) when the player is not in contact with the operating means, the progress of the game is stopped;
A predetermined effect is executed when the player touches the operation unit while the progress of the game is stopped.

By having the configuration of (7), when the player touches the rotary operation unit 302 after the rotary operation unit 302 becomes ready for operation during execution of the bell ringing effect, a sound indicating the start of the effect is generated. is output, and music for bell ringing is played. By configuring in this way, it is possible to strongly recognize that the player has participated in the bell ringing performance, heighten the player's sense of expectation, and enhance the interest in the game.

[38. Excess Prize Ball Suppression Means]
The player participation type production has been described above. Here, a more detailed description will be given of the control by the excessive prize ball suppression means. As described above, the excess prize ball suppression means is such that the reference value (comparison value) based on the difference (difference ball) between the game machine's assumed payout ball and the actual payout ball is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value (excess prize ball ) is a mechanism for stopping the game.

[38-1. Calculation of reference value (comparative value)]
First, the calculation method of the reference value (comparative value, differential ball) in the excess prize ball suppression means will be described in detail. As explained in FIG. 503, the difference ball is counted based on the value (first count value) counted based on the game balls (fired ball, out ball, safe ball) consumed in the game and the prize balls. It is the difference from the value (second count value). The reference value (comparative value) is calculated based on the difference ball.

[38-1-1. Value counted based on game balls consumed in game: first count value]
First, the value (first count value) counted based on the game balls consumed in the game will be described. The game balls consumed in the game are, for example, shot balls and out balls.

The number of shot balls is the number of balls shot from the ball shooting device 680 and hit into the game area 5a via the rails 1001 and 1002 guiding to the upper part of the game area 5a. Also, the number of out balls is the number of game balls flowing out from the game area 5a. Therefore, the number of out balls and the number of shot balls are the same and may be treated as the same.

The method for calculating the number of shot balls includes, for example, a shot supply ball sensor (not shown) that detects game balls supplied to the ball shooting device 680, and a sensor that detects game balls that are shot from the ball shooting device 680 but do not reach the game area 5a. A foul ball sensor (not shown) for detecting game balls (so-called foul balls) is provided, and the number of foul balls is subtracted from the number of game balls supplied to the ball shooting device 680 detected by the shot supply ball sensor.

Another method for calculating the number of shot balls is as follows. There is a possibility that the rolled game ball returns to the rails 1001 and 1002 by colliding with a nail or the like after being driven into the game area 5a. In preparation for such a case, a backflow prevention member 1007 is provided to prevent the ball that has been hit into the play area 5a from reentering the rail. At this time, in order to detect the game balls passing through the backflow prevention member 1007, a shot ball sensor 1020 for detecting game balls hit into the game area 5a is provided, and the number of game balls detected by the shot ball sensor 1020 is counted. number of shots. In this case, since it is possible to exclude the game ball discharged due to lack of launch momentum, it is possible to accurately detect the game ball hit into the game area 5a. In addition, the shot ball sensor 1020 may be provided at a position where the game ball always passes within the game area, and may be before or after the backflow prevention member 1007 .

An out ball can be detected by an ejected ball sensor 3060 . The ejection ball sensor 3060 is provided at an ejection port for ejecting the game balls flowing out from the game area 5a to the outside of the pachinko machine 1, as shown in FIG.

In addition, an out-hole passing ball sensor 1021 (see FIG. 53) is provided to detect game balls passing through an out-hole 1111 provided in the lower part of the game area 5a, and the number of game balls detected by the out-hole passing ball sensor 1021, The number of out balls may be detected based on the sum of the number of game balls detected by the starting opening sensors 2104 and 2551 and the number of game balls detected by various winning opening sensors 3015 , 2114 , 2554 and 2557 .

The update of the first count value may be performed in the switch input process (step P102) of the timer interrupt process, or may be performed in the playable time process. When performed within the playable time process, for example, the switch-related control process (step 01TKS0010) may be performed, or the second count value may be calculated at the same timing as the prize ball control process, or may be performed separately. A new process (subroutine) may be provided.

Further, when a process (subroutine) for calculating the first count value is newly provided, it may be arranged outside the game area (outside the use area) and executed. When executing outside the game area, the signal of the input port of each switch is read in the process inside the game area, and after storing the execution result in a predetermined storage area allocated to the main control RAM 1312, It may be calculated by referring to the contents of the storage area in the process. In this case, the signal of the input port is read out only in the processing within the game area. It is used by both the inside process and the outside game area process.

[38-1-2. Value counted based on prize balls: second count value]
Next, the value (second count value) counted based on the prize balls will be described. The second count value is, for example, safe balls, and is equal to the number of prize balls paid out. The value counted based on the prize balls is the total number of prize balls set for each winning hole. The planned number of prize balls calculated in the control board 1310 corresponds to this. Calculation of the number of actually paid balls and the planned number of prize balls will be described below.

In addition, entry of a game ball into each winning hole is detected by reading the signal of the input port in the switch-related control process (Fig. 354). At this time, the input information is stored in the storage area (ball judgment area; PAY_JDG_AR) allocated to the main control RAM 1312, and not only the processing such as the prize ball control processing arranged in the game area but also the processing such as the prize ball control processing arranged outside the game area It is also used in common from the performance display monitoring process and the process of calculating the reference value (comparative value)/count value.

[38-1-2a. Number of actual balls paid]
The number of actual payout balls is the number of game balls actually paid out by the payout control board 951, as described above. Here, the processing executed by the payout control board 951 for calculating the actual number of paid balls will be described.

When the pachinko game machine 1 is powered on, the payout control unit 954 in the payout control board 951 executes the payout control unit power-on processing by processing the payout control program by the payout control MPU 954a. Figures 533 and 534 are flowcharts showing the procedure of the payout control unit power-on process.

When the payout control unit power-on process is started, the payout control MPU 954a sets the interrupt mode (step 09TKS0010). The interrupt mode sets the priority of the interrupt of the payout control MPU 954a. Subsequently, the payout control MPU 954a performs input/output setting (I/O input/output setting) for setting various input ports and various output ports of the payout control MPU 954a (step 09TKS0020).

Subsequently, the payout control MPU 954a performs a wait timer process 1 for waiting a predetermined time (for example, 200 milliseconds) until the voltage becomes larger than the blackout warning voltage and becomes stable after the power is turned on (step 09TKS0030). Further, the wait timer process 1 is repeatedly executed until the power failure warning signal (withdrawal power failure warning signal) from the power failure monitoring circuit 1310e of the main control board 1310 is no longer input (step 09TKS0040).

Subsequently, the payout control MPU 954a sets the payout RAM clear notification flag based on whether or not the operation switch 952 for instructing RAM clearing has been operated (steps 09TKS0050 to 09TKS0070). When the operation switch 952 is operated, the payment RAM clear notification flag is set, and when the operation switch 952 is not operated, the payment RAM clear notification flag is canceled. The payout RAM clear notification flag is stored in the payout control built-in RAM (payout storage unit) of the payout control MPU 954a, for example, various flags, various information stored in various information storage areas, etc. The number of prize balls in stock, the actual ball count (the number of actual paid balls), the number of drive commands, the mismatch counter, etc. stored in the area, and the PRDY signal output setting information, etc., stored in the CR communication information storage area) This is a flag indicating whether or not to erase.

Subsequently, the payout control MPU 954a permits access to the payout control built-in RAM (step 09TKS0080). Furthermore, a stack pointer is set (step 09TKS0090).

Subsequently, the payout control MPU 954a determines whether or not the payout RAM clear notification flag is set (step 09TKS0100). When the payout RAM clear notification flag is set (the result of step 09TKS0100 is "Yes"), that is, when clearing the payout control built-in RAM, the entire area of the payout control built-in RAM is cleared (step 09TKS0150), Furthermore, the work area of the payout control built-in RAM is reset (step 09TKS0160).

On the other hand, if the payout RAM clear notification flag is not set (the result of step 09TKS0100 is "No"), that is, if the payout control built-in RAM is not cleared, the payout control MPU 954a calculates the checksum (step 09TKS0110 ), it is determined whether or not it matches the checksum stored before the power failure (step 09TKS0120). If the checksum values do not match (the result of step 09TKS0120 is "No"), there is a possibility that the information is not stored normally.

On the other hand, if the checksum matches the checksum stored before the power failure (the result of step 09TKS0120 is "Yes"), the payout control MPU 954a determines whether or not the payout backup flag is set (step 09TKS0130). . The payout backup flag is a flag indicating whether or not payout backup information such as payout information and checksum value is stored in the payout control built-in RAM in payout control unit power failure processing described later. When the payout backup flag is not set (the result of step 09TKS0130 is "No"), the payout control MPU 954a executes the processing after step 09TKS0150 to clear the RAM.

On the other hand, if the payout backup flag is set (the result of step 09TKS0130 is "Yes"), that is, if the power supply is normally cut off, the work area of the payout control built-in RAM is set at the time of power recovery. (Step 09TKS0150). At this time, the payout backup flag is canceled, and the information at the time of power recovery is read from the ROM (hereinafter referred to as "payout control built-in ROM") built in the payout control MPU 954a, and set in the work area of the payout control built-in RAM. be.

When the setting of the RAM work area is completed, the payout control MPU 954a performs interrupt-related settings (step 09TKS0170). Specifically, the interrupt period (2 ms) of the timer interrupt process is set and the interrupt is permitted.

Subsequently, the payout control MPU 954a executes the payout control unit main process (steps 09TKS0180 to 09TKS0300). The payout control unit main process is continuously executed while the game is progressing normally, and is a process for controlling the payout of prize balls and the like.

When the payout control unit main process is started, the payout control MPU 954a first clears the watchdog timer (step 09TKS0180). Further, it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal (withdrawal power failure warning signal) is input (step 09TKS0190). When the power failure warning signal is input (the result of step 09TKS0190 is "Yes"), the payout control unit power failure processing is executed (step 09TKS0320).

In the payout control unit power-off processing, by performing interrupt prohibition setting, writing to the payout control built-in RAM is prevented, and rewriting of payout information is protected. Furthermore, the output of the driving signal to the payout motor 834 is stopped, and the payout of the game balls is stopped. In addition, clear setting of watchdog timer, calculation and storage of checksum, setting of payout backup flag, etc. are performed. After that, the power is turned on again, and the infinite loop continues until the payout control MPU 954a is reset.

On the other hand, if the power failure warning signal has not been input (the result of step 09TKS0190 is "No"), the payout control MPU 954a determines whether 2 milliseconds have elapsed since the payout control unit main process was executed. (Step 09TKS0200). If 2 milliseconds have not elapsed since the payout control unit main process was executed (the result of step 09TKS0200 is "No"), the process returns to the beginning of the payout control unit main process (step 09TKS0180). That is, the main processing (steps 09TKS0210 to 09TKS0300) of the payout control unit main processing is executed at predetermined intervals (2 milliseconds).

When 2 milliseconds have passed since the payout control unit main process was executed (the result of step 09TKS0200 is "Yes"), the payout control MPU 954a initializes the measurement of a predetermined time (2 milliseconds) (step 09TKS0210 ). Initialization of measurement of the predetermined time (2 milliseconds) may be initialization of a timer for measuring the predetermined time, or clearing of a flag set by timer interrupt processing.

The payout control MPU 954a executes port output processing (step 09TKS0220). In the port output process, various information is read from the output information storage area of the payout control built-in RAM, and various signals are output from the output terminals of the various output ports of the payout control MPU 954a based on the various information.

In the output information storage area, for example, the payout motor 834 is controlled to drive and payout motor 834 with payout ACK information that tells that various commands related to payout from the main control board 1310 (a prize ball command and a self-check command) have been received normally. Various types of information such as drive information, prize ball number information of the number of game balls actually paid out by the payout motor 834, and LED display information to be displayed on the error LED display 953 are stored. The payout control MPU 954a outputs various signals to the main control board 1310 and the external terminal board 784 based on these output information.

Subsequently, the payout control MPU 954a executes port input processing (step 09TKS0230). In the port input process, various signals input to the input terminals of various input ports of the payout control MPU 954a are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the payout control built-in RAM.

For example, the operation signal of the operation switch 952, the detection signal from the blade rotation detection switch 840, the detection signal from the counter switch, the detection signal from the full tank switch, the BRQ signal from the CR unit, the BRDY signal, and the CR connection signal, which will be described later. The main payment ACK signal or the like from the main control board 1310 that informs that the main control board 1310 has normally received various commands transmitted in the command transmission process is read and stored as input information in the input information storage area.

The payout control MPU 954a executes timer update processing (step 09TKS0240). In the timer update process, the ball jam determination time, the ball removal determination time, the full tank determination time, the ball exhaustion determination time, etc. are managed.

The payout control MPU 954a executes CR communication processing (step 09TKS0250). In the CR communication process, input information is read from the input information storage area described above, and based on this input information, it is determined whether or not various signals (BRQ signal, BRDY signal, and CR connection signal) from the CR unit are input. do. Based on various signals from the CR unit, the payout control MPU 954a exchanges various signals with the CR unit.

The payout control MPU 954a executes full tank and out-of-ball check processing (step 09TKS0260). In the full-tank and out-of-ball check processing, based on the input information in the input information storage area, it is determined whether or not the housing space of the foul cover unit 520 is filled with stored game balls based on the detection signal from the full tank switch. or whether or not the number of game balls taken into the supply passage of the payout device 830 is a predetermined number or more based on the detection signal from the out-of-ball detection sensor 827 .

The payout control MPU 954a executes command reception processing (step 09TKS0270). In the command reception process, various commands related to payout from the main control board 1310, such as prize ball commands and self-check commands, are received. When various commands are normally received, payer ACK information is stored in the output information storage area. On the other hand, if various commands cannot be received normally, it indicates that there is an abnormality in the connection between the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 (various command signals are abnormal). The connection abnormality information is stored in the state information storage area.

The payout control MPU 954a executes command analysis processing (step 09TKS0280). In the command analysis process, the command received in the command reception process is analyzed, and the analyzed command is stored in the received command information storage area of the payout control built-in RAM as received command information.

The payout control MPU 954a executes the main action setting process (step 09TKS0290). In the main operation setting process, operation settings such as prize balls, ball rental, ball extraction and ball catching are performed, retry operation is determined, and the number of unpaid balls (stock of prize balls) is monitored. . The process of calculating the number of actual payouts is included in the main action setting process.

The payout control MPU 954a executes LED display data creation processing (step 09TKS0300). In the LED display data creation process, various information is read from the state information storage area, display data to be displayed on the error LED indicator 953 of the payout control board 951 is created, and stored as LED display information in the output information storage area. For example, the out-of-ball information is read from the state information storage area, and when the number of game balls taken into the supply passage of the payout device 830 based on the out-of-ball information is less than a predetermined number, corresponding display data is created. Then, the LED display information is stored in the output information storage area.

The payout control MPU 954a executes command transmission processing (step 09TKS0310). In the command transmission process, various information is read from the state information storage area, and various commands (door frame open command, door frame close command, body frame open command, body frame close command, frame State 1 command, error cancellation navigation command, and frame state 2 command) are created and transmitted to the main control board 1310 . In addition, error information including error content is read from the state information storage area, machine number information for distinguishing itself from other pachinko machines, and an error information signal based on the error information is sent to the hall via the external terminal board 784. Output to a computer (not shown).

After executing the command transmission process, the payout control MPU 954a returns to the process of step 09TKS0590 and continues the payout control unit main process.

The number of actual payout balls is stored in the output information storage area, and is counted in the payout setting process called from the payout ball hit action determination setting process in the main action setting process. The number of actual paid balls is the number of game balls actually paid out by the payout motor 834, and is counted by a counting switch provided in the winning ball path. A detection signal from the counting switch is accepted by port input processing (step 09TKS0230). The payout control MPU 954a adds a predetermined number of prize balls to the number of actual payout balls based on the detection signal from the counting switch, and stores the result in the prize ball information storage area of the payout control built-in RAM. In addition, the number of prize balls is stored in the output information storage area of the payout control built-in RAM, and based on the number of prize balls information, the command transmission process (step 09TKS0310) sends the actual number of balls paid (second total number).

