JP3754651B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine, an arrangement ball machine, a sparrow ball game machine, and a revolving game machine, and more particularly to a gaming machine having a single output port of a main control board.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A ball game machine is generally composed of a plurality of circuit boards separated by function, and a plurality of circuit boards cooperate to realize a complex game operation as a whole. Such a gaming machine is generally composed of a main control board that is responsible for overall game control and a plurality of sub-control boards that operate based on control commands from the main control board.
[0003]
Sub-control boards include, for example, a symbol control board that controls a liquid crystal display, a payout control board that controls the payout operation of a game ball, a lamp control board that flashes LED lamps, etc., and a gaming operation that is voiced There is a voice control board and the like. In order to send control commands from the main control board to the plurality of sub control boards, the main control board is provided with the same number of output ports as the sub control boards.
[0004]
According to this circuit configuration, after a control command is output to a certain output port, the control command is immediately output to another output port regardless of whether the corresponding sub-control board receives the control command. It is excellent in terms of speeding up of processing.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such a circuit configuration, output ports corresponding to the number of sub-control boards are required, which has been an obstacle to downsizing the circuit configuration and downsizing the main control board. In other words, when trying to achieve more complex and advanced game control, a circuit configuration and circuit board for that purpose are required. To store them in a limited space inside the gaming machine, all the circuits are made as compact as possible. It is necessary to make it.
[0006]
In addition, in gaming machines, the number of sub-control boards differs depending on the model. However, the conventional circuit configuration cannot share a main control board, and there is a problem in that only a main control board for each model has to be prepared.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and not only can the circuit configuration of the main control board be made compact, but also a gaming machine that can share the main control board regardless of the number of sub-control boards. The issue is to provide.
[0008]
  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention executes a lottery process for determining whether or not to generate a profit state advantageous to a player, and controls a game operation based on the result of the lottery process; A gaming machine that includes a plurality of sub-control units that receive a control command from the main control unit and perform a predetermined gaming operation based on the received control command, wherein the main control unit includes the plurality of sub-control units. A first circuit that outputs a control command in common to the sub-control unitA second circuit that outputs an operation control signal (STB) in common to all of the sub-control units;And all or a part of the plurality of sub-control units are configured to obtain a control command from the first circuit through a selection process,The first circuit has a command output port for temporarily storing the control command and a first driver for receiving the output of the command output port, while the second circuit has an STB output for temporarily storing the operation control signal. And an output of the STB output port is supplied to a chip enable terminal of the first driver, so that the control command receives the operation control signal. Is output in synchronization with
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the gaming machine of the present invention will be described in more detail based on examples. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a pachinko machine according to an embodiment. The illustrated pachinko machine includes a main control board 1 for centrally controlling the game operation, a symbol control board 2 for controlling the operation of the liquid crystal display 8, a voice control board 3 for accelerating the game operation, and lamps. In response to the lamp control board 4 that activates the flashing of the game operation, the payout control board 5 that pays out the game ball, the launch control board 7 that is controlled by the payout control board 5 to launch the game ball, and AC24V The power supply board 6 supplies a DC voltage to each part of the apparatus.
[0010]
The main control board 1, the symbol control board 2, the voice control board 3, the lamp control board 4, and the payout control board 5 are configured by a computer circuit including a one-chip microcomputer incorporating a Z80 CPU equivalent or the like. -5 implement | achieve individual control operation | movement based on the control command from the main control board 1. FIG. In this embodiment, the control command is 2 bytes long and is transmitted by a one-way parallel communication system.
[0011]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the main control board 1. As shown in the figure, the main control board 1 includes a CPU circuit 50 that is a one-chip microcomputer, a system clock generator 51 that generates a clock signal Φ0 that is an integer multiple of the CPU operating clock CLK, and an address signal from the CPU. Based on a decode circuit 52 for generating a chip select signal CS for each part, an output port circuit 53 for outputting data from the CPU, an input port circuit 54 for the CPU to take in external data, and each sub-control board 2 5, an output drive circuit 55 for outputting a control command and a switch input circuit 56 for inputting ON / OFF states of switches of each part of the game board.
