JP5816976B2 - Enclosed ball game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an enclosed ball game machine having a circulation path through which a ball circulates.

  In an enclosed ball-type pachinko gaming machine (hereinafter simply referred to as a gaming machine) having a circulation path through which game balls used for pachinko games circulate, the game is performed with a certain number of gaming balls enclosed inside the gaming machine. . For this reason, the game ball is not touched by the player's hand or directly exposed to the air in the hall that is outside when viewed from the game machine. It is low compared to the type of game machine

  However, although it is an enclosed ball type, the gaming machine is not airtightly configured, and the ball being caught in the game (the game ball is caught on the obstacle nail of the game board and the rolling stops) To solve the problem, the clerk can open and close the door frame. Therefore, tobacco dust, dust, fiber scraps, etc. in the air adhere to the surface of the game ball. For this reason, some of the enclosed ball type gaming machines are provided with a brush that scrapes off deposits from the surface of the ball somewhere in the ball circulation path of the gaming machine (Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-131559 A

  The cause of dust, dust, fiber scraps, etc. adhering to the game ball enclosed by the enclosed ball type gaming machine is when the game ball stays for a long time without moving. There is a possibility that the gaming machine will be in a waiting state for one day without playing a game, or rarely, it will not be hit for almost a week. Even if the brush is arranged in the middle of the circulation path of the balls as in the prior art described above, the game balls cannot be cleaned because the game balls do not move.

  On the other hand, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine, the balls used for the game are not replaced, so the enclosed balls are easily soiled, and depending on whether the game balls are clean or not, for example, repulsion between balls or game balls It is conceivable that a large difference occurs in the difference in the movement of the game ball, such as a mode in which a ball hits a nail and a mode in which the ball moves loosely on the stage. For this reason, in any enclosed ball-type game machine installed in the hall, there is a risk that the principle that the player has fairness with respect to the chance of winning with the game ball used may be broken. .

  Therefore, at least once a day, when there is no player, for example, when the power is turned on before the opening time or when waiting for a customer, if the encapsulated ball is launched and moved, the encapsulated ball will not move and stay for a long time It is thought that the state which is doing can be avoided and a game ball can be maintained cleanly. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to ensure fairness of a winning chance by a game ball used for a player in any of the enclosed ball type game machines.

An enclosed ball type gaming machine according to claim 1 is:
A game board in which a game area is partitioned;
A ball striking device for launching a game ball into the game area in response to an operation on the ball handle;
A circulation path for collecting the game balls launched by the hitting ball launching device as encapsulated balls on the back side of the game board and supplying them to the hitting ball launching device again;
A circulating ball feed member that feeds the encapsulated balls stored in an array passage formed in a part of the circulation path one by one into the ball launching position of the hitting ball launching device one by one based on driving of an electrical drive source;
A ball cleaning member that cleans the surface of the encapsulated sphere by contacting the encapsulated sphere in the circulation path;
A main control board for performing game control processing related to pachinko games;
Bidirectional data communication with the main control board is possible, a prize ball command transmitted from the main control board in the game control process, and ball number information of game balls launched by the hitting ball launcher, Information on the number of balls of the foul balls collected in the foul ball collection port formed in the middle of the ball guide path through the ball guide path from the ball launch position to the game area without reaching the game area And ball information for performing increase / decrease control of the number of balls possessed by the gaming machine based on the above, control for launching the game ball by the hitting ball launching device, and control for feeding the game ball to the ball launch position by the circulating ball feed member A control board;
In the enclosed ball type gaming machine with
A time measuring means for measuring time;
Time determination means for comparing whether the current time is before the opening time by comparing the current time measured by the timing means with the opening time set and stored in advance when the power is turned on. Provided,
The sphere information control board is
By automatically operating the hitting ball launching device and the circulating ball feeding member without depending on the operation of the hitting ball handle, the idling control for firing all the encapsulated balls at least once and circulating the circulation path is performed. Equipped with idle control means to perform,
The idling control means executes the idling control on the condition that the time judging means judges that the current time is before the opening time.
It is characterized by that.

  According to the enclosed ball type gaming machine according to claim 1, when the power is turned on before the opening time, all the enclosed balls are fired at least once and the circulation path is circulated so that the enclosed ball does not move. A state of staying for a long time can be avoided, and the encapsulated sphere can be kept clean. For this reason, the game conditions for the encapsulated ball can be equalized regardless of the stand, and the player can be ensured of fairness with respect to the winning chance by the game ball to be used.