[38-1-2a. Scheduled number of prize balls]
A case has been described above in which the payout control board 951 calculates the value (second count value) counted based on the prize balls in the process of paying out the prize balls. Next, a case of calculating a value corresponding to a value (second count value, number of safe balls) counted based on prize balls in the main control board 1310 will be described. First, the case of calculating the second count value in the process of transmitting the prize ball command to the payout control board 951 will be described, and then a process for calculating the second count value is newly provided and placed outside the game area. A case of doing so will be explained.

When the game ball enters the winning hole, the main control MPU 1311 stores the switch input information in the prize ball determination area (PAY_JDG_AR) by the switch input process (FIG. 288) in the timer interrupt process. The prize determination area (PAY_JDG_AR) consists of 1 byte (8 bits) as shown in FIG. 287(B), and the input information of the switch (sensor) corresponding to each bit is stored. In addition, each bit of the winning ball determination area is set to "1" (ON) only when the sensor detects during the valid period for the prize winning opening for which the valid period is set. In the prize ball control process, a prize ball command including the number of prize balls is transmitted based on the value stored in the prize ball determination area, and the planned number of prize balls (second count value) is calculated.

When the payout control board 951 receives a prize ball command from the main control board 1310 (command reception process; 09TKS0270), based on the prize ball command (command analysis process; 09TKS0280), the corresponding number of prize balls ( game ball) is paid out (main action setting process; 09TKS0290). The prize ball command consists of 2 bytes, and is sequentially transmitted for each byte. The process of creating the prize ball command is the prize ball control process included in the playable time process executed in the timer interrupt process (step 01TKS0040 in FIG. 354). The procedure of prize ball control processing will be described below.

(Prize ball control processing)
FIG. 535 is a flow chart showing the procedure of prize ball control processing. In the prize ball control process, a prize ball command for notifying the number of prize balls corresponding to the winning is transmitted to the payout control board 951 based on the winning of the game ball in the winning hole. Furthermore, the control state of the payout control board 951 is confirmed, and according to the confirmation result, the payout control board 951 is instructed to self-diagnose (self-check) as necessary.

The main control MPU 1311 first executes the number-of-prize-balls addition process for calculating the number of prize balls (step 09TKS0410). In the prize ball number addition process, first, the data stored in the prize ball determination area is obtained, and it is determined whether or not each winning hole has won. Furthermore, when it is determined that the game ball has won the prize winning opening, the payout storage number area (the winning number) corresponding to the winning prize opening is updated.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not it is in the payer ACK signal waiting state (step 09TKS0420). In the payer ACK signal waiting state, after a command such as a prize ball command is transmitted from the main control board 1310 to the payout control board 951, the main control board 1310 sends a payout ACK signal indicating that the command has been received from the payout control board 951. is waiting for the reception of

When the main control MPU 1311 is waiting for the payer ACK signal (result of step 09TKS0420 is "Yes"), it determines whether or not the waiting time has elapsed (step 09TKS0560). If the predetermined standby time has not elapsed (the result of step 09TKS0560 is "No"), the prize ball control process is terminated.

When the predetermined waiting time has passed in the payer ACK signal waiting state (the result of step 09TKS0560 is "Yes"), the main control MPU 1311 detects that there is an abnormality in the connection between the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951. It is determined that it has occurred, and a command indicating connection abnormality is set (step 09TKS0570). Further, the self-check transmission request setting data is set (step 09TKS0580). After that, the prize ball control process is terminated.

On the other hand, when the main control MPU 1311 is not in the payer ACK signal waiting state (the result of step 09TKS0420 is "No"), it determines whether or not there is unsent data (step 09TKS0430). If there is unsent data (the result of step 09TKS0430 is "Yes"), the prize ball control process is terminated in order to wait until the unsent data is sent.

If there is no unsent data (the result of step 09TKS0430 is "No"), the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the second byte of the prize command has been sent (step 09TKS0440). If the second byte of the prize ball command has not been transmitted (the result of step 09TKS0440 is "No"), the processing after step 09TKS0530 is executed, and the second byte of the prize ball command is transmitted. Details of the processing will be described later.

When the second byte of the prize ball command has been transmitted (the result of step 09TKS0440 is "Yes"), the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not to transmit a self-check command (step 09TKS0450). Whether or not to transmit the self-check command can be determined by whether or not the self-check transmission request setting data is set. When sending a self-check command (the result of step 09TKS0450 is "Yes"), the main control MPU 1311 sets a self-check command (step 09TKS0460).

If the self-check command is not transmitted (the result of step 09TKS0450 is "No"), the main control MPU 1311 refers to the payout storage number area and determines whether or not there is a winning to pay out prize balls (step 09TKS0470). ). If there is no winning (the result of step 09TKS0470 is "No"), the prize ball control process is terminated.

On the other hand, if there is a prize to pay out prize balls (the result of step 09TKS0470 is "Yes"), the main control MPU 1311 sets the prize ball command (first byte) (step 09TKS0480). The prize ball command (first byte) is selected based on the value of the payout storage number area.

The main control MPU 1311 transmits the prize ball command (first byte) set in the processing of step 09TKS0480 or the self-check command set in the processing of step 09TKS0460 (step 09TKS0490).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the prize ball command (first byte) has been transmitted (step 09TKS0500). If the prize command (1st byte) has not been transmitted (result of step 09TKS0500 is "No"), that is, if the self-check command has been transmitted, the prize control process is terminated.

When the prize ball command (first byte) is transmitted (the result of step 09TKS0500 is "Yes"), the main control MPU 1311 adds (updates) the number of prize balls (step 09TKS0510). The number of winning balls updated here corresponds to the second count value, and is used to calculate the reference value (comparison value).

After that, the main control MPU 1311 sets a prize ball command (2nd byte) (step 09TKS0520) and transmits the command (step 09TKS0530).

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 sets the connection abnormality determination time (waiting time for the payer ACK signal) (step 09TKS0540), and sets the payer ACK signal waiting state (step 09TKS0550). After that, the prize ball control process is terminated.

As described above, the second count value is updated by the payout control board 951 and by the main control board 1310 . Next, a process of updating the reference value (comparison value, difference ball) based on the first count value and the second count value will be described.

[38-2. Reference value (comparison value) update (reference value counter update process)]
As described above, the reference value (comparative value) is the first count value counted based on the game balls (shot balls, out balls, safe balls) consumed in the game, and the second count value counted based on the prize balls. It is the difference from the count value. As described in FIG. 503, the reference value (comparison value) includes the maximum value of difference balls (first reference value, first comparison value) when the start of the measurement period is 0, and the There is a difference (second reference value, second comparison value) between the minimum value and the maximum value of difference balls.

Since the reference value (comparison value) is updated while the game is continuing, the reference value counter update process is called in the playable time process (FIG. 354). The execution timing of the reference value counter update process may be after the switch-related control process (01TKS0010) in order to avoid discrepancies with the history information. It may be after or before execution of the performance display monitor process (01TKS0070). By including a reference value (comparison value) in various information displayed on the base monitor by the performance display monitor process, it is possible to confirm the operating state of the excess prize ball suppression means.

As a specific example of the execution timing of the reference value counter update process, for example, the process of calculating the first count value and the process of calculating the second count value are executed in the playable time process, and these count values are calculated. After the processing, the reference value counter update processing is executed. At this time, the second count value is calculated in the prize ball control process, that is, by calculating on the main control board 1310 side, each count value in the same timer interrupt process is acquired and the reference value (comparison value) is calculated. becomes possible. As a result, it is possible to minimize the difference in update timing of each count value, and it is possible to calculate the reference value (comparative value) more accurately.

It should be noted that the process of calculating the first count value and the process of calculating the second count value may be executed in the process outside the game area, as described above. , the information based on the signal of the input port is stored in a predetermined storage area of the main control RAM 1312, and each count value is calculated by referring to the storage area.

Also, when referring to the input port information from the storage area of the main control RAM 1312 in the process outside the game area, the bit information of the switch (port) to be referred to is checked in order, and if it is ON, the corresponding number of prize balls is displayed. To calculate the second count value in real time without delay within one timer interrupt even if there are a plurality of prize wins by adding to the second count value and repeatedly executing this for all target winning openings. can. On the other hand, in the processing within the game area, since only a single prize ball command is generated in one timer interrupt processing, if a game ball wins in a plurality of winning ports at the same time (within one timer interrupt), no Since it is necessary to create the prize ball command for creation after the next timer interrupt process, there is a problem that a time lag occurs between winning and the start of the prize ball. This time lag can be eliminated by calculating the count value in the process outside the game area.

In addition, not only the winning openings but also the number of outs (first count value) can be similarly counted, and the bit information of each switch (port) is similarly referred to in the performance display monitor process. Therefore, a common area (area where bit information of each switch (port) is stored) is referred to in the process for calculating the reference value (comparative value) and the performance display monitor process.

Note that the reference value counter update process may be executed after the switch input process (step P102 in FIG. 329) in the timer interrupt process instead of being called from the playable time process.

Since the reference value counter update process itself does not directly affect the progress of the game, the program for executing the reference value counter update process is arranged outside the game area, similarly to the performance display monitor process. Therefore, when executing the reference value counter update process, the main process is executed after saving the stack pointer and registers. Details of the processing will be described later.

Also, the reference value counter update process is called by the INVI instruction. This makes it easier to separate processes outside the game area, and facilitates program management. In addition, since interrupts are prohibited when the INVI instruction is executed, interrupts are prohibited while processing outside the game area is being executed. can be ensured.

The reference value (comparative value) may be updated by setting the initial value to 0 and adding the number of prize balls up to a predetermined threshold value, or setting the predetermined threshold value as the initial value and subtracting the number of prize balls. good too. In addition, even if the reference value (comparative value) satisfies the condition (first condition) reaching a predetermined value, other conditions (second condition, for example, the end of the ongoing game state) of the excess prize ball suppression means When the operation is suspended, the reference value (comparative value) cannot be updated thereafter, and control is performed so that the reference value (comparative value) is not updated. At this time, if the reference value (comparison value) reaches a predetermined threshold value, it may not be updated thereafter. Then, the game is stopped when all the operating conditions of the excess prize ball suppressing means are satisfied.

That is, when the operation condition (game stop condition) of the excess prize ball suppression means is completely satisfied, the game stop factor (PLAY_STOP_NO) is set, while if even a part of the condition is not satisfied, the reference value (comparison value) reaches a predetermined value, and if the stop condition is not completely satisfied even after the reference value (comparison value) reaches the predetermined value, the game is continued without updating the reference value. .

Since the reference value counter updating process is arranged outside the game area, it is kept in mind that it is shared among a plurality of models. In particular, when the initial value of the reference value (comparison value) is set to the upper limit value (threshold value) and controlled to be updated by subtraction, control when the threshold value is reached (when the reference value becomes 0) Commonization is possible, and processing can be commonized even when it is necessary to set a plurality of types of thresholds due to differences in game specifications and models. By configuring in this way, it becomes possible to increase the versatility of the program, and it is possible to improve the development efficiency of the game machine.

Next, the procedure of the reference value counter updating process will be specifically described. FIG. 536 is a flowchart of an example of the reference value counter update process procedure.

When the reference value counter update process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first saves the stack pointer used in the process within the game area (step 09TKS0610), and sets the stack pointer for outside the game area (step 09TKS0620). . Furthermore, various registers used in the processing within the game area are saved in a predetermined area (step 09TKS0630).

After that, the main control MPU 1311 updates the reference value (comparison value) (step 09TKS0640). The reference value (comparative value) may be updated by setting the initial value to 0 and adding the number of prize balls. control to subtract

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 restores the various registers used in the processing within the game area (step 09TKS0650), sets the stack pointer used in the processing within the game area (step 09TKS0660), returns the reference value End the counter update process. After that, the BKI instruction returns to the caller process and returns to the interrupt state before the execution of the process.

[38-3. Operation Control of Excess Prize Ball Suppression Means]
In the gaming machine of this embodiment, when a game is to be stopped due to a factor such as an error, a game stop factor number corresponding to the game stop factor (PLAY_STOP_NO) is set. A game stop factor number corresponding to a stop due to the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means is defined, and when the operating condition of the excess prize ball suppression means is satisfied, the game stop factor number corresponding to the excess prize ball suppression means is set.

Although a plurality of types of game stop factors are defined, they are not set redundantly, and when a plurality of game stop factors occur at the same time, the one with the highest priority is set. For this reason, the determination of the game stop factor is determined and set in descending order of priority, and finally the factor with the highest priority is determined. As a result, the game stop factor with the highest priority is overwritten by the game stop factor with the low priority, so the game stop factor with the highest priority is finally set. By controlling in this way, it becomes unnecessary to branch the processing for each game stop factor, and complication of control can be suppressed. For example, a high priority is set for game stoppage factors such as magnetic abnormalities that seriously hinder the continuation of the game, and the game stoppage factors due to the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means (at least the game was progressing normally) are set relatively high. set as low as possible.

Further, since the reference value counter update process is arranged outside the game area, the process that directly affects the progress of the game is not executed, and only the process of updating the reference value (comparison value) is executed. Therefore, the reference value counter updating process does not include the process of setting the game stop factor number in order to activate the excess prize ball suppression means.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, after executing the reference value counter updating process, the process of setting the game stop factor number is executed in order to activate the excess prize balls suppressing means. For example, in the playable time process, if the reference value counter update process is executed before the execution of the performance display monitor process, immediately after the reference value counter update process it is determined whether the operating conditions for the excess prize ball suppression means are met. judge. At this time, when the result of the reference value counter updating process is reflected in the execution result of the performance display monitor process, the operating condition of the excess prize ball suppression means may be determined after the performance display monitor process is executed.

When the game stop factor number is set by satisfying the operation condition of the excess prize ball suppression means, the main control MPU 1311 ends the game available time process and returns to the timer interrupt process. Then, when the timer interrupt process is executed in the next period, the game stop time process (FIG. 330) is executed instead of the game possible time process because the game stop factor number is set.

It should be noted that the game stop processing is arranged in the game area because it directly affects the progress of the game. In addition, instead of the game stop processing, it may be controlled to forcibly stop the shooting of the game ball, and the processing of stopping the shooting of the game ball (shooting stop processing) is performed within the game area in the same manner as the game stop processing. is processed.

In addition, when the excess prize ball suppression means is activated, the security signal is output from the external terminal and all the LEDs constituting the function display unit 1400 are turned off, as in the case where the game is stopped due to other factors. It should be noted that the display may be such that the player can recognize that the function of the gaming machine is stopped without turning off all the LEDs constituting the function display unit 1400 . Furthermore, not limited to the function display unit 1400, the decoration LEDs may be turned off or only part of the decoration LEDs may be turned on to make it possible to recognize the game stop.

Further, when the excess prize balls suppressing means is activated, after completion of the complete effect, the voice output for notifying the game stop is continued for a certain period of time, and then stopped. In addition, when there is a possibility of fraud such as magnetic abnormality, the voice (warning sound) output for notifying the game stop continues without stopping. At this time, the same applies to notification by screen display, lamp, or the like. Since the operation of the excessive prize ball suppression means is a normal operation, the voice output stops after a predetermined time has elapsed, but the screen display, lamp, etc. continue to notify. As a result, the game machine in which the excess prize ball suppression means has been activated can be maintained (left) without cutting off the power until the end of the business. Sound (warning sound) output that does not end the notification within a certain period of time, such as vibration abnormality or magnetic abnormality, is stopped by turning on the power of the game machine again.

Furthermore, at the time of setting the game stop factor number, a command for notifying the operation of the excessive prize ball suppression means may be transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 . In addition, when reaching a state that is likely to satisfy the operating conditions of the excess prize ball suppression means, for example, when the reference value reaches a predetermined value or less (in the case of subtraction update, the addition update is above the predetermined value), You may make it transmit the command for performing the operation|movement notice (advance notification) of the excessive prize ball suppression means to the peripheral control board 1510. FIG. Notification that the peripheral control board 1510 receives and executes these commands will be described later with reference to FIG. 538 and subsequent figures.

In addition, the command for notifying the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means and the command for executing the operation notice (advance notification) of the excess prize ball suppression means may be generated by the processing in the game area, and the game It may be generated by processing outside the area. Regardless of which area the command is generated, the command is transmitted by processing within the game area. When the generated command is transmitted by processing outside the game area, command transmission processing for transmitting the command generated within the game area and command transmission for transmitting the command generated outside the game area process and define each. At this time, even if there is a common part in the program code of the command transmission process of each area, it is defined individually without making it into a subroutine. While the processing outside the game area can be used on different models, the processing within the game area has restrictions such as capacity restrictions. This is because priority is given to saving capacity and speeding up processing.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the reference value (comparative value) based on the difference (difference in balls) between the expected paid out balls and the actual paid out balls is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value (excess winning balls). Excess prize ball suppressing means for stopping the game is provided. Excess prize balls suppression means counts the count value necessary for calculating the reference value with the main control board 1310 or the payout control board 951, determines whether the excess prize balls suppression means can be operated in the main control board 1310, and sets the operating conditions. When the conditions are satisfied, the game is stopped.