[0012]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the connection relationship between the main control board 1 and the sub control boards 2 to 5 in more detail. As illustrated, the control command and the strobe signal STB from the main control board 1 are transmitted to the sub control boards 2 to 5 via the relay board TRAN. Accordingly, since the symbol control board 2 does not exist, even a gaming machine having three sub control boards can be dealt with by simply replacing the relay board TRAN with another relay board TRAN '.
[0013]
FIG. 3 shows a specific configuration of the output port circuit 53 and the output drive circuit 55 of the main control board 1. The output port circuit 53 includes a single command output port 53a that outputs an 8-bit control command, and an STB output port 53b that outputs a strobe signal STB common to the sub-control boards 2 to 5. In this way, the circuit related to the transmission of control commands is extremely compact, so the circuit board can be miniaturized, and sufficient installation space for other circuits can be secured even if it is not miniaturized. it can.
[0014]
As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the command output port 53a is single for the plurality of sub-control boards 2-5. Even for individual control commands directed to a specific sub-control board, the command output port 53a outputs them in common without distinguishing them in terms of time. That is, unlike the conventional device, a separate command output port is provided for each sub-control board, and the CPU does not select a command output port to output this for each control command, but all control commands are output. The data is output in common through a single command output port 53a.
[0015]
Moreover, the strobe signal STB is also 1-bit data D0 output in common to all the sub-control boards 2 to 5. Therefore, due to the output of the strobe signal STB, the interrupt processing is simultaneously started in each of the control boards 2 to 5, and these points will be described later. The output ports 53a and 53b are not particularly limited as long as the input data is latched (temporarily stored) in accordance with the chip select signals CS1 and CS2. In this embodiment, a D-type flip-flop equivalent to 74273 is used. Used.
[0016]
Specifically, the output drive circuit 55 includes a NOT gate 57 that receives a 1-bit output from the STB output port 53b, a first drive unit (first driver) 55a that outputs a control command received from the command output port 53a, and an STB. The second drive unit (second driver) 55b outputs a 1-bit strobe signal STB received from the output port 53b. The driving units 55a and 55b are not particularly limited as long as they have a driver function. In this embodiment, a bus buffer equivalent to 74244 is used.
[0017]
The output of the NOT gate 57 is supplied to the chip enable terminal of the first driver 55a. Therefore, when the input data (specifically, the strobe signal STB) of the NOT gate 57 becomes H level, the first drive unit 55a outputs the control command received from the command output port 53a to the output connector CN. On the other hand, since the chip enable terminal of the second drive unit 55b is fixed at the L level, the second drive unit 55b immediately outputs the received strobe signal STB to the output connector CN.
[0018]
The relay board TRAN receives an 8-bit length control command and a 1-bit length strobe signal STB from the main control board 1 from the input connector CNi, distributes them to each sub-control board, and outputs them to the output connector CNo.₀~ CNo_ThreeIs output. That is, each output connector CNo₀~ CNo_ThreeThe 8-bit control command is transmitted in common and the strobe signal STB is also transmitted in common.
[0019]
Output connector CNo of relay board TRAN₀~ CNo_ThreeThe control command and the strobe signal STB transmitted to are transmitted to the input connectors CNa to CNd of the sub boards 2 to 5 through a cable (not shown). Although not shown, the strobe signal is supplied to the input connector CNa of the symbol control board 2, the input connector CNb of the voice control board 3, the input connector CNc of the lamp control board 4, and the input connector CNd of the payout control board 5, respectively. STB and control commands are transmitted.
[0020]
The control command transmitted to the input connectors CNa to CNd is supplied to the input ports 58a to 58d of the sub control boards 2 to 5, and the strobe signal STB is supplied to the interrupt terminal INT of the CPU of each sub control board. For this reason, when the strobe signal STB becomes H level, the CPUs of the sub control boards 2 to 5 are interrupted. However, in this embodiment, each control board is transmitted including control commands that are not necessary for itself, so each CPU selects control commands in the interrupt processing program and sends only necessary control commands. Have acquired. A specific method for realizing these operations will be described below.
[0021]
4 and 5 are flowcharts showing a control program for the main control board 1. FIG. The control program for the main control board 1 is executed after the power is turned on, and normally ends with an infinite loop process (ST6) (FIG. 4), and a timer interrupt process program (FIG. 5) activated every predetermined time (2 mS). ) And an NMI processing program (not shown) that is driven by an NMI (Non Maskable interrupt) signal to back up the CPU register value when the power supply voltage falls below a predetermined value.
