JP4747380B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a gaming machine .

  Game machines (such as pachinko machines and arrange ball machines) are designed to control the display of power supply boards that distribute power to each device, board, etc., the main control board that controls the entire game machine, and symbols. Usually, a plurality of substrates are provided, such as a sound control substrate for controlling sound emitted from the substrate and speakers. Of these, sub-boards such as symbol control boards and sound control boards often perform control in accordance with signals transmitted from the main control board (Patent Document 1 below). However, there may be a situation in which the power supply to the sub board is stopped during the game due to some cause (for example, disconnection or insertion / removal of the power cable). In this case, if measures such as replacement or insertion of the power cable are taken, the power supply to the sub-board can be resumed, and the game can be continued.

  By the way, some gaming machines can switch between a low-probability mode in a low-probability lottery state and a high-probability mode in a high-probability lottery state. Since the high probability mode is more advantageous to the player than the low probability mode, there are many effects different from the low probability mode. For example, the background color displayed on the liquid crystal display is changed, or characters such as “probability changing” are displayed to produce different effects. Such display control is performed by the above-described symbol control board, and the effect for the high probability mode and the effect for the low probability mode are switched according to the signal transmitted from the main control board.

JP 2000-202126 A

However, if the power supply is temporarily stopped due to disconnection or insertion / extraction of the power cable only for the symbol control board, the symbol control board is reset. This reset is normally set to produce an effect for the low probability mode, so if there is a reset during the high probability mode, the probability mode is different from that of the main control board. Therefore, although the main control board performs control in the high probability mode, the symbol control board performs control in the low probability mode. As a result, the performance for the actual gaming state was inappropriate. This is not limited to the symbol control board, but can also occur in other sub boards such as a sound control board.
This invention is made in view of such a point, and it aims at improving the reliability of a game machine by making the operation | movement of a symbol control board wait until the main control board permits operation | movement .

(Solution 1)
Means 1 for solving the problem is as described in claim 1. Here, the terms described in claim 1 are interpreted as follows. The same applies to the other claims and the detailed description of the invention.
(1) The “first board” is an upper board that controls a lower board, and corresponds to a main control board, for example.
(2) The “second board” corresponding to the lower board corresponds to a control board that can be installed in the gaming machine, such as a symbol control board, a lamp control board, a sound control board, and a prize ball control board. One or more third substrates capable of transmitting signals from the first substrate to the second substrate may be interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate.
(3) “Reset the board” means resetting by turning on the power, pressing the reset button, temporarily disconnecting or removing the power cable.

According to the means 1, as schematically shown in FIG. 1, a first board 1 that performs necessary control relating to a game, and a second board 2 that performs control based on a signal transmitted from the first board 1. And an operation stopping means 6 for stopping the operation of the second substrate 2 until a specific signal is received from the first substrate 1 after the second substrate 2 is reset. When the second substrate 2 is reset, there is a possibility that a contradiction occurs in the control between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, so that the operation stopping means 6 stops the operation of the second substrate 2. In this way, it is possible to prevent a game from being played with a contradiction in control, so that the reliability of the gaming machine can be improved.
(Solution 2)
Means 2 for solving the problem is as described in claim 2. According to the means 2, the notification means 3 that notifies the operation stop of the second substrate 2 is provided. Since the state of the 2nd board | substrate 2 can be grasped | ascertained by the alerting | reporting of the said alerting | reporting means 3, the player 4, a hall attendant, etc. can take an appropriate measure at an early stage.
(Solution 3)
Means 3 for solving the problem is as described in claim 3. According to the means 3, the first substrate 1 that performs the required control relating to the game, the second substrate 2 that performs control based on the signal transmitted from the first substrate 1, and a specific signal from the first substrate 1 And informing means 3 for informing that the system waits until it is received. When the second substrate 2 is reset, there is a possibility that a contradiction occurs in the control between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, so that the notification means 3 notifies the standby state. By notifying the standby state in this way, it is possible to prevent a game from being played with a contradiction in control, so that the reliability of the gaming machine can be improved.
(Solution 4)
The means 4 for solving the problem is as described in claim 4. According to the means 4, the signal transmission means 5 for transmitting a specific signal when the first substrate 1 is reset is provided. When the first substrate 1 is reset, the control state is the same as that of the already reset second substrate 2. Therefore, if the signal transmission means 5 transmits a specific signal, the game can be started (or resumed), and there is no contradiction in the control state between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2.

According to the present invention, since the operation of the symbol control board is made to wait until the main control board permits the operation, the reliability of the gaming machine can be improved.