It is a front view which shows the payment machine attached to the pachinko machine and pachinko machine which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a front perspective view which shows the main body frame which comprises a pachinko machine. It is a back perspective view which shows the main body frame 2 which comprises a pachinko machine. It is a front view which shows the various structural members provided in the lower part of a game board, and the lower surface side lower part of a main body frame. It is a perspective view which shows a hit ball | bowl launcher, a circulation path, and a ball | bowl cleaning mechanism. It is a front view which shows the hit ball | bowl launcher and the 1st and 2nd ball channel | path formation member which forms a circulation path. It is a top view which shows the 1st and 2nd ball passage formation member which forms a hit | ball hitting device and a circulation path. It is a perspective view which shows the firing rail and 2nd ball passage formation member which comprise a hit ball launching device. It is a rear view which shows the firing rail and the 2nd ball passage formation member which constitute a hitting ball launching device. FIG. 4A is a front view showing a casing and a first duct forming member constituting the blower, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing the casing and the first duct forming member constituting the blower. is there. FIGS. 9A to 9C are explanatory diagrams showing the game ball feeding control based on the ball detection by the first and second firing standby ball switches, respectively. FIGS. 9A to 9C are explanatory views showing game ball feeding control based on ball detection by the first and second firing standby ball switches in the modified examples, respectively. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part of the main control board mainly arrange | positioned at the enclosed ball-type pachinko machine. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part of the ball | bowl information control board mainly deployed by the enclosed ball-type pachinko machine. FIG. 3 is a block diagram mainly showing elements connected to the checkout machine 200. It is a flowchart which shows the main control side power-on process which the main control MPU performs. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a continuation of main-control-side power-on processing in FIG. 16. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the main control side timer interruption process which main control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the ball | bowl information control side power-on process which the ball | bowl information control MPU of a ball | bowl information control board performs. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the ball information control side power-on process of FIG. 19. FIG. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a continuation of power-on processing on the ball information control side in FIG. 20. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the sphere information control side timer interruption process which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the idling control processing which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part of the main control board in 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part of the spherical information control board in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows a part of main control side power-on process which the main control MPU performs in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows a part of sphere information control side power-on process executed by the sphere information control MPU in the second embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The pachinko machine 1 (enclosed ball game machine) according to the present embodiment is the same as a known pachinko machine, such as game content and outer size, and can be installed in the current island facility in the hall (pachinko game hall). However, it is a gaming machine that does not use the ball supply mechanism or ball discharge mechanism of the island facility. In the pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment, a game is played using a game ball previously enclosed in the game machine. Then, it becomes possible to launch game balls corresponding to the number of game balls (data on the number of balls held) based on the data on the number of rented balls input from a storage medium such as a card via a checkout system. Then, the data on the number of possessed balls is subtracted corresponding to the number of game balls that have been fired.

  In addition, when the launched game ball wins a winning opening in the game area and a prize ball (game ball) is generated, the actual game ball is not paid out, and the number of prize balls is included in the number-of-balls data. Is added. Further, when the data on the number of possessed balls becomes “0”, the game ball cannot be launched. In this state, when a numerical value (number of rented balls) is added to the data of the number of balls based on the amount data stored in a storage medium such as a card or the data of the stored balls, the game balls can be launched again. It becomes. In addition, the launched game balls are collected in the gaming machine and can be launched again and circulate in the gaming machine. That is, the pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment is an encapsulated ball type gaming machine that collects game balls launched into the game area and uses them again for games.

  First, with reference to FIG.1 and FIG.2, the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3 which comprise the pachinko machine 1 of embodiment are demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a pachinko machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention and a payment machine 200 attached to the pachinko machine 1. FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing the main body frame 2 constituting the pachinko machine 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment is configured in a rectangular frame shape and is installed in an island facility on the hall side, and can be opened and closed to the outer frame. And a door frame 3 that is pivotally supported by the main body frame 2 so as to be openable and closable.

  As shown in the figure, the pachinko gaming machine 1 is formed in a vertically long rectangular shape in which the outer frame, the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3 extend in the vertical direction when viewed from the front. The dimensions of the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3 are slightly shorter than the outer frame in terms of the vertical dimension in the vertical direction. A decorative cover 55 is attached to the front surface of the outer frame at a position below the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3 so that the front surface of the outer frame is completely closed by the door frame 3 and the decorative cover 55. It has become. The outer frame, the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3 are arranged so that the upper ends thereof are substantially aligned, and the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3 are rotatably supported at a position on the left end front side of the outer frame. In addition, the right end of the main body frame 2 moves to the front side with respect to the outer frame, and is opened when the right end of the door frame 3 moves to the front side with respect to the main body frame 2. It comes to be in a state.

  The door frame 3 is formed on the game board 4 so that a player can visually recognize a game area 5 into which a game ball is to be placed, and is arranged below the game window 6 and based on a player's operation. A ball hitting handle 7 for driving a game ball into the area 5 is provided. In the gaming window 6, the front surface of the gaming board 4 mounted on the main body frame 2 side (the gaming area 5 defined by the guide rails 8) can be viewed with the door frame 3 closed against the main body frame 2. A transparent plate 9 is attached to cover. The hitting handle 7 drives the launching motor 23 (see FIG. 3) of the hitting ball launching device 20 attached to the back surface of the main body frame 2 based on the player's turning operation. It is designed to perform. The hitting handle 7 has a micro switch (not shown) that is turned on when it is turned, and a firing stop switch 86 that turns off the micro switch when the micro switch is turned on (FIG. 11). And a touch switch 87 (only the reference numeral is shown in FIG. 11) for detecting contact of the player with the hitting ball handle 7 through conductive plating applied to the outer peripheral surface of the hitting ball handle 7. I have. The hit ball launching device 20 will be described later.

  The outer frame closing plate (not shown) is inserted by inserting a key into a cylinder lock 1010 of the key device provided on the upper side of the hitting handle 7 disposed at the lower right corner of the door frame 3 and rotating it to one side. ) And the hook portion (not shown) of the main body frame sliding rod are disengaged, and the main body frame 2 can be released from the outer frame by pulling the main body frame 2 to the front side. It has become.

