JP3444485B2 - Gaming machine - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gaming machine, and more particularly to a gaming machine provided with a main control board for controlling the progress of a game and a sub control board other than the main control board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A gaming machine, for example, a pachinko gaming machine, is configured to pay out a predetermined number of gaming balls as prize balls when a launched gaming ball wins a winning opening. Game ball that is finished in each winning hole on the game board is temporarily parked in safe sphere tank, stationary been gaming ball is detected One not a one by sensors, such as a motor game balls as the predetermined number of prize balls After being paid out to the player by the drive device, the detected game ball is discharged from the safe ball tank. In this conventional pachinko game machine, the prize-winning game balls are parked in the safe ball tank, and the prize balls are paid out and then discharged out of the machine, so that the prize-winning game balls are safe even if an unexpected situation such as a power failure occurs. Since the ball was held in the ball tank, it had an effect of not giving a disadvantage to the player.

[0003]

[SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, the conventional pachinko machine, had the following problems. (1) Ri consists that there is a need to provide a safe ball tank cassava, becomes complicated. (2) When a power failure or the like occurs, the data of the number of prize balls to be paid out disappears, so that the maximum number of prize balls is paid out, and the correct prize balls are not paid out. For example, even if 5 or 10 prize balls should be paid out for one winning ball, 15 prize balls will be paid out.

In order to solve these problems, in recent years, a prize payout control board for paying out a prize ball has been provided, and data corresponding to the number of prizes to be paid out is stored in a memory of the prize payout board. A battery backup proposal has been made. As an invention related to the proposal,
The applicant of the present application has made the invention shown in the "ball game machine" of Japanese Patent Application No. 10-126693. This proposal has an excellent effect that the mechanism of the pachinko machine can be simplified and that an accurate prize ball can be paid out.

[0005] while However, in the pachinko machine or the like comprising a prize payout substrate described above, grace, considered the following problems. (1) The pachinko gaming machine is generally provided with a sub-control board such as the prize payout control board in addition to a main control board that controls the progress of the game, and power is supplied from a power supply board to each of these boards. Target. When power is supplied to each control board from this power supply board, it is unclear which control board starts up earlier, (2) As a result, for example, when data is transmitted from the main control board to the prize payout board. , The problem that the transmitted data may not be received, (3) The problems of (1) and (2) above are unidirectional from the main control board to each control board in order to prevent fraud in recent pachinko game machines. Since only the data is transmitted, each control board does not receive the same data twice when it does not receive the data.
Was thought. The gaming machine of the present invention has been made for the purpose of suitably solving these problems and providing a more healthy gaming machine.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, a gaming machine according to claim 1 receives a main control board that controls the progress of a game, and prize ball data transmitted by the main control board.
In accordance with the prize ball data, a sub-control board including at least a prize payout control board for paying out a prize to the player and a symbol control board for displaying a symbol, and a power supply for the main control board and the sub-control board. A power supply board for supplying, a game machine comprising a reset circuit and a backup power supply in the power supply board, when the power is turned on, the sub-control board by the reset circuit to the main control board launched earlier, when a power failure occurs, the main control board and the prize payout control board prize by power supplied from the backup power supply
It is characterized in that the sphere data is stored and held.

Here, the sub-control board includes at least a prize payout control board, and in a pachinko gaming machine, it may include a symbol control board for performing variable display of symbols. The prize payout control board is a board that controls a drive device that pays out a prize, and in a pachinko game machine, a prize ball (“prize ball” or “prize ball”) as a prize.
Also called. ) Is a substrate for driving and controlling a motor, a solenoid or the like, and a throttle game machine is a substrate for driving and controlling a hopper for dispensing coins as a prize. Starting up the control board means operating the control board.

In the gaming machine according to the first aspect, when the main control board and the sub control board are powered on by the power supply board, the main control board and the sub control board are collectively launched by the reset circuit of the power supply board. When the power is cut off, the reset circuit of the power supply board causes the main control board and the sub-control board to collectively stop their operations. Thus, when the main control board starts operating, the sub control board also starts operating, and when the main control board stops operating, the sub control board also stops operating. This allows
It is possible to prevent the sub control board from not receiving the data that the main control board sends unilaterally. For example, even if a power failure occurs during data transmission and the transmission process ends midway, it is known that the main control board has not completely received the data, so the same data is transmitted again after the power failure is restored. be able to. Further, when each control board is provided with a reset circuit, even if the operation is started up or ended at the same timing, it is difficult to obtain the same timing due to an error in the value of parts. However, in the present invention, since the configuration is such that one reset circuit on the power supply board starts or stops the operation,
It has an excellent effect that the above problems can be solved and the timing can be unified. Further, this structure has an effect that the number of parts can be reduced.