Further, the calculation of the count value (second count value) corresponding to the game value (prize ball) given to the player may be performed in the prize ball control process in the main control board 1310 (predicted number of prize balls), It may be processed by the payout control board 951 (actual payout number). When calculating the count value with the main control board 1310, the payout control board 951 does not execute the process related to the excess prize ball suppression means, and the main control board 1310 performs all the processes related to the excess prize ball suppression means. As a result, development efficiency can be improved by facilitating program management. On the other hand, by calculating the count value in the payout control board 951, the load can be reduced by sharing the processing, and the storage capacity of the main control board 1310 can be reduced.

[38-4. Initialize reference value]
The reference value (comparative value) is initialized (cleared) at the start of business (when power is turned on). At this time, various count values (first count value, second count value) are also initialized (cleared). As for the value that is set when the reference value (comparison value) is initialized, a predetermined threshold value is set when the value is updated by subtraction. When updating the value by addition, "0" may be set. Various count values are also set to "0" at this timing. If the initial value is set to "0" when addition or subtraction is performed on the count value, an overflow (underflow) may occur when subtraction is performed first. It is good to set a threshold.

The excessive prize ball suppression means is a function to stop the game when an operating condition such as a reference value (comparison value) reaching an upper limit value is satisfied in order to suppress the excessive payout of prize balls. Therefore, if the reference value (comparison value) is initialized illegally, the reference value (comparison value) will be counted again from the beginning, and more prize balls than expected will be paid out, resulting in a large number of game halls. may cause serious damage.

Therefore, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the reference value (comparison value) is initialized when the power is turned on, but the reference value is also reset when the power is turned on again to end the notification of abnormal vibration, magnetic abnormality, or the like. As long as the (comparison value) is stored in the RAM, it is configured to continue holding the reference value (comparison value).

This is because when the reference value (comparison value) is initialized by turning on the power again, the reference value (comparison value) is cleared just before the operating conditions of the excessive prize ball suppression means are met by intentionally causing an abnormality. This is because there is a risk that more prize balls will be paid out than expected. In addition, there is a possibility that the reference value (comparison value) will be initialized due to erroneous sensor detection, etc., even if it is not a fraudulent act. It is possible that the power is turned on again to end the sound output. Even in such a case, if the reference value (comparison value) is initialized when the game is restarted after the power is turned on again, more prize balls than expected may be paid out.

In this embodiment, in order to solve the above-described problem, it is possible to determine whether the power is cut off to clear the error when the power is turned on, or the power is cut off to clear the error at the end of business hours, etc., and based on the determination result. It is determined whether or not to reset the reference value (comparison value).

Specifically, when an abnormality requiring power shutdown occurs during the progress of a game, the game stop error flag is set to "ON" (a value other than 0). As a result, in the timer interrupt process (FIG. 329), it is determined that there is a game stop factor (the result of step P105 is "Yes"), and the game stop process (step P107; FIG. 330) is executed.

Further, in the game stop processing, the game stop data is set to include a game stop error flag (steps P125, P126) and stored in a predetermined area. The area where the game stop error flag is stored is an area that is retained even after the power is cut off by the backup power supply.

The value set in the game stop error flag is not limited to ON (“1”)/OFF (“0”), and different values may be set for each type of error that has occurred. For example, it may be "1" for magnetic anomaly and "2" for vibration anomaly. In this case, it is also possible to determine whether or not to initialize the reference value (comparative value) depending on the type of error, enabling more precise control.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the information related to the excess prize ball suppression means is stored outside the game area (outside the use area), and even if there is an abnormality in the game information in the game area, the initial (In addition, if there is an abnormality in the RAM outside the game area, it will be initialized). The reference value (comparison value) and the game stop error flag are stored outside the game area when set outside the game area, and stored inside the game area when set inside the game area.

Outside the game area, in addition to information (programs and data) related to the excess prize ball suppression means, information related to the performance table monitor, information related to RAM abnormality determination, and the like are stored. Therefore, if it is determined that there is an abnormality in the area outside the game area based on the information related to the RAM abnormality determination, all the information may be initialized, or the area outside the game area may be used for functions and purposes. The regions may be divided according to the condition, abnormality may be determined for each region, and the initialization may be performed. For example, it is divided into areas related to the performance display monitor, related to the test device, and related to the excess prize ball suppression means, etc. If there is an abnormality in the area related to the test device, the area related to the performance display monitor and the excess prize ball suppression means related area The area may continue to hold information without being initialized. Also, it is possible to give priority to holding information depending on the area. For example, since the processing related to the performance display monitor is the most important, if there is an abnormality in the area related to the performance display monitor, the information of all areas is cleared, and the area related to the test device and the excess prize ball suppression means If there is an abnormality in the area, the information may be initialized for each area.

When the area outside the game area is divided into areas according to functions and uses, areas may be provided to which common subroutines callable from each area are assigned. At this time, the common subroutine cannot be called from the processing within the game area. As a result, it is possible to ensure the independence of processing inside the game area and outside the game area.

Also, the common subroutine outside the game area may have the same function as the subroutine inside the game area. As a result, even if the subroutine in the game area is changed according to hardware update or game specifications, it is possible to continue to use the processing outside the game area as it is. In addition, processing outside the game area can be used in common on different models (so that it is difficult to depend on the model), and since the function does not change greatly, a common subroutine is provided. As a result, it becomes easier to divert when used in a new model, and the development efficiency of the game machine can be improved.

Examples of common subroutines include processing to set a work area that is temporarily used during program execution, and processing to store the value stored in a specific register in a specific register after executing a specific operation. etc. In the case of processing for setting a work area, for example, the address of the work area is stored in the DE register, and the address of the work area is determined by the data of the table specified by the address stored in the HL register. . Further, if it is a process of performing a predetermined operation, for example, it is a process of multiplying the value stored in the W register and the value stored in the A register and adding the result to the value stored in the HL register.

Next, the process of determining whether or not to initialize the reference value (comparison value) will be described. When the gaming machine is powered on again with the game stop error flag set, the power-on process (FIG. 382) is executed. In the power-on processing, in addition to normal processing, it is determined whether or not to initialize the reference value (comparison value) based on the game stop error flag. Specifically, in the RAM clear determination process (FIG. 384), when the RAM is not cleared, the determination is made after the state before the power interruption is set.

FIG. 537 is a flowchart showing a procedure of RAM clear determination processing corresponding to initialization of the reference value (comparison value) based on the game stop error flag. The procedure shown in FIG. 537 is obtained by adding processing for initializing the reference value (comparative value) based on the game stop error flag to the procedure shown in FIG. It has become. The RAM clear determination process is a process called from the power-on process shown in FIG. 382 (step 02TKS0030). It should be noted that, in the RAM clear determination process, an abnormality such as a checksum abnormality, a backup flag abnormality, or a RAM abnormality outside the game area is detected, and if it is necessary to execute the RAM clear, in the game start determination process (step 02TKS0060), Initialize the main control RAM 1312 .

The main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the game stop error flag is set (step 02TKS0710) after the state before power cut is set (step 02TKS0290). If the game stop error flag is set (the result of step 02TKS0710 is "Yes"), the reference value (comparison value) is maintained without being initialized, so the process ends. At this time, the game stop error flag may be cleared (released). If the checksum is abnormal and the state before the power failure cannot be restored, the game stop error flag is cleared (released) and the reference value (comparison value) is initialized.

On the other hand, if the game stop error flag is not set (the result of step 02TKS0710 is "No"), the main control MPU 1311 determines that the game has not stopped due to the occurrence of an abnormality or the like. (step 02TKS0720).

In addition, if there is a case where the reference value (comparison value) is maintained or initialized other than when an error occurs, it is possible to set a value according to the game stop factor as the game stop error flag (game stop flag) as described above. And it is sufficient. For example, the value set in the game stop error flag is not a value (0 or 1) indicating whether to stop the game, but a value set for each factor of the game stop error (for example, magnetic abnormality = "4" , vibration abnormality = "3", prize winning abnormality = "2", excess prize ball suppression means operation = "1", game not stopped = "0"), game stop error flag set value is "1" or " If it is "0", the reference value (comparative value) is not initialized, and if it is "2" or more, the reference value (comparative value) is initialized. By configuring in this way, it becomes possible to initialize the reference value (comparison value) only when a specific error occurs.

The method for determining whether or not to initialize the reference value (comparison value) based on the game stop error flag has been described above. By the way, when a minor error that does not require turning on the power again occurs, if the operation to turn on the power again is performed in order to stop the output of the alarm sound and the display of the warning screen early, the reference value ( comparison value) may be initialized. For example, if it is a control that sets the game stop error flag only when it is necessary to turn on the power again, the game stop error flag is not set when a minor error occurs, so the reference value (comparison value) is initialized. put away. A minor error means that even if an illegality/abnormality is detected, the game is not stopped, the game is notified for a predetermined period of time, the game can be played during the notification period, the notification is terminated after the time elapses, and the normal It returns to the game state of. For example, an illegal winning such as a large winning opening having an opening/closing member or a starting opening 2004 (so-called electric tulip) corresponds to a minor error.

At this time, the external security signal is output from the detection of the error until a predetermined condition is satisfied even for a light error as well as for a serious error. Furthermore, if the power is cut off while the external security signal is being output, it is determined whether or not the external security signal was output before the power was cut off when the power is turned on again. If an external security signal is output before the power is shut off, this problem can be solved by recognizing that the power is shut off to resolve the error and not initializing the reference value (comparison value). . The predetermined condition is a condition for canceling the notification of the error, such as the cancellation of the error itself or the lapse of the error notification period.

In addition to the method of determining whether or not an external security signal has been output at the time of power shutdown, a flag may be provided for minor errors in the same manner as for serious errors that cause the game to stop. At this time, the flag remains set during the period when a minor error is reported, and the flag is cleared after the error is reported, and both the game stop flag and the flag are determined when the power is turned on. By doing so, it may be determined whether or not to initialize the reference value (comparison value).

For minor errors, the main control board 1310, which actually determines whether or not an error has occurred, judges only the trigger for notification of minor errors in order to simplify the program. to the peripheral control board 1510 in some cases. At this time, the peripheral control board 1510 manages the error reporting period without judging whether the error reporting has ended in the main control board 1310 . In the case of such a configuration, conditions that are longer than the error notification period (for example, jackpot, game state switching (switching from time saving state to normal state, etc.) are managed by the main control board 1310 By clearing the flag when a mode change, etc., is established, the processing of whether or not the notification period has ended in the main control board 1310 can be made unnecessary.

Next, a description will be given of a configuration in which the employee of the game parlor can select whether or not to initialize the reference value (comparative value). In other words, the gaming machine is provided with operation means for selecting whether to continue updating the reference value (comparison value) (whether to initialize the reference value (comparison value)) when the power is turned on. For example, the main control board 1310 may be provided with a dedicated operating section (counting continuation operating means), or may be combined with existing operating means (for example, setting keys 971, etc.).

The timing of operating the counting continuation operation means is the timing of turning on the power again. The power may be turned on while operating the counting continuation operation means, or the power may be turned on after operating the counting continuation operation means. You may do so.

Next, control related to the reference value (comparison value) when changing settings and confirming settings will be described. When the setting is changed, the RAM is cleared, the game setting is changed, and a new game is started, so the reference value (comparison value) is also initialized. The same applies to the case where the settings are changed when the power is turned on again when an error occurs. For example, if the standard value (comparative value) is maintained despite the change from a setting with fewer prize balls to a setting with more prize balls, the game value (prize balls) originally given to the player is reduced, This is because there is a possibility that the player may be disadvantaged, and even in the opposite case, the game intended by the game hall cannot be played.

Also, in the case of setting confirmation, since the game is continued with the settings before stopping the game, the reference value (comparative value) is maintained on the condition that the error is cancelled. If no error has occurred, the reference value (comparison value) may be maintained, or the reference value (comparison value) may be initialized. Since the setting confirmation is an operation intentionally performed by an employee of the game arcade, it can be treated as an operation performed at the start of business, so the reference value (comparative value) may be initialized. At this time, the setting confirmation may also be used as the count continuation operation means.

Further, it may be possible to select whether or not to initialize the reference value (comparison value) according to the operation procedure at the time of setting confirmation. For example, when the setting key 971 is operated to turn on the power, and after confirming the settings, the power is turned off and turned on again, the reference value (comparative value) is initialized, and after confirming the settings, the power is turned off and turned on again. If re-insertion is not performed, the reference value (comparison value) may be maintained without being initialized.

As described above, a plurality of types of means for initializing the reference value (comparative value) at power-on of the game machine are provided, and the reference value (comparative value) can be initialized with any operation as a condition. For example, the RAM clear switch 954 (first operation), setting change operation (second operation), setting confirmation operation/dedicated operation means (third operation), and other operation conditions that are not satisfied at the same time are initialized to the reference value (comparison value). By setting it as a condition, it becomes possible to initialize the reference value (comparison value) without performing a special operation in response to the factor of turning on the power of the gaming machine again.

[38-5. Activation Notification of Excess Prize Ball Suppression Means]
Next, the notification related to the excess prize balls restraining means will be described. The excessive prize ball suppression means is a function to stop the game when an operating condition such as the reference value (comparison value) of the prize balls reaching the upper limit is satisfied in order to suppress the excessive payout of the prize balls. is. Therefore, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, advance notification for notifying the operation of the excessive prize ball suppression means in advance and operation notification for notifying after the operation are performed.

In the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means, when a predetermined condition (execution condition for advance notification) is established, the liquid crystal display device 1600, LED lamp, or output of a predetermined sound effect, etc., Excess prize ball suppression means It informs that the game will be stopped due to the operation. The predetermined condition (pre-notification execution condition) is, for example, the case where the reference value (comparative value) exceeds 95% of the upper limit, and if the excess prize ball suppression means operates at 100,000, 95,000, That is, when the remaining 5000 pieces are reached, advance notification is started.

The prior notification and operation notification of the excess prize ball suppression means are executed in a manner that allows the player to easily recognize that the game will be stopped due to the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means as the game progresses. The aspect that is easily recognized by the player may be displaying a message on the liquid crystal display screen indicating that the operation condition of the excessive prize ball suppression means is likely to be satisfied, or may be displaying a special character. However, the background color may be changed, or the color scheme of the decorative pattern may be changed. In addition, the operation notification continues until the employee of the game arcade cancels the game stoppage due to the excess prize balls restraining means.

Figure 538 is a diagram showing an example of prior notification of the excess prize ball suppression means (complete function). FIG. 539 is a diagram showing an example of notification of operation of excess prize ball suppression means. In the example shown in FIG. 538, the number of remaining prize balls until reaching the upper limit value is displayed, and the display of the number of remaining prize balls is updated at predetermined intervals. For example, the display is updated every 100 pieces. If the interval is short, the update frequency will increase and the load on the display processing will increase, and if the interval is long, the accuracy of the information will decrease.

As for the number of remaining prize balls, the value calculated by the main control board 1310 is transmitted to the peripheral control board 1510 as a command. An execution instruction for prior notification of the excess prize balls restraining means is transmitted at the start and is always displayed. Note that the advance notification may be canceled when the reference value (comparison value) is initialized. In addition, the mode of prior notification may be different between when the excess prize ball suppression means operates in the normal game state and when the excess prize ball suppression means operates after the jackpot game state, for example, the area in which the advance notice is performed. may be changed, or the display contents may be changed. By configuring in this way, it is possible to perform notification in accordance with the operation state of the excessive prize ball suppression means and the game state, and the interest in the game can be improved.

Further, even if the conditions for starting the prior notification of the excess prize balls restraining means are no longer met, the prior notification is continued. If the display upper limit value (for example, 5000) of the number of remaining prize balls is updated (when the number of remaining prize balls reaches 5100), the advance notification may be canceled. Also, the number of remaining winning balls exceeding the upper limit (eg, 5000) may be displayed (eg, "5100"), or may be collectively displayed as one type ("5000 or more"). When displaying the number of remaining prize balls exceeding the upper limit value (eg, 5000), a pre-notification cancellation condition (eg, 5500) may be set.