[Operation panel unit 10]
The door frame 3 is provided with an operation panel portion 10 that is formed horizontally in a lower portion of the game window 6 (a portion corresponding to an upper plate of a well-known pachinko machine having a non-enclosed ball type). On the left side of the operation panel unit 10 located in the middle of the front face of the door frame 3, a remaining number display unit 13, a gaming machine ball number display unit 14, and an end ball number display unit 15 are sequentially arranged from top to bottom. It is arranged. In addition, these display units are arranged with five segment displays (7-segment displays) arranged so that the numeral “8” can be displayed in a horizontal row, and can display a 5-digit numerical value.

  Here, the remaining number is a value corresponding to an amount stored in a card 203 to be described later, and the number of player's balls is the number of balls lent to the player by lending a ball. It is the total of the number of prize balls acquired by the player as a result of playing the game.

  A ball lending button (push button type switch) 11 as a ball lending command input means that can be operated by the player and a payment command input means that can be operated by the player are provided at the upper center of the operation panel 10. And a settlement button (push button type switch) 12 are juxtaposed side by side on the left and right. On the upper edge of the ball lending button 11, there is provided an operable notification lamp 52 for notifying that the operation by the ball lending button 11 is in an effective state. The ball lending button 11 is for instructing lending of a ball for playing a game. The settlement button 12 is used for instructing settlement after the pachinko game is finished.

  Further, at the lower center of the operation panel unit 10, an end ball number display as an end ball number display command input means that can be operated by the player at a position below the ball lending button (push button type switch) 11. A button (push-button switch) 16 is disposed, and a message display unit 57 made of, for example, a liquid crystal display is disposed on the right side of the central portion of the operation panel unit 10. Here, the number of end balls is the surplus number of balls when the number of gaming machine balls is divided by the number of balls corresponding to one special prize at the time of prize exchange. When the display of the number of end balls is instructed by the end ball number display button 16, the message display unit 57 displays a message such as “Would you like to drive only the end balls”? On the left and right sides of the number-of-balls display button 16, a YES button for making a selection input for the player to respond to yes or no in response to the interactive question format message displayed on the message display unit 57. A (push button type switch) 53 and an NO button (push button type switch) 54 are provided.

[Main frame 2]
On the other hand, the main body frame 2 is configured in a substantially rectangular plate shape so as to fit within a rectangular frame-shaped outer frame, and has a square-shaped accommodation opening for fitting and housing the game board 4 on the front side thereof. A portion 18 is formed. Then, by closing the door frame 3 with respect to the main body frame 2, the front surface of the game board 4 accommodated in the main body frame 2 (the game area 5 defined by the guide rails 8) is the game window 6 of the door frame 3. It comes to face the front side.

  And in the pachinko machine 1 provided with the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3 described above, a game is played on the front side (the game area 5) of the game board 4 fitted in the accommodation opening 18 of the main body frame 2. . That is, the pachinko machine 1 plays a game by launching a game ball into the game area 5 surrounded by the guide rails 8 of the game board 4, and the game area 5 has a number of obstacle nails (not shown). ), And various winning ports such as a starting winning port and a large winning port (in FIG. 13, an upper starting port switch 90 for detecting a game ball won in the upper starting winning port arranged in the gaming area 5; A lower start port switch 91 for detecting a game ball won in a lower start winning port arranged in the game area 5, and a gate switch 92 for detecting a game ball passed through a gate arranged in the game area 5. The left winning port switch 93 for detecting a game ball won in a winning port arranged on the left side of the gaming area 5 and the gaming ball won in a winning port arranged on the upper and lower sides on the right side of the gaming area 5 are detected. Upper right / lower right prize port switch 94 and in game area 5 An LED board for displaying a normal symbol and a special symbol, a start-up solenoid 96 for a normal electric accessory disposed in the game area 5, and a solenoid 97 for a big prize opening disposed in the game area 5. And a big prize opening count switch 98 for detecting a game ball won in the big prize opening are described only by reference numerals), and a predetermined number of prize balls are given according to the prizes received in various winning openings. It has become. Specifically, in the pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment, which is an enclosed ball type gaming machine, “1” is subtracted from the data of the number of balls in accordance with the driving of one gaming ball, while winning in various winning openings. The number of winning balls corresponding to the number of balls held is added to the data on the number of balls held, and the number of balls held corresponding to this is displayed on the number-of-balls display section 14 of the gaming machine.

  In addition, at the lower end portion of the game area 5, there is provided an out port 19 that accepts a game ball that has flowed down to the lowest end without winning any of the winning ports and discharges it to the back side of the game board 4. On the back side of the game board 4, a collection basket that collects the game balls that have won the various prize openings and the game balls that have flowed into the out slot 19, and guides these game balls toward the out-safe ball collection path 31 described later. (Not shown) is attached.

