JP4904428B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine that includes a computer circuit, and more particularly to a gaming machine that can effectively eliminate fraudulent games.

  A ball game machine such as a pachinko machine has a symbol start opening provided on the game board, a symbol display section for displaying a series of symbol variation patterns by a plurality of display symbols, and a big winning opening for opening and closing the opening and closing plate. Configured. When the detection switch provided at the symbol start port detects the passage of the game ball, the winning state is entered, and after the game ball is paid out as a prize ball, the display symbol is changed for a predetermined time in the symbol display section. Thereafter, when the symbol stops in a predetermined manner such as 7-7-7, a big hit state is established, and the big winning opening is repeatedly opened to generate a profit state advantageous to the player.

  In such a ball game machine, in general, a main control board that plays a central role in game control operations and a sub control board that executes individual performance operations based on control commands received from the main control board cooperate. Thus, the above game operation is realized. The sub-control board includes a liquid crystal control board that controls the display operation of the liquid crystal display as a symbol display unit, and a payout control board that pays out game balls based on the control command. Then, a backup power source is provided on the main control board and the payout control board so that the profit state such as the big hit state does not disappear even after the power is cut off, thereby maintaining the profit state for the player.

  By the way, the big prize opening of the ball game machine has a large opening so that the game balls can be won easily and in large quantities in the big hit state. For this reason, there are concerns about illegal acts such as illegally opening a big prize opening using illegal equipment and pouring a large amount of game balls there even though it is not a big hit state.

  Therefore, in order to detect such an illegal act at an early stage, it is conceivable to control the gaming machine to check whether there is an irrational winning at the big winning opening during the normal game (Patent Document 1). In this case, if an unreasonable winning is detected, it is possible to prevent further criminal acts by notifying the fact using voice or video.

JP 2001-300104 A

  However, there is an inevitable delay of about a few seconds from the detection of an unreasonable prize to the notification of illegal activities, and the sub-control board such as a liquid crystal control board does not have a backup power supply, so criminal acts cannot be prevented. there is a possibility. For example, an illegal act is assumed in which a large number of game balls are poured into the big winning opening that is forcibly opened and then the power supply voltage is lowered within a few seconds until the notification operation is started.

  In such a case, even if the main control board detects an illegal action and transmits a control command for illegal notification to the sub-control board, the power is shut off until the control command is validated and illegal notification is issued. Then, after the power supply is restored thereafter, the notification operation is not executed on the sub control board. In other words, after the power supply is restored, the main control board and the payout control board having the backup power supply only restart the payout process and the like after the transmission of the control command, while the sub control board having no backup power supply receives it first. Since the control command has disappeared, it is simply necessary to start the operation in the initial state.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine capable of reliably informing an illegal winning state that cannot be inherently generated. And

In order to achieve the above object, a gaming machine according to the present invention includes a main control unit that is centrally responsible for game control operations, a sub-control unit that executes a rendering operation based on a control command received from the main control unit, The main control unit is configured to be able to resume the game operation before the power cut off after the power is restored by the backup means for maintaining the stored contents of the RAM including the clock timer even after the power supply voltage is cut off. On the other hand, the sub-control unit is configured to start the gaming operation from the initial state after the power supply is restored, and the operation of the main control unit includes a system reset process activated based on the input of the power supply voltage, and every predetermined time. A timer interrupt process that is activated. The timer interrupt process is a first process for acquiring and storing ON / OFF signals of various switches including a winning detection switch arranged on the game board. A second means for determining whether or not an unreasonable ON signal is present in the ON / OFF signal stored by the first means, and the result of the determination by the second means is that an unreasonable ON signal exists. And a third means for initializing the clock timer when detected, and a fourth means for updating the value of the clock timer every predetermined time until the limit value is reached after the clock timer is initialized. The system reset process comprises a fifth means for determining whether or not the operation prior to power shutdown can be resumed based on the stored contents of the RAM maintained by the backup means, and the result of the determination by the fifth means A sixth means for determining whether or not the value of the timekeeping timer has reached the limit value functions when restarting the operation before the shut-off, and as a result of the determination by the sixth means, the value of the timekeeping timer becomes the limit value If not, And having a seventh means for performing a notification process to Le computer, a.

