JP5250607B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine having a computer circuit, and more particularly to a gaming machine that can execute powerful lamp effects without malfunction.

  A ball and ball game machine such as a pachinko machine has a symbol start port provided on the game board, a symbol display unit for displaying a series of symbol variation modes such as stopping a plurality of display symbols after varying a predetermined time, and an opening / closing plate It is configured with a grand prize opening that opens and closes. When the detection switch provided at the symbol start port detects the passing of the game ball, the game ball is in a winning state and the symbol display unit changes the display symbol for a predetermined time. After that, when the symbol stops in a predetermined manner such as 7-7-7, a big hit state is established, and the big winning opening is repeatedly opened to generate a profit state advantageous to the player.

  The symbol display unit is usually composed of a liquid crystal display, and executes various symbol effect operations including a reach effect, a notice effect, and a jackpot effect. Reach production is a design production that continues to be a big hit state in one step and excites the player. It is a design effect that warns of a big hit. The jackpot effect is an effect executed in a big hit state, and a more flashy symbol effect is executed in response to the joy of the player.

  At the time of execution of such a symbol effect, a lamp effect is also executed in synchronism with this, and at the time of a reach effect or a big hit effect, a lamp is flashed in response to the symbol effect on the liquid crystal display. In addition, when a big hit state is entered, a special lamp is lit vividly, or a movable effect corresponding to this is also executed.

  As described above, lamp production is indispensable for realizing powerful performance operations, but if a lamp that should emit light only in special cases is lit meaninglessly, it not only makes the player white, It can also be a problem with the hall. In particular, in a ball game machine, there is a concern about electrostatic discharge from a charged game ball, and measures corresponding to this are required.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine having a configuration capable of realizing a powerful lamp effect and preventing a malfunction so that the special lamp effect is not spoiled. And

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a gaming machine that determines whether or not to generate a gaming state advantageous to a player based on a winning / raft lottery caused by a predetermined switch signal. It is configured to have a light-emission control unit that excites gaming operations by a lamp effect that controls lighting of a large number of light-emitting bodies arranged at positions, and the light-emission control unit is normally turned off and is turned on only in special cases A drive board equipped with a driver circuit that outputs lighting data for controlling lighting, a specific light emitting body to be operated, a normal light emitting body that realizes a lamp effect by appropriate lighting control, and two terminals of a connection connector A circuit board connected to the drive board via the light-emitting board for lighting and driving the specific light emitter,
Normally, the light emitter is driven to light by directly receiving the output of the driver circuit, while the specific light emitter is driven to light by receiving the output of the switch circuit of the drive board that receives the output of the driver circuit, The specific light emitter includes a first terminal that supplies a current to the light emitting element when energized;
The switch circuit is arranged between the second terminal from which the current from the light emitting element in the energized state flows, and in a special case, the switch circuit is turned on in response to the lighting data of the permission level from the driver circuit. In the other cases, the specific light emitter is turned off while maintaining the OFF operation.

  The specific light emitter is preferably composed of a plurality of light emitting elements connected in series or in parallel. Moreover, it is effective that the specific light emitter has directivity with a half-value width of ± 35 degrees or less with respect to the maximum radiation direction.

In addition, a plurality of driver circuits are connected in series to the drive board, and lighting data that defines the lighting state of each light emitter is output from the control board of the light emission control unit and passes through the plurality of driver circuits. It is preferable that the data is transferred by a shift operation in time sequence.

  In this case, the driver circuit includes N shift registers that perform a shift operation in synchronization with the shift clock, an N-bit latch register that stores output data of the N shift registers in synchronization with the latch pulse, and a permission level. An N-bit gate circuit that outputs the output data of the latch register to the output terminal based on the operation control signal is preferable.

The control board of the light emission control unit outputs serial data to the driver circuit every predetermined time regardless of whether or not to change the lighting state of each light emitter at the timing when the lighting state of the light emitter should be controlled. This is advantageous for noise countermeasures.