  As described above, in the pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment, the payout of the winning ball is not performed, and the number of balls to be played, the number of balls entered, the number of balls difference, the number of balls held, etc. are not the actual number of game balls, It is a numerical value on the data. That is, there are only a limited number of game balls that are actually used (for example, 25 or 50) that are circulated, and the number of balls that can be used is, for example, a game ball that is launched into the game area 5 is detected. The number of shot balls counted, the number of foul balls counted by detecting the game balls that have been launched but returned, the number of collected balls counted by detecting the game balls that have been launched and collected in the game area 5, The number of balls entered, the number of balls out, the number of balls difference, the number of balls held can be obtained from the number of winning balls when winning a prize and the number of balls rented from the hall.

  That is, as long as there is no trouble such as opening the door frame 3 and the game ball going out, the number of fired balls = the number of foul balls + the number of collected balls (when the number of foul balls is not included). And the number of entered balls = the number of collected balls = the number of launched balls-the number of foul balls, the number of issued balls = the number of winning balls (integrated value) = the number of entered balls-the number of rented balls (the number of replayed balls) + the number of held balls Number of balls held = number of balls rented (or replayed balls) + number of balls played-number of balls entered, number of balls played-number of balls entered = number of balls difference, number of balls held = number of balls lent (or number of balls replayed) ) + Difference ball number. In this way, the game by the pachinko machine 1 is completely performed as a numerical value on the data, and there is no error caused by spilling the game ball or leaving the game ball on the lower plate or the upper plate, It becomes possible to manage in an integer unit.

  Next, the ball striking device 20, the circulation path 30, and the ball cleaning mechanism 60 provided on the back side of the main body frame 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view showing the main body frame 2 constituting the pachinko machine 1. FIG. 4 is a front view showing various components provided on the lower part of the game board 4 and the lower part on the back side of the main body frame 2. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the ball striking device 20, the circulation path 30, and the ball cleaning mechanism 60. FIG. 6 is a front view showing the ball striking device 20 and the first and second ball passage forming members 33 and 37 that form the circulation path 30. FIG. 7 is a top view showing the ball striking device 20 and the first and second ball passage forming members 33 and 37 that form the circulation path 30. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the firing rail 21 and the second ball passage forming member 37 constituting the hit ball launching device 20. FIG. 9 is a rear view showing the firing rail 21 and the second ball passage forming member 37 constituting the hit ball launching device 20. FIG. 10A is a front view showing the casing 65 and the first duct forming member 69 constituting the blower 62. FIG. 10B is a perspective view showing the casing 65 and the first duct forming member 69 constituting the blower 62.

[Hitball launcher 20]
As shown in FIG. 3, a hitting ball launching device 20 for launching a game ball on a launch guide path 8 a (see FIG. 2) of a guide rail 8 provided on the game board 4 is provided at the lower part on the back side of the main body frame 2. Ball launching means) is provided. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 9, the hit ball launching device 20 launches a launch rail 21 provided in communication with the launch guide path 8 a and a game ball at a launch position near the starting point of the launch rail 21. A firing hammer 22 and a firing motor 23 as a driving source of the firing hammer 22 are provided. The firing hammer 22 is pivotally supported on the firing base frame 80 and the firing hammer 22 is provided. A slide motor 81 and a slide member for adjusting a biasing force of a biasing spring (not shown) for applying a biasing force for attaching the firing motor 23 to the firing base frame 80 and for returning to the firing hammer 22 are attached to the firing base frame 80. 82 (refer to FIG. 6 for both) is provided on the firing base frame 80. A reverse rotation prevention cam 83 is fixed to the tip of the motor shaft of the firing motor 23. A large number of reverse teeth are formed on the outer periphery of the reverse rotation prevention cam 83, and engages with a stopper piece 85 that is swingably fixed to the stopper piece mounting boss 84 to rotate the firing motor 23 in the reverse direction. It is preventing.

  The firing hammer 22 is actuated (reciprocatingly rotated) by driving the firing motor 23 based on the turning operation of the hitting ball handle 7 described above. In addition, a launch ball check switch 24 for detecting the presence or absence of a game ball to be driven by the launch hammer 22 is disposed at the ball launch position near the starting point of the launch rail 21. A launch ball detection switch 25 for detecting a game ball launched from the launch rail 21 is arranged (FIG. 4). Thereby, after the detection of the game ball is switched to non-detection by the launch ball confirmation switch 24, when the passing of the game ball is detected by the launch ball detection switch 25, one game ball is fired by the launching hammer 22. It is supposed to detect that.

  The launch ball check switch 24 includes a flat type proximity switch that detects a game ball as a metal body based on a change in impedance of a detection coil of the high-frequency oscillation circuit. The shot ball detection switch 25 is composed of a pair of sensors for light emission and light reception, and a transmission type photo sensor for detecting the game ball by light shielding accompanying the passage of the game ball.

  In addition, opening / closing plate members 26 and 27 for facilitating maintenance work of the switches 24 and 25 are provided at the mounting portions of the firing ball confirmation switch 24 and the firing ball detection switch 25, respectively (FIG. 5). . The open / close plate members 26 and 27 are attached so as to be rotatable (open / close) side by side with respect to the support shaft 28 (see FIG. 2). A switch mounting portion 26a is formed on the opening / closing plate member 26 disposed on the right side when viewed from the player side, and a launch ball check switch 24 is integrally attached to the switch mounting portion 26a. The maintenance work on the firing ball check switch 24 and the firing rail 21 is facilitated by opening the. On the other hand, the opening / closing plate member 27 disposed on the left side when viewed from the player side is formed with an opening 27a for avoiding interference with the launch ball detection switch 25 when the opening / closing plate member 27 is closed. Opening 27 facilitates the maintenance work of the firing ball detection switch 25.