[0022]
Hereinafter, the timer interrupt process will be described with reference to FIG. When a timer interrupt occurs, the contents of each register are saved in the stack area, and random number generation processing, switch input management processing, error management processing, and the like are performed (ST30). The switch input management process is a determination as to whether or not a game ball has passed through a gate or an electric tulip, and the error management process is a determination as to whether an abnormality has occurred inside the device. The random number generation process means a process of updating the hit random number value or the big hit random value in software or hardware.
[0023]
Thereafter, the value of the process division counter is determined, and the corresponding process from ST32 to ST36 is performed (ST31). The above error management and switch management should be repeated at short time intervals. On the other hand, the processing related to the pachinko game production is complicated and sophisticated according to the player's needs, and therefore requires a certain amount of processing time. It will be. Therefore, in this embodiment, not all the game control operations are completed by one interrupt process, but are divided into five types of processes, and each divided process is divided and executed for each interrupt. Yes. Therefore, a processing division counter that circulates in the range of 0 to 4 is provided to perform processing according to the value of the processing division counter.
[0024]
More specifically, when the processing division counter is 0, processing relating to the opening of the big prize opening is performed (ST32), and when the processing division counter is 1, whether the winning state (electric tulip is open) or not. Normal symbol processing is performed (ST33), and when the processing division counter is 2, processing relating to whether or not a big hit state is performed (ST34). When the process division counter is 3, timer management processing related to the opening / closing timing of the electric tulip and the big prize opening and command creation processing transmitted from the main control board to each control board are performed (ST35). If the process division counter is 4, information output and error display command creation processing is performed (ST36).
[0025]
When any one of steps ST32 to ST36 is completed, the value of the process division counter is updated (ST37), and the generated command is output to each control board (ST38). Further, the value of each register is restored and changed to the interrupt enabled state, and the routine returns from the interrupt processing routine to the main routine (ST39).
[0026]
FIG. 6A is a flowchart showing in detail the command output process (ST38) described above, and FIG. 6B shows the command buffer area of the RAM. In the command buffer area, control commands already necessary in the command creation process (ST35, ST36) during the timer interrupt process are stored.
[0027]
In this embodiment, a single control command is generated by one timer interrupt. Therefore, the command buffer area needs only a fixed length of 2 bytes, and a RAM area that cannot be said to have sufficient capacity can be saved. Even if the number of control commands generated by a single timer interrupt is not limited to a single command, the amount of generation is at most several, so the advantage of saving RAM area is maintained.
[0028]
In the pachinko machine of the present embodiment, there are four sub-control boards, the symbol control board 2, the voice control board 3, the lamp control board 4, and the payout control board 5, each having its own control command. The main control board 1 transmits each control command to all the sub-control boards 2 to 5 without sorting. That is, each control command is originally output from the main control board 1 to all the sub-control boards, although the sub-control board to receive it and the timing to receive it are originally different from each other.
[0029]
Hereinafter, this point will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. First, it is determined whether or not control command data exists in the command buffer area (ST40). Since the command buffer area is cleared to zero in the initial state, a control command exists if the command buffer area is not zero. In this embodiment, the control command has a 2-byte structure not including 0000H, and is composed of upper 8 bits of MODE data indicating the operation type and lower 8 bits of EVENT data indicating the operation content. Yes.
[0030]
If the presence of command data can be confirmed in the determination of step ST40, 2 is stored in the variable LOOP to output the control command having a 2-byte structure separately for each byte (ST41). Thereafter, the control command data is output to the command output port 53a, and the command buffer area from which the control command is read is cleared to zero (ST42). The command buffer area is cleared to zero because the same control command is not output repeatedly (see ST40).
[0031]
As a result of the process in step ST42, the chip select signal CS1 is output from the decode circuit 52, and the control command data is written in the D-type flip-flop 53a. Thereafter, after a slight time adjustment (ST43), STB data of 01H is output toward the strobe port 53b (ST44). As a result, data of 00000001B is output from the strobe port 53b and transmitted to all the sub-control boards 2 to 5. Note that H means a hexadecimal number and B means a binary number.