It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of this invention typically. It is a front view which shows the external appearance of a pachinko machine. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of a main control board and a symbol control board. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a main process and a symbol display process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a main process and a symbol display process. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a symbol display apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a main process and a symbol display process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a main process and a symbol display process.

  This embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a pachinko machine that is one of gaming machines, and will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present specification, “symbol” refers to all symbols that can be displayed on the display unit, and means a symbol group consisting of only a single symbol or two or more single symbols. For example, lottery symbols (special symbols, normal symbols, etc.) consisting of letters (alphanumeric characters, kanji characters, etc.), symbols, symbols, figures (characters, etc.), images, etc., decorative symbols (foreground symbols, background symbols, etc.) It may be a still image or a moving image such as an animation.

  First, FIG. 2 shows an external view of the pachinko machine 10 in a front view. On the game board 12 of the pachinko machine 10, there is a composite device 14 that compositely has a symbol display 18 that can display symbols, a holding ball lamp 20, and the like. Although not shown in the drawing, there are other prize winning openings including a passage opening (including a gate) through which a pachinko ball can pass, a winning opening (including a start opening) through which the pachinko ball can win, and an opening / closing member that can be opened and closed by a solenoid. Mouth, windmill, obstacle nails, etc. are arranged appropriately.

  Below the game board 12, an operation button 30 (operation unit) for instructing the pachinko machine 10, an ashtray 28 for putting cigarette butts, etc., and temporarily storing pachinko balls including prize balls A tray 26, a handle 24 that is operated to fire a pachinko ball, a speaker 32 that is provided inside an upper plate 22 that is a receiving tray for a prize ball and that emits sound (including voice, sound effects, music, etc.), and the like. . Further, lamps 16 (light emitters) arranged at appropriate positions according to game contents of the pachinko machine 10, a ball lending switch 34 for instructing ball lending above the upper plate 22, information such as the remaining card amount Information display 36, a return switch 38 for instructing the return of the card, and the like.

  Next, in response to a main control board 100 that realizes a pachinko game by the pachinko machine 10 and a display command (for example, a signal including a figure to be stopped and a display pattern) received from the main control board 100, the symbol display 18 The symbol control board 200 that displays symbols in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The main control board 100 and the symbol control board 200 are both provided on the back side of the pachinko machine 10, for example.

  A main control board 100 corresponding to the first board 1 is configured around a CPU (processor) 110. The main control board 100 includes a ROM 112 that stores a game control program and required data (for example, jackpot value), a RAM 114 that stores data such as various random numbers and signals, and a main control board that receives signals sent from an input device. An input processing circuit 102 that converts data into a data format that can be processed within 100, an output processing circuit 104 that receives an operation data sent from the CPU 110, and a display data sent from the CPU 110 that receives display data sent from the CPU 110 A display control circuit 106 for controlling (including lighting and blinking), a communication control circuit 116 for sending a required signal to the symbol control board 200, the prize ball control board 300, and the like. All of these components couple to each other on bus 108.

  The input device includes a sensor for detecting the winning or passing of a pachinko ball, the operation button 30 described above, a clear switch 40 for clearing the RAM 114 at startup (power-on, reset, etc.), etc. To do. The installation position of the clear switch 40 is arbitrary, but for example, it is installed on the back side of the pachinko machine 10 so as not to be touched by the player 4. A drive device such as a solenoid or a motor corresponds to the output device. For example, the information display 36 or the like corresponds to the light emitter that the display control circuit 106 performs display control. The communication control circuit 116 can transmit required data to other computers (a hall computer, an island computer, etc.) as necessary.

  Next, the symbol control board 200 corresponding to the second board 2 is configured around the CPU 210 and stores a display control program and required display data (for example, display information corresponding to a display command, various display patterns, etc.). ROM 202, RAM 204 that stores data such as display commands and display information and input / output signals, communication control circuit 206 that receives data sent from the main control board 100 and sends it to the CPU 210, RAM 204, etc., and stores necessary symbols in advance. When receiving a display command or the like, a VDP (Video Display Processor) that includes a character generator 212 that generates symbol data, a VRAM, a palette RAM, and the like, receives display information sent from the CPU 210 and displays the processed symbol on the symbol display 18. ) 214 and the like. All of these components couple to each other on bus 208.