The control board of the light emission control unit is simple to output all or part of the shift clock, latch pulse, and operation control signal, and performs main lot control by executing the lottery lottery. And a light emission control unit that drives and controls the light emitter based on a control command output from the main control unit.

  Further, it is advantageous that the DC voltage supplied to the connector first terminal is higher, and it is preferable that the design value exceeds 5V.

  In the present invention, the lighting mode is not limited to a mode in which a plurality of light emitting elements are lit or blinked at the same time, and it is also preferable that the light emitting elements of each group constituting the plurality of light emitters are lit in a cyclic manner. is there.

  In any case, the special case in which a specific light emitter is turned on (special effect) is, for example, a jackpot determination in which a subsequent jackpot state is guaranteed in a notice effect that is executed during symbol fluctuation movement. The notice corresponds to this. Note that this is a case where the jackpot confirmation notice is executed during the symbol variation operation, and it is guaranteed that the jackpot state is confirmed through any of the symbol effects waiting in the hold state. If such a big hit confirmation notice is mistakenly executed, the notice effect at the corner will be ruined and not only will make the player whiten but also cause trouble with the game hall. Thus, such a malfunction can be prevented in advance.

  The special effects are not limited to those described above. For example, in a gaming machine in which multiple patterns of jackpot rounds are prepared, a lamp effect that confirms that the jackpot rounds are the maximum value, Also included is a lamp effect that confirms that the transition to the probability variation state will be made after the big hit round is finished. In addition, it is not always necessary to make a notice in a state where the big hit state has been confirmed, and it may be a case where it is guaranteed that the relevant symbol variation will subsequently shift to a reach effect. In addition to the above, the present invention is effective when executing a lamp effect that gives the player a great sense of expectation.

  In addition, in the case of an Example, although a light-emitting body is an LED lamp, it is not specifically limited. In any case, the present invention is suitably applied to a ball game machine or a revolving game machine.

  According to the present invention described above, it is possible to realize a gaming machine that can prevent erroneous lighting of the lamp.

It is a perspective view of the pachinko machine shown in an example. It is the front view which illustrated in detail the game board of the pachinko machine of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the pachinko machine of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of an effect control part, an effect interface part, and an image control part. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a lamp connection board | substrate and a light emitting member. The internal structure and time chart of a driver are illustrated. It is a flowchart explaining the control procedure of a driver.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on examples. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a pachinko machine GM of the present embodiment. This pachinko machine GM includes a rectangular frame-shaped wooden outer frame 1 that is detachably mounted on an island structure, and a front frame 3 that is pivotably mounted via a hinge 2 fixed to the outer frame 1. It is configured. A game board 5 is detachably attached to the front frame 3 from the front side, not from the back side, and a glass door 6 and a front plate 7 are pivotally attached to the front side so as to be openable and closable.

  On the outer periphery of the glass door 6, an electric lamp such as an LED lamp is arranged in a substantially C shape. On the other hand, a speaker is disposed below the glass door 6.

  The front plate 7 is provided with an upper plate 8 for storing game balls for launching, and a lower plate 9 for storing game balls overflowing or extracted from the upper plate 8 and a launch handle at the lower part of the front frame 3. 10 are provided. The launch handle 10 is interlocked with the launch motor, and a game ball is launched by a striking rod that operates according to the rotation angle of the launch handle 10.

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

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

  As shown in FIG. 2, a guide rail 13 made of a metal outer rail and an inner rail is provided in an annular shape on the surface of the game board 5, and a central opening HO extending toward the back side is provided in the approximate center. It has been. A display device DISP composed of a liquid crystal color display is arranged at the bottom of the central opening HO. In the display device DISP, a 3D image is displayed at the time of a notice effect.