After that, when the number of remaining prize balls becomes 0 and the operation condition of the excess prize ball suppression means is established, as shown in FIG. At this time, the background color of the liquid crystal display screen may be changed, or an effect using sound or lamps may be executed. In addition, the screen showing the operation notification may be different between when the excess prize ball suppression means operates in the normal game state and when the excess prize ball suppression means operates after the big win game state.

In addition, even if the operation condition is no longer satisfied due to the continuation of the game after the operation condition of the excess prize ball suppression means is satisfied, the advance notification is not performed again, and the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means is not performed. Runs on time without being canceled.

At this time, the prior notification and operation notification of the excess prize balls restraining means are displayed on a layer on the front side of the layer that performs the effect display. The layer for displaying the advance notification and the layer for displaying the activation notification may be separate, or may be the same layer because the advance notification and the activation notification are not displayed at the same time. In addition, in the layer where the effect display is performed, the normal effect display can be continued until the game is stopped. By controlling in this way, prior notification of the excess prize ball suppression means can be performed in parallel in different layers without particularly changing the processing for performing normal effect control.

Further, while the game state advantageous to the player (for example, the jackpot game state) continues, when the control is performed so as not to operate the excess prize balls suppression means until the game state ends, the game state starts. You may notify the operation|movement of the excess prize ball suppression means before condition establishment at times. For example, even if the predetermined condition (pre-notification execution condition) is not satisfied at the start of the jackpot game state, if it is expected that the excess prize ball suppression means will be activated at the end of the jackpot game state, the excess prize balls will be excessive at the start of the jackpot game state. The operation of the prize ball suppressing means is notified. A state in which it is expected that the execution conditions for advance notification are met is, for example, a state in which the execution conditions for advance notification are satisfied by adding the number of prize balls assumed according to the type of jackpot to the current reference value (comparative value). is.

In the jackpot game state, a specific character may be displayed instead of the number of remaining prize balls (the difference between the upper limit value and the reference value). If the normal game is continuing, it is possible to accurately predict the time until the player stops playing by displaying numerical values. , even if the number of remaining prize balls is displayed, the change is large, and if the game stop state does not occur until the game state in which the number of prize balls per unit time is large is ended, the game stop state is assumed at the end of the game state. Since the player can easily recognize that it will be, the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means may be notified in advance by displaying a specific character or changing the background display. In addition, since the area for executing the advance notification can be made small, the performance in the jackpot game state is not hindered, and the decrease in interest in the game can be suppressed.

Next, a case will be described in which the operation condition of the excess prize ball suppression means is satisfied in the big win game state and the excess prize ball suppression means is operated after the big win game state ends. FIG. 540 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition in the case of activating the excess prize balls restraining means after the end of the jackpot game state.

(A) indicates that the game continues in the normal game state. (B) shows a state in which a big hit has been decided, and at this time, the conditions for prior notification of the excessive prize ball suppression means are not satisfied. Therefore, as shown in (C), a big hit game state is entered and the game is continued.

After that, as shown in (D), when the conditions for pre-notification of the excessive prize ball suppression means are satisfied, the pre-notification is executed. Furthermore, as the round of the jackpot game state progresses, the number of remaining prize balls is updated as shown in (E). Then, as shown in (F), when the operation condition (complete condition) of the excess prize ball suppression means is satisfied, the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means after the end of the jackpot game state is reserved (excess prize ball suppression means operation reservation notification) is displayed. After that, the excessive prize ball suppressing means operation reservation notification continues until the jackpot game state ends.

When the jackpot game state ends (screen (G)), as shown in (H), a screen showing an operation notification is displayed. It should be noted that, unlike the operation notification screen shown in FIG. 539, the screen is displayed after the jackpot game state ends, so a congratulatory message "Congratulations!!" is displayed. In addition, since it is possible to transmit the actual number of payouts from the main control board 1310 to the peripheral control board 1510 when executing the operation notification, it is also possible to display such as "Large amount of payouts obtained!" It becomes possible. In this way, by changing the screen showing the operation notification in accordance with the situation in which the excessive prize ball suppression means is operated, it is possible to improve the interest of the game.

Subsequently, when it is expected that the pre-notification condition of the excess prize ball restraining means is satisfied during the big win game state, the case where the pre-notification of the excess prize ball restraint means is executed from the start of the big win game state will be explained. In addition, in the example shown below, a predetermined mark (character) is displayed as a prior notification of the excess prize ball suppression means in the jackpot game state. FIG. 541 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition when the prior notification condition is satisfied and the operation condition is satisfied during the jackpot game state, and the excess prize ball suppression means is operated after the jackpot game state ends.

(A) indicates that the game continues in the normal game state. (B) shows a state in which a big win has been decided, and at this time, it is expected that the operation condition of the excess prize ball suppression means will be satisfied after the end of the big win game state. In the advance notification shown in FIG. 541, as shown in FIG. 538, instead of executing the advance notification specifying the number of prize balls until the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means, as shown in (B), the excess prize balls A mark indicating that the suppressing means is activated is displayed on the upper right of the screen, and as shown in (C), the display continues until the big win game state ends.

When the jackpot game state ends, instead of shifting to the normal game state, as shown in (D), a screen for notifying the operation of the excess prize balls restraining means is displayed.

It should be noted that, even if the excess prize ball suppression means does not operate at the end of the jackpot game state, if the execution condition of the advance notice is met, the advance notice is executed as shown in FIG. 541 (B), and the jackpot game state After the end of the game, the game may be shifted to the normal game state, and prior notification of the excessive prize ball suppression means for displaying the number of remaining prize balls (FIG. 538) may be performed.

Finally, a description will be given of the case where an abnormality occurs in the gaming machine while the advance notification of the excess prize balls restraining means is being executed. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, even if an abnormality occurs in the gaming machine, advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is continued. FIG. 542 is a diagram showing an example of a screen in which an abnormality has occurred in the gaming machine while the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is being executed, (A) is when an abnormality occurs, and (B) is a power cutoff. and the state restored by re-insertion.

As described above, the reference value (comparison value) is not initialized even if the power is turned off and then turned on again, and the advance notification of the excessive prize ball suppression means is continuously executed even after the game is restarted (screen (B )). The continuation of the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means may not be immediately after the power is turned on again, and after the game is restarted, for example, when a predetermined game process is executed, the game ball enters the winning hole and is the first It may be when a prize ball is won or when a game ball enters the starting winning hole and the symbol variation is first executed.

In addition, the layer which displays the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is arranged on the front side rather than the layer which displays the abnormal notification. By configuring in this way, cheating was carried out for the purpose of initializing the reference value (comparison value) by shutting off and turning on the power of the game machine at the stage of prior notification of the excess prize ball suppression means. To make it possible for an employee of a game parlor who operates a power source to easily discover such fraudulent acts by displaying an advance notice of an excess prize ball restraining means on the front side of an abnormality notice screen even in such a case. can be done.

If a serious error (abnormality) occurs, the error notification is performed in the entire screen area, and if a minor error (abnormality) occurs, the abnormality notification is performed in a partial area of the screen. good. At this time, when the prior notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is performed, if it is a severe error notification, the prior notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is reduced and displayed, and if it is a mild error notification The notification is performed at a position that does not overlap with the prior notification of the excessive prize ball suppression means.

In addition, when the error notification and the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means are performed at the same time, the aspect of the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is changed to the aspect in which the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is performed independently. can be different from For example, by changing the background color, character font, character color, etc. of the advance notification, it may be possible to identify whether or not an error has occurred simply by checking the form of the advance notification.

Furthermore, the relationship between the prior notification of the excessive prize ball suppression means and other notification (display) will be described. When the prior notification of the excess prize ball suppression means and the instruction notification of the shooting direction of the game ball (for example, instruction to hit right/left) are performed, these notifications are performed so as not to overlap each other. At this time, if the shooting direction is not indicated, the progress of the game may be hindered, so the notification of the shooting direction may be prioritized. For example, if the notification of hitting to the right is obstructed when the player must hit to the right, it is conceivable that the player does not hit to the right and the game does not progress.

In addition, the display of the fourth pattern (small pattern) displayed separately from the prior notification of the excess prize balls suppressing means and the decorative pattern is also prevented from overlapping. A player can recognize that the special symbols are fluctuating even in a state in which the decorative symbols are difficult to see by configuring so as not to hinder the visual recognition of the variable display of the fourth symbols. Further, when the decorative patterns (first to third patterns) are all stopped and displayed with the same pattern, if the fourth pattern is stopped with the same pattern, not only the special pattern is changing but also the result of the variable display is displayed. It is also possible for the player to comprehend.

Furthermore, similarly for the reserved display, it is suppressed that it becomes unrecognizable due to the prior notification of the excess prize balls suppressing means. At this time, since it is sufficient for the player to grasp the number of reserved balls, the display of the advance notification may be made translucent when overlapping with the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means. In addition, the number of reservations may be displayed as a numerical value, etc., and the player may be able to grasp the number of reservations by suppressing the inability to visually recognize due to the prior notification of the excessive prize ball suppression means.

Furthermore, even when the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is performed during execution of the look-ahead performance, the look-ahead performance is not hindered by the prior notification. For example, when a specific character indicating that the degree of expectation is high appears, the display position of the advance notice may be changed in order to prevent the player from not being able to see the advance notice, or the advance notice image may be changed. It may be made transparent (translucent). In addition, if it is a look-ahead effect by the hold display, while the high-expectation hold display is being executed, the pre-notification image is reduced in size or the transparency of the pre-notification image is increased. To make it easier for a player to recognize the execution of a look-ahead performance even while the prior notification of is continuing.

In addition, if it is a look-ahead effect that changes the background color, the advance notification image may be made transparent (semi-transparent) or reduced in size. Furthermore, even when high-expectation ready-to-win effects (such as SP ready-to-win) are executed, it is preferable to change the form of prior notification so that the execution of the effects is not hindered by the prior notification.

In addition, the layer on which various effects executed in parallel with the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means are displayed has a lower priority order than the layer on which the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is displayed. there is In other words, although the layer in which the advance notice is displayed is arranged on the front side rather than the layer in which various effects are displayed, it is possible to expect the effect of increasing the interest of the game for the anticipation effect and the highly anticipated effect. , is controlled so as not to be disturbed by prior notification. On the other hand, by arranging the layer for performing advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means on the front side, it is possible to reliably perform advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means to the player.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, an effect is executed based on scheduler data (effect data) that defines control of various effect devices. The scheduler data is defined not only for game effects, but also for various abnormal notifications and prior notification/activation notification of excessive prize ball suppression means. By changing the contents of the scheduler data, it is possible to change the contents of the performance (notification mode) without modifying the program, and also change the mode of abnormal notification and prior notification/activation notification of the excessive prize ball suppression means. etc. becomes easier.

Furthermore, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the effect SW (effect switch, effect identification information) is incorporated in the image information of the effect image and the advance notification image, and when the effect SW is extracted during execution of the effect, the corresponding process is executed. executed. For example, when the execution condition of the prior notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is established, the effect SW for instructing the execution of the prior notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is set, and when the image information for which the effect SW is set is processed. , activates the scheduler data for executing advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means. As a result, when the performance SW is extracted, the advance notice of the excess prize ball suppression means is executed, and when the performance SW is not extracted, the control of not executing the advance notice of the excess prize ball suppression means is common. procedure.

Similarly, when performing the operation notification of the excess prize ball suppression means, while canceling the setting of the effect SW that instructs the execution of the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means, the execution of the operation notification of the excess prize ball suppression means By setting the directed effect SW, it is possible to end the advance notification and start the operation notification of the excess prize balls restraining means. That is, by preparing scheduler data (effect data) for performing advance notification and operation notification of the excessive prize ball suppression means, it is possible to execute these notifications without requiring modification of the program.

Furthermore, when the reference value (comparison value) is initialized, the fact may be displayed when the power is turned on, and the reference value (comparison value) at the time of the previous power shutdown may be displayed. In addition, if the previous power cutoff was normal, for example, if the power cutoff was at the end of business, the reference value (comparison value) at the time of the previous power cutoff will not be displayed, and the The reference value (comparative value) may be displayed only when the power is cut off for recovery.

The same applies to the case where a failure occurs in the gaming machine during execution of the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means, and the failure notification of the game machine is executed together with the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means. In the case of a failure such as clogged balls or a full-tank error that does not involve interruption of the power supply, the game is continued after recovering from the failure state, only the failure notification is released, and the advance notification of the excess prize ball restraining means is continued after the game is restarted. If the failure state continues without being released, the screen is switched to a game stop screen after a predetermined time has elapsed. At this time, the player cannot recognize the failure state. When the power is turned off and turned on again, as in the case of the abnormality notification, even if the game is resumed after the power is turned on again, the advance notification of the excess prize balls suppressing means is continued.

When a failure occurs in the game machine during the execution of the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means, the failure is notified from the layer displaying the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means unless fraudulent activity is suspected. Priority may be given to the layer, and if there is a possibility of fraud, priority may be given to the layer that displays advance notification of the excessive prize ball suppression means in order to call the attention of the staff of the game arcade.

In the same way, if the power supply to the game machine is cut off due to a power failure, etc. during the execution of the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means, in principle, even if the game is resumed after the power is turned on again, the advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means will not be performed. continue.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, even if an abnormality or failure occurs during the execution of the prior notification or operation notification of the excess prize ball suppression means, after the power is turned on again, the excess prize ball suppression means By continuing the advance notification and the operation notification, it is possible to prevent fraudulent acts that hinder the operation of the excessive prize ball suppression means.

When the main control board 1310 operates the excess prize ball suppression means based on the scheduled number of prize balls, the main control board 1310 completes the control for the excess prize ball suppression means, so an abnormality occurs in the payout control board 951, and the prize There is a possibility that the excess prize ball restraining means will operate even when the balls are stopped. At this time, there is a possibility that undischarged prize balls remain even when the excessive prize ball suppression means is activated. Therefore, if there is an unpaid prize ball when the excess prize ball suppression means is activated, the operation notification (operating effect) of the excess prize ball suppression means is executed, and the player or the employee of the game hall The liquid crystal display device 1600, a lamp, voice output, etc. are used to inform the player that there is a prize ball.

For example, in the case of the display of the liquid crystal display device 1600, the fact that there are unpaid prize balls and the number of unpaid prize balls are displayed in characters in an arrangement that does not hinder the activation notification (operation effect) of the excess prize ball suppression means. Alternatively, a special background display or a special character may be displayed.

In addition, in the case of notification by a lamp, a dedicated lamp for notifying non-payout may be provided and lighted (blinking), or a performance lamp may be lighted in a specific manner. For example, if the excessive prize ball suppression means is activated and there are no prize balls that have not been paid out, all the lamps for production are turned off, and if there are prize balls that have not been paid out, some or all of the lamps for production are specified. You may make it blink in a color (for example, red).

Furthermore, in the case of notification by voice output, for example, when the excessive prize ball suppression means is activated, a notification sound is output, and there are undistributed prize balls from a different audio channel from the audio channel that outputs the activation notification sound. is output at the same time.

[38-6. Invention related to excessive prize balls suppression means]
Representative aspects of the invention relating to the excess prize ball restraining means disclosed in the present specification are as follows.

(1) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
a game state detection means capable of detecting a state occurring in the game machine;
a first counting means for counting a first count value based on game media consumed in a game;
a second counting means for counting a second count value based on prize media obtained by the player;
Reference value calculation means for calculating a reference value for determining whether to stop the game based on the first count value and the second count value;
with
Although the reference value is initialized when the gaming machine is powered on, if the gaming machine state before powering on is set to the gaming state based on the gaming state detection means, A gaming machine characterized in that it is not initialized even if the power of the gaming machine is turned on thereafter.

In the game machine of (1), although the reference value is initialized when the power is turned on, if the game machine is not in a normal game state before the power is turned off (for example, an abnormality is being reported), the reference value is reset even when the power is turned on. It is characterized by not being initialized. In the gaming machine of this embodiment, means for stopping the game (excess prize balls) when it is determined that the prize medium (prize balls) obtained by the player is excessive with respect to the game medium (game balls) consumed in the game. Suppression means) is provided, and the reference value is initialized by intentionally causing an abnormality and shutting down the power supply before the excessive prize ball suppression means is activated, and the number of acquired prize media becomes excessive. By continuing the game in the state where the player is present, it is possible to prevent the fraudulent act of illegally acquiring prize media, and by enabling the appropriate continuation of the game, the interest in the game can be improved.