[Circulation path 30]
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a first spherical passage in which an out-safe ball collection path 31 and a foul ball collection path 32 that form a spherical path of the circulation path 30 are formed in the lower part on the back side of the main body frame 2. A forming member 33, and a second spherical passage forming member 37 formed by sequentially connecting the collecting and combining passage 34, the array passage 35, and the launching and sending passage 36 are provided. And, the launch path constituted by the launch rail 21, the launch guide path 8a constituted by the guide rail 8, the game area 5, various winning openings, the out port 19, the recovery bowl on the back of the game board 4, the out-safe ball recovery path A game ball circulation path 30 is configured by the foul ball collection path 32, the collection joint path 34, the arrangement path 35, and the launch delivery path 36.

  It should be noted that the recovery combined flow path 34 as the circulation path 30 formed by the second ball path forming member 37 (strictly speaking, it is arranged directly below each ball outlet of the out-safe ball recovery path 31 and the foul ball recovery path 32. The passage portion on the downstream side of a later-described ball inflow port 42), the arrangement passage 35, and the launch delivery passage 36 are each formed in a passage shape that sequentially conveys one game ball at a time. Further, the ball guide passage according to the present invention is constituted by the collection bowl on the back surface of the game board 4, the out-safe ball collection path 31, the foul ball collection path 32, the collection joint path 34, the arrangement path 35, and the launch and delivery path 36. Yes.

  The out-safe ball collection path 31 is arranged in communication with the collection bowl mounted on the back surface of the game board 4 as described above, and the safe balls collected by the collection bowl (game balls won in various winning openings) and the out The ball (the game ball that has flowed into the out port 19) is received and guided to the recovery combining channel 34. Further, in the middle of the out-safe ball collection path 31, a game ball that has passed through the out-safe ball collection path 31, in other words, a game ball (out ball and safe ball) that has been driven into the game area 5 is detected. An out-safe sphere detection switch 40 is provided. The out-safe ball detection switch 40 includes a penetration type proximity switch that detects a game ball as a metal body by a change in impedance of a detection coil of a high-frequency oscillation circuit.

  The foul ball collection path 32 receives a foul ball collected from a foul ball collection port 38 (see FIG. 4) formed in the game board 4 and guides it to the collection joint channel 34. The foul ball collection port 38 is a drop port provided between the launch rail 21 and the lower portion of the outer rail portion of the guide rail 8, and a game ball launched from the launch rail 21 (the hitting ball launching device 20) is a game area. When the guide rail 8 flows backward without being driven into the game ball 5, the game ball enters the foul ball collection port 38 and is collected as a foul ball. Further, in the middle of the passage of the foul ball collection path 32, a game ball that has passed through the foul ball collection path 32, in other words, a game ball (foul ball) that has become foul without being driven into the game area 5 is detected. Foul ball detection switch 41 is provided. The foul ball detection switch 41 is constituted by a penetration type proximity switch that detects a game ball as a metal body by a change in impedance of a detection coil of a high-frequency oscillation circuit.

  The recovery joint channel 34 is formed to meander in a substantially S-shape, and the spherical inflow port 42 at the upper end thereof communicates directly below the respective ball outlets of the out-safe ball recovery channel 31 and the foul ball recovery channel 32. It is formed in a shape. In addition, a ball capacity confirmation switch 43 (ball capacity confirmation means) for confirming the capacity of the game balls collected in the collection joint path 34 is provided in the middle of the passage downstream of the collection joint path 34. The ball capacity confirmation switch 43 is configured by a flat type proximity switch that detects a game ball as a metal body by a change in impedance of a detection coil of a high-frequency oscillation circuit.

  The array passage 35 is provided so as to communicate with a ball outlet at a downstream portion of the recovery joint channel 34 and is configured to store and array a plurality of game balls in contact with each other. The array passage 35 is formed in a U-shaped passage shape in which one end side communicates with the sphere outlet of the collection passage 34 having a downward slope, and the other end communicates with the sphere inlet of the launch delivery path 36 having an upward slope. In the U-shaped passage, a circulating ball feeding member 44 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) made of a sprocket-like rotating body is assembled so as to be rotatable about a shaft 45. A plurality (two in the embodiment) of ball receiving portions 46 are formed on the outer circumference of the circulating ball feeding member 44 at a predetermined angle (180 degrees in the embodiment). The circulating ball feeding member 44 is rotated by using a circulating ball feeding motor 47 (see FIG. 5: electric drive source) as a drive source so as to send the game balls in the array passage 35 one by one toward the launch delivery path 36. It has become. In other words, the output shaft of the circulating ball feed motor 47 is coupled to the shaft 45 of the circulating ball feed member 44 so that torque can be transmitted.

  The launch delivery path 36 communicates with the ball outlet at the upper end of the array passage 35 having an ascending slope and forms an ascending slope with the entrance passage 48 and the ball hitting device 20 (launch rail) from the top of the upper end of the entrance passage 48. 21) and a delivery passage portion 49 having a gentle downward slope toward the ball launch position side, and has a substantially U-shape.

