JP4666949B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine including a main board that controls the entire gaming machine and another board that controls each part of the gaming machine in response to an instruction from the main board.

Conventionally, in a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine, a main board that controls the entire gaming machine, such as control related to game content, and a symbol display device or lamp provided in the gaming machine according to an instruction signal transmitted from the main board And other substrates such as sub-substrates that directly control the devices are known.
In such a gaming machine, the gaming machine is controlled by outputting an instruction signal for performing various controls in one direction from the main board to another board.
In addition, a filter is provided at the input end of another board such as a sub-board to prevent noise included in the received signal from being transmitted to a subsequent circuit.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a part of the communication circuit that connects the main board and the sub-board.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, the signal line which connects between each board | substrate is connected to each board | substrate with the connector. The same applies to FIG.
In FIG. 10, a filter 201 is set to a time constant that absorbs noise contained in a received signal and prevents malfunction, and that can output a signal transmitted from a main board to a subsequent circuit in an appropriate signal state. Yes. In FIG. 10, a resistor 202 is provided for setting the low level (L level) of the signal line, and one end is grounded.

By the way, the signal line that transmits the signal only in the direction from the main board to the sub board of a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine has been modified so that the signal can be sent from the sub board to the main board. In some cases, fraudulent acts such as generating
In order to prevent such an illegal act, it is effective to prevent a signal from being transmitted from the sub board to the main board.
Therefore, conventionally, there is a gaming machine in which a component for restricting the communication direction is incorporated on the sub-board side so that signals can be transmitted only from the main board to the sub-board, and a signal cannot be transmitted from the sub-board to the main board. It has been devised (see Patent Document 1).

According to the gaming machine described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a substrate is remodeled and an illegal act is performed.
However, in a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine, there is a case where it is inspected whether or not appropriate measures against illegal modification are taken. When a component that restricts the communication direction is incorporated on the sub-board side, it is difficult to confirm that the component that restricts the communication direction is incorporated as an appropriate measure against unauthorized modification.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, if a relay board is provided between the main board and the sub board of the gaming machine, and the relay board is provided with a part that regulates the communication direction such as a diode, the relay board can be confirmed. A method for easily inspecting the gaming machine can be considered.
Japanese Patent No. 2896370

However, when a relay board is provided between the main board and the sub board of the gaming machine, and the relay board is provided with a component that regulates the communication direction, the electric charge accumulated in the capacitor included in the filter 201 It is discharged only through the resistor 202 due to the influence of the parts to be regulated. Therefore, in order to output a signal from the main substrate having a relatively short pulse interval to a subsequent circuit in an appropriate signal state, the resistance value of the resistor 202 must be changed to a smaller value in order to accelerate the discharge.
However, if the resistance value of the resistor 202 is set to a smaller value, there is a problem that the load current flowing through the output circuit of the main board increases, and in this case, the output circuit of the main board causes a problem such as excessive heat generation. It becomes.

In addition, although it is possible to maintain the resistance value of the resistor 202 by making the pulse interval of the signal output from the main board longer, in this case, the communication speed between the main board and the sub board decreases. In other words, it is difficult to achieve such a configuration.
Such a problem is a problem common to various substrates connected to the main substrate including the sub-substrate.
An object of the present invention is to facilitate inspection of a gaming machine related to unauthorized modification without affecting transmission of signals from a main board to another board.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
A main board that controls the entire gaming machine (for example, the main board 100A in FIG. 2) and another board that controls each part of the gaming machine in accordance with instructions from the main board (for example, the sub board 100B in FIG. 2 or a prize ball) A control board 100D), which is installed on a signal line connecting the main board and the other board and restricts the communication direction from the main board to the other board. Means (for example, the relay board 100C in FIG. 2), and the other board has a low-level state of the signal line in a receiving unit (for example, the reception interface 112 in FIG. 2) that receives a signal from the main board. A resistor (for example, the resistor 113 in FIG. 3) for setting the voltage, and a buffer that is installed in a subsequent stage of the resistor and that amplifies power according to the voltage of the signal line and discharges the current input from the output side (For example, 3) and a capacitor (for example, the capacitor 116b in FIG. 3), which reduces noise and transmits the output signal of the buffer to the internal circuit in the subsequent stage (for example, the filter 116 in FIG. 3). look including the door, the the main substrate and the other substrate, are connected to the interrupt signal line for indicating the capturing timing of the data, a plurality of signal lines and a data signal line for transmitting data, Of the plurality of signal lines, only the receiving unit of the other substrate corresponding to the interrupt signal line includes the resistor, the buffer, and the filter .