[0009] The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the reset circuit, when the power to the main control board and the sub-control board by said power supply board, up to the sub-control board earlier than the main control board it characterized by being configured to raise.

In the gaming machine according to claim 1 having the above structure, when each control board is powered on by the power supply board, the sub-control board operates before the main control board starts the operation. Is starting up. As a result, a momentary power failure (instantaneous power failure) occurred after the power was turned on.
After that , data is transmitted from the main control board to the sub-board, and the sub-board has already started up, so that the sub-board can reliably receive the data. Also,
When returning from a power failure, the main control board and the prize payout control board continue processing from the state at the time of power failure according to the stored data, but in this case as well, when the main control board starts up, the prize payout control board does not have a power failure. Since the processing is continued from the state of, the main control board can continue to transmit data from the state at the time of power failure.

A gaming machine according to a second aspect is provided with a power supply.
When stopped, a gaming machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the main control <br/> board by said reset circuit is configured to stop quickly Ri by the sub-control board.

[0012] The gaming machine according to claim 2 having the above configuration, when stopping the supply of power by the power supply board stops the electrical operation of the main control board earlier than the electrical operation of the sub-control board. This makes it impossible for data to be transmitted from the main control board when or after the sub-control board finishes the electrical operation. As a result, when the supply of power from the power supply board is stopped due to an instantaneous power failure or the like, it is possible to eliminate the adverse effect that the main control board transmits data even though the electrical operation of the sub control board is stopped.

[0013] The gaming machine according to claim 1, that the main control board and the sub-control board is configured comprises a microcomputer
Preferred .

[0014] The gaming machine according to claim 1 having the configuration, when the power supply is turned on, when the sub-control board microcomputer starts operating earlier than the microcomputer of the main control board, and stops the supply of power, the main control board The microcomputer of (1) stops the operation earlier than the microcomputer of the sub control board, or simultaneously starts and stops the operation. Thereby, the claim 1
Alternatively, the effect of claim 2 is further enhanced.

[0015] The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the main control board and the prize payout control board, to characterized in that it is configured to hold storage in the event of a power failure the storage holding means
It

The gaming machine according to claim 1 having the above structure, the main control board and the prize payout control board, since a storage holding means for storing and holding the data are configured during power failure, after power is restored , The main control board can continue the game contents before the power failure based on the stored data, and the prize payout control board can continue the prize payout processing from the payout state before the power failure. .

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiment of the present invention is
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the following examples and various forms can be adopted as long as they are within the technical scope of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the pachinko machine 10 of the present embodiment includes a roughly rectangular outer frame 11 and a front frame 12, and a known card reader (prepaid card unit) 13 is provided on the left side of the outer frame 11. Has been. Front frame 1
2 is rotatably attached to the outer frame 11 by a hinge 14 at the upper and lower left ends. An upper plate 15 is provided below the front frame 12, and the lending button 16 and the settlement button 1 are provided on the upper plate 15.
7 and a balance display unit 18 are provided. If you insert a prepaid card into the card slot 19 of the card reader 13,
The stored balance is displayed on the balance display unit 18, and the lend button 1
When 6 is pressed, the game ball is lent out and the game ball is discharged from the payout opening of the upper plate 15.

A window-shaped metal frame 20 is releasably attached to the front frame 12 with respect to the front frame 12. A plate glass 21 is doubly fitted in the metal frame 20. A game board 22 is housed inside the plate glass 21. Plate 1
A lower plate 23 is provided below the front frame 12 of the lower plate 5,
A firing handle 24 is attached to the right side of 3.
A rotating ring (not shown) is provided on the outer periphery of the launch handle 24, and the game ball is rotated to rotate the game ball 22 in the clockwise direction.
Can be fired on. The upper plate 15 and the lower plate 23 are connected to each other, and are configured to guide the game ball to the lower plate 23 when the upper plate 15 is filled with the game balls.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the pachinko machine 10 viewed from the back side. As shown in the figure, a mechanism board 26 to which the above-mentioned game board 22 is detachably attached is housed in the above-mentioned outer frame 11. The mechanism board 26 is provided with a ball tank 27 , a guide gutter 28, and a payout device 29 from above. With this configuration, if there is a prize for a game ball in the prize hole on the game board 22, a predetermined number of game balls are dispensed from the ball tank 27 through the guide gutter 28 by the dispenser 29.
Can be discharged to. In addition, the main control board 30 and the payout control board 31 can be attached to and detached from the mechanism board 26.
2, a special symbol display device 32, a launch control board 33 is attached to the lower left portion of the front frame 12, and an external connection terminal board 50 is attached to the left side of the special symbol display device 32.