[0032]
As described above, since the strobe signal STB is set to the H level by the processing of step ST44, the CPUs of all the sub control boards 2 to 5 are interrupted. Therefore, each sub control board that has received an interrupt selects control commands in the interrupt processing program.
[0033]
By the way, since the interruption process in the sub-control board is substantially only the input process of 8-bit data, it is possible to proceed from the process of step ST44 to the next process without waiting so much. In this embodiment, therefore, the sub-control board waits for the time required for temporary storage of the control command, which is performed prior to selection of the control command (ST45), and proceeds to the next processing quickly. That is, after some time consumption, clear data (= 00H) is output to the strobe port 53b, and the strobe signal STB is set to L level (ST46).
[0034]
Next, the variable LOOP is decremented (ST47), and the processes of steps ST42 to ST47 are repeated until the value becomes 0. As a result, the processing of ST42 to ST47 is executed twice without providing a special waiting time, and MODE data and EVENT data are continuously and rapidly output. As described above, in this embodiment, the command output process is completed very quickly, and therefore, in the timer interrupt process with a limited processing time (the entire process needs to be completed within at least 2 ms), the processes other than the command output process It becomes possible to distribute time.
[0035]
FIG. 7A is a flowchart showing an interrupt processing program in each sub-control board. As described above, when an interrupt is generated in the sub control board by the strobe signal STB, the contents of each register are saved in the stack area (ST50), and the control command is temporarily stored in the buffer area, and then the control command is acquired. Judgment is made as to whether or not to do so (ST51). In this embodiment, since the control command is transmitted to all the sub-control boards in common, it is necessary to select the control command for each sub-control board.
[0036]
For this selection, the ROM of each sub control board is provided with a determination table TBL for determining whether or not an input command is executed. In the determination table TBL, as shown in FIG. 7B, all control commands used in the pachinko machine and a determination flag indicating whether or not the control command should be acquired are stored in association with each other. In this embodiment, all the sub-control boards 2 to 5 are provided with the determination table TBL for all control commands, and only the contents of the determination flag are different for each sub-board.
[0037]
Specifically, the determination flag is set to “1” for a command to be acquired and “0” for a command to be ignored. For example, the flag 1 is set for the input command 8001H in FIG. The configuration of the determination table TBL is as described above, and the CPU searches the determination table TBL using the temporarily stored control command as a search key, and only when the value of the determination flag is 1, the storage area from the buffer area is stored. Control command is acquired (ST52, ST53).
[0038]
Thereafter, the value of each register is restored (ST54), and the STB interrupt processing in the sub control board is completed. The control command acquired in the storage area is executed in another process (main process or timer interrupt process) of the sub control board.
[0039]
Next, the initial process shown in FIG. 4 will be described. When the power is turned on, after the CPU is set to the interrupt disabled state, the CPU registers are initialized (ST1), and the CPU is set to the interrupt mode 2 (ST2). Thereafter, the RAM clear signal is checked (ST3). The RAM clear signal corresponds to the initialization switch 85, and the power switch 53 is turned on while pressing the initialization switch 54 with the front frame 24 of the pachinko machine 21 opened forward as at the start of business. When switched to the ON side, the RAM clear signal is in the ON state.
[0040]
The case where the RAM clear signal is in the OFF state means that the power is turned on without pressing the initialization switch 54. In this case, since it is considered that the power is restored from a power failure or the like, the data backed up in the NMI interrupt process is restored (ST4), and the process before the interruption is resumed (ST5).
[0041]
On the other hand, if the RAM clear signal is in the ON state, after all the game information stored in the RAM is erased, the CPU sets an initial symbol to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 8 or executes this game control. After performing initial processing such as setting an interrupt cycle for periodically executing interrupt processing, the EI command is executed to place itself in an interrupt enabled state (ST6).
[0042]
Thereafter, random number processing (ST7) for the off symbol repeated in an infinite loop is performed. Note that the random symbol processing for the out symbol defines the out symbol pattern drawn on the liquid crystal display 8 when the special symbol lottery is lost in the timer interrupt processing.