That is, the gaming machine according to the present invention includes a communication direction restricting means between the main board and the other board, and the main board and the other board have an interrupt signal line for instructing a data fetch timing. The control signal is set to a low level only in the receiving part of the other board corresponding to the interrupt signal line among the parallel signal lines connected by a plurality of signal lines including a data signal line for transmitting data. In order, a resistor, a buffer, and a filter are provided.
With such a configuration, it is possible to easily check whether measures against unauthorized modification are taken by checking the communication direction regulation means, and to prevent the output current of the main board from becoming excessive. On the other hand, it is possible to prevent the communication speed between the main board and the other board from being lowered than before.
In addition, by providing these resistors, buffers, and filters in the interrupt signal receiver on another board, the above-described effects can be obtained by using a configuration necessary for signal transmission.

That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily inspect the gaming machine related to unauthorized modification without affecting the transmission of signals from the main board to other boards.
The buffer may be configured by a buffer IC of a totem pole output format.
The buffer may be constituted by an emitter-follower type transistor circuit.
The buffer may be constituted by a push-pull output type transistor circuit.

Furthermore, the A main substrate and the other substrate, and the interrupt signal line, are connected by parallel signal lines including said data signal lines of a predetermined number of parallel, out of the parallel signal lines, corresponding to the interrupt signal line It is also possible to provide the resistor, the buffer, and the filter only in the receiving unit of the other substrate.

  As described above, only the interrupt signal lines used for the timing instruction at the time of signal transmission, not all the signal lines among the parallel signal lines connecting the main board and the other board, are received by the receiving unit. In addition, when the present invention is applied to all the signal lines, the resistor, the buffer, and the filter are provided, and the data signal lines are subjected to noise removal processing when the interrupt signal is input. Therefore, the same effect can be obtained, and the effect of the present invention can be achieved at a low cost.

The communication direction restricting means may include a diode (for example, the diode 30 in FIG. 3) having an anode connected to the main substrate side and a cathode connected to the other substrate side.
With such a configuration, it is possible to easily confirm that the communication direction regulating means is appropriately provided. In particular, even a person who is not familiar with the electronic circuit can easily inspect the gaming machine. it can.
The communication direction regulating means may include a photocoupler (for example, the photocoupler in FIG. 8) in which a light emitting diode is connected to the main substrate side and a phototransistor is connected to the other substrate side.

According to the present invention, by checking the communication direction regulating means, it is possible to easily inspect whether or not measures against unauthorized modification are taken, and to prevent the output current of the main board from becoming excessive. On the other hand, it is possible to prevent the communication speed between the main board and the other board from being lowered than before.
That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily inspect the gaming machine related to unauthorized modification without affecting the transmission of signals from the main board to other boards.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a game board surface 10 of a pachinko machine 1 to which the present invention is applied. In addition, in FIG. 1, suppose that a part required for description is represented typically.
In FIG. 1, a game ball launched from a launch mechanism (not shown) is guided by a guide rail 11 and released upward in the game board surface 10. A part of the game ball enters the winning openings 16 to 18 or the start opening 19 while changing the moving direction by contacting the windmills 12 to 15 and the nails. On the other hand, the game balls that have not entered the winning ports 16 to 18 or the start port 19 enter the out port 21 provided at the lower part of the game board surface 10.

Further, when a game ball enters the winning holes 16 to 18, a predetermined number of prize balls are paid back, and when a game ball enters the start port 19, a winning of the game ball is detected by the symbol start switch 101 described later, After a predetermined number of prize balls have been paid out, a big win lottery is performed.
Further, when a game ball enters the start port 19, the symbol display device 22 described later starts symbol variation display, and stops and displays each symbol according to the jackpot lottery result.
When the lottery result is a big win, the big winning opening 20 is opened and closed according to a predetermined condition, and a predetermined number of winning balls are paid out according to the number of winning game balls.

Next, a control system for controlling the pachinko machine 1 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the pachinko machine 1 to which the present invention is applied.
In FIG. 2, the pachinko machine 1 includes a main board 100A that controls the entire pachinko machine 1, and a symbol display device 22 provided in the pachinko machine 1, various display lamps 104, or speakers according to an instruction signal from the main board 100A. A sub board 100B that directly controls 105 and the like, and a relay board 100C as a communication direction regulating means installed between the main board 100A and the sub board 100B are provided.