  Further, on the right side of the display device DIDP, a light emitting member 51 that emits light with high luminance is disposed only in a special case such as a special notice operation or a big hit determination. The light emitting member 51 is, for example, a high-intensity LED for a flash light source realized by CL-690S-3WN. The light emitting member 51 is formed in a rectangular box shape having a reflective surface RF extending in a taper shape, and three at the bottom thereof. Light emitting diodes L1 to L3 are arranged. When a current of about 20 mA is supplied to the light emitting member 51, the light emitting member 51 is configured to emit light with a luminous intensity of about 10 cd. In addition, it is configured to strongly appeal to the player that a special situation has occurred due to the sharp directivity (luminosity) of about ± 30 degrees in half width with respect to the maximum radiation direction orthogonal to the game board (see arrow). ing.

  On the other hand, a symbol starting port 15, a big winning port 16, a normal winning port 17, and a gate 18 are arranged at appropriate positions in the game area 5a. Each of these winning openings 15 to 18 has a detection switch inside, and can detect the passage of a game ball.

  The display device DISP is a device that variably displays a specific symbol related to the big hit state and displays a background image and various characters in an animated manner. This display device DISP has a special symbol display part Da to Dc in the center and a normal symbol display part 19 in the upper right part. And, in the special symbol display parts Da to Dc, a reach effect is executed that expects a big hit state to be invited, or in the special symbol display parts Da to Dc and the surroundings, a notice effect that informs the result of the success / failure is executed. Is done.

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

  The symbol start opening 15 is configured to be opened and closed by an electric tulip having a pair of left and right opening and closing claws, and when the stop symbol after the fluctuation of the normal symbol display unit 19 hits and the symbol is displayed, the opening and closing claws are displayed. It is opened only for a predetermined time or until a predetermined number of game balls are detected.

  When a game ball wins the symbol start port 15, the display symbols of the special symbol display portions Da to Dc change for a predetermined time and are determined based on the lottery result corresponding to the winning timing of the game ball to the symbol start port 15. Stop at the stop symbol. In addition, in special symbol display parts Da-Dc and its circumference, a notice effect may be performed between a series of symbol effects.

  The big winning opening 16 is controlled to open and close by, for example, an opening / closing plate 16a that can be opened forward, but when the stop symbol after the symbol change of the special symbol display portions Da to Dc is a big hit symbol such as “777”, the “big hit game” Is started, and the opening / closing plate 16a is opened.

  After the opening / closing plate 16a of the big prize opening 16 is opened, the opening / closing plate 16a is closed when a predetermined time elapses or when a predetermined number (for example, 10) of game balls wins. In such an operation, the special game is continued up to 15 times, for example, and is controlled in a state advantageous to the player. In addition, when the stop symbol after the change of the special symbol display parts Da to Dc is a specific symbol among the special symbols, there is a privilege that the game after the end of the special game becomes a high probability state (probability variation state). Is granted.

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

  As shown in the figure, this pachinko machine GM includes a power supply board 20 that receives AC 24V and outputs various DC voltages, a system reset signal SYS, etc., a main control board 21 that plays a central role in game control operations, and a main control board. An effect control board 22 that executes a lamp effect and a sound effect based on the control command CMD received from the control board 21; an image control board 23 that drives the liquid crystal display DISP based on the control command CMD ′ received from the effect control board 22; Based on a control command CMD "received from the main control board 21, a payout control board 24 for controlling the payout motor M to pay out the game ball, and a launch control board 25 for firing the game ball in response to the player's operation, , It is structured around.

  However, in this embodiment, the control command CMD output from the main control board 21 is transmitted to the effect control board 22 via the command relay board 26 and the effect interface board 27. The control command CMD ′ output from the effect control board 22 is transmitted to the image control board 23 via the effect interface board 27, and the control command CMD ″ output from the main control board 21 is the main board relay board 28. Is transmitted to the payout control board 24. The effect interface board 27 and the effect control board 22 are directly connected by a connector without using a cable.

  The main control board 21, the effect control board 22, the image control board 23, and the payout control board 24 are each equipped with a computer circuit including a one-chip microcomputer. Thus, the circuits mounted on the control boards 21 to 24 and the operations realized by the circuits are collectively referred to as a function. In this specification, the main control unit 21, the effect control unit 22, and the image control unit 23 are used. , And the payout control unit 24. All or part of the effect control unit 22, the image control unit 23, and the payout control unit 24 is a sub-control unit.