  In the middle of the passage of the delivery passage portion 49, the first and second for detecting the game ball that has passed through the delivery passage portion 49 and controlling the feeding of the game ball to the ball hitting device 20 by the circulating ball feed motor 47. Are provided side by side with the firing standby ball switches 50 and 51 (first and second sending ball detecting means). The launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 are each composed of a flat type proximity switch that detects a game ball as a metal body by a change in impedance of a detection coil of a high-frequency oscillation circuit. The control for sending the game ball to the hitting ball launcher 20 based on the ball detection by the first and second launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 will be described in detail later.

[Ball cleaning mechanism 60]
In addition, a ball cleaning mechanism 60 for removing dust and the like attached to the game balls circulating in the circulation path 30 is provided at the lower part on the back side of the main body frame 2. The ball cleaning mechanism 60 includes a conductive brush 61 having conductivity provided in the entrance passage portion 48 of the launch and delivery path 36 serving as the circulation path 30 so as to be in contact with the game ball, and an arrangement portion of the conductive brush 61. And an air blowing device 62 (air blowing means) for blowing artificial wind into the entrance passage portion 48 of the launch and delivery path 36.

  As shown in FIG. 9, three conductive brushes 61 are provided side by side on the upper wall side of the firing delivery path 36, and the brush tip portion is formed in the upper wall portion of the inlet passage portion 48 of the firing delivery path 36. It is arranged in a state of being slightly inserted into the inlet passage portion 48 through the brush insertion port 63 formed. As a result, the game ball passing through the entrance passage portion 48 is rubbed against the tip of the conductive brush 61 as it passes through the entrance passage portion 48, so that deposits such as dust adhering to the outer peripheral surface are removed. It has become.

  The conductive brush 61 is connected to a ground wiring 64 (see FIG. 6). Thus, when the conductive brush 61 is rubbed against the game ball, static electricity charged on the surface of the game ball is removed in addition to the removal of the deposits. Two such conductive brushes 61 are also provided side by side on the upper wall side in the downstream portion of the recovery combined flow path 34, and the conductive brush 61 on the side of the launch and delivery path 36 (inlet passage section 48). Similarly, the adhering matter and static electricity are removed from the game ball passing through the passage (in this case, the downstream portion of the recovery combining passage 34).

  As shown in FIG. 10, the blower 62 is a well-known blower fan for exhaust heat (cooling) of a power source of an electric product, a substrate, etc., and a fan (a motor that rotates the fan in a substantially circular casing 65) Both are not shown). A screw fixing boss 66 for screwing the blower device 62 to the back side of the second spherical passage forming member 37 (portion forming the recovery combined flow path 34) and an artificial wind are blown out on the outer peripheral portion of the casing 65. Are formed.

  In addition, a blower duct 68 that guides the artificial wind blown from the blower port 67 toward the launch and delivery path 36 is attached to the blower port 67. The air duct 68 includes a first duct forming member 69 having a casing shape, and a second duct forming member 70 having a flat plate shape that is assembled so as to cover the casing opening of the first duct forming member 69. It is comprised from the assembly | attachment body of. The first duct forming member 69 is provided on the screw stop boss 71 for assembling the second duct forming member 70 integrally and on the second ball passage forming member 37 side (the vicinity of the launching and sending path 36). An air outlet 73 is formed which is connected to the air inlet 72 (see FIG. 6) and sends the artificial wind blown from the air outlet 67 to the launching and sending path 36 and the recovery combined path 34.

  As a result, the artificial wind blown from the blower port 67 of the blower 62 is sent from the wind outlet 73 of the blower duct 68 to the wind inlet 72 of the second ball passage forming member 37. The artificial wind sent to the wind inlet 72 is provided adjacent to the arrangement position of the conductive brush 61 (the brush insertion port 63 through which the brush tip portion is inserted) on the upper wall side of the inlet passage portion 48 of the launch delivery path 36. The three blowout ports 74 are blown into the inlet passage portion 48 and from the three blowout ports 77 provided adjacent to the arrangement position of the conductive brush 61 on the upper wall side in the downstream portion of the recovery combined passage 34. It is blown into the recovery joint channel 34.

  As a result, the artificial wind from the blower 62 is blown to the game balls in the collection joint channel 34 and the inlet passage portion 48, so that the game balls pass through the collection joint passage 34 and the inlet passage portion 48. Thus, it is possible to remove deposits such as dust attached to the outer peripheral surface of the game ball. Further, at this time, the game balls in the collection joint channel 34 and the entrance passage portion 48 are also removed by adhering the conductive brush 61 as described above. The ball cleaning when passing through the inner and inlet passage portions 48 is performed by two methods (a method in which the conductive brush 61 is rubbed against the game ball and a method in which the artificial wind of the blower 62 is blown onto the game ball). The cleaning effect can be greatly enhanced. Specifically, the game ball is surely cleaned by removing the deposit from the outer surface of the game ball by rubbing the conductive brush 61 and completely removing the deposit from the game ball by blowing the artificial wind. Can do. However, by removing static electricity from the surface of the game ball, it is possible to reduce the adherence of garbage, especially dry garbage, and by adhering artificial wind to such a game ball, there are deposits attached to the game ball. Efficiently removed.