  The CPU 210 executes the display control program stored in the ROM 202 and displays the symbols on the symbol display 18. The communication control circuit 206 can transmit necessary data to a hall computer or the like as necessary. The VDP 214 that has read the design data generated by the character generator 212 performs image editing such as color designation and sprite processing, develops the design data in the VRAM and palette RAM, and finally displays the video signal, synchronization signal, etc. Output to the display 18. Note that the prize ball control board 300 and other computers that control the operation of various devices in response to command signals sent from the main control board 100 are not related to the gist of the present invention, so that specific configurations are illustrated. And the explanation is omitted. Examples of the various devices include a launch device that launches pachinko balls when the handle 24 is operated, and a payout device that pays out pachinko balls for lending or winning balls.

  A procedure executed to realize the present invention in the pachinko machine 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the procedure of the main process realized by the main control board 100 is shown on the left side of the drawing, and the procedure of the symbol display process realized by the symbol control board 200 is shown on the right side of the drawing. The processing continues between FIGS. 4 and 5 via connectors A and B, respectively. In FIG. 4, steps S14 and S20 correspond to processing for realizing the signal transmission means 5, step S32 corresponds to processing for realizing the notification means 3, and step S34 corresponds to processing for realizing the operation stopping means 6. .

  First, in the main process of FIG. 4, when the clear switch 40 is pressed at the start (YES in step S10), or when the clear switch 40 is not pressed but the RAM 114 is not normal (NO in step S10, in step S12). NO), the contents stored in the RAM 114 are cleared [step S16], and an operation permission command is transmitted to the symbol control board 200 [step S20]. The operation permission command corresponds to a specific signal, and is a signal for permitting the operation of the symbol control board 200.

  On the other hand, when the clear switch 40 is not pressed at the time of activation (NO in step S10) and the RAM 114 is normal (YES in step S12), an operation permission command is transmitted to the symbol control board 200 as in step S20. [Step S14] A power recovery process is executed [Step S18]. The power recovery process sets a register in the CPU 110, a program counter, etc., or transmits necessary data to the symbol control board 200 in order to return to the state at the time of the power failure corresponding to the case where the game is resumed after the power failure. Or preparing the movable member as necessary.

  Next, in the symbol display process of FIG. 4, when the power is turned on or the reset button is pressed, initial setting is performed [step S30], and operation standby is performed to wait for the operation of the symbol control board 200 until an operation permission command is received. An effect is performed [step S32]. As the initial setting, for example, the RAM 204 is cleared or the VDP 214 is initialized. The operation standby effect may be any effect as long as it can be recognized that the operation is waiting. However, for example, the display on the black screen (that is, the content is not displayed) or the symbol display 18 as shown in FIG. A mode in which the message 50 “Please wait” is displayed. Note that operation waiting may be notified to other computers (a hall computer, an island computer, etc.) through an external output terminal. By this notification, the hall (game hall) side can quickly find out that an abnormality has occurred in the symbol control board 200, so that the measures for recovery can be performed quickly.

  Returning to FIG. 4, when the operation permission command transmitted from the main control board 100 is received (YES in step S <b> 34), a display standby effect is performed in order to wait for the display on the symbol display 18 until the symbol display command is received. Perform [Step S36]. The display standby effect may be any effect as long as it can recognize that the active symbol control board 200 is waiting for the display, but for example, as shown in FIG. A mode in which the message 52 “medium” is displayed corresponds to this. Note that display standby may be notified to another computer through the external output terminal. By this notification, the hall side can accurately grasp the state of the symbol control board 200.

  Turning to FIG. 5, the main processing on the left side of the drawing shows the procedure of the part related to the symbol display. That is, it detects whether or not the pachinko ball has reached a specific state such as winning a starting opening [step S22], and a symbol display command for specifying a symbol to be displayed according to the reached state is displayed. The created symbol display command is transmitted to the symbol control board 200 [step S26]. By repeatedly executing the processes of steps S22 to S24 when the detection timing (for example, every 4 milliseconds) is reached [step S28], a display command in accordance with the gaming state can be issued to the symbol control board 200. it can.

  On the other hand, in the symbol display process on the right side of the drawing, the process waits until a symbol display command transmitted from the main control board 100 is received [step S38]. When the symbol display command is received (YES), the contents of the symbol display command are analyzed to generate display information [step S40], and the symbol is displayed on the symbol display 18 based on the generated display information [step S42. ]. By repeatedly executing the processes in steps S38 to S42 when the display timing (for example, every 1/60 seconds) is reached [step S48], various design effects can be realized.