Next, the game board 22 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the game board 22 has an LCD panel unit (hereinafter, referred to as “LCD”) 32a that constitutes a special symbol display device 32 in the center, and a normal electric accessory as a first-class starting opening at the bottom thereof. 36, the normal symbol display device 37 on the LCD 32a upper part, the normal symbol operation gates 38 and 39 on the left and right of the LCD 32a used for starting the fluctuation of the symbol displayed on the normal symbol display device 37, the large winning opening 40 on the lower part of the normal electric auditors 36 There are provided an outlet 41 at the bottom of the board, various other winning openings, a windmill, and a game nail (not shown). With this configuration, if the above-mentioned firing handle 24 is rotated, the firing motor 33a driven by the firing control board 33 is driven, and the game balls on the upper plate 15 are fired onto the game board 22 via the guide rails. . If the launched game ball wins each prize hole, the game ball is taken into the back surface of the board as a safe ball, and if not won, it is taken into the back surface of the board like an out ball through the out opening 41.

Next, the electrical construction of the above-mentioned pachinko machine 10 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. Pachinko machine 1
The electric circuit of 0 is, as shown in the figure, the main control board 30, the payout control board 31, the special symbol display device 32, the launch control board 33, the lamp control board 34, and the sound control board 35 described above.
Etc. In this circuit diagram, a so-called relay board or the like for passing signals is not shown.

The main control board 30 is a ROM that stores a game control program and a RAM that works as a work area for operations and the like.
It is configured as a logical operation circuit centering on a built-in 8-bit one-chip microcomputer, and in addition to this, an external input / output circuit for performing input / output to / from each substrate or various switches and various actuators is also provided. On the input side of the main control board 30, a first-type starting opening switch 36a, ordinary symbol operation switches 38a and 39a, an accessory continuous operation switch (hereinafter simply referred to as "V switch") 40a, a count switch 40b, a full tank. Switch 43, supply switch 44,
A plurality of other winning port switches 45, ball drop switches 46, etc. are connected. Further, the output side, a special winning opening solenoid 40c, V solenoid 40 d, is usually won game solenoid 36b and the external connection terminal board 50 and the like are connected.

The first-type starting opening switch 36a is in the normal electric auditors product 36 on the game board 22, the normal symbol operating switches 38a and 39a are in the normal symbol operating gates 38 and 39, respectively, and the V switch 40a is the large winning opening. Within a specific area within 40, similarly, the count switch 40b is within the special winning opening 40 ,
The full tank switch 43 is in the lower tray 23 , the replenishment switch 44 is in the ball tank 27, and the other winning port switches 45 are the respective winning ports on the board surface other than the ordinary electric accessory 36 and the special winning port 40, and the punching switch 46. Each of them is attached near the dispensing device 29. Here, the V switch 40a is a special device operation region (hereinafter, the game ball that has won the special winning opening 40)
It is called "special area". ), The count switch 40b indicates that all the game balls to be won in the special winning opening 40, and the full tank switch 43 indicates that the game balls have been filled in the lower plate 23 . Is a ball tank 27
There is a game ball inside, and the other winning hole switch 4
5 is that the game ball to the usual electric won game 36 and each of the winning hole of winning opening 40 than on the board has won, respectively that Tama抜switch 46 balls抜操operation button is down to press Gera It is for detection. The special winning opening solenoid 40c connected to the output side is the special winning opening 40, the V solenoid 4
0d is a special area in the special winning opening 40, and the normal accessory solenoid 36b is used to open and close the normal electric accessory 36, respectively.

The special symbol display device 32 is the LCD described above.
32a, a symbol display device control board (hereinafter, simply referred to as "symbol control board" (also referred to as "image control board")) 32b for driving and controlling the LCD 32a, and an auxiliary unit such as a backlight and an inverter board. ing. The symbol control board 32b is configured as a logical operation circuit centering on an 8-bit one-chip microcomputer like the main control board 30 described above.