  By the way, the pachinko machine GM is roughly divided into a frame side member GM1 surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 3 and a board side member GM2 fixed to the back of the game board 5. The frame side member GM1 includes a front frame 3 on which a glass door 6 and a front plate 7 are pivotally attached, and a wooden outer frame 1 on the outside thereof. Is fixedly installed. On the other hand, the board side member GM2 is replaced in response to the model change, and a new board side member GM2 is attached to the frame side member GM1 instead of the original board side member. All except the frame side member GM1 is the panel side member GM2.

  3, the frame side member GM1 includes a power supply board 20, a payout control board 24, a launch control board 25, a frame relay board 32, an external terminal board OT, and a ball lending machine UT. Interface board IF, and these circuit boards are respectively fixed at appropriate positions of the front frame 3. On the other hand, a main control board 21, an effect control board 22, and an image control board 23 are fixed to the back of the game board 5 together with a liquid crystal display DISP and other circuit boards. And the frame side member GM1 and the board | substrate side member GM2 are electrically connected by the connection connectors CN1-CN4 concentratedly arranged in one place.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the power supply board 20 is connected to the main board relay board 28 through the connection connector CN2, and is connected to the power supply relay board 30 through the connection connector CN3. The main board relay board 28 outputs the system reset signal SYS, the RAM clear signal, the voltage drop signal, the backup power supply, DC12V, and DC32V received from the power board 20 to the main controller 21 as they are. Similarly, the power supply relay board 30 also outputs the system reset signal SYS received from the power supply board 20 and the AC and DC power supply voltages to the effect interface board 27 as they are. The effect interface board 27 outputs the received system reset signal SYS to the effect control unit 22 and the image control unit 23 as they are.

  On the other hand, the payout control board 24 is directly connected to the power supply board 20 without going through the relay board, and receives the same system reset signal SYS, RAM clear signal, voltage drop signal, backup power supply as the main control unit 21 receives. Directly with other power supply voltages.

  Here, the system reset signal SYS output from the power supply board 20 is a signal indicating that the AC power supply 24V is supplied to the power supply board 20, and the one-chip microcomputer or other IC element of each of the control units 21 to 24 by this signal. The power is reset. The RAM clear signal received from the power supply board 20 by the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 24 is a signal that determines whether or not to initialize all areas of the built-in RAM of the one-chip microcomputer of each control unit 21 and 24. Thus, it has a value corresponding to the ON / OFF state of the initialization switch operated by the staff.

  The voltage drop signal received from the power supply board 20 by the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 24 is a signal indicating that the AC power supply 24V has started to drop. By receiving this voltage drop signal, each control unit 21, In 24, a necessary termination process is started prior to a power failure or business termination. The backup power source is a DC 5V DC power source that retains data in the built-in RAM of the one-chip microcomputer of the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 24 even after the AC power source 24V is shut off due to business termination or power failure. Therefore, the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 24 can resume the game operation before power-off after power-on (power backup function). This pachinko machine is designed to retain the stored contents of the RAM of each one-chip microcomputer for at least several days.

  On the other hand, the effect control unit 22 and the image control unit 23 are not provided with the power supply backup function described above. However, the system reset signal SYS is commonly supplied to the effect control unit 22 and the image control unit 23, and the power reset operation is realized at a timing substantially synchronized with the other control units 21 and 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the effect interface board 27 includes a command relay board 26, a power supply relay board 30, a frame relay board 31, an effect control board 22, a lamp connection board 34, and an image control board 23. Are connected to the inverter board 33. Further, a light emitting member 51 in which three light emitting diodes L1 to L3 are connected in parallel is connected to the lamp connection board 34.

