JP5120931B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device that controls gaming machines such as slot machines and pachinko machines.

  Control of gaming machines such as slot machines and pachinko machines is performed by distributed control of a main control board for controlling the overall progress, an effect control board for controlling effects such as sound output, lamp lighting, and image display ( Patent Document 1). The main control board and the effect control board are each configured as a microcomputer including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like.

  In a control board of a gaming machine, particularly a main control board, various restrictions are provided to prevent fraud. For example, the CPU is not a general-purpose CPU but a CPU provided with a security function peculiar to a gaming machine. In addition, the ROM and RAM capacities are also limited. With pachinko machines, the control program on the main control board is within 3 kilobytes (KB) and the data is within 3 KB. There are restrictions.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-8483

However, control of gaming machines tends to become more complex year by year in order to increase interest.
For example, in a conventional pachinko machine, an electronic lottery using a random number is performed in a model called the first type, and a mechanical movable unit is operated in a model called the second type, and a game on the movable unit is performed. The lottery has been done by a method of determining whether or not to win by the movement of the ball. On the other hand, in recent years, a model called a multi-function machine has appeared, and a lottery in which the above-described first type and second type are combined is performed. In this case, the main control board needs to have a control program capable of performing both the first type and the second type lottery.

The above-mentioned tendency is the same for gaming machines other than pachinko machines, and the gaming machines are required to execute more complicated control processing under severe restrictions on programs and data amount.
In view of these problems, the present invention has an object to reduce the program capacity of a gaming machine.

The present invention is directed to a gaming machine that plays a game using a predetermined game medium directly or indirectly. Examples of such a gaming machine include a swivel type gaming machine such as a slot machine, a smart ball, and a pachinko machine. A game medium refers to a medium such as a game ball or medal that is a target of investment or privilege during a game.
The gaming machine has a main control device that integrally controls the progress of the game. In addition, an effect device for performing an audiovisual effect during the game and a payout device for paying out game media to the player under predetermined conditions are provided. Examples of the production device include a speaker for sound output, a lamp, and an image display device. The gaming machine is provided with a low-order control device that controls at least a part of the effects and payouts according to the instruction information from the main control device. Examples of the lower control device include an effect control device that controls voice output and display. The subordinate control device is configured as hardware different from the main control device, and receives instruction information from the main control device via an input / output port described later. Further, depending on the type of gaming machine, a payout control device that controls payout of game media may be provided as one of the lower-level control devices.

The main controller in the gaming machine of the present invention is configured as a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The ROM stores a control program that the CPU executes for integrated game control. The RAM functions as a memory for storing various information used for control. Such information includes, for example, a work for passing processing results and the like between the modules in the control program, a stack for the CPU to temporarily store the calculation results during the calculation, and the like.
The main control device is also provided with an input / output port for inputting / outputting signals to / from the outside including the lower control device in the integrated control. Here, I / O port is a generic term for a terminal that connects an external signal line, a buffer that temporarily stores signals input / output from the terminal, and a decoder that switches the input / output destination of each signal. Use. The signal input / output destination can be specified by an address as in the memory.

Commands used by the CPU include a memory access command and an input / output port access command. The memory access command is a command used for accessing the memory, and this command includes designation of an address value of 2 bytes or more. The input / output port access command is a command used for input / output of signals from / to the outside, and has a command system in which the address value for designating the input / output destination is one byte or less than the memory access command. For example, when the memory access command has a command system for specifying an address with 2 bytes, the input / output port access command has a command system for specifying an address with 1 byte.
In the case of Z80 (trademark) CPU, a load / store command corresponds to a memory access command, and an in / out command corresponds to an input / output port access command. The load / store command specifies an address with 2 bytes, and the in / out command specifies an address with 1 byte.

The main control device further includes an area division determination unit. The area classification determination unit switches the access destination to the RAM and the input / output port based on the address value specified by the input / output port access command, and outputs a selector signal that activates either the RAM or the input / output port. Play. The input / output port access command is a command that is normally used for data exchange through the input / output port. In the present invention, a part of the address space specified by the command is used for accessing the RAM. . The area classification determination unit determines whether the address specified by the command is an address assigned to the RAM or the input / output port, and outputs a selector signal according to the determination result. This selector signal is input to the RAM and the input / output port, respectively, and makes each unit accessible.
From the CPU, an input / output port request signal that designates a target to operate according to the input / output port access command is input to the area classification determination unit. Therefore, the above-described function of the area classification determination unit is effective when the CPU outputs an input / output port access command such as an in / out command.

  The main control device is further provided with a memory area decoding unit. The memory area decoding unit has a function of outputting a memory select signal for activating either the ROM or RAM to be accessed based on the address value specified by the memory access command. From the CPU, a memory request signal that designates an object to be operated in accordance with a memory access command is input to the memory area decoding unit, and the above-described function becomes effective when the CPU outputs a memory access command.

In the gaming machine of the present invention, the CPU of the main control device can access a partial area of the RAM by an input / output port access command by the function of the area classification determination unit. The address for designating the access destination can be one byte or more less for the input / output port access command than for the memory access command. Therefore, by using an input / output port access command instead of a memory access command at a location where access to the RAM is required, the program capacity can be reduced by 1 byte or more per location. Access to the RAM is a process performed many times in the entire program. Therefore, in the gaming machine of the present invention, the capacity of the entire program can be significantly reduced by the above-described action. Hereinafter, of the RAM area, an area accessible by the input / output port access command is referred to as a pseudo RAM area.
In addition, since the main control device is also provided with a memory area decoding unit, it is possible to access the RAM also by a memory access command. The pseudo RAM area is only a part of the address space for the input / output port, but if the memory access command is used, the entire area of the RAM can be accessed. Therefore, it is possible to use the RAM area without waste by the memory access command while reducing the program capacity by accessing the RAM by the input / output port access command.
As described above, in the main controller of the present invention, the RAM area is divided into a pseudo RAM area accessible by both the memory access command and the input / output port access command, and an area accessible only by the memory access command. Become.

In the present invention, the CPU clears a RAM clear process as one of the control processes executed in accordance with the control program stored in the ROM. This is because the CPU determines whether or not a RAM clear condition for setting a predetermined continuous area of 2 bytes or more in the RAM to an initial state is satisfied, and writes a predetermined initialization value in the continuous area when the RAM clear condition is satisfied. It is a process to initialize by. The continuous area is preferably the entire area of the RAM, but may be a partial area.
The initialization value is written into the RAM using a memory access command including an area accessible by the input / output port access command, that is, a pseudo RAM area. Writing the same value to the continuous area of the RAM can be realized by a loop for writing the same value while sequentially updating the address. If the I / O port access command and the memory access command are used separately in the pseudo-RAM area and other areas, the commands in the pseudo-RAM area and the other areas are processed in separate loops because the commands are different. Will be. On the other hand, if the memory access command is also used for the pseudo RAM area, the RAM can be cleared in a single loop for the entire continuous area, and thus the program size can be suppressed.
However, the above-described configuration is not essential, and it is possible to adopt a configuration in which an input / output port access command is used for the pseudo RAM area and a memory access command is used for writing to other areas.

The initialization value in the RAM clear process can be arbitrarily set. For example, the value 00H may be written in hexadecimal.
In addition, in the gaming machine, there is a case where a lottery is performed while the game is in progress, and a process for making it easy to receive payout of the game medium is included when a big hit is made. For example, in the integrated control of the game, a lottery process is performed at a predetermined timing to determine whether or not the jackpot is based on a predetermined jackpot determination random number. This is realized by performing a jackpot control process that realizes a gaming state in which a game medium is more likely to be paid out than in the above case. When lottery is performed in this way, the initialization value may be set avoiding the value of the jackpot determination random number when the jackpot is reached. By doing so, it is possible to avoid making a jackpot determination by mistake even when data is read from a RAM area that is not originally intended due to tampering with the control program or noise.

The RAM clear process may be performed on the entire area of the RAM or only on a part thereof.
For example, when the RAM area includes an unused area that is not scheduled to be used in the integrated control, the unused area may be excluded from the RAM clear process. By doing so, there is an advantage that the load of the RAM clear process is reduced as the area to which the initialization value is written is reduced by the RAM clear process.

As an example of excluding an unused area from RAM clear processing, information used when a predetermined range continuous from the head address of the RAM executes a control process based on a control program stored in the ROM, ie, a work piece. In this case, the RAM clear process may be performed on a work.
In addition to the above-described work, the RAM area excluding the unused area is utilized for a variable-size stack for temporarily storing data when the CPU executes a control program, for example. When the RAM clear process is performed on a workpiece, the stack may be included in the RAM clear target or may be excluded. In the aspect excluded from the RAM clear target, the target area of the RAM clear process can be further reduced, so that the load of the RAM clear process can be further reduced.
Furthermore, if it is permitted in the control processing, only a part of the work may be set as the target of initialization. For example, it is conceivable that only a main work that determines a game operation such as a special symbol, a normal symbol, a special electric accessory control, or a normal electric accessory control is targeted for initialization.