[0043]
Subsequently, the above-mentioned bullet ball game machine will be further described. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the pachinko machine 22 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a side view of the pachinko machine 22. A plurality of pachinko machines 21 are arranged in the length direction of the island structure of the pachinko hall while being electrically connected to the card-type ball lending machine 22.
[0044]
The illustrated pachinko machine 21 includes a rectangular frame-shaped wooden outer frame 23 that is detachably mounted on an island structure, and a front frame 24 that is pivotably mounted via a hinge H fixed to the outer frame 23. It consists of A game board 25 is detachably attached to the front frame 24 from the back side, and a glass door 26 and a front plate 27 are pivotally attached to the front side so as to be freely opened and closed.
[0045]
The front plate 27 is provided with an upper plate 28 for storing game balls for launch. A lower plate 29 for storing game balls overflowing from or extracted from the upper plate 28 and a launch handle 30 are disposed below the front frame 24. And are provided. The launch handle 30 is linked to the launch motor, and a game ball is launched by a striking rod 31 (see FIG. 11) that operates according to the rotation angle of the launch handle.
[0046]
On the right side of the upper plate 28, an operation panel 32 for lending the ball to the card-type ball lending machine 22 is provided, and on this operation panel 32, a card remaining amount display unit 32a for displaying the remaining amount of the card with a three-digit number. A ball lending switch 32b for instructing lending of game balls for a predetermined amount, and a return switch 32c for instructing to return the card at the end of the game. On the upper part of the glass door 26, a big hit LED lamp P1 indicating a big hit state is arranged. In addition, in the vicinity of the big hit LED lamp P1, abnormality notification LED lamps P2 and P3 are provided to indicate a replenishment state or a full state of the lower plate.
[0047]
As shown in FIG. 10, the game board 25 is provided with a guide rail 33 formed of a metal outer rail and an inner rail in an annular shape, and a liquid crystal color display 8 is provided at the approximate center of the game area 25a inside. Has been placed. In addition, at a suitable place in the game area 25a, a symbol start opening 35, a big winning opening 36, a plurality of normal winning openings 37 (four on the right and left of the big winning opening 36), and a gate 38 which is two passage openings are arranged. Has been. Each of these winning openings 35 to 38 has a detection switch inside, and can detect the passage of a game ball.
[0048]
The liquid crystal display 8 is a device that variably displays a specific symbol related to the big hit state, and displays a background image, various characters, and the like in an animated manner. This liquid crystal display 8 has special symbol display portions Da to Dc in the center portion and a normal symbol display portion 39 in the upper right portion. The normal symbol display unit 39 displays a normal symbol. When a game ball that has passed through the gate 38 is detected, the displayed normal symbol fluctuates for a predetermined time, and a lottery is drawn at the time the game ball passes through the gate 38. The stop symbol determined by the random number for lottery is displayed and stopped.
[0049]
The symbol start opening 35 is opened and closed by an electric tulip having a pair of left and right opening and closing claws 35a. When the stop symbol after the fluctuation of the normal symbol display unit 39 hits and the symbol is displayed, the opening and closing claw 35a is held for a predetermined time. Only to be released. When a game ball wins the symbol start opening 35, the display symbols of the special symbol display portions Da to Dc change for a predetermined time, and are determined based on the lottery result corresponding to the winning timing of the game ball to the symbol start opening 35. Stop at the stop symbol pattern.
[0050]
The special winning opening 36 is controlled to be opened and closed by an opening / closing plate 36a that can be opened forward. When the stop symbol after the symbol variation of the special symbol display portions Da to Dc is a winning symbol such as “777”, “big hit” is obtained. A special game is started and the opening / closing plate 36a is opened. There is a specific area 36b inside the big winning opening 36, and when the winning ball passes through the specific area 36b, a special game advantageous to the player is continued.
[0051]
After the opening / closing plate 36a of the big winning opening 36 is opened, the opening / closing plate 36a is closed when a predetermined time elapses or when a predetermined number (for example, 10) of game balls wins. At this time, if the game ball does not pass through the specific area 36b, the special game ends, but if it passes through the specific area 36b, the special game is continued up to, for example, 15 times, which is advantageous to the player. To be controlled. Furthermore, when the stop symbol after the change is a certain symbol of the special symbols (hereinafter referred to as a specific symbol), a privilege of shifting to a high probability state is given after the special game ends.