  As described above, the light emitting member 51 is lit only in a special case such as a special notice operation or when a big hit is confirmed, and since the lighting has a special meaning, it is configured not to malfunction in any case. ing. That is, when the LED lamp of the light emitting member 51 is erroneously lit, the player is whitened, and thus a configuration in which such erroneous lighting does not occur (specifically described later) is adopted.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the effect control unit 22 includes a one-chip microcomputer 40 that executes processing such as sound effects, lamp effects, and data transfer, an EPROM 41 that stores a control program for the one-chip microcomputer 40, and the one-chip microcomputer. 40, an audio reproduction LSI 42 that generates an audio signal based on an instruction from 40, an audio memory (phrase ROM) 43 that stores compressed audio data that is the original data of the generated audio signal, and a watchdog timer WDT. Configured.

  The one-chip microcomputer 40 includes a serial communication circuit SIO and a parallel port PIO. In this embodiment, serial data DATA and shift clock CLOCK are output from serial communication circuit SIO, and latch signal LATCH and operation control signal ENABLE are output from parallel port PIO. Further, a control command CMD ′ and a strobe signal STB ′ are also output from the parallel port PIO.

  The watchdog timer WDT is reset by a clear pulse periodically supplied from the one-chip microcomputer 40. When the clear pulse is interrupted due to a program runaway or the like, a reset signal RESET is output. As a result, the one-chip microcomputer 40 is forcibly reset to the initial state, and the program runaway state is solved.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the control command CMD and the strobe signal (interrupt signal) STB output from the main control board 21 are sent to the one-chip microcomputer 40 of the presentation control board 22 via the buffer 48 of the presentation interface board 27. Have been supplied. Then, the effect control unit 22 acquires the control command CMD by the reception interrupt process activated by the strobe signal STB. In addition to (a) error notification and other notification control commands, the control command CMD acquired by the effect control unit 22 includes (b) control for specifying an outline of various effect operations resulting from winning at the symbol start opening. Commands (variation pattern commands) are included. Here, the outline of the production operation specified by the variation pattern command includes the production total time from the production start to the production end, and the result of winning or failing in the big hit lottery. In addition to these, the change pattern command including the presence or absence of the reach effect or the notice effect may be specified, but even in this case, the specific content of the effect content is not specified.

  Therefore, when the effect control unit 22 acquires the variation pattern command CMD, the effect lottery is subsequently performed, and the effect outline specified by the acquired variation pattern command is further specified. For example, the specific contents of the reach effect and the notice effect are determined. Then, according to the determined specific game content, a lamp effect by blinking LED lamps or the like and a sound effect preparation operation by a speaker are performed, and the image control unit 23 is provided with an effect operation by a lamp or speaker. A control command CMD ′ relating to the synchronized symbol effect is output.

  In this case, the effect control unit 22 outputs a control command CMD ′ to the effect interface board 27 together with a strobe signal (interrupt signal) STB ′ for the image control unit 23. In addition, when receiving the notification control command or other control command related to the liquid crystal display, the effect control unit 22 outputs the control command as it is to the effect interface board 27 together with the interrupt signal STB ′.

  Corresponding to the configuration of the effect control board 22, the effect interface board 27 is configured to receive an 8-bit control command CMD ′ and a 1-bit interrupt signal STB ′. These data CMD ′ and STB ′ are output to the image control board 23 as they are via the buffer circuit 45.

  In addition, the effect interface board 27 receives the lamp driving control signals (DATA, CLOCK, ENABLE, LATCH) output from the effect control unit 22 and outputs them via the buffer circuit 46. The lamp drive control signal output from the effect interface board 27 is supplied to the LED lamp and the like constituting the light emitting member 51 via the lamp connection board 34, and as a result, corresponds to the control command CMD output from the main control unit 21. The lamp effect is realized.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of the lamp connection substrate 34, including the light emitting member 51. As illustrated, the lamp connection substrate 34 and the light emitting member 51 are connected through a connector CN. The light emitting member 51 includes three light emitting diodes L1 to L3 integrally formed in a parallel connection state, and a current limiting resistor. r and are mounted.

  Here, the energization current If of the light emitting diodes L1 to L3 can be appropriately set according to the power supply voltage VB to the light emitting diodes L1 to L3 and the value of the current limiting resistor r. Specifically, the light emitting diodes If the forward voltage drop of L1 to L3 is VF (≈3V) and the ON resistance of the transistor Tr2 is 0, If = (VB−VF) / (r * 3).