  Although it is possible for the CPU to perform the RAM clearing process in a subroutine, it is preferable to perform the RAM clearing process within the same process as the determination process for determining whether or not the clear condition is satisfied without depending on the subroutine. As described above, the RAM clear process can be realized by a relatively simple loop process. When such a process is converted into a subroutine, in order to execute the subroutine, a process such as storing the return address after completion of the subroutine in the stack is required, and the RAM clear process takes time. If it is performed in the same process as the determination process, such waste can be suppressed and the RAM can be efficiently cleared.

In the present invention, among the address values specified by the input / output port, various settings can be made in the pseudo RAM area, but it is preferable to assign a predetermined range including the head address. At this time, the area classification determination unit determines that the access destination is the RAM when an address within a predetermined range from the head address is specified, and determines the input / output port in other cases.
In gaming machines, fraud prevention is achieved by continuously setting RAM areas used as work without providing empty areas (unused areas) from the top address. For this reason, in the above-described aspect, by providing the pseudo RAM area from the start address of the RAM area, the pseudo RAM area can be used as a work without waste.

The area classification data used by the area classification determination unit to determine the access destination may be incorporated in hardware or may be configured in software. In the latter example, the area division determination unit may be provided with an area division data storage unit for storing area division data, and the CPU may set the area division data in the area division data storage unit when the CPU is activated.
As the area division data, for example, the boundary address of the pseudo RAM area can be used. For example, the boundary start address and end address may be used. Also, the start address and the capacity of the pseudo RAM area may be used. If it is known that the pseudo RAM area starts from the top address, only the final address or the capacity of the pseudo RAM area can be used as the area division data.
If the area division data can be set by software, there is an advantage that the pseudo RAM area can be provided with the optimum size relatively easily according to the model and processing contents.

In the present invention, when the memory area decoding unit is provided, an input / output port select signal for activating the input / output port may be output based on the upper predetermined digit indicated by the address or the entire address. The input / output port select signal is transmitted to the input / output port.
By doing so, signals can be exchanged from the input / output port by the memory access command. If a part or all of the input / output ports are accessed by the memory access command, the pseudo RAM area that can be accessed by the input / output port access command can be increased accordingly. If all the input / output ports are accessed by the memory access command, the entire address space that can be specified by the input / output port access command can be set as the pseudo RAM area. According to this aspect, it is possible to flexibly set the most effective pseudo RAM area size in terms of the program size reduction effect.

  In the present invention, the above-described features are not necessarily all provided, and some of them may be omitted or combined as appropriate. The above-described features can be applied not only to the main control device but also to the payout control device.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
A. Device configuration:
B. Circuit configuration of main control board 110:
B1. Hardware configuration:
B2. Assignment of work to RAM 116:
C. Control processing:
C1. Main control side power-on processing:
C2. Clear all RAM area:
C3. Main control timer interrupt processing:
C4. Sub-integration processing:
C5. Discharge control board control processing:
D. Program capacity reduction effect:
E. Modification of main control board 110:

A. Device configuration:
In an Example, the example at the time of comprising as a pachinko machine is shown.
A pachinko machine as an embodiment is a gaming machine that receives a prize ball by firing a game ball corresponding to a game medium and winning a prize in a prize opening provided on the game board.
In the case where the pachinko machine is a type called a first type or a multi-function machine, an electronic lottery using random numbers is performed when a game ball wins a winning opening called a start winning opening. As a result of the lottery, the big winning opening provided on the game board opens and closes a predetermined number of times for a predetermined period and shifts to an advantageous gaming state (hereinafter referred to as a “hit game”) that is easy to receive a prize ball. .
When the pachinko machine is the second type or the multi-function machine, a mechanism for mechanically determining the winning of the lottery by the movement of the game ball is provided. Even in this case, when a jackpot occurs, the game shifts to a jackpot game corresponding to the model.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control hardware configuration of a pachinko machine 1 as an embodiment. The pachinko machine 1 is controlled by distributed processing of each control board such as the main control board 110, the payout control board 210, the sub-control board 310, and the decorative design control board 350. The main control board 110 is mounted with a one-chip microcomputer equipped with a CPU, RAM, ROM and the like, and realizes various control processes according to programs recorded in the ROM. The same applies to the payout control board 210 and the sub-control board 310.
In this embodiment, the sub-control board 310 and the decorative design control board 350 are configured as separate boards, but may be a board in which both are integrated. In this case, the function of the sub control board 310 and the function of the decorative design control board 350 may be realized by distributed processing of a plurality of CPUs, or may be realized by a single CPU.
Also, the main control board 110 and the payout control board 210 are not separate boards, and can be configured as an integrated board.

In the pachinko machine 1 of the embodiment, input from the outside to the main control board 110 is restricted in order to prevent various frauds. The main control board 110 and the sub control board 310 are connected by a unidirectional parallel electric signal, and the main control board 110 and the payout control board 210 are connected by a bi-directional serial electric signal for the necessity of control processing. Yes.
The payout control board 210 and the sub control board 310 operate in response to commands from the main control board 110, respectively. The decorative design control board 350 operates in response to a command from the sub control board 310.

The pachinko machine 1 also has a mechanism that is directly controlled by the main control board 110. In the figure, as an example of devices controlled by the main control board 110, in the jackpot game, the big winning opening solenoid 43 for driving the big winning opening and the special symbol display device 41 are illustrated. The special symbol display device 41 is a device that displays the result of the lottery performed by the main control board 110 during the game in a lighting state of a predetermined number of LEDs.
Although not shown, the main control board 110 can also control the display of a normal symbol display device, a special symbol hold lamp, a normal symbol hold lamp, a jackpot type display lamp, a status display lamp, and the like.

  Further, detection signals from various sensors are input to the main control board 110 in order to control the operation during the game. In the figure, the input from the winning detector 42 is illustrated as an example. The winning detector 42 is a sensor for detecting a winning at the start winning opening. The main control board 110 can perform the jackpot game by performing the lottery described above in accordance with the signal from the winning detector 42. Various other inputs are made to the main control board 110, but the description is omitted here.

Other controls during the game are performed via the payout control board 210 and the sub-control board 310.
The payout control board 210 controls the launch and payout of the game ball being played in the following procedure.
The launch of the game ball is directly controlled by the launch control board 47. That is, when the player operates a launching handle provided on the front of the gaming machine, the launch control board 47 controls the launch motor 49 according to the operation to launch a game ball. The game ball is fired only under a situation where the touch detection unit 48 detects that the player is touching the handle. The payout control board 210 indirectly controls the launch of the sphere by sending a launch control signal to the launch control board 47.

  When a command indicating that a prize has been won during the game is received from the main control board 110, the payout control board 210 controls the payout motor 21 in the prize ball payout device 20, and defines the number of balls by the payout ball detector 22. Pay out a number of balls. The operation of the payout motor 21 is monitored by the motor drive sensor 23. When an abnormality such as a ball bit or a ball break is detected, the payout control board 210 displays an error code on the display unit 4a. When an error is displayed, it can be recovered by operating the operation switch 4b after the attendant at the game hall has removed the abnormality.

The sub control board 310 controls effects such as voice, display, and lamp lighting during the game. The sub-control board 310 is configured as a microcomputer including a CPU, RAM, and ROM for executing these controls. These effects vary according to the status during the game, such as during normal times, when winning a prize, or when winning a big hit. When an effect command corresponding to each status is transmitted from the main control board 110, the sub-control board 310 activates a program corresponding to each command to realize the effect instructed from the main control board 110. .
Sound and lamp lighting are directly controlled by the sub-control board 310, but the display on the LCD 16 is controlled via the decorative design control board 350.

The lamps to be controlled by the sub-control board 310 include the panel decoration lamp 12 provided on the game board surface and the frame decoration lamp 31 provided on the frame. The sub-control board 310 is connected to the panel decoration lamp 12 and the frame decoration lamp 31 via the lamp relay boards 32 and 34, and can blink each lamp individually.
Although not shown, the sub-control board 310 includes a sound source IC and an amplifier in order to control the speaker 29. When the CPU determines the sound to be output from the speaker 29 and outputs a sound output command, the sound source IC reproduces the specified sound source data prepared in advance, amplifies it with an amplifier, and outputs it from the speaker 29.