  Further, the artificial wind blown from the blower 62 into the recovery joint channel 34 and the inlet passage 48 removes the deposits adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the game ball and, at the same time, adheres to the conductive brush 61 by rubbing the game ball. The conductive brush 61 is also cleaned by blowing away the attached matter from the tip of the brush. For this reason, maintenance is performed such that the worn-out tape portion is gradually wound up and finally replaced with new abrasive paper, as in the configuration of removing the adhering game balls using tape-like abrasive paper. Since it is not necessary to frequently perform the work, the maintenance cycle for the configuration for removing the deposits of game balls can be dramatically increased.

  In addition, in the portion of the second spherical passage forming member 37 that forms the lower wall portion of the inlet passage portion 48 of the launch delivery passage 36 (the portion facing the upper wall portion in which the blowout port 74 is formed), the launch delivery passage is provided. Two discharge ports for discharging the artificial wind of the blower 62 blown into the air blower 36 and the deposits on the surface of the game ball removed by the blowing of the artificial wind to the outside of the inlet passage 48 (circulation path 30) 75 is formed. In addition, a similar exhaust port 78 (see FIG. 6) is also formed in the portion of the second spherical passage forming member 37 that forms the lower wall portion of the recovery combining channel 34 (the portion facing the upper wall portion where the air outlet 77 is formed). ) Is formed. Thus, the artificial wind of the blower 62 blown into the inlet passage portion 48 and the recovery combined passage 34 is not trapped in the inlet passage portion 48 and the recovery combined passage 34 (circulation path 30), and smooth artificial wind. In other words, it is possible to invite a smooth game ball cleaning by blowing artificial wind. In addition, according to such a configuration, the removed deposits on the surface of the game ball are discharged out of the inlet passage portion 48 and the recovery combined passage 34 (circulation path 30), and therefore the deposits are removed from the inlet passage portion 48 and It is possible to avoid such a problem that it remains in the collection joint channel 34 (circulation path 30) and adheres to the surface of the game ball again.

  In addition, three vent holes 76 are formed in a row in a slit shape at the lower portion of the outer peripheral wall of the first duct forming member 69 on the air outlet 73 side, and the artificial wind blown out from the air outlet 67 While being sent from the outlet 73 to the launch delivery path 36 (inlet passage section 48) and the recovery combined flow path 34, it is also blown out slightly from the blower 62 through the vent 76. The three air vents 76 are connected to the driving source of the circulating ball feeding member 44 in a state where the blower 62 is screwed to the back side of the second ball passage forming member 37 (the portion forming the recovery combined passage 34). It is arranged at an upper position close to the circulating ball feed motor 47. Thereby, the artificial wind blown out from the vent hole 76 hits the circulating ball feed motor 47 and cools the circulating ball feed motor 47. That is, the artificial wind of the blower 62 circulates the game balls in the circulation path 30 in addition to the action of cleaning the game balls in the circulation path 30 (the inlet passage portion 48 and the recovery combined passage 34 of the launch and delivery path 36). It also has the function of cooling the electric drive source (circulating ball feed motor 47) having the function of

  Thus, in the pachinko machine 1 described above, the game balls are circulated and used in the circulation path 30, and the deposits attached to the game balls used for circulation are removed by the ball cleaning mechanism 60. The game ball supplied to the hitting ball launching device 20 is shot by the hitting ball launching device 20 from the lower front side of the game board 4 between the inner and outer two guide rails 8 into the game area 5. Then, the game balls launched into the game area 5 flow down in the game area 5, and a part of the game balls are arranged in the game area 5 (for example, a normal prize opening, a start prize opening) , A prize winning opening, etc.), is led to the back side of the game board 4 to become a safe ball, and is guided to the out-safe ball collection path 31 through a collection bowl on the back side of the game board 4.

  On the other hand, the game balls that have not won any of the winning holes after flowing down the game area 5 flow into the out holes 19 at the lower end of the game area 5 to become out balls, and pass through the collecting bowl on the back of the game board 4. It is guided to the out-safe ball collection path 31. The out-ball and the safe ball guided to the out-safe ball collection path 31 through the collection bowl on the back of the game board 4 are detected as out-of-safe balls provided in the middle of the out-safe ball collection path 31 respectively. After being detected by the switch 40, it is fed into the recovery combining channel 34.

  In addition, the game ball which has been launched by the hitting ball launching apparatus 20 but has flowed back through the guide rail 8 without flowing down the game area 5 becomes a foul ball and enters the foul ball collection port 38 and enters the foul ball collection path 32. Be guided to. Then, the foul sphere guided from the foul ball collection port 38 to the foul ball collection path 32 is detected by a foul ball detection switch 41 provided in the middle of the foul ball collection path 32 and then fed into the collection passage 34. It is collected together with the out ball and the safe ball.

  Thereafter, the game balls (out ball, safe ball, and foul ball) sent into the recovery joint channel 34 flow down in the recovery joint channel 34 formed to meander in a substantially S shape, and the recovery joint channel 34 34 is detected by a ball capacity confirmation switch 43 provided in the middle of the passage on the downstream side, and then sent to the array passage 35. Then, the game balls fed into the arrangement passage 35 are fitted into the ball receiving portion 46 of the circulating ball feeding member 44, and 1 when the circulating ball feeding member 44 rotates based on the driving of the circulating ball feeding motor 47. It is sent out one by one to the entrance passage portion 48 side of the launch delivery path 36 that forms an upward slope.