  However, in this embodiment, VB = 12V is set so as to raise the power supply voltage VB as much as possible. That is, for example, in order to realize the energization current If = 10 mA (30 mA as a whole), (5-3) / 30 = 67Ω under the condition of the power supply voltage VB = 5, and under the condition of the power supply voltage VB = 12, 12-3) / 30 = 300Ω is sufficient, and the same luminance can be obtained in all cases, but the power supply voltage is set to VB> 5 in order to prevent erroneous lighting of the light emitting diodes L1 to L3. This reason will be described later.

  Aside from the above points, a plurality of drivers Dr 1,..., Drn−1, Drn are connected in series to the lamp connection board 34, and each driver Dr is sent from the one-chip microcomputer 40 of the effect control unit 22. The serial signal DATA, the latch signal LATCH, the shift clock CLOCK, and the operation control signal ENABLE are operated. Although not limited in any way, in this embodiment, BD7851FP (see FIG. 6), which is a 16-bit constant current LED driver manufactured by ROHM, is used as the driver Dri.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, the serial signal DATA received from the one-chip microcomputer 40 of the effect control unit 22 is supplied to the 16-bit length shift register SFR via the S_IN terminal, and the shift clock CLOCK Shifted in synchronization with the rising edge. And the serial signal which passed through the shift register is output from the S_OUT terminal.

  The serial signal DATA input to the shift register is acquired by the 16-bit latch register LTR in synchronization with the rising of the latch signal LATCH. When the latch signal LATCH returns to the L level, the acquired value of the latch register LTR is held. Is done. The acquired value of the latch register LTR is output as it is from the output terminals OUT1 to OUT16 if the operation control signal ENABLE is L level, but if the operation control signal ENABLE is H level, an open collector type output gate train is All are released (HiZ).

  The driver Dri having such a configuration has its output terminals OUT1 to OUT16 connected to the LED lamp via corresponding connectors. In the circuit example of FIG. 5, N−1 drivers Dr1 to Drn−1 from the first stream to the N−1 stream on the most upstream side as viewed from the effect control unit 22 are each 16 × 3 LEDs. The lamps are driven, and the N-series driver Drn drives 15 × 3 LED lamps. The three LED lamps connected in series are discretely arranged and light up or blink with the same luminance.

  As shown in the figure, the output terminal OUT16 of the N-series driver Drn is supplied to the base terminal of the PNP transistor Tr1 via the base resistor R2. A bias resistor R1 is connected between the base terminal and the emitter terminal of the PNP transistor Tr1, and a DC voltage VB (= 12V) is supplied to the emitter terminal. The collector terminal is connected to the base terminal of the PNP transistor Tr2.

  Here, the transistor Tr2 is a driver of the light emitting diodes L1 to L3, and its collector terminal is connected to the cathode terminals of the light emitting diodes L1 to L3 via the connector CN. As described above, when the ON resistance of the transistor Tr2 is set to 0, a forward current of IF = (VB−VF) / (r * 3) flows through the light emitting diodes.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the PNP transistor Tr1 and the NPN transistor Tr2 are used. However, the embodiment is not particularly limited, and, for example, a modification shown in FIG. However, in this case, since the PNP transistor Tr1 functions as a driver, a transistor having an appropriate current capacity is used. It goes without saying that the current limiting resistor r may be disposed on the lamp connection board 34 instead of being disposed on the light emitting member 51.

  By the way, instead of the circuit configuration shown in FIGS. 5A and 5C, the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 5B (comparative example) may be adopted. However, when the present inventor conducted a noise test in which a game ball charged to a high voltage is automatically fired continuously on the game board, the light emitting diodes L1 to L3 are occasionally weakly lit in the circuit configuration of the comparative example. A malfunction was observed.