(2) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is established and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
A production control device capable of controlling a production device capable of executing game production,
a game state detection means capable of detecting a state occurring in the game machine;
a game progress detection means capable of detecting a trigger for progress of a game;
a first counting means for counting a first count value based on game media consumed in a game;
a second counting means for counting a second count value based on prize media obtained by the player;
Reference value calculation means for calculating a reference value for determining whether to stop the game based on the first count value and the second count value;
with
The production control device is
a first display layer control that enables execution of a display effect on the first display layer based on the game progress detection means;
a second display layer control that enables execution of a display effect on the second display layer based on the gaming state detection means;
a third display layer control that enables execution of a display effect on a third display layer based on the reference value calculation means;
is executable, and
The first display layer is set to a lower display priority than the second display layer and is set to a lower display priority than the third display layer,
The display effects displayed on the first display layer and the second display layer can be displayed at the same time,
When the display effect executed on the third display layer is displayed, the display effect executed on the first display layer is rendered invisible or difficult to view, but is executed on the second display layer. A gaming machine characterized in that display effects are visible.

(3) In the game machine of (2),
Further comprising a game stop means that can stop the game based on the reference value,
Based on the reference value, it is possible to execute an effect to stop the game, and to execute an effect that can notify in advance that the game will be stopped,
The effect of stopping the game and the effect that can notify in advance that the game will be stopped are displayed on the second display layer,
When displaying an effect for stopping the game or an effect capable of informing in advance that the game will be stopped on the second display layer, either one is displayed (not displayed at the same time).
It is characterized by

In the gaming machines of (2) and (3), means for stopping the game when it is determined that the prize medium (prize balls) obtained by the player is excessive with respect to the game medium (game balls) consumed in the game. (Excess prize ball suppression means) is provided, and even if an abnormality occurs in the gaming machine at the timing of executing the notification effect (preliminary notification effect, operation notification effect) related to the excess prize ball suppression means, the game It is possible to confirm both the abnormal notification of the machine and the notification regarding the excessive prize ball suppression means. For example, by executing the normal game effect on the first display layer, the abnormality notification on the second display layer, and the notification on the excessive prize balls restraining means on the third display layer, the abnormality of the gaming machine and the excessive prize balls restraining means are notified. are generated at the same time, it is possible to visually recognize both notifications. In addition, since the employee of the game hall can confirm the operating state of the excess prize ball suppression means, it is possible to determine whether or not to initialize the reference value when the game machine is recovered from the abnormal state.

(4) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
a game state detection means capable of detecting a state occurring in the game machine;
a first counting means for counting a first count value based on game media consumed in a game;
a second counting means for counting a second count value based on prize media obtained by the player;
Reference value calculation means for calculating a reference value for determining whether to stop the game based on the first count value and the second count value;
storage means capable of storing a plurality of pieces of game information including the first count value, the second count value and the reference value;
a plurality of operating means capable of accepting operations when the power is turned on;
with
A game machine, wherein the reference value is initialized when a specific operation means among the plurality of operation means is operated when the power of the game machine is turned on.

The game machine of (4) is provided with operation means (specific operation means) for initializing the reference value, and it is possible to select whether or not to initialize the reference value according to the situation when the power is turned on. can be done. For example, when the employee of the game hall tries to execute the operation to restart the game when the game is stopped, if both the abnormality notification and the notification regarding the excessive prize ball suppression means are executed, without operating the specific operation means By simply turning on the power again, the game can be restarted while maintaining the reference value without initializing it. As a result, it is possible to prevent an act of illegally trying to obtain prize media by intentionally causing an abnormality to initialize the reference value after (immediately before) the operation of the excessive prize ball suppression means.

Further, by using the setting key 971 as the specific operation means, it is possible to use the setting confirmation operation of turning on the power while operating the setting key 971 as the operation for initializing the reference value, and the special operation means can be used. Means can be provided to initialize the reference values without adding new ones.

(5) In the game machine of (4), instead of initializing the reference value when the specific operation means is operated, when the power of the game machine is turned on, one of the plurality of operation means Initialize when both the specific operation means and the special operation means are operated,
A gaming machine characterized in that the game information other than the reference value is initialized in the operation by the special operation means.

In the game machine of (5), the setting key 971 is used as the specific operation means, the RAM clear switch 954 is used as the special operation means, and the reference value is cleared when the power is turned on while operating the specific operation means and the special operation means. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the operation of turning on the power while operating the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 corresponds to the setting change operation, and the setting change operation can be combined with the operation of initializing the reference value. . When only the special operation means (RAM clear switch 954) is operated, the game information other than the reference value is initialized, and the game is restarted with the other game information initialized while maintaining the reference value. be able to. Thereby, it is possible to select whether or not to maintain the reference value when restarting the game.

(6) A gaming machine comprising a first control means (main control board) for controlling the progress of a game and a second control means (payout control board) for controlling the awarding of prize media (prize balls) to a player. There is
a first counting means for counting a first count value based on game media consumed in a game;
a second counting means for counting a second count value based on prize media obtained by the player;
Reference value calculation means for calculating a reference value for determining whether to stop the game based on the first count value and the second count value;
prepared,
The first counting means updates the first count value when a game medium (game ball) is consumed,
The second counting means is capable of updating the second count value of at least one of the first control means and the second control means,
The reference value calculation means calculates the reference value based on the second counting means executed by the first control means instead of the second control means,
The first counting means, the second counting means and the reference value calculating means are executed at a predetermined cycle,
The gaming machine, wherein the reference value calculation means calculates the reference value based on the first count value and the second count value counted in the same period.

In the game machine of (6), an accurate value can be obtained by executing update of each count value and update of the reference value (comparative value) in the same period in timer interrupt processing. As a result, it is possible to accurately operate the excessive prize ball restraining means, and the excessive prize ball restraining means is operated at an inaccurate timing, and the excessive prize ball restraining means is actuated at an early stage. It is possible to suppress disadvantageous giving to the game parlor due to the delay in the operation of the prize ball suppressing means.

(7) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
game stopping means for stopping the progress of the game based on the number of prize balls won by the player;
a first counting means for counting a first count value based on game media consumed in a game;
a second counting means for counting a second count value based on prize media obtained by the player;
Reference value calculation means for calculating a reference value for determining whether to stop the game based on the first count value and the second count value;
game information display means capable of displaying game information including the reference value;
with
The reference value calculation means and the game information display means are executed at a predetermined cycle,
The game machine, wherein the reference value calculation means is executed before the game information display means.

In the gaming machine (7), the reference value (comparison value) is displayed on the game information display means (character product ratio display 1317) after updating the reference value (comparison value), so that the reference value (comparison value) is displayed at the timing when the game is stopped. This enables the employees of the game arcade to accurately grasp the situation when the game is stopped.

[39. Details of Control of Excess Prize Ball Suppression Means]
In the above, the control and notification of the excessive prize ball suppression means have been described. Next, the details of the control of the excess prize ball restraining means will be described. Processing for initial setting executed after power-on to control excess prize ball suppression means, operation control of excess prize ball suppression means, calculation of reference value (comparison value) and various count values (counting) A specific process for doing so will be described.

In addition, the reference value (comparative value) described so far is calculated based on the first count value counted based on the game balls (launched balls, out balls, safe balls) consumed in the game and the prize balls. The game is stopped when the difference (reference value) reaches a predetermined value (for example, 95000) from the start of the game. On the other hand, the reference value (comparative value) to be described below has the minimum value of the reference value (comparative value) at the time of calculation as the starting point of the reference value (comparative value). For example, if the total number of game media (game balls) consumed is 20,000 more than the total number of prize media (prize balls) (-20,000 balls), -20,000 is used as the starting point, and the second The game is stopped when the value obtained by subtracting the first count value from the count value reaches 75000 (=95000-20000). As a result, after the player leaves the gaming machine with the total number of consumed game balls greater than the total number of prize balls, another player starts playing with the gaming machine, resulting in more prizes than expected. A ball can be prevented from being awarded.

[39-1. Control at game start]
Hereinafter, processing for controlling the excess prize ball suppression means will be described. First, the processing executed at the start of the game will be described. More specifically, the power-on processing and the processing called from the power-on processing will be described. In these processes, the initial settings and the like necessary for the functioning of the excess prize ball suppression means are performed.

[39-1-1. Power-on processing]
FIG. 543 is a flow chart showing the procedure of power-on processing in the gaming machine of this embodiment. The power-on process is a process that is executed first when the game machine is powered on, and has the same function as the power-on process described above with reference to FIG. 382 and the like. A description of the processing (subroutine) with the same name is omitted.

When the gaming machine is powered on, the main control MPU 1311 first executes RAM protection permission setting (step 10TKS0010). An access-prohibited area is set in the storage area of the main control RAM 1312, and if a program is executed during a game to access the prohibited area, a reset is executed assuming that an abnormality has occurred. Considering the possibility that the power supply may not be stable immediately after the power is turned on, the prohibition of access to the main control RAM 1312 is lifted until the initialization of the game machine is completed until the game starts. The RAM protection permission setting is set so that an arbitrary area of the main control RAM 1312 can be accessed. Further, the watchdog timer is cleared and a power failure clear signal is set (set to ON and then to OFF).

In addition, the storage area accessed by the main control MPU 1311 includes a storage area (game area) for storing a program for executing game control that affects the game result such as a jackpot lottery, and a storage area (game area) that does not directly affect the game result. , a storage area (outside the game area) for storing programs for outputting test signals, outputting game information from an external output terminal, and displaying game information. Since the excess prize ball suppression means does not directly affect the lottery result, its program and data are stored outside the game area. The arrangement of storage areas will be described with reference to FIG.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes activation confirmation processing at power-on (step 10TKS0020). In the power-on startup confirmation process, first, the power failure warning signal is read to confirm whether or not a power failure is occurring (main power failure warning signal confirmation process before wait at power-on). Subsequently, the signal levels of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are read from the PF port and stored in a predetermined register (setting-related switch acquisition processing before power-on wait). After that, it waits for a predetermined time (wait processing at power-on), reads out the power failure warning signal, and confirms again whether or not there is a power failure (main power failure warning signal confirmation process before wait after power-on). When it is determined that the power failure is occurring, it waits until the power supply voltage of the gaming machine stabilizes. Finally, it is confirmed whether or not the board (wiring) connected to the main control board before the power shutdown has been reconnected. The details of the activation confirmation process at power-on are as described with reference to FIG. 383 .

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes RAM clear determination processing (step 10TKS0030). In the RAM clear determination process, the information stored in the main control RAM 1312 when the power is turned on is confirmed, and it is determined whether the contents of the main control RAM 1312 when the power is turned off are normally held. For example, it is determined whether the setting information of the game machine and the contents of the main control RAM 1312 before the power failure are normally stored. The details of the RAM clear determination process are as described with reference to FIG.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes a game start process (step 10TKS0040). In the game start processing, the game state is set, abnormality determination and initialization of the storage area outside the game area, interrupt timing setting, random number generation circuit initialization, and the like are executed. Details of the game start process will be described with reference to FIG.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes game start setting processing (step 10TKS0050). In the game start setting process, it is determined whether or not a game can be started, a command to be transmitted when the power is turned on (for example, an operation command when the power is turned on) is set, and initial data when the power is turned on are set. Details of the game start setting process will be described with reference to FIG. Furthermore, it is set to permit the execution of interrupt processing such as timer interrupt (step 10TKS0060).

The main control MPU 1311 executes the main control side main processing (step 10TKS0070, step 10TKS0080) when execution of interrupt processing is permitted. In the main processing on the main control side, first, a power failure warning signal is obtained, and it is determined whether or not a power failure has occurred depending on whether the power failure warning signal is ON (step 10TKS0070). If the power failure warning signal is not ON, the power is normally supplied, so random number update processing is executed (step 10TKS0080). In the random number update process, random numbers other than the random numbers for judging wins are mainly updated in special lotteries and ordinary lotteries.

On the other hand, when the main control MPU 1311 detects the power failure warning signal, the main control MPU 1311 executes a power failure process (step 10TKS0090). In the power failure process, a process of backing up data for restoring the state before the power failure occurred is executed. Specific processing is the same as the processing described in FIG.

Next, the arrangement of storage areas will be described. Figure 544 shows an overview of the arrangement of storage areas, (A) is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of storage areas, (B) is a dump list when the start address outside the game area is "5060h", (C) is a dump list when the start address outside the game area is "5065h".

As shown in FIG. 544(A), an empty area that is not accessed by the main control MPU 1311 is arranged between the game area and the outside of the game area. Also, the value stored in the empty area is "00H". As a result, the continuation of "00H" in an empty area (an unused area between the inside and outside of the game area) can serve to indicate the boundary between the game area and the outside of the game area.

Furthermore, the least significant address of the start address outside the game area is defined to be "0H". For example, as shown in FIG. 544(B), if the start address outside the game area is "5060H", the start position will be the left end when the dump list is displayed. easier to comprehend. In particular, as in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, when a program such as a process for outputting a test signal outside the game area or a process relating to excessive prize ball suppression means is arranged outside the game area, the program start position can be easily checked by the developer, and development efficiency can be improved. On the other hand, if the lowest address of the start address outside the game area is not "0H", for example, as shown in FIG. is displayed from the middle of, it becomes difficult for the developer to grasp the start position outside the game area, and there is a risk that the development efficiency will decrease.

Also, the free area (unused area between the outside of the game area and the inside of the game area) must be 16 bytes or more. By doing so, a line consisting only of "00H" is included when the dump list is displayed, making it easier to confirm the start position outside the game area (program). If it is less than 16 bytes, the start address outside the game area will be "5050H" in the example of FIG. 544(B), making it difficult to confirm the start position outside the game area when displaying the dump list.

An empty area for continuously storing "00H" may also be provided in the game area. This makes it easy to confirm the location of the program when the dump list is displayed. Since the capacity of the game area may be limited by rules or the like, the capacity may be saved by arranging the program without providing an empty area. By setting the lowest address of the program start position to "0H", the start position of the program becomes the head position of the line of the dump list. By not arranging them, capacity can be saved, and both program readability and capacity saving can be achieved. In this case, the empty area within the game area has a smaller capacity than the empty area between the game area and the outside of the game area.

[39-1-2. Game Start Processing]
The procedure of the power-on process has been described above. Next, each process of the power-on process will be described. First, the game start processing (step 10TKS0040) will be described. FIG. 545 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the game start process.

When the game start processing is started, the main control MPU 1311 first determines whether or not a setting change operation has been performed when the power is turned on (step 10TKS0110). Specifically, the signal levels of the setting key 971 and the RAM clear switch 954 are read out from the external input port (_PINSTS) immediately after the power is turned on, and determined.

When the setting change operation has not been executed when the power is turned on (the result of step 10TKS0110 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 determines whether the setting state before the power failure was the setting change, that is, in the setting change mode. It is determined whether or not a power failure has occurred (step 10TKS0120). Note that the setting state before power failure is acquired in the RAM clear determination process and stored in a predetermined register.

If the setting state before the power failure was not a setting change (the result of step 10TKS0120 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the RAM abnormal state occurred before the power failure (step 10TKS0130).

The main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the RAM clear switch 954 was ON when the power was turned on (step 10TKS0140) when the RAM is not abnormal before the power failure (the result of step 10TKS0130 is "NO").

If the RAM clear switch 954 is not ON when the power is turned on (the result of step 10TKS0140 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the setting key is ON (step 10TKS0150). If the setting key is ON (the result of step 10TKS0150 is "YES"), it means that the setting confirmation operation is being executed, so the setting state is set to the setting confirmation state (step 10TKS0160).

When the setting key is OFF (the result of step 10TKS0150 is "NO"), or when the setting state is set to the setting confirmation state, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the door is open ( step 10TKS0170).

When the door is in the open state (result of step 10TKS0170 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the game has been stopped by the excess prize balls suppression means (step 10TKS0180). When the game is stopped by the excessive prize ball restraining means (result of step 10TKS0180 is "YES"), "activation of excessive prize ball restraining means" is set as the game stop factor (step 10TKS0190).