The main board 100A includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 110 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 111. Further, the main board 100A includes a symbol start switch 101, a count switch 102, a continuation switch 103, winning port switches 16a to 18a provided in the winning ports 16 to 18, and a big winning port solenoid 106, respectively. It is connected.
The main board 100A is connected with a prize ball control board 100D for controlling the prize ball device 107, but the case for storing the prize ball control board 100D employs a case in which an opening trace remains. , Making it easy to find unauthorized alterations.

Further, a launch control board 100E is connected to the prize ball control board 100D, and the launch control board 100E launches a game ball into the game board surface 10 in response to an operation of a handle (not shown). The device 108 is controlled. In addition, when the number of game balls supplied to the prize ball device 107 is insufficient, the prize ball control board 100D issues a stop signal for stopping the launch device 108 in order to secure a predetermined number of prize balls. Output to.
The symbol display device 22, various display lamps 104, and a speaker 105 are connected to the sub board 100B.
The power supply circuit 109 supplies power to each part of the pachinko machine 1 based on power from an external power supply.

Here, the symbol start switch 101 is constituted by a sensor provided in the start opening 19, and the count switch 102 is constituted by a sensor provided in the special winning opening 20. Further, the continuation switch 103 is configured by a sensor provided in a winning area for continuation of the big hit round in the big winning opening 20, and the winning opening switches 16a to 18a are provided in the winning openings 16 to 18. It is composed of sensors.
Furthermore, the sub board 100B includes a reception interface 112 that receives a signal transmitted from the main board 100A.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the reception interface 112.
Note that FIG. 3 shows the entire communication path from the main board 100A to the sub board 100B via the relay board 100C. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the signal lines connecting the substrates are connected to the substrates by connectors.
In FIG. 3, the reception interface 112 includes resistors 113 and 114, a buffer 115, a filter 116, and a Schmitt trigger circuit 117.

The resistor 113 is provided for setting a low level (L level) of the signal line. That is, the resistor 113 reduces the impedance of the signal line connecting the main board 100A and the sub board 100B. For this reason, it is appropriate that the resistance value of the resistor 113 be a larger resistance value within a range where the high level (H level) and the L level can be determined as the input voltage of the buffer 115.
The resistor 114 is provided to reduce noise input to the buffer 115 described later. Therefore, the resistor 114 can be provided in front of the resistor 113, and noise input to the buffer 115 can be reduced by using a coil or a ferrite bead instead of the resistor 114. .

  The buffer 115 is an element that amplifies the signal transmitted from the main board 100A and increases the power driving capability. That is, the buffer 115 outputs a high level signal when the signal transmitted from the main board 100A is at the H level, and the low level when the signal transmitted from the main board 100A is at the L level. It is comprised by the element which outputs the signal of. Further, the buffer 115 is configured to form a discharge path for discharging the charge accumulated in the capacitor 116b (described later) of the filter 116 when the signal transmitted from the main substrate 100A is at the L level.

  Therefore, an element having a switching function substantially as shown in FIG. 4 can be used as the buffer 115. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a buffer IC (Integrated Circuit) of a totem pole output type, As shown in FIG. 6, an emitter follower type amplifier circuit using a transistor such as an FET (Field Effect Transistor) or a push-pull output type amplifier circuit using a transistor such as an FET as shown in FIG. Is possible.

  The filter 116 reduces the noise included in the output signal of the buffer 115 and outputs it to the Schmitt trigger circuit 117. Specifically, the filter 116 is a low-pass filter configured by a resistor 116a and a capacitor 116b, and reduces high frequency components (noise) included in the output of the buffer 115. When an H level signal is input to the buffer 115, the signal is input to the filter 116, and electric charge is accumulated in the capacitor 116b. When the L level signal is input to the buffer 115, the electric charge accumulated in the capacitor 116 b is discharged through the buffer 115.

In addition to the case where the RC filter is used as the filter 116 as described above, it is also possible to use an LC filter. In this case, the electric charge accumulated in the capacitor is discharged through the buffer 115.
The Schmitt trigger circuit 117 shapes the output signal of the filter 116, eliminates chattering, and transmits the signal to the subsequent circuit of the sub-board 100B.
In FIG. 3, the relay substrate 100C is configured to transmit a signal only in the direction from the main substrate 100A to the sub substrate 100B (ie, the anode is on the main substrate 100A side and the cathode is on the sub substrate 100B side). 30 is provided.