[0052]
As shown in FIG. 11, on the back side of the front frame 24, a back mechanism plate 40 that presses the game board 25 from the back side is detachably mounted. An opening 40a is formed in the back mechanism plate 40, and a prize ball tank 41 and a tank rail 42 extending therefrom are provided on the upper side thereof. A payout device 43 connected to the tank rail 42 is provided on the side of the back mechanism plate 40, and a passage unit 44 connected to the payout device 43 is provided below the back mechanism plate 40. The game balls paid out from the payout device 43 are paid out to the upper plate 28 from the upper plate discharge port 28a (FIG. 8) via the passage unit 44.
[0053]
The opening 40a of the back mechanism plate 40 is fitted with a back cover 45 mounted on the back side of the game board 25 and a winning ball discharge basket (not shown) for discharging the game balls won in the winning holes 35 to 37. Has been. The main control board 1 is disposed inside the case CA1 attached to the back cover 45, and the symbol control board 2 is disposed on the front side thereof (see FIG. 9). Below the main control board 1, the lamp control board 4 is provided in the case CA2 attached to the back cover 45, and the audio control board 3 is provided in the adjacent case CA3.
[0054]
Below these cases CA2 and CA3, a power supply board 6 and a payout control board 5 are provided in a case CA4 mounted on the back mechanism plate 40. A power switch 53 and an initialization switch 54 are disposed on the power board 6. The parts corresponding to both the switches 53 and 54 are notched, and both switches can be operated simultaneously with a finger. Inside the case CA5 attached to the rear side of the launch handle 30, a launch control board 7 is provided. And these circuit boards 1-7 are each comprised independently, The computer circuit provided with the one-chip microcomputer is mounted in the control boards 2-6 except the power supply board 6 and the launch control board 7. FIG.
[0055]
As mentioned above, although one Example of this invention was described concretely, the game machine of this invention can be suitably changed not only in the structure of the said Example. For example, in the above embodiment, all control commands are transmitted to all sub-control boards, and control command selection processing is performed on all sub-control boards, but a sub-control board that does not execute the selection processing is provided. May be.
[0056]
For example, when the symbol control board 2 has the largest number of control commands (CMD1 to CMDn) to be received (CMD1 to CMDn), it is used for other sub control boards within the range of the N control commands (CMD1 to CMDn). If a control command is assigned, the selection process on the symbol control board 2 can be omitted, and the determination table TBL is also unnecessary. Of course, even if the control commands are the same, the specific command contents change for each sub-control board.
[0057]
In the embodiment, the determination table TBL is used for determining whether or not a control command should be acquired. However, the determination table need not be used, and the specific configuration of the determination table TBL also limits the present invention. Not what you want. For example, if the number of control commands to be acquired by four sub-control boards is N1, N2, N3, and N4 (N1 <N2 <N3 <N4), the numerical range of each control command group is large or small. If the relationship is distinguished, it is possible to determine whether or not the control command is to be acquired by determining the numerical range (specifically, the determination value) (see FIG. 12).
[0058]
As a specific control command configuration, for example, CMD to be acquired in all sub-control boards₁~ CMD_N1CMD to be acquired by the second to fourth sub-control boards_{N1 + 1}~ CMD_N2CMD to be acquired by the third and fourth sub-control boards in the same manner._{N2 + 1}~ CMD_N3CMD to be acquired only on the fourth sub-control board_{N3 + 1}~ CMD_N4What is necessary is just to set a numerical value large in order of. In such a case, in the first sub-control board to the third sub-control board, the determination value CMD is used instead of the determination table TBL._N1, CMD_N2, CMD_N3Sorting process becomes possible by using. Specifically, the sub control board determines its own judgment value CMD._N1, CMD_N2, CMD_N3Only the following control commands will be acquired.
[0059]
In the above embodiment, the relay board TRAN is provided. However, it is not intended to exclude the integration of the main control board 1 and the relay board TRAN. Further, the relay board TRAN of the embodiment simply distributes the control command and the strobe signal STB to the sub-control boards 2 to 5 as they are, but the relay board TRAN has a control circuit including a CPU. Then, all received control commands may be distributed to each sub-control board.