On the other hand, if the game has not been stopped by the excess prize ball suppression means (the result of step 10TKS0180 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 clears the game stop factor and sets to return from the game stop state. (step 10TKS0200).

In addition, the main control MPU 1311, if the setting change operation was executed when the power was turned on (the result of step 10TKS0110 is "YES"), or if the setting state before the power failure was the setting change (step 10TKS0120 is "YES"), the setting state is set to the setting change state (step 10TKS0210).

Furthermore, after the main control MPU 1311 sets the setting state to the setting change state, or if the setting state before the power failure is the RAM abnormal state (the result of step 10TKS0130 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 RAM abnormality determination processing is executed (step 10TKS0220), and if an abnormality has occurred, the corresponding area is initialized.

The main control MPU 1311 executes the RAM initialization process after executing the out-of-use area RAM abnormality determination process or when the RAM clear switch 954 is ON when the power is turned on (the result of step 10TKS0140 is "YES"). step 10TKS0230). In the RAM initialization process, an area to be initialized is specified in the storage area, and after saving necessary information, the specified area (including outside the work area and game area) is initialized.

When the processing of step 10TKS0190, step 10TKS0200 or step 10TKS0230 is completed, the main control MPU 1311 executes startup setting processing for setting information required for startup of the gaming machine (step 10TKS0240). Further, random number initialization setting processing for setting initialization of variable-length random numbers is executed (step 10TKS0250), the game start processing is terminated, and the power-on processing is returned to.

As described above, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, setting value information is acquired when the power is turned on, and setting value-related control is performed according to the operation input when the power is turned on and the setting state before the power is turned off. For example, if the setting state before turning off the power is "setting change", regardless of the presence or absence of operation input and the setting state, the game can be played smoothly by starting the setting change mode and continuing the setting change when the game machine is started. restart. In this case, there is a possibility that a RAM abnormality occurs because the set value is not fixed, and the set value may not be the one intended by the setter.

On the other hand, even if the setting state before power-off is "setting confirmation", if there is no operation input (setting confirmation operation) for starting the setting confirmation mode when the power is turned on, the game machine is started without continuing the setting confirmation. This is because, unlike the setting change mode, the game can be started because the set value is maintained without being changed, and if reconfirmation is required, the operation input can be performed again. In addition, by not automatically shifting to the setting confirmation mode at startup, it is possible to prevent unauthorized confirmation of setting values by intentionally restarting the gaming machine.

Also, if the setting state is "RAM abnormal", the game cannot be started normally, so the activation of the game machine itself is stopped without clearing the RAM. If the setting status is "RAM error", it is necessary to reset the setting value information by changing the setting. By preventing the game from starting until the setting is made, the possibility of cheating is reduced. Furthermore, if the setting state can be set to "unauthorized setting confirmation error", similar to "RAM abnormality", by controlling so that the game cannot be started normally, unauthorized third parties It is possible to prevent the game from being restarted by falsifying the set value.

When the game is stopped due to the occurrence of an error or the like, the RAM is cleared and the game is restarted without performing a specific operation. At this time, if the reason for stopping the game is due to the operation of the excessive prize ball suppressing means, the game is started in the state initialized with the gaming machine that is easy to obtain prize balls by clearing the reference value (comparative value). will be resumed. Therefore, when the game is stopped due to the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means, by keeping the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means set as the game stop factor, the reference value (comparison value) is set in the game start setting process described later. ) can be maintained without clearing. As a result, it is possible to prevent a fraudulent act in which the player intentionally causes an obstacle that requires RAM clearing to hinder the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means.

In addition, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, when the power is turned off and on again before the excess prize ball suppression means is activated, the reference value is initialized, but the excess prize ball suppression means is activated. If the power is cut off and turned on again from the controlling. Even if the excess prize balls suppressing means does not operate, when the game is stopped due to the occurrence of an error, the reference value (comparison value) is maintained without being cleared. As a result, it is possible to prevent the player from intentionally causing an error in the gaming machine and delaying the operation of the excess prize balls suppressing means.

In addition, after the excess prize ball suppression means is activated, even if the game stop factor is cleared (step 10TKS0200), unless the RAM is cleared, the game stop factor is "activation of the excess prize ball suppression means". ” remains set.

[39-1-3. Game start setting process]
The game start processing (step 10TKS0040) has been described above. Next, the game start setting process (step 10TKS0050) for setting parameters and the like for starting a game will be described. FIG. 546 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the game start setting process.

When the game start setting process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first sets a power-on operation command (step 10TKS0310). Next, the initial data at power-on is set (step 10TKS0320).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not it is possible to play (step 10TKS0330). If the game is not possible (the result of step 10TKS0330 is "NO"), the game start setting process is terminated, and the process returns to the power-on process.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the game can be played (result of step 10TKS0330 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 designates RAM initialization time game start data as game start data (step 10TKS0340). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the RAM has been cleared or the settings have been changed (step 10TKS0350). , the data at the time of starting the game when power is restored (step 10TKS0360). Further, the designated game start data is set (step 10TKS0370).

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes excess prize ball suppression setting processing for performing settings necessary for controlling the excess prize ball suppression means (step 10TKS0380). Details of the excess prize ball suppression setting process will be described later with reference to FIG.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 sets a game start command after startup (step 10TKS0390), ends the game start setting process, and returns to the power-on process.

The game start setting process is called not only in the power-on process (step 10TKS0050) but also in the setting change/confirmation process (not shown) in the setting operation process (step 10TKS0750; FIG. 551). When executing the game start setting process in the power-on process, as described above, if it is not a setting change or setting confirmation, the normal power-on command is set as the power-on operation command, while the setting change or In the case of setting confirmation, a power-on command for setting change/confirmation is set. In addition, when the game start setting process is executed in the setting change/confirmation process in the setting operation process, the setting change/confirmation is completed, so the command for normal time is not used for setting change/confirmation. power-on command is set.

[39-1-4. Excess prize balls suppression setting process]
The game start setting process (step 10TKS0050) has been described above. Next, the excessive prize balls suppression setting process (step 10TKS0380) for setting the excess prize balls suppression means will be described.

FIG. 547 is a flow chart showing the procedure of excessive prize ball suppression setting processing. As described above, the excess prize ball suppression means does not affect the result of the special lottery, so the program for executing the excess prize ball suppression setting process is arranged outside the game area. It should be noted that the processing for shifting to the game stop state when the excess prize ball suppression means is activated is executed in the processing within the game area.

The main control MPU 1311, when the excessive prize ball suppression setting process is started, first executes the game area register save process for saving the data stored in the register used in the process inside the game area. (step 10TKS0410). In the game area register saving process, the stack pointer is saved and the stack pointer used outside the game area is set. Furthermore, the values of various registers are saved in a predetermined storage area.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes reference value initialization processing (step 10TKS0420). In the reference value initialization process, an initial value is set as the reference value (comparison value). In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the upper limit number of times (for example, 95000) is set as the initial value of the reference value (comparative value). As described above, the reference value (comparative value) is controlled so as to be incremented when it is detected that the game medium (game ball) has passed through the outlet, and to be decremented when the prize medium (prize ball) is awarded. When the reference value (comparison value) is initialized only when the RAM clear operation is executed, the reference value (comparison value) is maintained without being initialized, and this processing is skipped without being executed.

Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 sets the activation notice flag (game stop flag) of the excess prize ball suppression means to non-activation (step 10TKS0430). Note that if the reference value (comparison value) is initialized only when the RAM clear operation is executed, the reference value (comparison value) will not be initialized. keeps the activation notice flag in the activated state.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes reference value division processing (step 10TKS0440). The reference value division process generates a command for notifying the peripheral control board 1510 of the number of remaining balls until the excessive prize ball suppression means is activated, and performs calculations for controlling the timing of transmitting the command. is the processing of

Further, the main control MPU 1311 executes game stop determination processing (step 10TKS0450). In the game stop determination process, it is determined whether or not to operate the excess prize ball suppression means. Details of the game stop determination process will be described with reference to FIG.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 executes a game area register return process for restoring the value of the saved register used in the game area process (step 10TKS0410). After that, the excess prize balls suppression setting process is ended, and the process returns to the game start setting process.

[39-1-5. Game stop determination processing]
In the above, the excess prize balls suppression setting process (step 10TKS0380) has been described. Subsequently, the game stop determination process (step 10TKS0440) for determining whether or not the game is to be stopped by activating the excess prize ball suppression means will be described.

FIG. 548 is a flowchart showing the procedure of game stop determination processing. FIG. 549 is a diagram showing an example of a program for game stop determination processing. The game stop determination process is executed at the start of the game to determine whether the game has stopped due to the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means before the power is cut off, and the excess prize ball suppression means during the progress of the game. may be performed to determine whether to activate the In either case, it is called from the process within the game area, but the game stop determination process is executed outside the game area. In addition, a process of determining whether or not "activation of excessive prize ball suppression means" is set in "game stop factor" and setting game stop when "activation of excess prize ball suppression means" is set is executed in the process inside the game area, not in the process outside the game area.

The main control MPU 1311 first determines whether or not the activation notice flag of the excess prize ball suppression means is set (step 10TKS0510). When the operation notice flag is set (the result of step 10TKS0510 is "YES"), it is determined whether or not the condition for stopping the game due to the operation of the excess prize balls suppression means is established (step 10TKS0610). The game stop conditions include conditions based on the game state, etc., in addition to whether or not the reference value has reached a predetermined value. The game stop condition based on the game state will be explained with reference to FIG. When all the conditions are satisfied, the excess prize ball suppressing means is activated. It should be noted that the operation notice flag of the excess prize ball suppression means is set in the reference value subtraction process (Fig. 557) described later when the reference value reaches a predetermined value, and is different from the timing of actually stopping the game. .

The main control MPU 1311 sets the operation of the excessive prize ball suppression means as a game stop factor when the game stop condition due to the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means is satisfied (the result of step 10TKS0610 is "YES") ( Step 10TKS0620), the game stop determination process is terminated, and the process of the caller is returned to. On the other hand, when the game stop condition due to the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means is not established (the result of step 10TKS0610 is "NO"), the game stop determination process is terminated as it is, and the process of the calling source is returned to.

The main control MPU 1311 sets the reference value (comparison value) to the command transmission threshold value (for example, 6000, depending on the model of the game machine, etc.) when the operation notice flag is not set (the result of step 10TKS0510 is "NO"). value) or more (step 10TKS0520). If the reference value (comparison value) is equal to or greater than the command transmission threshold (the result of step 10TKS0520 is "YES"), the game stop determination process is terminated without transmitting a command relating to the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means, and called. Return to original processing.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not a value is set in the cycle determination counter (step 10TKS0530). A cycle determination counter (transmission command cycle determination counter) is a counter for determining the timing of transmitting a command to the peripheral control board 1510 . Commands to be transmitted are a limit reaching remaining ball number command (step 10TKS0580) and a command before limit reaching (step 10TKS0590), which are used to notify in advance of the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means. In addition, since the number of prize balls until the excess prize ball suppression means is activated can be included in the limit reaching remaining ball number command, various effects such as countdown effects until the activation of the excess prize ball suppression means can be executed. can.

The main control MPU 1311 terminates the game stop determination process and returns to the process of the calling source when a value is set in the cycle determination counter (other than 0) (the result of step 10TKS0530 is "YES"). . On the other hand, if no value is set in the cycle determination counter (result of step 10TKS0530 is "NO"), whether or not the value stored in the transmission command save buffer and the calculation result of the reference value division match, That is, it is determined whether or not the calculation result of the reference value division process has changed compared to the previous command transmission (step 10TKS0540). At the start of the game stop determination process, the calculation result (lower 2 bytes) of the reference value division process is stored in the BC register, and the lowest byte of the calculation result is stored in the C register. Specifically, the result (quotient) obtained by dividing the reference value (comparison value) by 100 is stored in the BC register.

Thus, by transmitting a command when the result of division by 100 changes, it is possible to transmit a command each time the reference value changes by 100. Note that the amount of change in the reference value for transmitting commands is not limited to 100, but can be changed arbitrarily, and the number of command transmissions can be adjusted. As a result, it is possible to suppress the load of command transmission, and it is possible to execute a countdown effect that presents the situation in the effect that suggests the operation of the excessive prize ball suppression means.

The main control MPU 1311 does not need to redundantly transmit the same command when the calculation result of the reference value division processing has not changed compared to the previous command transmission (the result of step 10TKS0540 is "NO"). Therefore, the game stop determination process is terminated, and the process of the calling source is returned to.

On the other hand, the main control MPU 1311, if the calculation result of the reference value division process has changed compared to when the command was sent (the result of step 10TKS0540 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 stores the reference value in the send command save buffer to send the command. The value of the least significant byte (C register) of the calculation result of the value division process is stored (step 10TKS0550). The value of the least significant byte (C register) of the calculation result of the reference value division processing is the result (quotient) of dividing the reference value (comparison value) by 100 as described above.

Specifically, if the reference value at the timing of the previous command transmission is 4950, the command value is "**31H" (the lower byte of the command is 49 (divided by 100), and the command is transmitted this time. If the reference value at the timing is 4920, the lower byte remains "31H."Therefore, it is determined that there is no change from the previous transmission timing, and the command is not transmitted.On the other hand, the reference value is 4890. In the case of , the lower byte of the command is "30H", which has changed from the previous transmission, so the command is transmitted.

If the reference value is 5010, the lower byte of the command will be "32H", so in this case as well, the timing has changed from the previous transmission timing, and the command can be transmitted. Since there is a possibility that the player may feel uncomfortable, even if the lower byte of the command has changed since the previous transmission, the reference value is on the increasing side (the direction in which the excess prize ball suppression means does not operate ), the command may not be transmitted.

Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 newly calculates the value of the cycle determination counter and sets it in the cycle determination counter (step 10TKS0560). The period determination counter is obtained by dividing the reference value (lower 2 bytes) by 100, adding 50 to the remainder, and then dividing by 100 to obtain the remainder. As a result, the remainder obtained by dividing the reference value (lower 2 bytes) by 100 is rounded off. Therefore, although the upper limit of the period determination counter is originally 99, a value up to 149 can be set in the program.

As will be described later, the command for the number of remaining balls reaching the limit is transmitted each time the reference value (number of remaining balls) changes by 100. However, if commands are sent strictly in increments of 100, for example, when the reference value becomes 5000 and changes from 4999 to 5000 to 4999, the frequency of command transmission becomes excessive and the control load increases. occur. Therefore, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, by performing the above-described control by allowing a predetermined error (for example, 50; margin) and using the cycle determination counter, the threshold value for transmitting the command is set to a predetermined value. , and suppresses the problem of excessive command transmission frequency. A program for calculating and setting the period determination counter while suppressing the fluctuation of the period determination counter corresponds to 10TKP0010 in FIG.

Note that by allowing an error, the reference value (remaining number) included in the command received by the peripheral control board 1510 and the reference value (remaining number) actually managed by the main control board 1310 are completely different. Although they may not match, there is no need to strictly match when displaying the remaining number in the presentation, and it is more advantageous to suppress an increase in the control load.

Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the reference value is greater than the command switching determination value (eg, 5000) (step 10TKS0560). If the reference value is equal to or greater than the command switching determination value (6000 to 5000) (result of step 10TKS0560 is "YES"), a pre-limit-reaching command is set (step 10TKS0570). On the other hand, if the reference value is greater than the command switching determination value (the result of step 10TKS0560 is "NO"), a command for the number of remaining balls reaching the limit is set (step 10TKS0580).

The pre-limit command is transmitted when the reference value is between the command transmission threshold value and the command switching judgment value, and for example, game media (prize media) of 5000 (command switching judgment value) to 6000 (command transmission threshold) are given. Notifies that the excess prize balls suppression means is activated. The limit reaching remaining ball count command is transmitted after the reference value reaches the command switching determination value, and includes the remaining ball count until the excess prize ball suppression means is activated. Also, the pre-limit-reaching command and the limit-reaching remaining balls command are transmitted each time the reference value changes by 100. Note that the values of the command transmission threshold (6000) and the command switching determination value (5000) are not limited to the exemplified values, and may be set according to the model of the game machine. Also, the pre-limit command and the number-of-remaining-balls-to-the-limit command may not be in 100 units.