The main control unit is configured to be able to resume the game operation before the power is shut off after the power is restored by the backup means for maintaining the stored contents of the RAM including the clock timer even after the power voltage is shut off. The power-off process necessary for this is not limited to the non-maskable highest priority interrupt process as in the embodiment, but may be a maskable interrupt process. Also, it is not always necessary to perform interrupt processing. For example, at each timer interrupt in the embodiment, the power supply voltage level is checked (flag sensing method), and when this level abnormality is detected, power interruption processing is started. There may be.

  According to the present invention, when an illegal winning state that cannot occur originally occurs, even if the power supply voltage is cut off after that, the abnormality notification operation can be executed based on the measurement result of the time measuring means, Illegal games can be effectively eliminated.

It is a perspective view of the pachinko machine shown in an example. It is the front view which illustrated in detail the game board of the pachinko machine of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the pachinko machine of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the timer interruption process of a main control part. It is a flowchart explaining the system reset process of a main control part. It is a flowchart explaining the backup process of a main control part.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on a ball game machine according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a pachinko machine GM of the present embodiment. This pachinko machine GM includes a rectangular frame-shaped wooden outer frame 1 that is detachably mounted on an island structure, and a front frame 3 that is pivotably mounted via a hinge 2 fixed to the outer frame 1. It is configured. A game board 5 is detachably attached to the front frame 3 from the back side, and a glass door 6 and a front plate 7 are pivotally attached to the front side so as to be freely opened and closed.

  On the outer periphery of the glass door 6, an electric lamp such as an LED lamp is arranged in a substantially C shape. An upper plate 8 for storing game balls for launch is mounted on the front plate 7, and a lower plate 9 for storing game balls overflowing from or extracted from the upper plate 8 and a launch handle 10 are mounted at the bottom of the front frame 3. And are provided. The launch handle 10 is interlocked with the launch motor, and a game ball is launched by a striking rod that operates according to the rotation angle of the launch handle 10.

  A chance button 11 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the upper plate 8. The chance button 11 is provided at a position where it can be operated with the left hand of the player, and the player can operate the chance button 11 without releasing the right hand from the firing handle 10. The chance button 11 does not function normally, but when the game state becomes the button chance state, the built-in lamp is turned on and can be operated. The button chance state is a game state provided as necessary.

  On the right side of the upper plate 8, an operation panel 12 for ball lending operation with respect to the card-type ball lending machine is provided, a frequency display unit for displaying the remaining amount of the card with a three-digit number, and a ball of game balls for a predetermined amount A ball lending switch for instructing lending and a return switch for instructing to return the card at the end of the game are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the game board 5 is provided with a guide rail 13 formed of a metal outer rail and an inner rail in an annular shape, and a liquid crystal color display DISP is provided at the approximate center of the game area 5a inside. Has been placed. In addition, at a suitable place in the game area 5a, a symbol starting port 15, a big winning port 16, a plurality of normal winning ports 17 (four on the right and left sides of the big winning port 16), and a gate 18 serving as two passing ports are arranged. Has been. Each of these winning openings 15 to 18 has a detection switch inside, and can detect the passage of a game ball.

  The liquid crystal display DISP is a device that variably displays a specific symbol related to a big hit state and displays a background image and various characters in an animated manner. This liquid crystal display DISP has special symbol display portions Da to Dc in the center portion and a normal symbol display portion 19 in the upper right portion. The special symbol display portions Da to Dc execute a reach effect that expects a big hit state to be invited, and the special symbol display portions Da to Dc and the surroundings perform a notice effect that informs the result of the determination indefinitely. The

  The normal symbol display unit 19 displays a normal symbol. When a game ball that has passed through the gate 18 is detected, the normal symbol fluctuates for a predetermined time, and the lottery extracted at the time when the game ball passes through the gate 18 is extracted. The stop symbol determined by the random number for use is displayed and stopped.

  For example, the symbol start opening 15 is configured to be opened and closed by an electric tulip having a pair of left and right opening and closing claws 15a. The claw 15a is opened for a predetermined time.