In addition to the effects during the game, the sub-control board 310 outputs an alarm sound or turns on a lamp for warning when an error, an illegal act or other abnormality occurs, and notifies the occurrence of the abnormality. To do. A notification sound is similarly output when a RAM clear switch for erasing the contents of the RAM of the main control board 110 is operated.
As the alarm sound, for example, a buzzer sound that is clearly different from the sound effect during the game can be used. As the warning lamp lighting, for example, lighting and blinking can be performed in a mode clearly different from that during the game, for example, the entire periphery of the game board blinks red.

B. Circuit configuration of main control board 110:
B1. Hardware configuration:
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a circuit configuration of the main control board 110. As described above, on the main control board 110, a one-chip microcomputer including a CPU 111, a RAM 116, and a ROM 114 is mounted. In the figure, a circuit for the CPU 111 to access the RAM 116 and the ROM 114 and a circuit for performing external input / output (I / O) are shown.
In the present embodiment, the CPU 111 is provided with a security function. Security functions include, for example, a function for determining whether a built-in ROM is a genuinely certified ROM, or a reset is generated internally when access is made to areas other than a predetermined area. A function, a function that can read out a built-in ID code, data stored in a ROM, or the like from a terminal provided outside the CPU can be given.
Further, according to the gaming machine standard, the program capacity is 3 KB or less and the data capacity is 3 KB or less.
In the circuit of this embodiment, in order for the CPU 111 to access the RAM 116, in addition to a command for accessing a normal memory area called a load / store command, a command for accessing an I / O called an in / out command is also provided. The configuration is usable. In the following, first, the outline of the circuit configuration will be shown, and then the operation will be described.

  The CPU 111 outputs various signals shown in the figure via the bus buffer 112. Addresses A15 to A0 are 16-bit signals. A15 to A8 may be referred to as an upper address, and A7 to A0 may be referred to as a lower address. The data bus has 8 bits D7 to D0. RD / WR is a read / write control signal (hereinafter also referred to as “read / write”). IOREQ is a 1-bit signal that becomes active when an I / O is accessed, and MREQ is a 1-bit signal that becomes active when a memory is accessed.

  The memory area decoder 113 is a circuit that relays access to the memory. From the memory area decoder 113, a chip selector signal MCS2 for enabling access to the ROM 114 and a chip selector signal MCS1 for enabling access to the RAM 116 are output. The chip selector signal MCS1 is input to the RAM 116 via the selection unit 115.

The area classification determination unit 120 is a circuit for enabling access to the RAM 116 by in / out commands. In the area classification determination unit 120, area classification data 121 serving as a reference for classifying whether the in / out command means access to the I / O or the access to the RAM 116 is stored. Stored. For this data, a fixed value may be incorporated in advance by hardware, but in this embodiment, the reference value stored in the ROM 114 is read and set at the time of activation.
From the area division determination unit 120, an IO area identification signal for activating the I / O decoder 122 and a chip selector signal MCS0 to the RAM 116 are output.

  The chip selector signal MCS0 is input to the RAM 116 via the selection unit 115. The RAM 116 can be accessed if any one of the chip selector signal MCS1 from the memory area decoder 113 and the chip selector signal MCS0 from the area division determination unit 120 is active. Therefore, the selection unit 115 can be configured by an OR gate, for example.

  The IO decoder 122 operates when the IO area identification signal is active. The IO decoder 122 outputs chip selector signals IOCS1, IOCS2, and the like for designating the IO to be accessed according to the values of the lower addresses A7 to A0. The number of chip selector signals corresponding to the address space of the lower addresses A7 to A0 can be output.

In the figure, the configuration of a serial port provided as one of the I / O ports is shown. The chip selector signals IOCS1 and IOCS2 correspond to the reception buffer 123r and the transmission buffer 123s provided in the parallel input / output port 123. The capacities of the reception buffer 123r and the transmission buffer 123s can be arbitrarily set, but in this embodiment, a capacity of 32 bytes is secured as a data input / output size. These buffers are of the so-called FIFO (First In First Out 1) type.
The reception buffer 123r is connected to an SP (serial / parallel) conversion unit 124s configured in the serial input / output control unit 124, and the transmission buffer 123s is connected to a PS (parallel / serial) conversion unit 124p. When serially inputting from the outside, the data is converted into 8-bit parallel data by the SP conversion unit 124s and stored in the reception buffer 123r. The CPU 111 may read the data in the reception buffer 123r by an in command. Further, when serially outputting to the outside, the CPU 111 may store data in the transmission buffer 123s by an out command. This data is transmitted as 8-bit parallel data to the PS converter 124p, converted into serial data, and output.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the main control board 110. As described above, in this embodiment, the CPU 111 can access the RAM 116 by using both a load / store command and an in / out command. In FIG. 3, the functions of the CPU 111, the memory area decoder 113, the area division determination unit 120, and the I / O decoder 122 are shown by taking a load command and an in command as examples to realize such access.

  It is assumed that the CPU 111 outputs an LD (load) instruction (processing S1). In order to allow direct access to the memory area, it is necessary to specify all addresses A15 to A0 in the command in the LD instruction. Therefore, as shown in the figure, this command is composed of 3 bytes “LD, lower address, upper address”. Along with the LD command output, the MREQ and RD signals become active, but the illustration is omitted to avoid complication of the figure.

Based on the address, the memory area decoder 113 determines whether the access destination is the ROM 114 or the RAM 116 (processing S2).
When access to the ROM 114 is designated, the chip selector signal MCS2 corresponding to the ROM 114 is activated. As a result, the data stored in the area designated by A12 to A0 in the ROM 114 is read.
When access to the RAM 116 is designated, the chip selector signal MCS1 corresponding to the RAM 116 is activated. As a result, the data stored in the area designated by the lower address in the RAM 116 is read. In this case, the CPU 111 can access any area of the memory area (address 00H to FFH) of the RAM 116. The memory area of the RAM 116 can be switched between 512 bytes and 256 bytes depending on the setting. In this embodiment, a case where 256 bytes are set will be described as an example.

Next, it is assumed that an IN command is output (processing S3). In the IN instruction, the accessible IO is limited to 256 places designated by the lower address, so the command is composed of 2 bytes of “IN, lower address” as shown in the figure.
The area classification determination unit 120 determines whether the access destination is RAM or IO based on the area classification data (processing S4).
For example, a hatched area (00H to ** H) in the RAM 116 in the figure (hereinafter, this area may be referred to as a “pseudo RAM area”) is set as an area that can be accessed by an IN instruction. . The area classification determination unit 120 determines that the access destination is a pseudo-RAM area when the lower addresses A7 to A0 are included in “00H to ** H”, and determines that the access destination is an IO in other cases. To do.

When it is determined that the access destination is the RAM 116, the area division determination unit 120 activates the chip selector signal MCS0. As a result, the data stored in the area designated by the lower address in the RAM 116 is read.
When it is determined that the access destination is the IO, the area division determination unit 120 activates the IO area identification signal. As a result, the IO decoder 122 is activated, makes an IO selection based on the lower addresses A7 to A0, and activates the corresponding chip selector signals IOCS1, IOCS2 and the like (processing S5).

In this embodiment, the pseudo RAM area provided in the RAM 116 can be accessed by both the load / store command and the in / out command. The pseudo RAM area can be arbitrarily set. All may be allocated to the pseudo-RAM area except for the address space required for accessing the IO. As described above, the pseudo RAM can reduce the program capacity by 1 byte for each access because of the access by the in / out command.
The pseudo RAM area is preferably set from the top address of the RAM 116 in that the lower addresses A7 to A0 can be used as they are for accessing the pseudo RAM area.

B2. Assignment of work to RAM 116:
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a method for assigning work to the RAM 116. The work is an area for storing information to be transferred between control processes when the CPU 111 executes various control processes, information to be held until the next time when the control processes are repeatedly executed, and the like. Say. In this embodiment, each variable constituting the work is stored at a predetermined address in the RAM 116. However, a work having an indefinite storage destination address may be provided.
In gaming machines, in order to prevent fraud, it is required to continuously set a RAM area used as a work without providing an empty area from the top address.

The RAM 116 is used not only as a work but also as a stack. Various information that should be temporarily stored when the CPU 111 executes the control program is stored in the stack. As information to be stored, for example, the contents of the register being used, and the return address of this routine when the subroutine is terminated and returned to this routine, various information to be temporarily stored when the control process proceeds. Examples include storage addresses.
The storage state of data on the stack is managed by the stack pointer. The stack pointer represents the storage location of the latest information in the stack so that the above-described data can be sequentially stored and read from the stack. In this embodiment, the stack pointer address is changed by “−1” every time data is stored in the stack, and the stack pointer address is changed by “+1” every time data is read. .