The payout control board 31 is constructed as a logical operation circuit using a microcomputer like the main control board 30, and the prize circuit payout switch 31a and the ball rental payout switch 31b are connected to its input circuit and the output circuit is provided. A ball cutting motor 31c and a ball lending motor 31d are connected.
In addition, the payout control board 31 includes the card reader 1 described above.
3 is bidirectionally connected, and a CR settlement display board 47 is connected to the card reader 13. Prize ball payout switch 31
The a is also connected to the main control board 30. Ball switching motor 31c and the ball lending motor 31d is to payout the aforementioned apparatus 2
It is provided in 9 and flows down a predetermined number of game balls supplied from the guide gutter 28. The game ball paid out from the ball cutting motor 31c is detected by the prize ball payout switch 31a, and the game ball paid out from the ball lending motor 31d is detected by the ball rental payout switch 31b. The CR settlement display board 47 is composed of the lending button 16, the settlement button 17, the balance display unit 18, and the like of the upper plate 15 described above. Incidentally, C
The R adjustment display board 47 may be connected to the payout control board 31.

When the data of the prize ball payout command is transmitted from the main control board 30 according to the above-mentioned configuration, the payout control board 31 which receives this data causes the number of prize balls indicated by the data sent to the unpaid prize ball data. Is added and stored as new award ball data, and after a predetermined number of game balls are paid out as award balls, a subtraction process is executed from the award ball data in which the game balls detected by the award ball payout switch 31a are stored to perform a new process. The prize-winning ball data is set to a value, and the payout process is executed until the value of the prize-ball data becomes zero. On the other hand, if the lending button 16 of the CR settlement display board 47 is pressed, the card reader 1
A signal of 1 pulse is transmitted from 3 to the payout control board 31,
In the case of 500 yen, a 5-pulse signal is transmitted. The payout control board 31 drives the ball lending motor 31d to execute a process of paying out the rental ball until 25 game balls are detected by the ball rental payout switch 31b for one pulse signal.

The firing control board 33 drives and controls the firing motor 33a in accordance with the amount of rotation of the firing handle 24 operated by the player, and when the player presses the firing stop switch 24b, the firing is stopped. or is intended for data Tchisu Lee pitch 24a incorporated in the firing handle 24 is turned a touch lamp 48 when in the oN state. The touch switch 24a is built in the firing handle 24 and detects that the player is touching the firing hand 24.

The lamp control board 34 is mainly composed of a driving element such as a transistor, and receives a command from the main control board 30, and usually a symbol display device 37, lamps such as a jackpot lamp and an error lamp, and various LEDs. This is for turning on and displaying the lamps.

The sound control board 35 is composed of a sound source IC, an amplifier, and the like, and is for receiving a command from the main control board 30 to drive and control the speaker 49.

The one-way communication so that the special symbol display device 32, the payout control board 31, the firing control board 33, the lamp control board 34 and the sound control board 35 described above can be transmitted only from the main control board 30. Is configured as a circuit. This one-way communication circuit can be embodied using an inverter circuit or a latch circuit.

The main control board 30, the payout control board 31,
To the symbol control board 32b, the firing control board 33, the lamp control board 34, the sound control board 35, etc., as shown in FIG.
Various power supplies are supplied from the power supply board 55. The power supply board 55 includes a DC 24V, a DC 12V,
A backup power supply of DC5V and a DC5V is further generated by a capacitor, and necessary power is supplied to each control group. The backup power of 5V DC is supplied to the main control board 30 and the payout control board 31.

[0032] Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the power supply board 55
Is provided with a reset 1 circuit 60 and a reset 2 circuit 61, a backup 1 voltage monitoring circuit 62 and a backup 2 voltage monitoring circuit 63. Reset 1 circuit 60
Is a reset terminal RES of the CPU 64 of the main control board 30.
It is connected to the. The reset 2 circuit 61 is connected to the reset terminal RES of the CPU 65 of the payout control board 31, the reset terminal RES of the CPU 66 of the symbol control board 32b, and the like. The backup 1 voltage monitoring circuit 62 is connected to the forced interrupt terminal NMI of the CPU 64 of the main control board 30. The backup 2 voltage monitoring circuit 63 is connected to the forced interrupt terminal NMI of the CPU 65 of the payout control board 31. As described above, the 5V backup power source is connected to the backup terminal VBB of the CPU 64 of the main control board 30 and the backup terminal VBB of the CPU 65 of the payout control board 31.

The reset 1 circuit 60, as shown in FIG. 7, includes a voltage monitoring IC 11, resistors R17, R18 and R1.
9, a bypass capacitor C10 and the like.
The VSB terminal, which is the input terminal of the voltage monitoring IC 11, is supplied with a DC12V power source divided by the resistors R17 and R18, and the RESET terminal, which is the output terminal, is connected to the resistor R1.
It is pulled up to DC5V at 9. With the above configuration, the RESET terminal, which is the output terminal of the voltage monitoring IC 11,
When the voltage of the DC 12V power supply drops to 9.39 to 10.21V or less, the reset signal 1 to be output is changed from the high level to the low level.