Since the diode 30 can restrict the transmission of a signal from the sub board 100B to the main board 100A, it is possible to prevent an illegal act on the pachinko machine 1 from being performed. Moreover, since the presence of the relay substrate 100C including the diode 30 can be easily confirmed, it can be easily inspected that the pachinko machine 1 has taken measures against unauthorized modification. Moreover, if it is a diode, even a person who is not familiar with the electronic circuit can easily discriminate, and the pachinko machine 1 can be easily inspected.
Returning to FIG. 2, various programs relating to the control of the pachinko machine 1 are stored in the ROM 110 provided in the main board 100 </ b> A.

Next, the operation will be described.
When the power of the pachinko machine 1 is turned on, the main board 100A executes a program stored in the ROM 110, and sends control signals for each control target such as the symbol display device 22, various indicator lamps 104 or the speaker 105 to the relay board 100C. To the sub-board 100B. For example, when the detection signal is input from the symbol start switch 101, the main substrate 100A transmits an instruction signal for displaying the symbols in the symbol display device 22 to the sub substrate 100B via the signal line. Then, based on the instruction signal received from the main board 100A, the sub-board 100B controls the symbol display device 22 so that the symbols are variably displayed in a predetermined pattern in the symbol display area. Similarly, the main board 100A transmits an instruction signal for turning on the various indicator lamps 104 and an instruction signal for emitting sound from the speaker to the sub board 100B via the signal line. Then, based on the instruction signal received from the main board 100 </ b> A, the sub board 100 </ b> B performs control so that the various indicator lamps 104 are lit in a predetermined pattern and music and voice are uttered from the speaker 105.

Here, since the relay board 100C including the diode 30 is installed on the signal line connecting the main board 100A and the sub board 100B, a signal is transmitted only from the main board 100A to the sub board 100B. No signal is transmitted in the direction from the sub board 100B to the main board 100A.
Either the H level signal or the L level signal is switched and transmitted from the main board 100A to the sub board 100B according to the control contents. At this time, the L level signal is set to a low potential by the resistance value of the resistor 113.

In the sub-board 100B to which the control signal is transmitted from the main board 100A, first, the received signal is input to the buffer 115 via the resistor 114 of the reception interface 112.
When the received signal is at the H level, the buffer 115 is in a forward operation state (a state in which charge is output to the filter 116 side).
Then, the noise of the output signal of the buffer 115 is reduced by the filter 116, and the control signal in a state where the noise is reduced is output to the control unit of the sub-board 100B at the subsequent stage.

Further, when the signal received by the sub-board 100B is at the L level, the buffer 115 is in a negative operation state (a state in which charge is input from the filter 116).
Then, the electric charge accumulated in the capacitor 116 b of the filter 116 is discharged through the ground terminal of the buffer 115.
Therefore, while the control signal transmitted from the main board 100A is at the L level, the charges accumulated in the capacitor 116b are quickly discharged, so that a pulse signal is transmitted from the main board 100A to the sub board 100B at short time intervals. can do.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the communication speed from being lowered as compared with the conventional pachinko machine.

As described above, the pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment includes the relay board 100C including the diode 30 between the main board 100A and the sub board 100B, and transmits the control signal to the reception interface 112 of the sub board 100B. A resistor 113 for setting the L level, a buffer 115, and a filter 116 are sequentially provided.
Therefore, by checking the relay substrate 100C, it is possible to easily inspect whether or not measures against unauthorized modification are taken, and while preventing the output current of the main substrate 100A from becoming excessive, the main substrate It is possible to prevent the communication speed between 100A and the sub-board 100B from being lowered than before.

That is, according to the pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to facilitate the inspection of the pachinko machine 1 related to unauthorized modification without affecting the transmission of signals from the main board 100A to the sub-board 100B. Become.
In the present embodiment, the relay substrate 100C is described as including the diode 30, but other elements (for example, a photocoupler or the like) can be used as long as the communication direction can be limited. .

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration when a photocoupler is provided in the relay substrate 100C instead of the diode 30.
Also in the configuration as shown in FIG. 8, a signal is transmitted only in the direction from the main board 100A to the sub board 100B, and no signal is transmitted in the direction from the sub board 100B to the main board 100A.
In general, the signal lines connecting the main board 100A and the sub-board 100B are parallel signal lines including a predetermined number of parallel data signal lines and an interrupt signal line for instructing data fetch timing.