As long as the condition that the work is provided in a continuous area from the start address is satisfied, the work and the stack can be set in any area in the RAM 116. FIG. 4A shows an example of setting in this embodiment as an example.
The lower address of the RAM area is defined as a start address 00H to an end address FFH. In the example of FIG. 4A, the pseudo RAM 116A is set in a range from the start address 00H to an arbitrary address zzH. The work 116W is set in a continuous area from the start address 00H. In the drawing, an example is shown in which the size of the workpiece 116W exceeds the area of the pseudo RAM 116A.
If a sufficient pseudo RAM area can be secured, the pseudo RAM 116A is preferably equal to or greater than the work 116W in order to obtain a sufficient program reduction effect by using the input / output port access command when accessing the work. .

  On the other hand, the stack 116S is provided in a direction in which the address becomes smaller than the end address FFH of the RAM 116. That is, the end address FFH of the RAM 116 is input as an initial value to the stack pointer. By doing so, each time data is stored, the stack pointer changes by “−1”. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the data is sequentially stacked toward the side where the address becomes smaller. The size of the stack 116S shown in the figure is not predetermined and varies depending on the amount of data stacked in the stack.

  In the example of FIG. 4A, the work 116W is used from the start address of the RAM 116, and the stack 116S is used from the end address of the RAM 116. By doing so, it is possible to avoid interference with the workpiece 116W even when the size of the stack 116S changes. Therefore, when the capacity of the RAM 116 is sufficiently larger than the memory capacity that can be consumed by the work 116W and the stack 116S, the developer of the control program provides the work 116W without worrying about interference with the stack 116S. be able to. At this time, the area of the RAM 116 is divided into three types: a work 116W, a stack 116S, and an unused area that is not used for any of them. However, as described above, the stack 116S is a dynamically changing region.

  The pseudo RAM area is provided avoiding the stack 116S. In general, an input / output port access command called an in / out command cannot be used to access the stack 116S, and a stack command, that is, a push (PUSH) / pop (POP) command is used. The stack command is a command for accessing the memory, but the address to be accessed is internally managed and specified by the CPU, and it is not possible to specify an individual address with the command. This is a different type of command from memory access. Therefore, even if the pseudo RAM area is allocated to the stack 116S, the program size reduction effect by using the input / output port access command cannot be obtained. In this embodiment, by providing the pseudo RAM area while avoiding the stack 116S, the above-described reduction effect can be obtained without waste.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the above-described reduction effect can be sufficiently obtained by assigning a continuous area including the head address to the pseudo RAM area.
FIG. 4B shows a case where the pseudo RAM area is provided at addresses “xxH” to “yyH” shifted from the top address as a comparative example. Even in such a case, the work 116W needs to be provided in a continuous area from the head address of the RAM 116. In FIG. 4B, a memory access command is used to access a work placed at the top addresses “00H” to “xxH”. The effect of reducing the program size by the pseudo RAM area can be obtained only for a part of work placed after the address “xxH”. Depending on the size of the pseudo-RAM area and the work 116W, as shown in FIG. 4B, the end of the pseudo-RAM area may protrude from the work 116W, and a program reduction effect can be obtained for the protruding portion. become unable.
On the other hand, if the pseudo RAM area is arranged from the head address as shown in FIG. 4A, the program reduction effect can be sufficiently obtained regardless of the relationship between the size of the work 116W and the pseudo RAM area.
However, the setting of FIG. 4A is not essential, and if the program reduction effect is not important, the pseudo RAM area may be set as shown in FIG. 4B.

  FIG. 4C shows an example in which the stack 116S is shifted from the end address. In the example shown in the figure, the stack 116S is provided on the side where the address is smaller than the address “wwwH”. The stack 116S may thus be provided shifted from the end address. However, in consideration of the sizes that can be used for the workpiece 116W and the stack 116S, it is desirable that the workpiece 116W and the stack 116S are provided in a range that does not interfere with each other. Further, even when the stack 116S is provided by being shifted from the end address as described above, it is preferable that the pseudo RAM area is provided avoiding the stack 116S.

A part of the unused area between the work 116W and the stack 116S may be positioned as an isolation area of the work 116W and the stack 116S. As described above, the stack 116S is a fluctuating region. Therefore, depending on the capacity of the RAM 116, the stack 116S may erode the workpiece 116W. Therefore, if an isolation region is provided between the workpiece 116W and the stack 116S, such erosion can be prevented.
In order to achieve such an effect, the isolation region may be any region where data cannot be written. For example, the memory area decoder 113 and the area division determination unit 120 can adopt a method in which a chip selector signal is not output for an address corresponding to an isolated region.

In the above description, the case where the stack pointer is incremented by “−1” at the time of data storage is illustrated. As a usage mode of the stack, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the stack pointer is incremented by “+1” when data is stored. In this case, contrary to that shown in FIG. 4A, data is stacked toward the end address side.
In such a case, it is preferable to set the stack 116S at a position shifted from the end address, as shown in FIG. Even in this case, it is preferable to arrange the pseudo RAM area so that the stack 116S and the work 116W do not overlap. Therefore, the stack 116S has an address larger than the larger one of the end address of the pseudo RAM area and the end address of the work 116W. It is preferable to arrange on the larger side.

C. Control processing:
C1. Main control side power-on processing:
5 and 6 are flowcharts showing an example of main control side power-on processing. This is a process that is started and executed by the CPU 111 of the main control board 110 triggered by power recovery upon power-on. “Restoration” includes a state in which the power is turned on after the power is shut off, and a state in which power is restored after a power failure or a momentary power failure.

When the process is started, the CPU 111 sets the interrupt mode, the initial value of the stack pointer, and the area division data in the area division determination unit 120 (see FIG. 2) (step S10). As shown in FIG. 4, the end address of the RAM 116 is set in the stack pointer.
As described above, the area division data is data for defining the pseudo RAM area. In this embodiment, the value that becomes the boundary of the pseudo RAM area is stored in the ROM 114 in advance, that is, in the example of FIG. 3, the address “** H” is stored, and this is read out in the process of step S10 to determine the area classification. Set to the unit 120. This data can also be set at boot time. If it is set at the time of booting, the setting of the area division data can be omitted in the process of step S10.

  Next, the CPU 111 sets the power failure clear signal to low (step S12). By making the power failure clear signal low, the latch function of the D-type flip-flop for latching the power failure warning signal from the power failure monitoring circuit provided on the main control board when the power is turned on is temporarily stopped. Clear the power failure warning signal detected (latched). By temporarily stopping the latch function, it is possible to switch to a state where the power failure warning signal can be constantly monitored.

The CPU 111 checks the state of the power failure warning signal after waiting a predetermined waiting time by the wait timer process 1 (step S14), and whether the power failure warning signal indicates a power failure (when the power failure warning signal is low). It is determined whether or not (step S16). When it is in a state indicating a power failure, the state of the power failure warning signal is confirmed again after waiting for the wait timer process 1 (step S14).
In this way, the power failure warning signal is confirmed after a predetermined standby time, when the power failure warning signal is output when the supply voltage to the pachinko machine 1 becomes lower than the predetermined power failure warning voltage due to a power failure or a momentary power failure. Therefore, a certain time is required until the supply voltage to the gaming machine reaches a predetermined voltage when the power is turned on. As a result, it is possible to prevent the processing related to the control of the gaming machine on the main control board (loop processing, timer interrupt processing) from being executed in a state where the supply voltage is unstable.

  When the power failure warning signal is not detected (step S16) and it is determined that there is no abnormality in the power supply voltage, the CPU 111 sets the power failure clear signal to high (output is stopped) (step S18) and the power failure output from the power failure monitoring circuit. The notice signal is switched from a constantly monitorable state to a latchable state. Thereafter, when the supply voltage falls below the power failure warning voltage, the latched power failure warning signal is output.

  The CPU 111 operates when the RAM clear switch is operated (step S20). A value 1 is set to the RAM clear notification flag RCL (step S22), and a value 00H is set when not operated (step S24). When the RAM clear switch is operated, as will be described later, game information related to games such as probability fluctuations and unpaid prize balls on the RAM 116 of the main control board 110 is erased.

  Next, the CPU 111 waits for activation of the decorative symbol control board 350 in the wait timer process 2 (step S26). However, since the main control board 110 cannot receive a notification of activation completion from the decorative symbol control board 350, it is assumed that the activation is completed when a predetermined time has elapsed, and the next process is executed. In this embodiment, 2 seconds is set as the standby time.