[0060]
Although the specific method of control command distribution is not particularly limited, all control commands are transmitted to all sub-control boards, but the strobe STB is transmitted only to the sub-control boards that should acquire the transmitted control commands. It is simple. In any case, if the relay board TRAN is provided with a control function, the selection process in each sub-control board becomes unnecessary, and therefore, in each sub-control board, the strobe interrupt process (command input process in FIG. 7A) Can be quickly completed, and there is an advantage that the original game control processing can be quickly returned to. This is particularly effective for voice control boards.
[0061]
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which unnecessary control commands are excluded by software in each of the sub-control boards 2 to 5 has been described. However, a dedicated input circuit may be provided and selected in hardware. Of course.
[0062]
FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating still another embodiment. In this embodiment, the main control board 1 and the relay board (distribution board) TRAN are connected so as to be capable of bidirectional communication. Note that the bidirectional communication here typically corresponds to a mode in which a control command is transmitted from the main control board to the relay board, and the relay board TRAN that has received it normally returns a confirmation signal ACK.
[0063]
In the case of the illustrated example, the relay board TRAN is connected to the payout control board 5 having high importance so as to be capable of bidirectional communication, and is connected to the symbol control board 2 and the sound lamp composite control board 60 so as to be capable of one-way communication. Yes. The sound lamp composite control board 60 is a circuit board having functions of a sound control unit and a lamp control unit. In the case of FIG. 13, the relay substrate TRAN is preferably attached to the back mechanism plate 40 side. It is also preferable to arrange the circuits of the distribution board TRAN and the payout control board 5 on a single circuit board.
[0064]
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the symbol control board 2, the voice control board 3, the lamp control board 4, and the payout control board 5 as sub-control units have different board configurations. Of the control units, at least two may have the same substrate configuration. Specifically, a combination of any one of the symbol control unit and the voice control unit, the symbol control unit and the lamp control unit, and the voice control unit and the lamp control unit is typically configured on the same substrate.
[0065]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a gaming machine that can not only make the circuit configuration of the main control board compact, but can also share the main control board regardless of the number of sub-control boards.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a pachinko machine according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main control board.
FIG. 3 illustrates in detail a connecting portion between a main control board and a sub-control board.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a system reset process in the main control board.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing timer interrupt processing in the main control board.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing command output processing in the main control board.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing command input processing in each sub-control board.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a pachinko machine according to an embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a side view of the pachinko machine shown in FIG. 8;
10 is a front view of the pachinko machine shown in FIG. 8. FIG.
11 is a rear view of the pachinko machine shown in FIG. 8. FIG.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Main control unit (main control board)
2-5 Sub-control unit (sub-control board)
53a First circuit (command output port)
55a 1st circuit (1st drive part)
53b Second circuit (STB output port)
55b Second circuit (second drive unit)

Claims (5)

A lottery process for determining whether or not to generate a profit state advantageous to a player is executed, a main control unit that controls a gaming operation based on a result of the lottery process, and a control command from the main control unit, A gaming machine provided with a plurality of sub-control units that perform a predetermined gaming operation based on a received control command,
A first control circuit that outputs a control command to the plurality of sub-control units in common and an operation control signal (STB) to all of the sub-control units are output to the main control unit. A second circuit, and all or a part of the plurality of sub-control units are configured to acquire a control command from the first circuit through a selection process,
The first circuit has a command output port for temporarily storing the control command and a first driver for receiving the output of the command output port, while the second circuit has an STB output for temporarily storing the operation control signal. And a second driver for receiving the output of the STB output port,
The gaming machine is characterized in that the control command is output in synchronization with the operation control signal by supplying the output of the STB output port to the chip enable terminal of the first driver. .   The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein a determination value or a determination table for determining selection is used in the selection process. A signal relay unit is provided between the main control unit and the plurality of sub-control units, and control commands and / or operation control signals output from the main control unit are routed through the signal relay unit. The gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the gaming machine is distributed directly to the plurality of sub-control units. A signal relay unit is provided between the main control unit and the plurality of sub control units, and the control command and / or operation control signal is selected by the signal relay unit and output to a specific sub control unit. the gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is. The operation control signal, the gaming machine according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it is transmitted as an interrupt signal for each CPU of the plurality of sub-control unit.

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