As shown in FIG. 8, the reset 2 circuit 61 includes a voltage monitoring IC 8, resistors R38, R39 and R4.
0, bypass capacitors C22 and C23, etc. The VS terminal, which is the input terminal of the voltage monitoring IC 8, is supplied with a DC 12V power source divided by the resistors R39 and R40, and the RESET terminal, which is the output terminal, is pulled up to 5V DC by the resistor R38. With the above configuration, the RESET terminal which is the output terminal of the voltage monitoring IC 8 changes the reset signal 2 to be output from the high level to the low level when the voltage of the DC 12V power supply drops to 7.20 to 7.75V or less.

The backup 1 voltage monitoring circuit 62 is shown in FIG.
, The comparator IC1A and the resistors R41 to R41
It is composed of R 45 and the like. The negative input terminal of the comparator IC1A is supplied with a DC 5V power source divided by the resistors R43 and R44, and the positive input terminal thereof is
Power of DC12V, which is divided by the resistors R41 and R42, is supplied, and the output terminal is pulled up to DC5V by the resistor R45. With the above configuration, the comparator IC1A
The output terminal has a DC12V power supply voltage of 10.25 to 1
When the voltage drops to 0.70 V or less, the output backup signal 1 is changed from high level to low level.

The backup 2 voltage monitoring circuit 63 is shown in FIG.
As shown in 0, the comparator IC2A, the resistor R51
~ R55 and the like. Comparator IC2A
The negative input terminal of is supplied with DC5V power source divided by resistors R53 and R54, the positive input terminal is supplied with DC12V power source divided by resistors R51 and R52, and the output terminal is It is pulled up to DC5V by resistor R55. Comparator IC with the above configuration
The output terminal of 2A has a DC12V power supply voltage of 8.00 to
When the voltage drops to 9.23 V or less, the output backup signal 2 is changed from the high level to the low level.

With the above configuration, the main control board 30 and the payout control board 31 when the pachinko machine 10 is powered on.
The rising state of the operation or control operation of each CPU with the sub control boards other than the main control board such as the pattern control board 32b will be described with reference to the timing chart shown in FIG. When the pachinko machine 10 is powered on, the power supply board 55 generates DC 32V, DC 12V, and battery backup power supply (VBB) DC 5V. The generated power supplies are supplied to the control boards, but the sub-control boards such as the payout control board 31 and the main control board 30 operate as follows due to the functions of the reset 1 circuit 60 and the reset 2 circuit 61. Perform startup processing.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the power supply board 55 is powered on (point P1), the voltage of the DC 12V power supply draws a parabola and gradually rises from 0V to 12V.
The voltage of the DC12V power supply that gradually rises is the reference value L
V2 (in this specific example, 7.20~7.75V) reset signal 2 which is the output signal of the reset 2 circuit 6 1 is made of a low level to a high level becomes a. As a result, the reset of each CPU of the sub control board is released, and the CPU 65 of the payout control board 31 starts the security check operation (point P2). At this time, in this specific example, each sub-control board such as the symbol control board 32b other than the payout control board 31 is configured to execute the original control without executing the security check operation. When the power supply voltage of DC12V is the reference value LV2, the reset signal 1 which is the output signal of the reset 1 circuit 60 is still in the low level state. Therefore, the CPU 64 of the main control board 30
Has not yet stood up.

The power supply voltage of DC12V changes from the reference value LV2 to the reference value LV1 (in this specific example, 9.39 to 10.21).
V), the reset signal 1 of the reset 1 circuit 60 changes from low level to high level. This allows
The reset of the CPU 64 of the main control board 30 is released, and C
The PU 64 starts the security check operation (point P3). The security check time T1 of the CPU 64 of the main control board 30 is equal to the CPU 65 of the payout control board 31.
It is designed to be equal to or longer than the security check time T2. As is well known, the security check is the CPU 6 which is a one-chip microcomputer.
3 and 64 are functions of checking whether or not the contents of the ROM in which the progress contents of the game are written are regular contents.

The security check time T1 of the main control board 30 is longer than the security check time T2 of the payout control board 31, and the reset release time of the CPU 64 of the main control board 30 is later than the reset release time of the CPU of each sub control board. (Points P4 and P5) . Thereby, when the CPU 64 of the main control board 30 starts executing the control of the game according to the program written in the ROM, each sub control board has already executed the control of the game.
As a result, immediately after the power is turned on, the CPU of the main control board 30 is
Even if 64 transmits data to each sub-control board, each sub-control board executes the original control, so that the data can be reliably received. In this specific example, the security check time T1 is about 439 ms, and the main control board 3
The time from when the CPU 64 of 0 is turned on to when the game is controlled is about 529 ms to 549 ms. The security check time T2 is about 200 ms, and the time from when the power is turned on to when the CPU 65 of the payout control board 31, which is one of the sub-control boards, controls the game, is about 202 ms to 203 ms.