  On the other hand, when a game ball wins at the symbol start port 15, 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 at the symbol start port 15. Stop at the stop symbol. In addition, in special symbol display parts Da-Dc and its circumference, a notice effect may be performed between a series of symbol effects.

The big winning opening 16 is controlled to open and close by, for example, an opening / closing plate 16a that can be opened forward, but when the stop symbol after the symbol change of the special symbol display portions Da to Dc is a big hit symbol such as “777”, the “big hit game” Is started, and the opening / closing plate 16a is opened. There is a specific area 16b inside the big winning opening 16 , and when the winning ball passes through the specific area 16b , a special game advantageous to the player is continued. However, the opening / closing plate 16a is not opened during a normal game that is not a special game, and therefore, a winning in the big winning opening does not occur during the normal game.

  After the opening / closing plate 16a of the big prize opening 16 is opened, the opening / closing plate 16a is closed when a predetermined time elapses or when a predetermined number (for example, 10) of game balls wins. In such an operation, the special game is continued up to 15 times, for example, and is controlled in a state advantageous to the player. In addition, when the stop symbol after the change of the special symbol display parts Da to Dc is a specific symbol of the special symbols, a privilege that the game after the end of the special game is in a high probability state is given. Usually, the big hit by this specific design is called “probable big hit”.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an overall circuit configuration of the pachinko machine GM that realizes the above-described operations. Broken lines in the figure mainly indicate DC voltage lines.

  As shown in the figure, the pachinko machine GM includes a power supply board 20 that receives 24V AC and outputs various DC voltages and a system reset signal SYS, a main control board 21 that is centrally responsible for game control operations, and a main control board 21. The effect control board 22 for executing the lamp effect and the sound effect based on the control command CMD received from the effect interface board 23 for transmitting the signal received from the effect control board 22 to each part, and the effect interface board 23 The liquid crystal control board 24 that drives the liquid crystal display DISP based on the control command CMD ′ and the payout control board 25 that controls the payout motor M based on the control command CMD ″ received from the main control board 21 to pay out the game ball. And a launch control board 26 that launches a game ball in response to a player's operation.

  Here, the main control board 21, the effect control board 22, the liquid crystal control board 24, and the payout control board 25 are each mounted with a computer circuit including a one-chip microcomputer. Therefore, in this specification, the main control board 21, the production control board 22, the liquid crystal control board 24, the circuits mounted on the payout control board 25, and the operations realized by the circuits are collectively referred to as functions. The control unit 21, the production control unit 22, the liquid crystal control unit 24, and the payout control unit 25 may be referred to. All or part of the effect control unit 22, the liquid crystal control unit 24, and the payout control unit 25 are sub-control units.

  As shown in the figure, the main control unit 21 is connected to the command relay board 29 and is connected to each game component of the game board 5 via the game board relay board 27. And while receiving the switch signal of the detection switch built in each winning opening 16-18 on a game board, solenoids, such as an electric tulip, are driven. Note that the switch signal from the symbol start port 15 is received directly by the main control unit 21 without going through the game board relay board 27.

  The main control unit 21 transmits a control command CMD ″ to the payout control unit 25 in one direction, while the payout control unit 25 receives a prize ball count signal indicating a game ball payout operation and a payout operation. The status signal CON related to the abnormality is received, and the status signal CON includes, for example, a replenishment out signal, a payout shortage error signal, and a lower plate full signal.

  By the way, a backup power supply BU of DC 5V is supplied from the power supply board 20 to the one-chip microcomputer of the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 25. Therefore, the data in the built-in RAM of the one-chip microcomputer is retained even after the AC power supply 24V is shut off due to the end of business or a power failure. In this embodiment, the storage contents of the RAM are designed to be retained for at least several days.

  Further, the power supply board 20 is configured to output a voltage drop signal ABN to the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 25 when the AC power supply 24V is shut off. The voltage drop signal ABN is supplied to an NMI (Non Maskable Interrupt) terminal of each one-chip microcomputer. In the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 25, necessary data is saved in the RAM by interrupt processing. Therefore, coupled with the operation of the backup power supply BU described above, the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 25 can resume the operation before the power shutoff at the start of business or at the time of recovery from a power failure. However, since the backup power supply BU is not supplied to the other control boards, the operation in the initial state is started regardless of the operation before the power is shut off at the time of starting business or recovering from the power failure.