  When the main process and the symbol display process described above are executed, the procedure shown in FIG. 4 (steps S10 to S20, steps S30 to S36) is executed at the time of activation, and each substrate is reset. That is, the game information as data for grasping the current game situation is deleted for one or both of the RAM 114 and the RAM 204 (storage medium) shown in FIG. Further, during the game, the procedure shown in FIG. 5 (steps S22 to S28, steps S38 to S48) is executed, and the symbol display on the symbol display 18 can be realized. Here, if the power supply is temporarily stopped only for the symbol control board 200 during the game, for example, due to disconnection or insertion / extraction of the power cable, the symbol control board 200 is reset. This reset is normally set to display a symbol for the low probability mode. Therefore, if there is a reset during the high probability mode (such as probability fluctuation or short time in the example of the pachinko machine 10), it differs from the main control board 100. It becomes the probability mode. However, if there is a contradiction in the control between the main control board 100 and the symbol control board 200, the symbol control board 200 stops operating until an operation permission command is received from the main control board 100 (step S34 in FIG. 4). Therefore, the reliability of the pachinko machine 10 can be increased. Further, when an operation permission command is transmitted to the symbol control board 200 by resetting the main control board 100 later (steps S14 and S20 in FIG. 4), both boards are in the same control state. Therefore, the game can be started.

  In the embodiment described above, the standby effect is performed separately from the display of the symbol (steps S32 and S36 in FIG. 4), but the standby effect is performed together with the display of the symbol by the procedure shown in FIGS. May be. The standby effect corresponds to at least one of the operation standby effect and the display standby effect, or other effects. 7 and 8 are procedures in place of FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, and the same elements as those used in FIG. 4 and FIG. The processing continues between FIGS. 7 and 8 via connectors A, B, and C, respectively. Therefore, a procedure different from FIGS. 4 and 5 will be described.

  The procedure shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 differs from the procedure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in the symbol display process. In FIG. 7, in the initial setting, the permission flag is turned off [step S30], and only when the operation permission command is received from the main control board 100 (YES in step S34), the permission flag is turned on [step S35]. The permission flag is a flag for identifying whether or not the display of the symbol is permitted without the standby effect. Moving to FIG. 8 and displaying symbols [step S42], only when the permission flag is off (YES in step S44), a standby effect as shown in FIG. 6C is performed [step S46]. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 6C, a message 60 “waiting” is displayed together with the left symbol variation 54, the middle symbol variation 56, and the right symbol variation 58 as the symbol display. Since this message 60 is not displayed after receiving the operation permission command from the main control board 100 (steps S35 and S44), it can be determined at a glance whether or not there is a contradiction in control.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, the following effects (a1) to (a4) can be obtained.
(A1) When the symbol control board 200 (second board 2) is reset by turning on the power, pressing the reset button, temporarily disconnecting or inserting the power cable, etc., the main control board 100 (first board 1) is operated. The operation of the symbol control board 200 is stopped until the permission command (specific signal) is received {operation stopping means 6; see step S34 in FIG. 4}. Therefore, since it is possible to prevent a game from being played with a contradiction in control, the reliability of the pachinko machine 10 (game machine) can be improved.
(A2) The stop of the operation of the symbol control board 200 is notified {see step S32 in FIG. 4}. Since the state of the symbol control board 200 can be grasped by the notification of the operation stop, the player 4 or the hall staff can take appropriate measures at an early stage.

(A3) Notification of waiting until an operation permission command is received from the main control board 100 {notification means 3; see steps S32 in FIG. 4, steps S34 and S35 in FIG. 7, and steps S44 and S46 in FIG. 8} . By notifying the standby state in this way, it is possible to prevent a game from being played with a contradiction in control, so that the reliability of the pachinko machine 10 can be improved.
(A4) When the main control board 100 is reset, the operation permission command is transmitted only once {signal transmission means 5; see steps S14 and S20 in FIG. 4}. When the main control board 100 is reset, the control state is the same as that of the already-reset symbol control board 200. Therefore, if an operation permission command is transmitted to the symbol control board 200, the game can be started (or resumed), and there is no contradiction in the control state between the main control board 100 and the symbol control board 200.

[Other Embodiments] In the pachinko machine 10 (game machine) described above, the structure, shape, size, material, arrangement, operating conditions, etc. of other parts are not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the following embodiments (b1) to (b5), to which the above embodiment is applied, can also be implemented.
(B1) In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the pachinko machine 10. In place of this form, a gaming machine other than a pachinko machine (for example, a slot machine, an arrange ball machine, a sparrow ball game machine, a video game machine, etc.) having a first board 1 and a second board 2 Similarly, the present invention can be applied to. Even in the case of the other gaming machines, when there is a contradiction in the control between the first board 1 and the second board 2, in principle, a game cannot be performed, so that the reliability of the gaming machine is improved.