Next, the operation when the power supply to the pachinko gaming machine 10 is cut off will be described with reference to the timing chart shown in FIG. When the power supply to the pachinko gaming machine 10 is cut off (point P6), the power supply voltage of DC12V generated by the power supply board 55 is drastically decreased immediately after the power is cut off, but thereafter is decreased substantially linearly and after a predetermined time. It becomes 0V. During this linear decrease, the reference voltage LV4 (in this specific example, 10.25 to 1
When it reaches 0.70V (point P7), the power supply board 55
The backup signal 1 of the backup 1 voltage monitoring circuit 62 changes from high level to low level. As a result, the forced interrupt terminal N of the CPU 64 of the main control board 30
MI becomes low level, and the CPU 64 is subject to non-maskable interrupt. At this time, the CPU
64 saves data indicating the current game progress,
After that, access to the RAM can be prohibited.

The power supply voltage DC12V is the reference voltage LV.
4 to the reference voltage LV1 (point P
8), the reset signal 1 of the reset 1 circuit 60 of the power supply board 55 changes from the high level to the low level. As a result, the CPU 64 is reset. Thereafter, (in this specific example, 8.00～9.23V) reference voltage LV 3 supply voltage DC12V is Yuki gradually decreases with time reaches the (point P9), the output of the backup second voltage monitoring circuit 63 The signal 2 changes from the high level to the low level. Thereby, the NM of the CPU 65 of the payout control board 31
The I terminal becomes low level, and the CPU 65 is subject to non-maskable interrupt. At this time, CP
The U65 can save the data indicating the current prize ball payout state and the current ball lending payout state, and thereafter can prohibit access to the RAM.

When the power supply voltage of DC12V further decreases from the reference voltage LV3 to the reference voltage LV2 (point P1
0), the reset signal 2 which is the output signal of the reset 2 circuit 61 changes from the high level to the low level. As a result, the CPU 65 and the CPU 66 are reset, and the operation of the other sub control boards is stopped. Here, as described above, the RAM of each of the main control board 30 and the payout control board 31 is backed up by a battery,
Even when the power is turned off, the data stored in the RAM is stored and held for a predetermined time (in this embodiment, about 1 hour 20 minutes to about 3 hours 30 minutes).

As described above, when the power is turned off, the CPU 64 of the main control board 30 is first reset, and then each CPU of the sub control board 30 is reset. This has the effect that each sub-control board can reliably receive the data transmitted by the CPU 64 of the main control board 30 before the power is turned off.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration will be described when the power is turned on and when the power is turned off. Since the processing from turning on the power to turning off the power is the same as the conventional one, detailed description will be omitted. To do. Here, for convenience, first, the processing at the time of power-off will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 13 shows the CPU 64 of the main control board 30 and the CP of the payout control board 31.
This is the process executed by U65, and is the process executed when the signal at which the forced interrupt terminal NMI of each CPU changes from the high level to the low level falls. CP
When the process executed by the U64 and the CPU 65 shifts to this routine, first, a process of writing a predetermined value 55H to a plurality of predetermined regions of the RAM is performed (step S10).
0). The predetermined value to be written may be any value,
55H or AAH in which each bit in one byte is alternately "1" and "0" is preferable.

After the predetermined value is written in the predetermined area of the RAM, the data saving is executed (step S110).
The saving process of this data is the progress status of the current game on the main control board 30, for example, whether or not there is a high probability, whether or not it is a big hit, whether or not the symbol is changing on the special symbol display device. Each data showing the progress of the game such as
This is a process of writing in a predetermined area of M. On the other hand, the payout control board 31 is a process of writing each data indicating the current payout state of the number of prize balls and the payout state of the lent balls into a predetermined area of the RAM. This save process does not have to be particularly configured to execute this process as long as it is an algorithm that always writes the current state in a predetermined area of the RAM. When the data saving is executed, the access to the RAM is prohibited (step S120).