In the pachinko machine GM of the embodiment having the above-described configuration, when a game ball is won in the big winning opening 16 during a normal game that is not a big hit state, this is determined as an illegal win and directed to the liquid crystal control unit 24. , To send an illegal winning command. The liquid crystal control unit 24 that has received the illegal winning command displays a large warning character on the liquid crystal display DISP, such as “abnormal winning is detected!”.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the illegal prize ball command CMD output from the main control unit 21 is transmitted to the effect control board 22 via the command relay board 29, and thereafter, the illegal prize ball command CMD ′ is sent to the effect interface board. Then, the data is transferred to the liquid crystal control board 24 via 23. Accordingly, although there is a slight delay between the detection of the illegal winning and the display on the liquid crystal display DISP, in this embodiment, the display operation of the liquid crystal display DISP is started several seconds after the command transmission by the main control unit 21. Designed.

4 to 6 are flowcharts showing a control program of the main control unit 21 including the above-described illegal winning determination process. The control program of the main control unit 21 includes a system reset process (FIG. 5) activated based on the supply voltage and a maskable timer interrupt process (TIMER INT in FIG. 4) activated every predetermined time (2 mS). ) And a non-maskable highest priority interrupt process (NMI interrupt in FIG. 6) activated by a voltage drop signal ABN from the power supply board 20. Note that a Z80 CPU (Zilog) equivalent product is built in the one-chip microcomputer that realizes these processes.

The timer interrupt processing program (TIMER INT) will be described below with reference to FIG. When a timer interrupt occurs, the contents of each register are saved in the stack area (ST20), and then random number generation processing is first performed (ST21). The random number generation processing includes update processing of the winning counter RG and the big hit counter CT used in the lottery operation in the normal symbol processing ST29 and the special symbol processing ST34.

  When the random number generation process (ST21) ends, a timer subtraction process is performed for the timer that manages the time of each game operation (ST22). The timer to be subtracted here is mainly used for managing the opening time of the electric tulip and the special winning opening and other game effect times.

  The timer subtraction process (ST22) also includes a decrement process (-1) for the monitoring timer Te. The monitoring timer Te is a timer variable that counts an elapsed time after the main control unit 21 transmits an illegal winning command after detecting an illegal winning. The value of the monitoring timer Te is decremented until it reaches zero (ST22), and when it reaches zero, the value is maintained. In the present embodiment, based on the value of the timer variable Te, it is determined whether or not 30 seconds have elapsed since the main control unit 21 output the illegal winning command, the details of which will be described later.

  When the timer subtraction process (ST22) is finished, ON / OFF signals of various switches including the winning detection switch of the symbol start opening 15 and the big winning opening 16 are inputted, and the ON / OFF signal is stored in the work area (ST23). ). Subsequently, an illegal winning determination process is executed (ST24).

  In the illegal winning determination process, first, it is determined whether there is an unreasonable ON signal in the ON signal stored in the work area, that is, whether there is an illegal winning (ST40). In this embodiment, since the big prize opening 16 is closed during the normal game that is not in the big hit state, if an ON signal is obtained from the big prize opening 16 during the normal game, it is determined as an illegal prize. Will be.

If it is determined that the prize is illegal, the monitoring timer Te is initialized (ST41). In this embodiment, the elapsed time from the transmission of the illegal winning command is counted by the monitoring timer Te. The monitoring timer Te is, for example, 15000 (= 30 seconds S / S) corresponding to 30 seconds.
2 ms). This is because the display operation on the liquid crystal display DISP is started a few seconds after the main control unit 21 outputs the illegal winning command, so that after 30 seconds, the illegal winning fact is turned around the gaming machine. This is because it is thought that it will be grasped with certainty.