In this embodiment, as described above, before performing the above-described wait timer process 2, it is determined whether or not the RAM clear switch is operated (step S20). When the RAM is cleared, a game attendant usually turns on the power with the RAM clear switch pressed. Therefore, even if the staff of the game hall stops pressing the RAM clear switch in a relatively short time after turning on the power by determining whether or not the RAM clear switch is operated before performing the wait timer process 2. There is an advantage that the operation of the RAM clear switch can be detected without error.
Also in the present embodiment, it is possible to adopt a method of detecting whether or not the RAM clear switch is operated after the wait timer process 2. However, in this case, there is a possibility that the game attendant may interrupt the press before the operation of the RAM clear switch is detected, and even if the game attendant intends to clear the RAM, the result As a result, the gaming machine control process may start without the RAM clear process being performed. Such an adverse effect can be avoided by detecting the operation of the RAM clear switch before the wait timer process 2.

As described above, when the operation of the RAM clear switch is confirmed early, if the operation of the RAM clear switch is delayed with respect to power-on, the detection of step S20 is performed before the RAM clear switch is operated. Processing may be completed and RAM clearing may not be performed correctly.
In order to avoid such an adverse effect, the operation of the RAM clear switch may be detected again after the wait timer process 2 (step S26) is completed. For example, a method of providing a detection process between steps S28 and S30, which will be described later, can be considered. This makes it possible to clear the RAM even when the operation of the RAM clear switch is performed slightly after the power is turned on.
Various detection timings for the operation of the RAM clear switch can be set as described above. As in this embodiment, the detection may be performed only before the wait timer process 2. Further, it may be performed only after the wait timer process 2 or may be performed before and after the wait process 2 is sandwiched.
Further, during the wait timer process 2, the RAM clear switch is continuously monitored, and when an operation of the RAM clear switch is detected, the detection result is indicated by a method such as turning on a predetermined flag. May be. In this case, it is preferable to configure the program so that the waiting time defined by the wait timer process 2 is ensured regardless of whether or not the operation of the RAM clear switch is detected.

The process after the end of the wait timer process 2 (step S26 in FIG. 5) will be described.
When the RAM clear notification flag RCL is 0 (step S28 in FIG. 6), that is, when the RAM clear switch is not operated, the CPU 111 calculates the checksum of the game information stored in the RAM 116 (step S30). ). Then, it is determined whether or not the checksum value matches the checksum value that was previously calculated and backed up at the previous power-off (step S32). In this embodiment, the calculation of the checksum when the power is turned off and the calculation of the checksum when the power is turned on (step S30) are performed by a common subroutine. This is because it is possible to avoid the occurrence of an error due to the difference in the checksum calculation itself.
If the checksums match, it is determined whether the backup flag BK is 1 (step S34). The backup flag BK is a flag indicating that the game information, the checksum value, and the like have been normally backed up at the previous power-off.
When the backup flag BK has the value 1, the CPU 111 sets the backup flag BK to the value 0, and performs the power recovery setting read from the ROM 114 in the RAM 116 (step S36). Further, a power-on command creation process, that is, a process for storing various commands corresponding to the backed-up game information in a predetermined storage area of the RAM 116 (step S38).

  As described above, in this embodiment, whether or not the backup information is normal is checked based on the checksum, and whether or not the main control side power-off process is normally completed based on the backup flag BK. . In this embodiment, whether or not the backup information is stored by an illegal act is inspected by this double check.

On the other hand, when the RAM clear notification flag RCL is 1 (step S28), that is, when the RAM clear switch is operated, the RAM 116 is initialized as described later. The same applies when the checksum values do not match or when the backup flag BK is 0 (steps S32 and S34). This is because it is determined that the backup is not performed normally.
As initialization of the RAM 116, the CPU 111 performs a process for clearing the RAM 116 by writing the value 00H to the entire area of the RAM 116, that is, by clearing the RAM 116 (Step S40). By this process, values such as the jackpot determination random number and the initial value update type counter are set to the initial value 0. A processing method of the RAM all area clearing process will be described later.

  The total area of the RAM means the total area of the RAM that can be used. In the present embodiment, whether to use the entire area physically provided in the RAM or to use half of the area can be switched by setting. In the latter case, the area set to be usable corresponds to “all areas” as a target of the RAM clear process.

Next, the CPU 111 sets initial information read from the ROM 114 in the RAM 116 (step S42).
Then, the CPU 111 performs a RAM clear notification (step S44). The RAM clear notification is a process of outputting a RAM clear notification command to the sub-control board 310 for instructing voice output to notify that the RAM is cleared.

When the above process is completed, the CPU 111 performs an interrupt initial setting (step S46) and sets an interrupt cycle for the timer interrupt process. In this embodiment, the interrupt cycle is 4 ms.
When the CPU 111 performs the interrupt permission setting (step S48), the timer interrupt process is repeatedly performed in the above-described interrupt cycle.

Next, the CPU 111 executes main control side main processing.
In this process, a preset value A is set in a watchdog timer initialization register (hereinafter also simply referred to as “WCL”) (step S50). This is one of the processes necessary to initialize the watchdog timer. In this embodiment, in addition to this value A, the watchdog timer is initialized when the value B and the value C are sequentially set in the main control timer interrupt processing described later.
As shown in the figure, since the main process on the main control side constitutes a loop, this process is normally repeated, and as long as the main control timer interrupt process is periodically performed, WCL includes values A, B, and C. Are set in order, and the watchdog timer is always initialized. On the other hand, if an abnormality occurs in the processing of the CPU 111, the initialization of the WCL will not be performed correctly as specified, so the CPU 111 is reset, and the CPU 111 executes again from the power-on processing (step S10). Become.

After the value A is set in WCL, when no power failure warning signal is input (step S52), the CPU 111 performs a non-winning random number update process (step S54). A non-winning random number is a random number that is not involved in the lottery winning determination among random numbers used during a game. An example of such a random number is a random number for selecting a variable display pattern to be performed at the time of lottery.
The CPU 111 repeatedly performs steps S50 to S54 described above as the main process on the main control side.

  On the other hand, when the power failure warning signal is input (step S52), the CPU 111 performs a main control side power-off process. The power failure notice signal is a signal generated by the main control board when the reference voltage becomes lower than the power failure notice voltage when the power of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is cut off.

In the main control side power-off process, the CPU 111 first performs an interrupt prohibition setting (step S56). This is to prevent the main control side timer interrupt processing from being performed and writing to the RAM 116 during the checksum calculation of the RAM 116.
Next, the CPU 111 outputs a power failure clear signal (step S58). Also, the drive signals output to various solenoids and lamps installed on the game board surface are stopped.
Then, a checksum is calculated based on the game information in the RAM 116 (step S60), and a value 1 is set in the backup flag BK (step S62). This completes the storage of the backup information.

  In the present embodiment, it is not necessary to back up the register for the following reason at the time of main control side power-off processing. In other words, in the embodiment, in step S52 of the main control side loop process, the state of the power failure warning signal is confirmed, and if this signal indicates a state of power failure, the process branches to the main control side power interruption process. . The state where a power failure occurs means, for example, that a power failure notification signal becomes high when a power failure notification signal that is high during a power failure and low when there is no power failure is used. As described above, in the embodiment, since the process shifts to the main control side power-off process under a predetermined condition, the loop process and the interrupt process are not interrupted during the shift. Therefore, in the embodiment, it is not necessary to save the contents of the register in the RAM 116 in the main control side power-off process. According to the method of the present embodiment, it is not necessary to determine whether the stack area information is correct or not when the power is turned on.

  In contrast to the aspect of this embodiment, when the power failure warning signal indicates a state where a power failure occurs, a non-maskable interrupt signal is input to the CPU 111 so that the main control side power-off process can be started irregularly. It may be configured. In this case, the contents of the register change according to the timing at which the main control side power-off process is started. Therefore, it is preferable to back up the contents of the register in the RAM 116 in the main control side power-off process. The checksum is preferably obtained including the backed up value.

  Thereafter, the watchdog timer is initialized (step S64), and when the infinite loop is entered, the operation of the CPU 111 stops due to the power being cut off. However, if the power is not shut off, the watchdog timer will not be initialized in the infinite loop, so the CPU 111 is reset after a predetermined time has elapsed, and the CPU 111 starts again from the main control side power-on process (step S10). Do.

In this embodiment, the checksum is calculated in both the main control side power-on process and the main control side power-off process (steps S30 and S60). The checksum may be directly incorporated into the main control side power-on process and the main control side power-off process without using a subroutine, but is preferably a subroutine commonly used by both. By doing so, the program capacity can be reduced.
The checksum can be calculated by various methods. In order to improve accuracy, two or more different calculation methods may be used in combination. For example, a method of alternately repeating addition and subtraction can be employed. As another aspect, when the checksum is calculated by the addition method and the results match, it may be calculated by another method such as a subtraction method and checked again.