This access prohibition processing to the RAM is for enhancing the accuracy and certainty of the data to be saved by prohibiting the writing to the RAM when the power supply voltage is unstable. When access to the RAM is prohibited, a process of waiting for the reset terminal RES to fall to the low level is executed (step S130). Here, when the reset terminal drops to a low level within a predetermined time, specifically, when the reset signal 1 output from the reset 1 circuit 60 described above drops to a low level, the CPU 64 stops its operation and the above-mentioned reset is also performed. When the reset signal 2 output from the 2 circuit 61 falls to the low level, the CPU 65 stops its operation. On the other hand, if each reset signal does not drop to the low level within the predetermined time, it means that the power supply voltage has temporarily dropped to the reference voltage LV3 or LV4 and then returned to the original voltage with only a slight drop. In this case, after the access prohibition process to the RAM is canceled (step S14)
0), the process goes to "return" and the original process is executed.

When the power is turned on and the security check is completed, the CPU 64 of the main control board 30 executes the "power-on routine" shown in FIG. This routine is executed only once when the signal at which the reset terminal RES changes from the low level to the high level rises. When the processing shifts to this routine, it is determined whether or not the power is restored (step S150). In this specific example, as described above, the backup power supply of DC5V is about 1 hour 20 minutes to about 3 hours 30 minutes from the CPU 64 and the C by the capacitor.
It is configured to store and hold the data stored in the RAM of the PU 65. For this reason, the RAM is not in the normal state where the power is turned on the next morning after the business ends, not the power failure.
Data is not stored and retained. As a result, the predetermined value written in the predetermined area of the RAM at the time of power failure is a value different from the predetermined value without being stored and held. On the other hand, a general power outage including a momentary power outage can be recovered within one hour. At the time of the power failure, the predetermined value written in the predetermined area of the RAM is stored and held without change. Therefore, by comparing the values written in the predetermined area of the RAM, it is determined whether or not the power is restored.

If a negative determination is made at the time of power outage restoration by the determination processing of step S150, the initial setting (step S160) such as clearing the memory value is executed, and an affirmative determination at the time of power outage restoration is made. Then, the recovery process (step S170) is executed, and the process returns to the return. In the recovery process, the CPU 64 of the main control board 30 performs preparation for executing normal processing from the saved data indicating the progress of the game, and sends a command code informing each sub control board that recovery from power failure has occurred. To do. The symbol control board 32b receiving this command code is LC
Processing for displaying a message such as "execute power failure recovery processing" or "continuing from the game contents before the power failure" on the screen of D32a. Alternatively, the sound control board 35 notifies by voice that there is a power outage. After this, the CPU 64
Executes the well-known "main routine" shown in FIG. 15 periodically by a hard interrupt every 2 ms. That is, this
The main routine consists of this processing and residual processing.
In short, it is determined whether the interrupt is normal (step S20
0), initial setting (step S210), random number update processing
(Step S220), each input process (Step S23)
0), hit determination processing (step S240), image output processing
Processing (step S250), each output process (step S26)
0), each of the outlier random number update processing (step S270)
The process is executed. As a result, the CP of the main control board 30
When a power failure occurs, the U64 can continue the control of the game from the progress state of the game before the power failure, and thus does not give the player any unexpected disadvantage or discomfort.

On the other hand, the CPU 65 of the payout control board 31
When the power is turned on and the security check is completed, the "main routine" shown in FIG. 16 is executed. In this routine, by the same processing as the processing of step S150 described above, it is determined whether or not the power is restored (step S30).
0) When the affirmative determination that the power is restored is made, the ball cutting motor 31c is drive-controlled based on the stored data to execute prize ball payout (step S310), and the ball lending motor 31d is driven. The payout of the rental balls is controlled and executed (step S320). As a result, if there is unpaid prize ball data when the power failure occurs, the prize balls are paid out based on the data stored and held after the power failure is restored. Similarly, if there is unpaid ball lending data at the time of the power failure, the ball lending is paid out based on the data stored and held after the power failure is restored. As a result, even if a power failure occurs, the player is not disadvantaged. If the determination process of step S300 makes a negative determination that the power outage is not being restored, normal processing is performed after the initial setting (step S330) is performed.

According to this specific example described in detail above,
The sub-control board including the payout control board 31 and the symbol control board 32b and the main control board 30 are configured to be reset by one power supply board 55 to execute the start-up of the control operation and also to stop the control operation. ing. As a result, the effect that the control can be unified,
Effect that since no provision of the reset circuit to the control board can be reduced under the number of parts, Choi effect of preventing displacement of the control timing by the error of the components, timing of resetting only the power board 55 Tsu If this is done, the timing of each control board can be determined, and there is the effect that the inspection efficiency is increased. Further, in this specific example, since the data is saved when the control operation is stopped by the backup voltage monitoring circuit, there is an effect that the accuracy and certainty of the data stored and held can be secured. Further, in this embodiment, includes two reset circuit to the power supply board 55, the main control board 3 0 to stop the early control operations than the sub-control board, than the main control board 3 0 sub control board when the power is turned on It is configured to start the control operation quickly. This ensures that each sub-control board is configured as a main control board 30 while forming a one-way communication circuit.
It has the excellent effect of being able to receive data from.