When the peripheral control board 1510 receives the pre-limit-reaching command and the limit-reaching remaining ball number command, it is possible to perform prior notification of the excessive prize ball suppression means. For example, when a command before reaching the limit is received, an effect is executed that suggests that the operation of the excessive prize ball suppression means (advance notification) is approaching, for example, changing the background color. Execute the production that does not give. On the other hand, when the command for the number of remaining balls reaching the limit is received, advance notification of the excess prize ball suppression means is started, and for example, a countdown effect that displays the reference value itself or the number of remaining balls until the excess prize ball suppression means is activated is executed. to suggest to the player that the excess prize balls restraining means is about to be activated.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 executes a command transmission process for outside the game area (step 10TKS0590), ends the game stop determination process, and returns to the calling process.

Here, the game stop condition will be supplemented. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the excess prize ball suppression means has the operating condition that the reference value (comparative value) reaches a predetermined stop value (0) and that the game progresses. For example, if the standard value reaches a predetermined value while the jackpot game is continuing and the game is stopped immediately, the interest of the player will be significantly spoiled. Therefore, in a state in which the interest in the game is high, such as in a jackpot game state, the game is not forced to stop, but is controlled so as to stop the game after the state of progress of the game changes.

FIG. 550 is a diagram showing an example of actuation determination data for judging whether or not the excessive prize ball restraining means corresponding to the state of progress of the game can be acted upon. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the progress of the game is digitized and stored (T_JOB_NO). Whether or not to stop the game when the reference value reaches the stop value corresponding to the progress state of the game (T_JOB_NO) (whether or not the excessive prize ball suppression means is activated) is defined as operation determination data.

As shown in FIG. 550, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the state of progress of the game (T_JOB_NO) is "variation waiting (0)", "fluctuation (1)", "big hit determination (2)", and "loss stop (3)". ' Stop the game in the case of 'stop jackpot (4)' (activate the excess prize ball suppression means). On the other hand, after the big win game or the small win game is started, the game is continued until the game state ends, and when the game state ends and the change standby or change occurs, the excess prize balls suppressing means is activated. , to stop the game. A program for determining whether or not to stop the game according to the progress of the game corresponds to 10TKP0020 in FIG.

If the game is forcibly stopped immediately after the lottery result is displayed in the case of "jackpot stop", the interest in the game may be significantly reduced. good. Further, the "jackpot stop" may be stopped after the jackpot game ends by disabling the operation of the excessive prize ball suppression means.

Even if the probability of winning a special lottery in which a big win is expected is in a state of high probability (so-called probability variable state), if a big win game or a small win game is not started, an excess prize ball suppressing means is operated. This is because if the game is allowed to continue in the variable probability state, the original purpose of the excessive prize ball restraining means, which is to prevent excessive gambling, cannot be achieved.

[39-2. Control after game start]
The processing at the start of the game has been described above. Next, the control after the start of the game will be explained. Here, in the process called from timer interruption processing and timer interruption processing, it demonstrates centering around the procedure for functioning an excess prize ball suppression means.

[39-2-1. Timer interrupt processing]
First, timer interrupt processing will be described. FIG. 551 is a flow chart showing the procedure of timer interrupt processing. The basic functions of timer interrupt processing are the same as those described above.

The main control MPU 1311 first designates the register bank 1 (step 10TKS0710). The main control MPU 1311 has two types of register groups, bank 0 and bank 1, as described above, and switches banks to use either one. Bank 1 is used for timer interrupt processing, and bank 0 is used for main processing on the main control side. Note that it is not always necessary to switch banks in timer interrupt processing. For example, it is possible to save register values in a stack area and restore them after processing is completed.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes switch input processing (step 10TKS0720). In the switch input process, as described above, various signals input to the input terminals of various input ports of the main control MPU 1311 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the main control built-in RAM 1312 . Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes setting value confirmation processing to determine whether the value in the setting state management area is within the normal range (step 10TKS0730).

When the set value confirmation process ends, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the gaming machine is in a playable state (step 10TKS0740). If the game is not in a playable state (the result of step 10TKS0740 is "NO"), that is, if a setting operation is to be performed (setting change mode, setting confirmation mode), a setting operation process is executed (step 10TKS0750).

In the setting operation processing, processing for changing or confirming the setting of the game machine is executed. Loads setting data for setting operations and sets them to the corresponding output ports. Specifically, the power failure clear signal is turned OFF and the ACK output port is cleared. Furthermore, the LED common port and the LED cathode port are turned OFF, the motor port and the solenoid port are cleared, and the security signal is output. After that, setting display processing and setting confirmation/change processing are executed.

On the other hand, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not there is a game stop factor when the gaming machine is in a playable state (the result of step 10TKS0740 is "YES") (step 10TKS0760). If there is a game stop factor (the result of step 10TKS0760 is "YES"), the game stop process is executed (step 10TKS0770). In the game stop processing, processing necessary to stop the gaming machine is executed.

Further, when there is no game stop factor (the result of step 10TKS0760 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 executes a game-enabled time process for controlling the progress of the game (step 10TKS0780). Details of the playable time process will be described with reference to FIG.

When the game-enabled time process or the game-stopped time process ends, the main control MPU 1311 executes the performance display monitor process (step 10TKS0790). The performance display monitor process is a process of displaying various information. As described above, in the performance display monitor processing, processing directly related to game control is not executed, and the performance display monitor itself is not intended to be referred to by the player. Therefore, in this embodiment, the performance display monitor process is stored outside the game area. Details of the performance display monitor processing will be described with reference to FIG.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes display LED output processing (step 10TKS0800). Further, after the display LED output process or the setting operation process is finished, the test signal output process is executed (step 10TKS0810). In the test signal output process, a process for outputting a test signal to be output to an inspection device connected to the gaming machine is performed. In this embodiment, it is stored outside the game area, similar to the performance display monitor process.

Further, the main control MPU 1311 executes fraud detection command transmission processing (step 10TKS0820). The fraud detection command transmission process is a process for transmitting a command set when an abnormality occurs.

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 executes processing such as setting a predetermined value (18H) to the watchdog timer clear register WCL to clear the watchdog timer (step 10TKS0830) and resetting the register bank to 0. , terminate the timer interrupt processing.

[39-2-2. Processing when playable]
Next, the playable time process will be described. As described above, the playable time process is a process that is executed in a state in which a normal game can be played after the gaming machine is started. Specifically, in the timer interrupt process (FIG. 550), it is executed when the game is available and there is no game stop factor (step 10TKS0780). An outline of the procedure of the game-enabled time processing will be described below.

FIG. 552 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the game-enabled time process executed in the timer interrupt process of this embodiment.

When the playable time process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first executes the switch-related control process (step 10TKS0910). In the switch-related control process, data is created based on signals input from various switches and sensors provided in the game machine, and processes corresponding to the input signals are executed. The details are as described with reference to FIG. 357 and the like.

After the switch-related control process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes timer update process (step 10TKS0920). In the timer update process, various timers necessary for the progress of the game are updated. These timers include 1-byte timers and 2-byte timers depending on the time to be measured.

After the timer update process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes the prize ball control process (step 10TKS0930). In the prize ball control process, input information is read from the input information storage area, and the number of game balls (prize balls) to be paid out is calculated based on the read input information. Also, based on the calculation result of the number of prize balls, a prize ball command for paying out game balls is created and transmitted to the payout control board 951 . In addition, processing such as confirmation of the connection state between the main control board 1310 and the payout control board 951 is executed. The details of the prize ball control process are as described with reference to FIG.

After the prize ball control process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes the frame command reception process (step 10TKS0940). In the frame command reception process, the received command is stored as information for transmission to the payout control board 951 or the peripheral control board 1510, or a command is generated.

After the frame command reception process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes fraud detection process (step 10TKS0950). In the fraudulent act detection process, an abnormal state of a prize ball or the like is checked. For example, it includes a large winning opening winning abnormality detection process, a magnetic detection abnormality detection process, a random number abnormality detection process, a normal electric accessory winning abnormality detection process, and the like.

After the fraud detection process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes a special symbol/special electric accessary product control process (step 10TKS0960). In the special symbol/special electric accessary product control process, after executing each starting opening passage process, the process corresponding to the special symbol/electric accessary product operation number including the big winning opening opening process is called.

After the special symbol/special electric auditors control process is executed, the main control MPU 1311 executes the normal symbol/normal electric auditors control process (step 10TKS0970). The normal symbol/normal electric accessary product control process performs processing such as lottery as to whether or not the second starting port 2004 is to be opened when the game ball passes through the gate portion 2003 .

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 executes the output data setting process (step 10TKS0980), and outputs the output information set by each process from the output terminals of various output ports. Thereafter, the game-enabled time processing is terminated, and the timer interrupt processing is returned to while maintaining the interrupt state.

[39-2-3. Performance display monitor processing]
Next, performance display monitor processing will be described. As described above, the performance display monitor process is a process executed after the game stop process or the game available process (step 10TKS0790). The performance display monitor process is a process of displaying various information, and is stored outside the game area.

FIG. 553 is a flow chart showing the procedure of performance display monitor processing executed in the timer interrupt processing of this embodiment.

Since the program for executing the performance display monitor process is placed outside the game area, when the performance display monitor process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first stores the registers used in the process inside the game area. A game area register saving process for saving the stored data is executed (step 10TKS1010). In the game area register saving process, the stack pointer is saved and the stack pointer used outside the game area is set. Furthermore, the values of various registers are saved in a predetermined storage area.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not there is a game stop factor (step 10TKS1020). If there is a game stop factor (the result of step 10TKS1020 is "YES"), the processing from step 10TKS1070 is executed.

On the other hand, the main control MPU 1311, when there is no game stop factor and the game continues (the result of step 10TKS1020 is "NO"), sets the monitor effective state determination table (step 10TKS1030). Furthermore, multiple element mask processing is executed (step 10TKS1040).

Further, the main control MPU 1311 executes performance display monitor switch detection processing (step 10TKS1050). In the performance display monitor switch detection process, data such as winning ball information is collected and calculated, data for performance display is generated, and the display is updated.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 executes excess prize ball suppression control processing (step 10TKS1060). In the excess prize ball suppression control process, the excess prize ball suppression means is controlled. Details of the excess prize ball suppression control process will be described with reference to FIG.

Further, the main control MPU 1311 executes performance display monitor display creation processing for creating display data for displaying information on the performance display monitor (step 10TKS1070). Finally, a game area register return process is executed to restore the value of the saved register used in the process in the game area (step 10TKS1080). After that, the performance display monitor process is terminated, and the caller process is returned to.

[39-2-4. Excess prize ball suppression control process]
Next, the excess prize balls suppression control process will be described. Since the excess prize balls suppression control process is called from the performance display monitor process, it is executed at a predetermined cycle. Also, the excess prize ball suppression control process is stored outside the game area like the performance display monitor process. FIG. 554 is a flow chart showing the procedure of excess prize ball suppression processing.

The main control MPU 1311 first sets the target switch information data table for specifying the switch whose reference value is to be changed (step 10TKS1110). The target switch information data table defines the number of winning balls for each switch. A switch that passes through the OUT port is also included, and a switch that changes (adds/subtracts) the reference value is commonly defined. An example of the target switch information data table is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 555, the target switch information data table contains information indicating whether prize balls are valid or invalid when the input of the target switch is detected, and the number of prize balls corresponding to each switch. and further includes information necessary for switch input determination. The target switch information data table can be used universally to determine ON/OFF of each switch. For example, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, in the performance display monitor switch detection process (step 10TKS0050) of the performance display monitor process (Fig. 553), the winning of each winning hole is detected, the number of winning balls is acquired, and the base value is calculated. used for the calculation.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the switch defined in the target switch information data table has detected the entering (passing) of the game ball (step 10TKS1120).

When the target switch is detected (passed) (result of step 10TKS1120 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 executes reference value addition processing to add 1 to the reference value (step 10TKS1130). Details of the reference value addition process will be described with reference to FIG. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, counting is performed so as to subtract the number of prize balls from the reference value when awarding prize balls. counts to subtract 1 from the reference value when the out switch is detected.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the prize ball is invalid (step 10TKS1140). If the prize ball is not invalid (the result of step 10TKS1140 is "NO"), a reference value subtraction process for subtracting the reference value is executed (step 10TKS1150). Details of the reference value subtraction process will be described with reference to FIG.

On the other hand, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not there are any remaining target switches when the winning ball is invalid such as passing through the out hole (result of step 10TKS1140 is "YES") (step 10TKS1160). If there are remaining target switches (the result of step 10TKS1160 is "YES"), the processing from step 10TKS1120 onwards is executed for the next target switch.

The processing from step 10TKS1120 to step 10TKS1160 is executed for each record included in the target switch information data table. Therefore, as described above, not only switches that award prize balls when set to ON but also switches that do not award prize balls, such as out switches (out ports), are processed. Therefore, based on the value of "prize ball valid/invalid" in the target switch information data table, the reference value subtraction process is not executed when the prize ball is invalid, and the reference value subtraction process is executed when the prize ball is valid. executed. By configuring in this way, the program can be diverted even if the configuration of various switches is different due to the difference in the model of the game machine, and the development efficiency of the game machine can be improved.

When the addition or subtraction of the reference value is completed for all target switches (the result of step 10TKS1160 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 generates a command regarding the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means, or the timing of transmitting the command (step 10TKS1170).

Finally, the main control MPU 1311 executes a game stop determination process for determining whether or not to operate the excessive prize ball suppression means (step 10TKS1180). The details of the game stop determination process are as shown in FIG. When the execution of the game stop determination process is completed, the excess prize balls suppression control process is terminated, and the process of the calling source (performance display monitor process) is returned to.

It should be noted that the excessive prize ball suppression control process is called from the performance display monitor process, but in the timer interrupt process, it may be called after the execution of the performance display monitor process. For example, when a prize ball is generated, that is, when the game is possible, the excess prize ball suppression means shifts from the non-operating state to the operating state. good too.

[39-2-5. Reference value addition processing]
Next, reference value addition processing will be described. The reference value addition process is called from the excess prize ball suppression control process, and is stored outside the game area like the performance display monitor process. FIG. 556 is a flowchart showing the procedure of reference value addition processing.

The main control MPU 1311 first adds 1 to the value of the first byte of the reference value (comparison value), and updates the values of the second and third bytes (step 10TKS1210). In the gaming machine of this embodiment, since the reference value (comparison value) consists of 3 bytes, 1 is added to the 1st byte, and if a carry occurs, it is reflected in the 2nd and 3rd bytes.

Next, the main control MPU 1311 executes transmission command period addition determination processing (steps 10TKS1220 to 10TKS1270). The transmission command periodic addition determination process is a process for specifying the timing of transmitting a command including a reference value and the like to the peripheral control board 1510 . The transmission cycle of the transmission command is determined based on the cycle determination counter.

In the transmission command period addition determination process, first, the main control MPU 1311 stores the value of the period determination counter in a predetermined register (step 10TKS1220). Next, it is determined whether or not the cycle determination counter is 0 (step 10TKS1230). If the cycle determination counter is 0 (the result of step 10TKS1230 is "YES"), 0 is stored in the register value, ie, the cycle determination counter (step 10TKS1270).

On the other hand, when the cycle determination counter is not 0 (the result of step 10TKS1230 is "NO"), the main control MPU 1311 adds 1 to the register storing the cycle determination counter (step 10TKS1240). Further, it is determined whether or not the register value matches a predetermined upper limit value (eg, 149) (step 10TKS1250).

The main control MPU 1311 clears the register (step 10TKS1260). Furthermore, the value of the register after clearing, that is, 0 is stored in the cycle determination counter (step 10TKS1270).

On the other hand, when the register value is less than the predetermined upper limit value (149) (step 10TKS1250 results in "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 stores the register value in the cycle determination counter (step 10TKS1270). As a result, the value of the cycle determination counter is updated to a value incremented by one.

After updating the cycle determination counter, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the reference value (comparison value) is equal to or greater than the upper limit value (for example, 95000; the initial value of the reference value (comparison value)) (step 10 TKS 1280 ). If the reference value (comparison value) is less than the upper limit value (result of step 10TKS1280 is "NO"), the reference value addition process is terminated and the process returns to the calling process.

On the other hand, when the reference value is equal to or greater than the upper limit (95000) (result of step 10TKS1280 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 sets the reference value to the upper limit (95000) (step 10TKS1290). After that, the reference value addition process is ended, and the process of the calling source is returned to.