  In any case, after the monitoring timer Te is initialized, an illegal winning command is output from the main control unit 21. The outputted illegal winning command is transmitted to the liquid crystal control board 24 through the route of the command relay board 29 → the effect control board 22 → the effect interface board 23, and the fact of the illegal winning is displayed greatly on the liquid crystal display DISP. The

  Subsequently, an error management process is performed (ST25). The error management process is a determination as to whether or not an abnormality has occurred inside the device, such as whether or not the supply of game balls has stopped or the game balls are clogged. Next, after creating a control command for the payout control board (ST26), the control command generated in each of the above processes is transmitted to the corresponding sub-control board (ST27).

  Next, normal symbol processing is performed on the condition that the current operation mode is not the hit mode (ST29). The normal symbol processing means determination as to whether or not to operate an ordinary electric accessory such as an electric tulip. Specifically, when it is determined from the switch input result of step ST23 that the game ball has passed through the gate, the winning counter RG updated in the random number generation process (ST21) is compared with the winning winning value. Done. If the comparison result is a winning state, the operation mode is changed to the winning operation mode. Also, if it is hit, processing for the operation of the ordinary electric accessory such as an electric tulip is performed (ST31).

  Subsequently, necessary control commands are transmitted to the corresponding sub control board (ST32), and special symbol processing is performed on the condition that the current operation mode is not a big hit (ST34). The special symbol process is a determination as to whether or not to operate the first type special electric accessory such as the special winning opening 16. Specifically, when it is determined from the switch input result of step ST23 that the game ball has passed the symbol start port, the big hit counter CT updated in the random number generation process (ST21) is used as the big win winning value Hit. In contrast to. Then, if the comparison result is a winning state, the operation mode is changed to the big hit mode. Also, if it is a big hit, processing for the operation of the first type special electric accessory such as a big prize opening is performed (ST36).

  Thereafter, the control command generated in each of the above processes is transmitted to the corresponding sub control board. For example, when the special symbol process (ST34) is executed, the symbol change operation is started in the liquid crystal display DISP with the transmission of the control command regardless of the lottery result. In any case, when the process of step ST37 is finished, the register saved in the process of step ST20 is restored (ST38), and the interrupt process is finished. As a result, normally, the routine returns from the interrupt processing routine to the infinite loop processing of the main routine (ST6 in FIG. 5).

  Next, the system reset processing program (main routine) shown in FIG. 5 will be described. The main routine starts when the initialization switch (not shown) is turned off and the power is turned on, such as when recovering from a power outage, and when the pachinko hall is opened. In some cases, the power is turned on by turning on the. Note that the main routine of FIG. 5 is also started after the illegal person temporarily shuts off the power supply of the gaming machine.

In any case, the Z80 CPU first sets itself to the interrupt disabled state, and initializes each part of the one-chip microcomputer including the Z80 CPU core (ST1). The CPU sets itself to interrupt mode 2 (ST2), and then determines the value of the RAM clear signal (ST3). The RAM clear signal is a signal indicating whether or not the contents of the RAM are to be initialized, and has a value corresponding to the ON / OFF state of the initialization switch operated by the attendant. Assuming that the pachinko hall is open and the initialization switch is ON and the power is turned on, following the determination in step ST3, the entire RAM area is cleared to zero and the CPU is executed by executing the EI command. The interrupt enabled state is set (ST5).

  After that, the counter update process is performed in an infinite loop (ST6). The counter to be updated includes a missed symbol counter. This missed symbol counter can be used when the missed symbol determination process in the special symbol process (ST34) in FIG. It is a counter for deciding whether to produce the off-game of such a mode.

  Returning to the determination process of step ST3, when the initialization switch (RAM clear signal) is in the OFF state as in the case of recovery from a power failure state including the case of illegal action, the determination in step ST3 is performed. Subsequently, the contents of the backup flag BFL are determined (ST4). The backup flag BFL is data indicating whether or not the backup data saved in the NMI interrupt processing of FIG. 6 has been restored to the original state. In this embodiment, the backup flag BFL is set in the NMI interrupt processing. 5AH (ST54), and is cleared to zero in the process of step ST12 of FIG.