  On the other hand, when the circuit configuration of the example (FIG. 5A) and the modified example (FIG. 5C) is adopted, the erroneous lighting as in the comparative example was not recognized. Although the exact reason is unknown, the light emitting diodes L1 to L3 of the light emitting member 51 are almost constantly in the OFF state, and the potential of the energization line of the light emitting member 51 in the OFF state is related. The present inventor has imagined that.

  That is, in the circuit configuration of the comparative example, the energization line of the light emitting member 51 is approximately 0V, whereas in the circuit configurations of the embodiment and the modified example, the energization line is approximately 12V. Based on the above, in the circuit configuration of the comparative example, it is imagined that electrostatic discharge is likely to occur in the energization line, and the light emitting diode is erroneously lit due to the discharge current.

  Although this point is only an estimate of the present inventor, even when the power supply voltage VB is lowered from 12V to 5V, when the comparison experiment of the comparative example and the example is performed, the circuit configuration of the example and the modified example is significant. The effect was recognized.

  Although the circuit configuration of the light emitting member 51 has been described in detail above, all the drivers Dr1 to Drn are controlled by the one-chip microcomputer 40 of the effect control unit 22. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the control process of the one-chip microcomputer 40. In this embodiment, the N drivers Dr1 to Drn are controlled by a timer interrupt that is activated every predetermined time (for example, 16 ms). Note that the N * 16-bit lighting data supplied to Dr1 to Drn is prepared in the lighting data storage area BUF when the lighting data is updated.

  Based on the above description, based on FIG. 7, when a timer interruption occurs, the start timing of the lamp effect or whether the lamp effect is in progress is determined by the control flag, the lamp effect is unnecessary, and the lighting before that If the state should be maintained, the interrupt process is finished as it is (ST30).

  On the other hand, if the timing is necessary for the lamp effect, first, the lighting data storage area BUF is initially set to the H level (ST31). This is because, among LED lamps of the 1st to Nth series, even if there are LED lamps that are set to the off state or LED lamps that do not require lamp effects, the corresponding driver is repeatedly turned to the OFF level (H This is to prevent erroneous lighting due to garbled bits by outputting level lighting data.

  In the circuit configuration in which N drivers Dr1 to Drn are connected in series as in this embodiment, if only one noise is superimposed on the shift clock, there is a possibility that the lighting data of all 16 × N bits will be at a staggering level. Therefore, the presence of step ST31 is significant.

  If the process of step ST31 is completed, it is determined whether or not the first sequence is in an operating state in which a lamp effect is to be executed (ST32). If the operation state is to execute the lamp effect, lighting data (16 bits) for the first series driver Dr1 is created and written in the storage area BUF in accordance with the scenario managed in the process of step ST43. (ST33).

  The same applies to the lighting data of the second series to the Nth series, and if it is an operation state in which the lamp effect is to be executed, the corresponding driver Dr2 corresponding to the scenario advanced in the processing of step ST45 or step ST47. Lighting data to be supplied to Drn is created and written in the storage area BUF (ST35, ST37).

  As a result of the above processing, since the latest lighting data corresponding to the scenario progress is prepared in the storage area BUF, these lighting data are transferred in the order from the most downstream driver Drn to the most upstream driver Dr1. (ST38). Specifically, lighting data is output for each bit from the serial communication circuit SIO, and a shift clock CLOCK is output. When such an operation is repeated N * 16 times, a total of N1 * 16 lighting data is transferred to each of the drivers Dr1 to Drn.

  Here, the lighting data transferred to the output terminal OUT16 of the driver Drn is data for driving the light emitting diodes L1 to L3 constituting the light emitting member 51, and is normally at the H level except for a special timing. .

  When the transfer of the lighting data is completed as described above, the enable signal ENBLE is then changed to H level (ST39). As a result, all LED lamps from the first series to the N series are extinguished at this moment. Subsequently, the latch signal LATCH is raised and then returned to the L level (ST40). Then, at the rising timing of the latch signal LATCH, the latest lighting data is written from the shift registers SFR of all the drivers Dri to the latch registers LTR. However, at this timing, since the enable signal ENB is at the H level, all the LED lamps remain off.