Arbitrary information in the RAM 116 can be used to calculate the checksum, but it is preferable to include information of 2 bytes or more in the work. In this way, consistency can be confirmed using the most important information.
Also, the execution timing of the main control-side power-off process is not constant, and the register information is also stored in the RAM 116 when the main-control-side power-off process is executed, as in the case where the main control side power-off process is executed irregularly. In the case of saving to the stack, it is preferable to calculate the checksum using both the information for the work and the stack area. For example, the checksum may be calculated using the workpiece information and the stack area information, or the checksum may be calculated by mixing both pieces of information.

In this embodiment, since the contents of the RAM 116 are held by the battery, the backup process is completed only by calculating the checksum (steps S60 and S62). On the other hand, a backup area may be provided in the RAM 116, and information on all or main parts of the work may be saved together. In this way, important control information can be backed up more reliably.
In the backup area, for example, information such as a work may be stored with bit inversion. In this way, if the exclusive OR (XOR) of the original work value and the backup area value is FFH, it is possible to easily determine that these data are normal.

The process of storing the backup information in the backup area can be performed, for example, in the main control side power-off process. Further, it may be performed in a loop of the main process on the main control side. When performing in the loop of the main process on the main control side, it is preferable to store after prohibiting interrupts in order to avoid changing the work information when storing the backup information.
When storing backup information in the loop of the main process on the main control side, in order to suppress unnecessary processing, information is stored until the main control timer interrupt process is performed after the backup information has been stored. May be omitted. In order to realize the same effect with a relatively simple control process, the main control side main process is performed after the main control side timer interrupt process is performed instead of storing the information in the main control side main process loop. The backup information may be stored immediately before returning to step 1. In this way, it is possible to update the backup information every time the main control timer interruption process is performed.

  Further, a plurality of backup areas may be provided, and these areas may be used separately each time backup information is stored. By doing so, there is an advantage that backup information at a plurality of past points in time can be stored.

The work information saved in the backup area in the RAM can be used in the following manner when the main control side power-on process is executed. For convenience of explanation, the work referred to by the CPU 111 in the control process is referred to as a main work, and the work saved in the backup area is referred to as a sub work.
When the power is turned on, the CPU confirms whether or not the contents of the main work and the contents of the sub work are normal by checksums (steps S30 and S32 in FIG. 6). If the contents of the main work are normal, the control process can be continued as it is. If the main work is wrong and the sub work is correct, the control process is continued by overwriting the contents of the sub work on the main work. If both the main work and the sub work are wrong, the RAM is cleared (step S40 in FIG. 6).
By doing so, it becomes possible to effectively utilize the sub-work information for the control processing.
When the sub work information is overwritten on the main work, the sub work information may be left as it is. This is because the CPU 111 does not directly refer to the subwork information in the control process. However, it cannot be said that there is a possibility that the CPU 111 erroneously refers to the information stored in the subwork due to noise or the like, and the processing is adversely affected. Is preferred.

C2. Clear all RAM area:
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the RAM all area clear process. This corresponds to the processing content of step S40 in the main power supply side power-on processing (FIGS. 5 and 6).
For convenience of explanation, FIG. 7 shows that the RAM clearing process is a single subroutine, but in this embodiment, these processes are not performed in the subroutine but in step S40 in FIG. It takes the form to execute. Since this process is a relatively simple process as shown in the figure, when a subroutine is created, a process such as storing the return address after completion of the subroutine in the stack is required when the subroutine is executed, and the entire RAM area is cleared. This is because processing takes time. If it is performed within step S40 without using a subroutine, such waste can be suppressed and the RAM 116 can be efficiently cleared.
However, the present embodiment does not exclude executing the RAM clear process by a subroutine. When the RAM clear process is executed in a subroutine, as described above, the return address after the end of the subroutine is stored in the stack, and in order to hold this value, the initialization value is written only in the area other than the stack. There is a need to.

  In the RAM all area clear process, the CPU 111 first performs a process of clearing the pseudo RAM area. The relationship with the area of the RAM 116 is shown on the right side of the figure. The hatched portion (address 00H to ** H) is a pseudo RAM area 116A. The CPU 111 repeatedly executes an out (OUT) instruction while changing the address from 00H to ** H, and sequentially writes 00H as an initialization value in this area.

  The above process is performed in the following procedure. The CPU 111 first sets the head address 00H of the RAM 116 as a write destination address (hereinafter referred to as “clear address”) (step S41a). Further, “** H + 1” obtained by adding 1 to the end address of the pseudo RAM area is set as the number of loops (step S41b). The reason that “** H + 1” is used instead of “** H” is to allow writing to address ** H.

  Next, the CPU 111 writes the initialization value 00H to the clear address with an out (OUT) instruction (step S41c). When this writing is completed, the CPU 111 increments the address to be written by 1 by adding 1 to the clear address (step S41d), and decreases the number of loops by 1 (step S41e). The CPU 111 can write the initialization value 00H to all addresses in the pseudo RAM area by repeatedly executing the above processing until the number of loops becomes zero (step S41f).

When the pseudo RAM area is cleared, the CPU 111 sets the initialization value 00H to the area excluding the pseudo RAM area (the white area in the right figure) using a store (ST) instruction that is a memory access command. Write.
The above process is performed in the following procedure. The CPU 111 sets “** H + 1”, which is the address next to the end address of the pseudo RAM area, as the clear address (step S41g). Further, “FFH − ** H”, which is the difference between the end address of the RAM area and the end address of the pseudo RAM area, is set as the number of loops (step S41h).

  Next, the CPU 111 writes the initialization value 00H to the clear address with a store (ST) instruction (step S41i). When this writing is completed, the CPU 111 increments the address to be written by 1 by adding 1 to the clear address (step S41j), and decreases the number of loops by 1 (step S41k). By repeatedly executing the above processing until the number of loops becomes 0 (step S41m), the CPU 111 can write the initialization value 00H to all addresses other than the pseudo RAM area.

FIG. 8 shows a modification of the RAM all area clear process. In this process, the initialization value is written using only the store (ST) instruction which is a memory access instruction. As described above (FIG. 2), in this embodiment, the pseudo RAM area is configured to be accessible by both the input / output port access command and the memory access command. Therefore, in the all area clear process, 00H can be written to all areas including the pseudo RAM area by using a store (ST) instruction.
This writing state is schematically shown on the right side of the figure. In the RAM 116, a pseudo RAM area 116A is provided as in the example of FIG. However, in the modification, writing is performed consistently from the start address 00H to the end address FFH using a memory access command. The whole area is shown in white in the sense that a memory access command is used.

  The above process is performed in the following procedure. The CPU 111 sets “00H”, which is the head address of the RAM 116, as a clear address (step S41p). Further, “FFH + 1”, which is obtained by adding 1 to the end address of the RAM 116, is set as the loop count (step S41q).

  Next, the CPU 111 writes the initialization value 00H to the clear address with a store (ST) instruction (step S41r). When this writing is completed, the CPU 111 increments the address to be written by 1 by adding 1 to the clear address (step S41s), and decreases the number of loops by 1 (step S41t). By repeatedly executing the above processing until the number of loops becomes 0 (step S41u), the CPU 111 can write the initialization value 00H to all addresses other than the pseudo RAM area.

The process of the modification has an advantage that the program size required for the all area clear process can be suppressed by using the store (ST) instruction for the entire area. In FIG. 7, processing in two stages, that is, processing for writing by the out command (steps S41a to S41f) and processing for writing by the store command (steps S41g to S41m) is required. This is because, in FIG. 8, only the processing for writing with the store instruction is required. That is, in the process of the modified example, the clear process can be performed only by the process corresponding to steps S41g to S41m in FIG.
However, in the modified example (FIG. 8), the range in which writing is performed with the store instruction is wider than in FIG. However, this only changes the set values of the clear address and the number of loops, and does not increase the program size of the writing process itself. Therefore, although the byte length of a single command is longer for a store instruction than for an out instruction, using the store instruction as a whole can reduce the overall program size of all area clear processing. It becomes.

  In the above example, the initialization value is written in order from the beginning of the RAM area. However, the RAM clear processing may be performed by the method of writing the initialization value in order from the RAM area end address FFH to 00H. good.

The RAM clear process may be performed on the entire area of the RAM or only on a part thereof. By doing so, there is an advantage that the load of the RAM clear process is reduced as the area to which the initialization value is written is reduced by the RAM clear process.
For example, as described with reference to FIG. 4, when an unused area or an isolated area is included, these areas may be excluded from the RAM clear process.
The RAM clear process is preferably performed on a work (see FIG. 4), but at this time, the stack may be included in the RAM clear target or may be excluded.
If allowed in the control process, only a part of the workpiece may be the target of initialization. For example, it is conceivable that only a main work that determines a game operation such as a special symbol, a normal symbol, a special electric accessory control, or a normal electric accessory control is targeted for initialization.