  If it is now time to recover from a power outage or the like, the content of the backup flag BFL is 5AH in the determination of step ST4 in FIG. Therefore, the CPU next writes 16-bit data read from the SP storage area of the RAM to the stack pointer SP of the CPU (ST7).

  Next, the timer value of the monitoring timer Te provided in the work area of the RAM is determined (ST8). Here, the monitoring timer Te is a timer variable that is initially set to an initial value (= 15000) corresponding to 30 seconds when an illegal winning process is detected in the illegal winning process (ST24 in FIG. 4). The timer value of the monitoring timer Te is decremented (-1) until it becomes zero in the subsequent timer subtraction process (ST22), and stopped at zero. Therefore, Te> 0 is determined in the process of step ST8. In this case, it means that 30 seconds have not elapsed since the transmission of the illegal winning command until the power was turned off.

  The power is turned off at the timing when 30 seconds have not passed since the transmission of the illegal winning command. The illegal actuator stopped energizing the gaming machine in order to prevent the illegal winning notification operation on the liquid crystal display or the like. Very likely. Therefore, in this case, the unauthorized winning command is retransmitted (ST9). As a result of this re-transmission processing, the liquid crystal display DISP will surely execute an illegal winning notification operation. In some cases, an illegal winning notification operation may be performed before the power supply is cut off. However, performing the notification operation again is rather effective in preventing subsequent illegal games.

  Subsequently, the RAM data that was backed up in the NMI process at the time of a power failure is read out, and a backup restoration command is created (ST10). The return commands to be created include those for a payout control board, a symbol control board, and a lamp control board. The return command creation process for the payout control board means a preparatory operation for rechecking the error signal and outputting a control command according to the current state of the gaming machine to the payout control board 25. For example, if the upper plate is full before the power failure, the error state is saved by the backup data, but the player is likely to collect the game balls due to the power failure. Check the current situation.

In addition, in the backup recovery command creation process for the symbol control board and lamp control board, the gaming machine before the power failure may be in a big hit state or in a so-called probable state in which the winning probability is increasing. Therefore, in such a case, it is a process for setting the background color of the liquid crystal display DISP in accordance with the operating state and generating sound effects.

  When the processing of step ST10 is completed, the POP instruction is executed, and the values of the registers (BC, DE, HL) excluding the AF register are restored from the stack area (ST11). As a result of this process, the recovery process after the power failure is completed, so the backup flag BFL is cleared to zero to indicate that (ST12).

Next, the value of the interrupt permission flip-flop is returned to the P / V flag of the Z80 CPU by the POP AF instruction (ST13). As will be described later, in NMI processing, LDA,
After executing the I instruction and setting the value of the interrupt permission flip-flop in the P / V flag, the PUSH AF instruction is executed. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the interrupt voltage is permitted before the power supply voltage is lowered based on the value of the P / V flag after the execution of the POP AF instruction in step ST13.

  Therefore, based on the value of the P / V flag, it is checked whether or not the interruption of the power supply voltage was in the interrupt prohibited state (ST13), and after returning the AF register from the stack area, the interrupt disabled state remains. Either the process is finished (ST15), or the process is returned to the interrupt enabled state and the return process is finished (ST16). By executing the RET instruction in step ST17, the value of the PC (program counter) at the time of the PUSH processing being restored in the stack area is restored, and the processing suspended due to a power failure or the like is resumed. Become.

  FIG. 6A is a flowchart showing the contents of an NMI interrupt processing program that occurs when the power supply voltage drops due to a power failure or the like. It should be noted that this NMI interrupt process is also activated when an illegal acter illegally drops the power supply voltage of the gaming machine.

In the interrupt processing, first, the contents of each register (AF, I, BC, DE, HL) are pushed to the stack area ( ST50 ). Specifically, the PUSH instructions in FIG. 6B are executed in order. When the interrupt vector register I is loaded into the A register (accumulator) by executing the LDA and I instructions, , P / V (parity / overflow flag) is set to the value of the Z80 CPU interrupt permission flip-flop. Therefore, by executing the PUSH AF instruction for the second time, the I register and the F register (P / V flag) in which the value of the permission flip-flop is copied are stored in the stack area.