With the configuration as described above, since the reference value does not exceed the upper limit (95000), the number of prize media corresponding to the upper limit (95000) is obtained from the state in which the media consumed in the game is the most consumed. In the case, it is possible to operate the excess prize ball suppressing means. If the reference value is allowed to be the upper limit value (95000) or more, when the player is replaced in a state in which the media consumed in the game is more than the award media obtained, the player after the replacement will reach the upper limit value (95000). Although there is a problem that the above prize media are obtained, the gaming machine of the present embodiment can prevent the above problem from occurring.

[39-2-6. Reference value subtraction process]
Next, reference value subtraction processing will be described. The reference value subtraction process is called from the excess prize ball suppression control process, and is stored outside the game area like the performance display monitor process. FIG. 557 is a flowchart showing the procedure of reference value subtraction processing.

When the reference value subtraction process is started, the main control MPU 1311 first temporarily stores the value of the reference value in the register (step 10TKS1310). In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the reference value consists of 3 bytes and is stored in the register for each byte.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 subtracts the subtraction number from the reference value (step 10TKS1320). The number of subtractions is the number of prize balls for each target switch determined to be ON. Further, the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the value stored in the register is less than 0 (step 10TKS1330). Whether or not the value stored in the register is less than 0 is determined to be less than 0 when the carry flag (borrow flag) is set during subtraction. At this time, the reference value is set to 0.

When the value stored in the register is less than 0 (the result of step 10TKS1330 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 determines whether or not the game stop condition is satisfied (step 10TKS1340). As described above, even when the reference value reaches 0, the game may continue until a predetermined condition is met. Therefore, when the game stop condition is not satisfied (the result of step 10TKS1340 is "NO"), a limit arrival notice command is set (step 10TKS1350).

After setting the limit arrival notice command, or when the game stop condition is satisfied and the game is to be stopped immediately (the result of step 10 TKS 1340 is "YES"), the main control MPU 1311 stores the reference value in the register Clear (step 10TKS1360), and set the activation notice flag of the excessive prize balls suppression means to ON (step 10TKS1370).

Furthermore, the main control MPU 1311 stores the value of the register in the reference value (step 10TKS1380). That is, if the value of the reference value after subtraction is 0 or more (result of step 10TKS1330 is "Yes"), the value of the register is stored as it is in the reference value, otherwise the value of the register is cleared. Therefore, 0 is stored in the reference value.

Subsequently, the main control MPU 1311 subtracts the subtraction number from the cycle determination counter (step 10TKS1390), and determines whether or not the cycle determination counter is less than 0 (step 10TKS1400). If the cycle determination counter is 0 or more (the result of step 10TKS1400 is "NO"), this process is terminated and the process of the caller is returned to. On the other hand, if the cycle determination counter is less than 0 (the result of step 10TKS1400 is "YES"), the cycle determination counter is cleared (step 10TKS1410), this process is terminated, and the caller process is returned to.

In the above, the control of the excess prize balls suppression means of the gaming machine of the present embodiment has been described. In this embodiment, when the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means is determined in the big hit game state (when the reference value reaches a predetermined stop value), the excess prize ball suppression means is actually activated after the end of the big win game state. activate. In this case, the control when the power is turned off and on again before the big win game state ends (during the continuation of the big win game state) will be described.

As described above, after the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means is determined in the jackpot game state, the power is cut off and turned on again, and the reference value is initialized (the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means is reset). ), the problem arises that the game will be continued on a gaming machine where it is easy to win prize balls. At this time, there is a risk that the player who senses that the excessive prize ball restraining means is activated intentionally cuts off the power supply of the gaming machine. However, it is not easy to reliably determine whether or not the gaming machine has been powered off due to fraudulent activity, and even if it is possible, the control may become complicated. Furthermore, if it is not caused by fraudulent activity, there is a possibility that the game will be stopped again due to the operation of the excessive prize ball suppression means immediately after the power is turned on again, and the interest in the game will be lost.

Therefore, when the excess prize ball suppression means operates after a specific game state such as a big hit game state is completed, the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means may be reset. For example, in a configuration that manages the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means by a flag, the flag is cleared (initialized) when the power is turned off and turned on again. Furthermore, when the game is restarted, the flag is cleared and the reference value is initialized, so that the excess prize ball suppressing means is controlled not to operate. In addition, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, when the game is stopped due to fraud, the reference value is not initialized by shutting off the power of the gaming machine and turning it on again, but only when the flag is set. In this case, even if there is a possibility that the power is turned off and turned on again due to fraud, the flag is cleared and the reference value is initialized so that the excessive prize ball suppression means does not operate. good too. This makes it possible to simplify the processing at power-on. Furthermore, even though the game has been stopped due to a malfunction of the game machine, after the power is turned on again, the game is stopped again due to the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means, which delays the restart of the game and spoils the interest of the game. You can prevent it from slipping.

On the other hand, when the excess prize ball suppression means operates after a specific game state such as a big hit game state is completed (when the flag is set), the state where the flag is set after the power is turned on again The reference value may not be initialized while being maintained. As a result, the control by the excessive prize ball restraining means can be continued regardless of the presence or absence of cheating, and the excessive prize ball restraining means can be operated after a specific game state such as a jackpot game state is finished.

[39-3. Invention related to control of excess prize ball suppression means]
Finally, representative aspects of the invention relating to the control of the excess prize ball suppression means disclosed in this specification will be listed.

(1) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
Reference value calculation means for calculating a reference value for determining whether to stop the game;
a game stopping means for stopping the progress of the game based on the reference value;
with
The reference value calculation means is
making it possible to set a predetermined initial value to the reference value when the gaming machine is powered on;
When game media are consumed in a game, the number of game media consumed is added to the reference value,
When prize media are obtained based on the result of the game, the number of prize media obtained is subtracted from the reference value,
The gaming machine, wherein the game stopping means stops the progress of the game when the reference value reaches a predetermined stop value.

(2) In the game machine of (1),
The reference value calculation means adds the number of consumed game media to the reference value when the game media are consumed in the game, and if the reference value matches the predetermined initial value, , the reference value is not updated.

(3) In the game machine of (1),
When the reference value exceeds the predetermined initial value when adding the number of consumed game media to the reference value as the game media are consumed in the game, the reference value calculation means The predetermined initial value is set as the reference value.

(4) In the game machine of (1),
The reference value calculating means does not update the reference value when the reference value matches the predetermined stop value when subtracting the subtraction number from the reference value based on the result of the game. and

(5) In the game machine of (1),
When the reference value is less than the predetermined stop value when subtracting the subtraction number from the reference value based on the result of the game, the reference value calculation means reduces the reference value to the predetermined stop value. It is characterized in that it is set to

In the configuration of (1), a predetermined initial value is set as the reference value when the power is turned on, the reference value is added when the game medium (game ball) is consumed, and the reference value is obtained when the prize medium (prize ball) is won. Subtract a value. By stopping the game when the reference value reaches a predetermined stop value (for example, 0), the game can be stopped when the player acquires a predetermined number of prize balls, and the number of prize media acquired. It is possible to suppress the continuation of the game in a state in which is excessive (excess prize balls suppressing means).

In addition, in the configurations of (2) and (3), when the player changes while the number of game media consumed is greater than the number of prize media acquired, the player after the change wins more than the set upper limit number of prize balls. A problem arises. Therefore, by controlling the consumption of the game medium so that it does not exceed a predetermined initial value, the above problem can be solved, the fairness of the game can be ensured, and the decline in interest in the game can be suppressed (FIGS. 548 and 556). etc.).

Furthermore, in the configurations of (4) and (5), since the predetermined stop value (lower limit) is not exceeded, it is possible to suppress the inability to count the reference value normally due to overflow (Fig. 548, FIG. 557, etc.).

(6) In the game machine of (1),
Further comprising game state detection means capable of detecting a state occurring in the game machine,
The game stopping means does not stop the progress of the game when the game state detected by the game state detecting means is a predetermined game state even when the reference value reaches a predetermined stop value. characterized by

Furthermore, in the configuration of (6), even if the reference value reaches the predetermined stop value, it is possible to determine whether or not to stop the game according to the game state. It is possible to prevent the interest in the game from significantly deteriorating due to the forced stop (see FIGS. 548, 550, 557, etc.).

(7) In the game machine of (1),
Further comprising a production control means capable of controlling a production device capable of executing game production,
The game stopping means transmits a command (limit reaching notice command) for notifying that the reference value has reached a predetermined threshold when the predetermined threshold has been reached,
The effect control means is characterized in that the effect device can execute an effect based on the command.

In the configuration of (7), by setting the predetermined threshold to be a predetermined difference from the game stop value by the excess prize ball suppression means, the command indicating that the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means is near (peripheral control board). By receiving the command, the effect control means (peripheral control board) can perform an effect to notify in advance of the operation of the excessive prize ball suppression means, and the player can grasp the game situation. , the interest in the game can be enhanced (see FIG. 548, etc.).

(8) In the game machine of (1),
Further comprising a production control means capable of controlling a production device capable of executing game production,
The game stopping means transmits a command corresponding to the reference value (limit reaching remaining ball number command) to the effect control means each time the reference value exceeds a predetermined boundary value,
The effect control means is characterized in that the effect device can execute an effect based on the command.

(9) In the game machine of (1),
Further comprising a production control means capable of controlling a production device capable of executing game production,
Said game stopping means can transmit a command corresponding to said reference value (limit reached remaining ball number command) to said effect control means on condition that said reference value exceeds a predetermined boundary value,
The production control means enables the production device to execute production based on the command,
The game stopping means does not transmit the command corresponding to the reference value when the change amount of the reference value after transmitting the command is less than a predetermined amount.

(8) In the configuration of (9), by transmitting a command corresponding to the reference value (number of remaining balls reaching limit command) to the effect control means (peripheral control board), an effect based on the current reference value is executed. becomes possible. As a result, it is possible for the player to grasp the state of the game, and it is also possible to perform an effect (for example, a countdown effect) showing the progress until the excess prize ball suppression means is activated based on the reference value. Therefore, it is possible to increase the variety of game effects and improve the interest of the game (see FIG. 548, etc.).

Furthermore, in the configuration of (9), the reference value changes near the boundary value due to increases and decreases in the reference value based on the progress of the game, so that commands are frequently transmitted even though the amount of change in the reference value is small. It is possible to prevent the load of the game machine from increasing.

(10) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
Reference value calculation means for calculating a reference value for determining whether to stop the game;
a game stop flag setting means capable of setting a game stop flag (activation notice flag of excess prize ball suppression means) for determining whether or not to stop the progress of the game based on the reference value;
a game stop means capable of stopping the progress of the game based on the game stop flag and the game state;
with
The reference value calculation means is
When game media are consumed in a game, the number of game media consumed is added to the reference value,
When prize media are obtained based on the result of the game, the subtraction number corresponding to the prize media obtained is subtracted from the reference value,
The game stop flag setting means sets the game stop flag when the reference value reaches a predetermined stop value,
A gaming machine characterized in that, when power to the gaming machine is cut off while a game is in progress and then turned on, the reference value is initialized even if the game stop flag is set.

In the configuration of (10), as in the gaming machine of (1), since it has a configuration corresponding to the excess prize ball suppression means, it suppresses the continuation of the game in a state where the number of acquired prize media is excessive. can do. In addition, since the reference value is initialized when the power is turned on, it is possible to simplify the processing when the game machine is started. Furthermore, even though the game has been stopped due to a malfunction of the game machine, after the power is turned on again, the game is stopped again due to the operation of the excess prize ball suppression means, which delays the restart of the game and spoils the interest of the game. You can prevent it from slipping.

(11) A gaming machine capable of executing a lottery when a starting condition is met and generating a special game state based on the result of the lottery,
Reference value calculation means for calculating a reference value for determining whether to stop the game;
a game stop flag setting means capable of setting a game stop flag (activation notice flag of excess prize ball suppression means) for determining whether or not to stop the progress of the game based on the reference value;
a game stop means capable of stopping the progress of the game based on the game stop flag and the game state;
with
The reference value calculation means is
When game media are consumed in a game, the number of game media consumed is added to the reference value,
When prize media are obtained based on the result of the game, the subtraction number corresponding to the prize media obtained is subtracted from the reference value,
The game stop flag setting means sets the game stop flag when the reference value reaches a predetermined stop value,
A gaming machine characterized in that, when power to the gaming machine is cut off while a game is in progress and then turned on, the reference value is not initialized if the game stop flag is set.

In the configuration of (11), as in the gaming machine of (1), since it has a configuration corresponding to the excess prize ball suppression means, it suppresses the continuation of the game in a state where the number of acquired prize media is excessive. can do. Further, by maintaining the reference value without initializing it regardless of the presence or absence of fraud, the excess prize balls suppression means can be operated more reliably.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. and design changes are possible.

That is, in the embodiment, the game machine is mainly applied to the pachinko machine 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. In this case also, the same effects can be obtained.

1 Pachinko machine (game machine)
2 outer frame 3 door frame 4 main body frame 5 game board 5a game area 300 production operation unit 301 production operation section 302 rotation operation section (first operation section)
303 pressing operation unit (second operation unit)
303a pressing portion (operation receiving portion)
931 power board 932 power switch (setting change mode confirmation means, setting change mode start means)
951 payout control board (ball information control means)
954 RAM clear switch (setting change mode confirmation means, setting change mode start means)
971 setting key (means for confirming setting change mode, means for starting setting change mode)
974 setting display 1310 main control board (game control means)
1311 main control MPU (CPU, computing means, computing device, control means, master)
1312 Main control RAM (set value information storage means)
1313 ROMs
1314 Main control I/O port 1317 Character ratio display (base display, performance display monitor)
1400 Function display unit 1510 Peripheral control board (effect control means, effect control board)
1511 Peripheral control unit 1512 Effect display control unit 1600 Main liquid crystal display device (display device, effect display device, effect display means)
2002 first starting port 2004 second starting port 2007 counting entrance unit 2007b counting entrance 4000 slot machine (gaming machine)
4210 starting lever 4211 reel stop button 4300 symbol variation display device 4301 reel 4600 main board (game control device, game control means)
4601 CPU
4602 ROMs
4603 RAM
4700 Production control board 4910 ROM area 4920 RAM area 4930 I/O area 4940 Parameter information setting area 6100 First area 6101 Non-mounting area 6102 Parts mounting area 6200 Second area 6300 Inspection parts mounting area 1341 Parallel/serial conversion circuit (slave )
1342, 1343, 1345, 1346 Serial/parallel conversion circuit (slave)
04TKK0010 Peripheral control IC (effect control means)
04TKK0011 CPU
04TKK0012 RAM
04TKK0030 sound source IC
04TKK0040 Sound ROM
04TKK0060 VDP (image display control means, video control means)
04TKK0061 CG data decoder (image information conversion means)
04TKK0063 pixel shader (image processing means)
04TKK0090 Image RAM (VRAM, image temporary storage means)
04TKK0091 Frame buffer 04TKK0092 Off-screen buffer 05TKK0013 Boot ROM
05TKK0020 External RAM (temporary storage means)
05TKK0070 effect data ROM (image ROM, CGROM, image information storage means) 05TKK0071 SATA controller (data management means)
05TKK0072 cache memory (second storage medium)
05TKK0073 storage device (first storage medium)
05TKK0101 decode buffer (temporary storage means, common decode buffer, common buffer area, individual decode buffer)
06TKK0010 memory controller 06TKK0020 RAM diagnostic circuit 06TKK0016, 06TKK0017 termination resistors 06TKK0018, 06TKK0021 terminal 06TKK0022 memory device (storage element)

Claims (1)

A game machine that performs a random number lottery when a starting condition is established, performs symbol variation based on the result of the random number lottery, and provides an advantageous state based on the result of the symbol variation,
game stop determination means for determining a game stop condition; game stop means for stopping the progress of the game when the game stop determination means determines that the game is to be stopped;
a special operation means inoperable by the player and a specific operation means different from the special operation means;
with
The conditions for determining that the game is stopped by the game stop determination means include at least a first game stop condition and a second game stop condition different from the first game stop condition,
The first game stop condition is when a predetermined state is detected by a predetermined detecting means,
The second game stop condition is when a counter updated based on a predetermined calculation result reaches a predetermined value,
A gaming machine characterized in that, when either one of the first game stop condition and the second game stop condition is met, the game is stopped based on the one condition that is met.

Images