  Next, the enable signal ENB is changed to L level (ST41). As a result, all the LED lamps are turned on based on the latest lighting data transmitted in the process of step ST39. As described above, since the output terminal OUT16 of the driver Drn is maintained at the H level in normal times, the LED lamp of the light emitting member 51 does not light up. However, in a special case, the output terminal OUT16 is low. At the level, the LED lamp of the light emitting member 51 is appropriately turned on.

  After that, the processes of steps ST42 to ST47 are executed to advance the lamp effect according to a predetermined scenario. When there is no progress, the same lighting data is output again.

  As described above, in this embodiment, since the lighting data of the register of the driver Dr is updated every time in the timer interrupt process, the influence of noise can be surely eliminated. That is, since it is sufficient that the lamp effect appealing to human vision is changed every few hundreds of milliseconds, the same lighting data is repeatedly transmitted in the timer interruption process of a considerable number (= several hundreds of milliseconds / 16 milliseconds). However, the duplicate transmission is an effective noise countermeasure.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described in detail, the specific description content does not specifically limit this invention. For example, the light emitting member 51 of the embodiment uses three light emitting diodes, but the type of lamp and the number of lamps are appropriately changed. Moreover, although the Example which connected the some light emitting element in parallel was demonstrated, of course, you may connect in series. However, it is preferable that a plurality of light-emitting elements are arranged densely and configured to have high luminance.

GM gaming machine 22 light emission controller 51 specific light emitters L1 to L3 light emitting element Tr2 switch circuit

Claims (8)

A gaming machine that determines whether or not a gaming state advantageous to a player is generated based on a lottery decision resulting from a predetermined switch signal , and controls lighting of a number of light emitters arranged at predetermined positions of the gaming machine It is configured to have a light emission control unit that excites gaming operations by performing a lamp effect ,
The light emission control unit
Equipped with a driver circuit that outputs lighting data for lighting control of a specific light emitter that is normally turned off when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and a normal light emitter that realizes a lamp effect by appropriate lighting control A drive substrate;
A circuit board connected to the drive board via the two terminals of the connection connector, the light-emitting board for lighting the specific light emitter,
Normally, the light emitter is driven to light by directly receiving the output of the driver circuit, while the specific light emitter is driven to light by receiving the output of the switch circuit of the drive board that receives the output of the driver circuit,
The specific light emitter is disposed between a first terminal that supplies current to the light emitting element when energized and a second terminal from which current flows from the energized light emitting element,
The switch circuit receives a permission level lighting data from the driver circuit when a predetermined condition is established, and is turned ON to form a short circuit from the second terminal to the ground of the driving substrate to light the specific issuer. In the case of the game machine, the specific light emitter is extinguished while maintaining the OFF operation .   The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the specific light emitter is configured by a plurality of light emitting elements connected in series or in parallel. The gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the specific light emitter has directivity with a half-value width of ± 35 degrees or less with respect to the maximum radiation direction. The drive board is composed of a plurality of driver circuits connected in series,
Lighting data defining the lighting state of each light emitter, via a plurality of driver circuits are outputted from the control board of the light emission control unit, any one of claims 1 to 3, which is transferred by the time sequentially shifting The gaming machine described in 1. The driver circuit includes N shift registers that perform a shift operation in synchronization with a shift clock, an N-bit latch register that stores output data of the N shift registers in synchronization with a latch pulse, and an operation control signal at a permission level. 5. A gaming machine according to claim 4 , further comprising: an N-bit gate circuit that outputs output data of the latch register to an output terminal based on the configuration. At the timing when the lighting state of the normal light emitter should be controlled,
Regardless of whether or not to change the lighting state of each light emitter, every predetermined time, the gaming machine according to claim 4 or 5 serial data is outputted to the driver circuit. The gaming machine according to claim 6 , wherein the control board of the light emission control unit outputs all or part of a shift clock, a latch pulse, and an operation control signal. The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein a DC voltage supplied to the first terminal exceeds a design value of 5V.