  When the execution of a group of PUSH instructions is completed in this way, the value of the stack pointer SP at that time is then stored in the SP storage area of the RAM (ST51).

  Subsequently, since there is a case where a prize ball is currently being paid out, the state of the prize ball counting switch is detected and stored (ST52). Note that waiting for a predetermined time (ST53) takes into account the time during which the prize ball being paid out moves. Thereafter, after storing the flag value 5AH in the storage area of the backup flag BFL (ST54), the access to the RAM is prohibited and the power supply voltage drops to wait for the CPU to become inoperative (ST55). After that, the CPU is in an inoperative state, but since the backup power BU is supplied to the RAM, the backed up data continues to be stored as it is. That is, the contents of the RAM are maintained as they are even after the power supply voltage is completely cut off.

Since the pachinko machine of the present embodiment is configured as described above, even if the special winning opening 16 or the like is forcibly opened, the fact is immediately notified, and subsequent illegal acts can be prevented. In order to explain this point, for example, when illegal equipment or the like is used to forcefully open the grand prize opening 16 to pour a large amount of game balls, immediately shut off the power supply voltage, and then restore the power supply voltage think of.

  In such a case, the main control unit 21 detects an illegal winning and immediately transmits an illegal winning command to the liquid crystal control unit 24 (ST42). However, if the power supply voltage is cut off before the fact that the liquid crystal display unit controls the liquid crystal display greatly informs of the fact of the illegal winning, the liquid crystal control unit 24 to which backup power is not supplied will Returning to the state operation, the illegal winning notification operation is not executed.

  However, even in such a case, the main control unit 21 of the present embodiment retransmits the illegal winning command based on the determination in step ST8 (ST9), so the liquid crystal control unit 24 again performs the illegal winning notification operation. Doing so will not succeed in anticipating illegal actors.

  Even if the time from power-off to power-on exceeds 30 seconds, no problem occurs because the count-down operation of the monitoring timer Te does not proceed after power-off. That is, as long as the power is shut off within a predetermined time from the transmission of the illegal winning command, the subsequent time progress is irrelevant.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been specifically described above, the specific description content is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the embodiment, the illegal winning notification process is executed only on the liquid crystal display, but in addition to this, lamp notification for flashing the lamp flashingly or loud sound notification may be executed. For example, there is an example of notifying that “illegal prize has been detected” at a large volume with a flashing lamp.

  It is also preferable to add a notification process to the hall computer at the time of transmission of the illegal winning command in step ST9. In this case, an attendant can be quickly dispatched to the site where the problem occurs.

GM pachinko machine 21 Main control units 24 and 25 Sub-control units ST50 to 55 Backup unit ST40 Detection unit ST42 First output unit ST22 Timing unit ST9 Second output process

Claims (1)

A gaming machine having a main control unit that is centrally responsible for game control operations, and a sub-control unit that executes a rendering operation based on a control command received from the main control unit,
The main control unit is configured to be able to resume the game operation before the power cut off after the power is restored by the backup means that maintains the memory contents of the RAM including the clock timer even after the power supply voltage is cut off. After returning, it is configured to start gaming operations from the initial state,
The operation of the main control unit is realized by having a system reset process activated based on the supply of power supply voltage and a timer interrupt process activated every predetermined time,
Timer interrupt processing
First means for acquiring and storing ON / OFF signals of various switches including a winning detection switch arranged on the game board;
A second means for determining whether an unreasonable ON signal exists in the ON / OFF signal stored by the first means;
If the presence of an unreasonable ON signal is detected as a result of the determination by the second means, a third means for initializing a clock timer;
And a fourth means for updating the value of the time timer until a limit value is reached every predetermined time after the time timer is initialized,
System reset processing
A fifth means for determining whether or not the operation before the power shutdown can be resumed based on the stored contents of the RAM maintained by the backup means;
As a result of the determination by the fifth means, functioning when restarting the operation before the power shutdown, sixth means for determining whether or not the value of the clock timer has reached the limit value;
As a result of the determination by the sixth means, if the value of the clock timer has not reached the limit value, the seventh means for executing notification processing to the hall computer;
A gaming machine characterized by comprising:

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