  Further, the target area for the RAM clear process does not necessarily need to correspond to the area used for the checksum calculation. For example, even when the checksum is calculated using a part or all of the work, the RAM clear process may be performed on the entire RAM when it is determined that the checksum requires the RAM clear process.

C3. Main control timer interrupt processing:
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the main control timer interruption process. This process is repeatedly performed by the CPU 111 of the main control board 110 every predetermined interrupt period (4 ms in this embodiment).
When the process is started, the CPU 111 saves the register (step S70), sets the value B in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S72), and clears the interrupt flag (step S74). The register is saved in an area other than the pseudo RAM. In this embodiment, the information is saved on the stack.
Hereinafter, the CPU 111 sequentially executes each process shown in the figure. The execution order of these processes is not limited to the illustrated order.

  The switch input process (step S76) is a process for inputting signals of various switches of the pachinko machine. Examples of the input signal include a detection signal for a game ball that has entered a normal winning opening, a starting winning opening, a large winning opening, and an ACK signal that is output by the payout control board 210 when a prize payout command is received.

  The timer subtraction process (step S78) is a process of subtracting timer values used for various time management. The timer value to which the initial value is set is subtracted by 4 ms by this subtraction process and becomes 0, so that the passage of time corresponding to the initial value can be detected. A timer value is provided for each time to be managed. As the time to be managed, for example, the time when the special symbol display device 41 is lit according to the variation display pattern, the time when the normal symbol display is lit according to the normal symbol variation display pattern, and the ACK signal from the payout control board 210 are input. The time required until.

The winning random number update process (step S80) is a process for updating various random number values used for lottery and the like during the game. In the present embodiment, not a method of generating a random number every time a lottery or the like is performed, but a method of counting up various random values by a value of 1 by the process of step S76. Even if the random number is regularly changed in this way, events that use each random number, such as a ball entering a winning opening, occur irregularly, and thus sufficiently function as a random number for lottery. In addition to the count-up, when the random number makes a round, a process of switching the initial value of the random number is also used.
The random numbers updated here include, for example, jackpot determination random numbers used for jackpot determination. As for the normal symbol, a random number for determining a normal symbol used for determining whether or not to hit the normal symbol is used.

  The prize ball control process (step S82) is a command transmission process to the payout control board 210. For example, when a game ball wins, a prize ball command for instructing the payout control board 210 to pay out the game ball is created and transmitted to the payout control board 210. When an ACK signal is not input from the payout control board 210 within a predetermined time, a self-check command or the like for confirming the connection state with the payout control board 210 is created and transmitted to the payout control board 210.

  The frame command reception process (step S84) is a process in which the main control board 110 receives a command transmitted from the payout control board 210 attached to the frame side of the pachinko machine. Examples of the command on the payout control board 210 include a status command that indicates an abnormality such that the winning ball unit does not pay out a game ball due to a stagnation of the ball.

  The cheating detection process (step S86) is a process for confirming and notifying an abnormal state related to winning a prize opening. For example, when it is detected that a game ball has entered the big winning opening when it is not in the big hit gaming state, the CPU 111 determines that it is abnormal and creates a winning abnormality notification command and outputs it to the sub-control board 310.

  In the special symbol and special electric accessory control process (step S88), the CPU 111 first compares the random number for determining the jackpot with the determination value stored in advance in response to the detection of winning at the start winning opening. Determine whether or not. Further, according to the determination result, a symbol to be displayed and its variation pattern are determined based on a random number value for symbol and variation display, and a game effect command for producing the effect is created. When it is determined that the game is a big hit, a drive signal for opening / closing the open / close plate of the big winning opening of the game board is output after the symbol fluctuation is stopped.

  Similarly, in the normal symbol and normal electric accessory control process (step S90), the CPU 111 opens and closes the opening / closing blades of the winning opening in the hit determination based on the normal symbol per-determination random number, the normal symbol variation control, and the hit. The drive control of the open / close blade solenoid is performed.

The port output process (step S92) is a process of outputting signals from the main control I / O port, such as the big winning opening described in the above-described various processes and the opening / closing blade solenoid of the ordinary electric accessory, The sub integrated board command transmission process (step S94) is a process of outputting the effect control commands set in the above-described various processes to the sub control board 310.
In this embodiment, the CPU 111 sets information and commands to be output and stores them in the RAM 116 at the time of executing the above-described processes, and stores information and commands from the RAM 116 in the port output process and the sub-integrated board command transmission process. The command is read and output.

  After completing the above processing, the CPU 111 sets a value C in the watchdog timer initialization register WCL (step S96). By this process, the process at step S72, and the main process on the main control side (step S50 in FIG. 5), the value A, the value B, and the value C are sequentially set in the watchdog timer initialization register WCL. The timer is initialized.

  When the main control side timer interrupt process is started, the CPU 111 loads the contents of the general-purpose registers on the stack and saves them. Therefore, when the above processing is completed, the CPU 111 reads out the contents saved on the stack and writes it to the original register, thereby restoring the register (step S98) and setting the interrupt permission. End the routine.

C4. Sub-integration processing:
The sub control board 310 performs various effect controls in accordance with commands from the main control board 110.
Although not shown, the processing executed by the sub-control board 310 is also composed of a loop similar to the main control side main processing (FIG. 6) and an interrupt processing similar to the main control side timer interrupt processing (FIG. 9). The The sub-control board 310 executes interrupt processing at a cycle of 2 ms and “16 ms steady processing” at a cycle of 16 ms.
In this 16 ms steady process, a command analysis process for analyzing various commands from the main control board 110, a lamp process for controlling the lighting of the panel decoration lamp 12 and the frame decoration lamp 31 (see FIG. 1), a sound for production and an alarm sound Output processing, etc., processing for displaying an effect screen on the LCD 16 via the decorative design control board 350, watchdog timer processing indicating that the CPU is operating normally, and a driving pattern of the accessory set in the scheduler The processing to do is performed.

  The sub-control board 310 performs various interrupt processes in addition to repeatedly executing the 16 ms steady process. Examples of such interrupt processing include 2 ms timer interrupt, command reception interrupt processing, and command reception end interrupt processing.

C5. Discharge control board control processing:
The payout control board 210 controls the payout of game media in accordance with instructions from the main control board 110.
As with the main control board 110, the control process executed by the payout control board 210 can be composed of a loop-shaped main process and a timer interrupt process. In this embodiment, the payout control board 210 performs a payout process within the main process. Necessary processing was repeatedly executed.

D. Program capacity reduction effect:
In various control processes described in the embodiments, various commands output by the main control board 110 are temporarily stored in the RAM 116, and then read out from the RAM 116 at a predetermined timing and output. Various flags and information used in the control process are also managed using a work constructed on the RAM 116.
As described above, in the control process of the embodiment, the RAM 116 is frequently accessed.

  In this embodiment, the CPU 111 of the main control board 110 can access the RAM 116 with both a load / store command and an in / out command. As described above, the pseudo RAM can reduce the program capacity by 1 byte for each access because the pseudo RAM can be accessed by the in / out command. As the number of access points by the in / out command to the pseudo RAM increases during the program, the effect of reducing the program capacity increases.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the effect of the pseudo RAM. In a certain game machine, the change in the program capacity with and without the pseudo RAM is shown in comparison.
The uppermost stage is a case where no pseudo RAM is provided. That is, the case where all accesses to the RAM are performed by load / store commands is shown. The capacity at this time is just over 550 bytes.
The second to fourth stages are cases where a pseudo RAM is provided. A case where the pseudo RAM capacity is changed to 64 bytes, 128 bytes, and 192 bytes, respectively, is shown. As shown in the figure, the capacity of the program is reduced by 10% when the pseudo RAM is 64 bytes, 18% when the pseudo RAM is 128 bytes, and 31% when the pseudo RAM is 192 bytes.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the capacity of the program can be reduced by providing the circuit that can access the RAM by the in / out command, that is, the area division determination unit 120. Although the amount of reduction per access command to the RAM is only 1 byte, since it is a command that is frequently used, the entire control program can produce a large reduction effect.

E. Modification of main control board 110:
(1) The circuit configuration of the control board of the pachinko machine 1 can be variously modified as shown below. Here, a modification of the main control board 110 is shown, but a similar modification can be applied to the payout control board 210.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a modification of the main control board. In the embodiment, since it is necessary to secure an address space for accessing the IO, the pseudo RAM area has been shown to be part of the 8-bit address space. In the modification, a circuit example in which the entire 8-bit address space can be used as a pseudo RAM area is shown.