  (B2) In the above embodiment, the main control board 100 is applied as the first board 1 and the symbol control board 200 is applied as the second board 2 {see FIG. 3}. Instead of this form, the present invention can be similarly applied to any board in which the relationship between the upper board and the lower board that performs control based on a signal transmitted from the upper board is established. For example, when the main control board 100 is the first board 1, the prize control board 300, the lamp control board that controls the display of the lamps 16, the holding ball lamp 20, and the like, and the sound control board that controls the sound emitted from the speaker 32. Or the like can be applied as the second substrate 2. In this case, an operation standby effect or a display standby effect is performed by displaying the lamps 16, the holding ball lamp 20, or the like, or a sound emitted from the speaker 32. For example, when the winning ball control board 300 is the upper board and the lending control board that performs control related to the lending of the ball lending machine (CR unit) is the lower board, the main control board 100 or the winning ball control board Reference numeral 300 corresponds to the first substrate 1, and the ball lending control substrate corresponds to the second substrate 2. Even in these forms, when there is a contradiction in control between the upper board and the lower board, in principle, a game cannot be performed, so the reliability of the pachinko machine 10 can be improved.

  (B3) In the above embodiment, the operation permission command is applied as the specific signal {see FIG. 4}. Instead of this form, any signal may be applied as long as the operation of the symbol control board 200 can be stopped or the operation of the symbol control board 200 can be put on standby. For example, a symbol display command for performing demonstration on the symbol display 18 at the time of activation may be applied. Even when such a signal is used, it is possible to prevent a game from being played with a contradiction in control, so that the reliability of the pachinko machine 10 can be improved.

  (B4) In the above embodiment, when the symbol control board 200 is reset through human operation, such as when the power is turned on, when the reset button is pressed, or when the power cable is temporarily disconnected or disconnected, the symbol is concerned. The operation of the control board 200 was stopped {see FIG. 4}. Instead of (or in addition to) this form, the present invention is similarly applied when the symbol control board 200 is reset as a result without human intervention (for example, when the symbol control board 200 is reset by external noise). Can be applied. Thus, even if the symbol control board 200 is accidentally reset, it is possible to prevent a game from being played with a contradiction in control, so that the reliability of the pachinko machine 10 can be improved.

  (B5) In the above embodiment, the signal transmission means 5 (steps S14 and S20 in FIG. 4) is realized by the main control board 100, and the operation stop means 6 (step S34 in FIG. 4) is realized by the symbol control board 200. . Instead of this form, it is also possible to realize on a substrate other than the realized substrate. For example, a signal line for instructing operation / stop of the symbol control board 200 may be connected between the main control board 100 and the symbol control board 200, and the operation stop means 6 may be realized by the main control board 100. Even in this case, it is possible to prevent a game from being played with a contradiction, so that the reliability of the pachinko machine 10 can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st board | substrate 2 2nd board | substrate 3 Notification means 4 Player 5 Signal transmission means 6 Operation stop means 10 Pachinko machine (game machine)
16 Lamps 18 Symbol display (notification means)
20 Reservation ball lamp 32 Speaker 36 Information display 40 Clear switch 100 Main control board (first board)
110, 210 CPU
112,202 ROM
114,204 RAM
200 Design control board (second board)
212 Character generator 214 VDP
300 prize ball control board

Claims (1)

In a gaming machine comprising a main control board for performing a required control for a game and a symbol control board for effect display of a symbol display based on a command transmitted from the main control board ,
The main control board is configured to perform a power-on process that is performed when power is turned on, and an operation instruction process that is performed after the power-on process to perform an operation instruction to the symbol control board.
In the power-on process,
When the clear switch for initializing the RAM of the main control board is pressed or when it is determined that the contents of the RAM are not normal without the clear switch being pressed, the RAM is initialized and then the clear When it is determined that the contents of the RAM are normal without the switch being pressed, an operation permission command is transmitted to the symbol control board after this determination,
In the operation instruction process,
A symbol display command for specifying a symbol to be displayed on the symbol display according to the detected gaming state is transmitted to the symbol control board,
The symbol control board performs an initial setting in response to the reset of the symbol control board being performed, and then performs an independent process without using a signal from the main control board, and the reset is performed in the symbol display unit. There is an operation standby means for performing an operation standby effect to display a message indicating that the recovery operation caused by
And when this operation standby means receives the operation permission command transmitted from the said main control board, it switches to the message display different from the said operation standby production made with the said symbol display,
And this different message display is a display standby effect informing that the display of the symbol is in standby, and this display standby effect is executed by executing the operation instruction process after the operation permission command is issued. A gaming machine characterized in that it is made until the symbol display command output from the main control board is transmitted to the symbol control board .

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