Further, in this specific example, as shown in FIG. 4, the prize ball payout switch 31a is connected to the payout control board 31 and the main control board 30. As a result, the main control board 30 can also manage the prize ball number data relating to winning and the payout number of prize balls, and the prize ball data managed by the main control board is transmitted to the payout control board 31. By doing so, a comparative judgment can be made. Further, when the prize ball data on the payout control board 31 disappears for some reason, the prize balls can be paid out to the player based on the prize ball data on the main control board. Also,
In this specific example, since the ball pulling switch 46 is connected to the main control board 30, the game ball detected by the prize ball payout switch 31a when the ball punching operation is executed is a prize ball on the main control board 30. It can be determined that the operation is not the payout by the operation, but the removal operation. In addition, Ball 抜Su switch 4
6 is turned on from the main control board 30 to the payout control board 3
Can also be sent to 1.

In this specific example, the power supply board 55 is provided with the two reset circuits 60 and 61, but each control board may be reset by one reset circuit. In addition, the CPU 64 of the main control board 31 and the payout control board 31 are controlled by one backup voltage monitoring circuit.
Alternatively, the CPU 65 may be forcedly interrupted. In the case of such a configuration, there is also an effect that the reset timing or the forced interrupt timing of each control board can be set to the completely same timing. Further, in this specific example, the prize-ball payout switch 31a is connected to the payout control board 31 and the main control board 30, but may be connected to only the main control board 30. In the case of such a configuration, the detected number of prize balls may be transmitted from the main control board 30 to the payout control board 31.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a gaming machine 10 adopting the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the gaming machine 10 seen from the back side.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a configuration of a game board 22 of the game machine 10.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the gaming machine 10.

5 is a block diagram showing a configuration for supplying power from a power supply board 55. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a relationship between a power supply board 55, a main control board 30, and each sub-control board.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a reset 1 circuit 60.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a reset 2 circuit 61.

9 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a backup 1 voltage monitoring circuit 62. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a backup 2 voltage monitoring circuit 63.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing a state when the power is turned on.

FIG. 12 is a timing chart showing a state when the power is cut off.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing processing in a “power failure processing routine”.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a process in a “power-on routine”.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a process performed in a “main routine” of the main control board 30.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a process performed in a “main routine” of the payout control board 31.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Pachinko machine 13 ... Card reader (prepaid card unit) 22 ... Game board 24 ... Launch handle 24a ... Touch switch 24b ... Launch stop switch 30 ... Main control board 31 ... Payout control board 31a ... Prize ball payout switch 31b ... Ball rental Payout switch 31c ... Ball cutting motor 31d ... Ball lending motor 32 ... Special symbol display device 32a ... LCD panel unit (LCD) 32b ... Symbol display device control board (design control board) 33 ... Launch control board 33a ... Launch motor 34 ... Lamp Control board 35 ... Sound control board 36 ... Ordinary electric accessory (starting opening) 36a ... 1st type starting switch 37 ... Ordinary symbol display device 40 ... Big winning opening 40a ... Character continuous operation switch (VSW) 40b ... Ten count switch (Count SW) 45 ... Other winning opening switch 46 ... Ball pulling switch 47 ... C R settlement display board 48 ... Touch lamp 49 ... Speaker 50 ... External connection terminal 55 ... Power supply board 60 ... Reset 1 circuit 61 ... Reset 2 circuit 62 ... Backup 1 voltage monitoring circuit 63 ... Backup 2 voltage monitoring circuit 64, 65, 66 ... CPU (one-chip microcomputer)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-8-22927 (JP, A) JP-A-10-263177 (JP, A) JP-A-10-85421 (JP, A) JP-A-11- 104312 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A63F 7/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A main control board that controls the progress of a game, and receives data of a prize ball payout command from the main control board ,
According to this data, a sub-control board including at least a prize payout control board for paying out a prize to the player and a symbol control board for displaying a symbol, and a power supply board for supplying power to the main control board and the sub-control board A gaming machine having a reset circuit and a backup power supply on the power supply board, and when the power is turned on, the sub control board is started earlier than the main control board by the reset circuit, A game machine characterized in that, when a power failure occurs, the main control board and the prize payout control board store and hold prize ball data by a power source supplied from the backup power source. When stopping the supply of 2. A power, said Lise
2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the main control board is stopped earlier than the sub control board by a reset circuit .