In the circuit of the modification, the configurations of the memory area decoder 113A and the IO decoder 122 are different from those of the embodiment (FIG. 2). Since other configurations are the same as those of the embodiment, description thereof is omitted.
The memory area decoder 113A determines whether the access destination corresponds to the ROM, RAM, or IO area (reception buffer 123r, transmission buffer 123s) based on the address, and outputs chip selector signals MCS2, MCS1, MIOCS1, and MIOCS2, respectively. To do. Here, an example in which two types of IOs are provided has been shown, but more IOs may be provided. In this case, a chip selector signal is connected to each IO from the memory area decoder 113A.

  In the configuration of the modified example, the area classification determination unit 120 performs the same function as in the embodiment (see FIGS. 2 and 3). That is, when an in / out command is input, the designated 8-bit address value is compared with the area segment data 121 to determine whether the access destination is an IO or pseudo-RAM area, and an IO area identification signal or The chip selector signal MCS0 is output.

  According to the configuration of the modified example, a part of the 8-bit address space can be allocated to the pseudo RAM area as in the embodiment. In this case, when the in / out command is input, the area classification determination unit 120 functions to switch the access destination.

In the modification, it is also possible to allocate the entire 8-bit address space to the pseudo RAM area. If “FFH”, that is, the maximum value of the 8-bit address space is set in the area partition data 121, the area partition determination unit 120 determines that access to the pseudo RAM area is requested unconditionally. Thus, the entire pseudo RAM area of the RAM 116 that can be secured by the address buses A7 to A0 can be accessed.
At this time, access to the IO is secured by a load / store command. In the memory area decoder 113A, the IO area may be set in a range excluding the entire area of the RAM. Specifically, the RAM 116, the ROM 114, and the IO area are defined by the difference between predetermined bits in the upper address space. In this way, it is possible to secure addresses for the lower 8 bits for each of the RAMs 116 and IO.

  When accessing the IO, when the CPU 111 designates an address corresponding to the IO area and outputs a load / store command, the memory area decoder 113A determines that the access destination is the IO, and the chip selector signals MIOCS1 and MIOCS2 Make one active. As a result, the designated IO can be accessed.

Further, since the memory area decoder 113A can output the chip selector based on the entire space of the addresses A15 to A0, according to the circuit of the modified example, both the RAM and the IO are accessed by a load / store command. Is possible.
Similarly to the embodiment, if the area classification data 121 of the area classification determination unit 120 is set so that a part of the RAM 116 becomes a pseudo RAM area, the pseudo RAM area can be accessed by an in / out command. It becomes. At this time, the area that is not allocated to the pseudo RAM area, that is, the last area of the 8-bit address space is an IO area that can be accessed by an in / out command.
By setting in this way, a part of each of the RAM 116 and IO can be accessed by both a load / store command and an in / out command.

  Thus, according to the circuit of the modified example, both the RAM 116 and the IO can be accessed by both the load / store command and the in / out command. If the pseudo-RAM area is increased, the program reduction effect is increased because the RAM 116 can be accessed by the in / out command. On the other hand, if the pseudo RAM area is enlarged, if a load / store command needs to be used for accessing the IO, the program size increases accordingly. Since the number of accesses to the RAM 116 and the IO differs depending on the contents of the program, the optimum pseudo RAM area size that can minimize the program size can be obtained for each program in consideration of the above-mentioned conflicting effects. .

(2) In the embodiment, the RAM clear process is performed by writing the value 00H as the initialization value. The initialization value used in the RAM clear process can be arbitrarily set. When a value other than 00H is used as the initialization value, it is preferable to avoid the jackpot determination random number used in the determination of whether or not the jackpot is set. By doing so, it is possible to avoid making a jackpot determination by mistake even when data is read from a RAM area that is not originally intended due to tampering with the control program or noise.

  In the circuit of the modified example, as described above, the entire area of the RAM 116 can be a pseudo RAM. In this case, in the all area clear process (FIG. 7) of the RAM, 0 may be written with the store instruction for all areas, but it is more preferable to write with the out instruction. If only the out instruction is used for the entire area, writing can be performed in a single loop of steps S41a to S41c in FIG. 7, so that the program size can be suppressed. Further, the use of an out instruction with a short command length makes it possible to further reduce the program size, although slightly, compared to the case where a store instruction is used.

As mentioned above, although the various Example of this invention was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to these Examples, and can take a various structure in the range which does not deviate from the meaning.
In the embodiment, the application example to the pachinko machine 1 is shown, but the present invention can also be applied to the slot machine.
In the embodiment, a configuration in which a pseudo RAM area is provided on the main control board 110 is shown. However, this configuration may be applied to the payout control board 210 instead of the main control board 110 or together with the main control board 110. .

It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions for control of the pachinko machine 1 as an Example. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a circuit configuration of a main control board 110. FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the main control board 110. It is explanatory drawing which shows the allocation method of the workpiece | work to RAM116. It is a flowchart (1) which shows an example of the main control side power-on process. It is a flowchart (2) which shows an example of the process at the time of main control side power-on. It is a flowchart of a RAM all area clear process. It is a flowchart of the modification of all the area | region clear processing of RAM. It is a flowchart of a main control side timer interrupt process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect of pseudo-RAM. It is explanatory drawing which shows the modification of a main control board.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pachinko machine 4a ... Display part 4b ... Operation switch 12 ... Panel decoration lamp 16 ... LCD
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Prize ball payout device 21 ... Payout motor 22 ... Payout ball detector 23 ... Motor drive sensor 29 ... Speaker 31 ... Frame decoration lamp 32, 34 ... Lamp relay board 41 ... Special symbol display device 42 ... Winning detector 43 ... Large Prize opening solenoid 47 ... Launch control board 48 ... Touch detector 49 ... Launch motor 110 ... Main control board 111 ... CPU
112 ... Bus buffers 113, 113A, 113B ... Memory area decoder 113d ... Area division data 114 ... ROM
115: Selection unit 116 ... RAM
116A ... Pseudo RAM
116W ... work 116S ... stack 120 ... area division determination unit 121 ... area division data 122 ... IO decoder 123 ... parallel input / output port 123s ... transmission buffer 123r ... reception buffer 124 ... serial input / output control unit 124s ... SP conversion unit 124p ... PS Conversion unit 210 ... Dispensing control board 310 ... Sub control board 350 ... Decorative design control board

Claims (5)

A gaming machine that performs a game using a predetermined game medium,
A main control device for integrated control of the progress of the game;
An effect device for performing an audiovisual effect during the game,
A payout device for paying out the game medium to a player under predetermined conditions;
A subordinate control device that controls at least one of the effect and the payout according to the instruction information from the main control device;
The main controller is
A CPU for executing the integrated control;
ROM as a memory for storing a control program executed by the CPU;
RAM as a memory for storing various information used for the integrated control;
In the integrated control, having an input / output port for inputting and outputting signals between the main control device and the outside including the lower control device,
The CPU is a command used to access a memory and has a command system including an address value of 2 bytes or more, and a command used to input / output a signal to / from the outside. An input / output port access command having a command system in which an address value for designating a destination is 1 byte or less smaller than the memory access command can be used;
Based on an address value specified by the input / output port access command, an area classification determination unit that switches the access destination to the RAM and the input / output port and outputs a selector signal that activates either the RAM or the input / output port When,
A memory area decoding unit that outputs a memory select signal for activating either the ROM or the RAM to be accessed based on the upper predetermined digit of the address value specified by the memory access command;
An input / output port request signal for designating a target to be operated according to the input / output port access command is input from the CPU to the area classification determination unit,
A memory request signal for specifying a target to be operated according to the memory access command is input from the CPU to the memory area decoding unit,
The CPU is in accordance with a control program stored in the ROM.
A determination process for determining success or failure of a RAM clear condition in which a predetermined continuous area of 2 bytes or more of the RAM is to be set to an initial state;
A gaming machine that performs a RAM clear process for writing a predetermined initialization value using the memory access command in the continuous area including the area accessible by the input / output port access command when the RAM clear condition is satisfied. A gaming machine according to claim 1,
For the integrated control,
A lottery process for determining whether or not the jackpot is based on a predetermined jackpot determination random number at a predetermined timing;
When the lottery process is determined to be a jackpot, compared to other cases, includes a jackpot control process that realizes a gaming state that is easy to receive the game medium,
The gaming machine, wherein the initialization value is a value set avoiding the value of the jackpot determination random number when the jackpot. A gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2,
The RAM area includes an unused area that is not scheduled to be used in the integrated control.
A gaming machine in which the unused area is not subject to the RAM clear process. A gaming machine according to claim 3,
The predetermined range continuous from the head address of the RAM is assigned to a work for storing information used when the CPU executes a control process based on a control program stored in the ROM,
The RAM clear process is a gaming machine that is performed on the work. A gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A gaming machine in which the CPU performs the RAM clear process within the same process as the determination process, without using a subroutine.