  Therefore, for all these signal lines, it is possible to provide the reception interface 112 with a resistor 113, a buffer 115, and a filter 116 as in this embodiment, and as shown in FIG. Of these, only the interrupt signal line can include a resistor 113, a buffer 115, and a filter 116 as the reception interface 112. In addition, when reading data on the data signal line, it is necessary to take measures against noise by software.

  By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to achieve substantially the same effect as in the above embodiment. That is, since the interrupt signal line is used for timing instruction in communication between the main board and the sub board, only the interrupt signal line is provided with the resistor 113, the buffer 115, and the filter 116 on the reception interface 112 of the sub board 100B. In addition, by applying noise removal processing by software to the reading of the data signal line when the interrupt signal is input, unauthorized modification without affecting the signal transmission from the main board 100A to the sub board 100B It is possible to facilitate the inspection of the pachinko machine 1 related to the above. In this case, such an effect can be realized at a lower cost than in the above embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the signal line for performing communication between the main board 100A and the sub board 100B has been described as an example. However, a signal is transmitted from the main board 100A in one direction. If it is a signal line to be transmitted, a signal line for performing communication between the main board 100A and a board other than the sub board 100B (for example, a signal for transmitting a signal from the main board 100A in FIG. 2 to the prize ball control board 100D). The present invention may be applied to lines and the like.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the game board surface 10 of the pachinko machine 1 to which this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the pachinko machine 1 to which this invention is applied. 3 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a reception interface 112. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a switching function of a buffer 115. FIG. It is a figure which shows the buffer IC of a totem pole output format. It is a figure which shows the emitter follower type | mold amplifier circuit using transistors, such as FET. It is a figure which shows the amplifier circuit of a push pull output format using transistors, such as FET. It is a figure which shows the circuit structure when it replaces with the diode 30 and a photocoupler is provided in the relay substrate 100C. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of providing the resistance 113, the buffer 115, and the filter 116 only about the reception interface 112 of an interrupt signal line. It is a figure which shows a part of communication circuit which connects a main board | substrate and a sub board | substrate. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of providing a relay board | substrate between the main board | substrate of a gaming machine, and a sub board | substrate, and providing the components which regulate communication directions, such as a diode, in this relay board | substrate.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pachinko machine, 10 game board surface, 11 guide rail, 12-15 windmill, 16-18 winning opening, 16a-18a winning opening switch, 19 start opening, 20 big winning opening, 21 out opening, 22 pattern display device, 30 diode , 100A main board, 100B sub board, 100C relay board, 100D prize ball control board, 100E launch control board, 101 design start switch, 102 count switch, 103 continuation switch, 104 various indicators, 105 speaker, 106 Solenoid, 107 prize ball device, 108 launching device, 109 power supply circuit, 110 ROM, 111 RAM, 112 receiving interface, 113, 114, 116a resistance, 115 buffer, 116 filter, 116b capacitor, 117 Schmitt trigger circuit

Claims (3)

A gaming machine comprising a main board that controls the entire gaming machine, and other boards that control each part of the gaming machine according to instructions from the main board,
Installed on a signal line connecting the main board and the other board, comprising a communication direction regulating means for regulating the communication direction from the main board to the other board,
The other board is a receiver that receives a signal from the main board.
A resistor for setting a low level state of the signal line;
A buffer that is installed in a subsequent stage of the resistor, amplifies the power in accordance with the voltage of the signal line, and discharges the current input from the output side;
A filter that includes a capacitive element, reduces noise, and transmits the output signal of the buffer to an internal circuit in a subsequent stage;
Including
The main board and the other board are connected by a plurality of signal lines including an interrupt signal line for instructing data capture timing and a data signal line for transmitting data,
A gaming machine comprising: the resistor, the buffer, and the filter only in a receiving portion of the other substrate corresponding to the interrupt signal line among the plurality of signal lines . Wherein A main substrate and the other substrate, and the interrupt signal line, it is connected by parallel signal lines including said data signal lines of a predetermined number of parallel,
2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the resistor, the buffer, and the filter are provided only in the receiving unit of the other board corresponding to the interrupt signal line among the parallel signal lines.   The gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication direction regulating means includes a diode having an anode connected to the main board side and a cathode connected to the other board side.

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