  At this time, the game ball transported in the entrance passage portion 48 is rubbed with the tip portion of the conductive brush 61 as it passes through the entrance passage portion 48, so that the attached matter such as dust attached to the outer peripheral surface is adhered. Is removed, and static electricity charged on the outer peripheral surface is removed. At the same time, artificial wind from the blower 62 is blown against the game ball passing through the entrance passage portion 48. As a result, artificial wind is blown onto the game ball that has passed through the entrance passage portion 48 and has the attached brush peeled off by the conductive brush 61 and from which static electricity has been removed.

  Therefore, the removal of static electricity reduces the adherence of trash, especially dry trash, and the artificial ball is blown against the game ball from which the outer peripheral surface is peeled off. It is possible to efficiently remove deposits attached to the surface. Further, since the deposits such as dust blown off from the game ball are discharged to the outside from the artificial wind outlet 75 formed in the lower wall portion of the entrance passage portion 48, the removed deposits are removed from the entrance passage portion. Thus, it is possible to avoid the problem of remaining in the 48 (circulation path 30) and adhering to the game ball display again. The removal of the adhering matter and static electricity on the game ball is also performed by the conductive brush 61 in the recovery joint channel 34 when the game ball is sent from the downstream portion of the recovery joint channel 34 to the array passage 35. It is what is said.

  Further, when the game balls fitted in the ball receiving portion 46 of the circulating ball feeding member 44 are sent one by one to the inlet passage portion 48 along with the rotating operation of the circulating ball feeding member 44, the gaming balls are Also by the feeding operation by the circulating ball feeding member 44, the deposits on the outer peripheral surface are removed to some extent. Specifically, two ball receiving portions 46 for receiving game balls are formed on the outer circumference of the circulating ball feeding member 44 in the present embodiment at an interval of 180 degrees. For this reason, even when game balls are continuously sent by the rotating operation of the circulating ball feeding member 44, a slight interval is provided until the next game ball is fed after the first game ball is fed. .

  During this interval period, that is, in a period in which the outer peripheral portion of the circulating ball feeding member 44 other than the ball receiving portion 46 is in contact with the lowermost game ball of the inlet passage portion 48, it is stopped in the inlet passage portion 48. The game ball moves slightly toward the arrangement passage 35 side. Therefore, by the rotation of the circulating ball feeding member 44, the movement in which the game balls are pushed up one by one in the entrance passage portion 48 and the movement in which the game balls are slightly lowered in the entrance passage portion 48 are alternately repeated. Thus, a slight impact force can be applied to the game ball by the vertical movement of the game ball in the entrance passage portion 48, and the deposit on the outer peripheral surface of the game ball is removed by the impact force. Yes.

  Thereafter, the game ball that has passed through the entrance passage portion 48 has a substantially U-shaped apex portion of the launch delivery path 36, in other words, a communication portion between the entrance passage portion 48 and the delivery passage portion 49 constituting the launch delivery path 36. As a boundary, the delivery passage portion 49 that becomes a downward slope naturally flows down by its own weight. Then, the game balls that naturally flow down the delivery passage portion 49 are detected by the first and second firing standby ball switches 50 and 51 provided in the middle of the delivery passage portion 49 and then sent to the hitting ball launcher 20 side. Then, it is derived to a ball launch position that is in the vicinity of the starting point of the launch rail 21 constituting the hit ball launching device 20.

  After that, the game ball is circulated and used again by being fired from the hitting ball launcher 20 to the game area 5. In addition, a game ball collected through the circulation path 30 after being driven by the hitting ball launching apparatus 20 (a game ball led out to the ball launch position again through the circulation path 30) is a launch delivery path 36 (inlet passage section). 48) Since the deposits and static electricity are removed, the possibility that the deposits such as dust will be charged again before reaching the ball hitting device 20 is low. For this reason, it is possible to reliably prevent the unevenness of the game ball caused by being fired in a state where the attached matter is attached.

  The above-mentioned second spherical passage forming member 37 is provided so as to be detachable from the back surface of the main body frame 2, and is a totally enclosed sphere (circulated and used in the recovery combined passage 34, the array passage 35, and the launching and sending passage 36) For example, it may be configured as an enclosed ball exchange unit that can be exchanged in a state where 50 balls are enclosed. According to such a configuration, by replacing the sealed ball replacement unit with a new one, all the sealed balls used for circulation at the same time can be replaced with clean game balls.

  Next, an outline of control of the pachinko machine 1 and the settlement machine 200 disposed adjacent to one side thereof will be described. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a main part of a main control board mainly arranged in an encapsulated ball type pachinko machine. The control of the pachinko machine 1 is broadly divided into a main board group and a peripheral board group. Among these, the main board group controls the game operation, and the peripheral board group performs a production operation (liquid crystal display panel, lamp , Body frame lamp, door frame lamp, sound). The main board group includes a main control board 100 and a sphere information control board 110, and the peripheral board group includes a peripheral control board 130.

[Main control board 100]
The main control board 100 controls pachinko games. The main control board 100 and a later-described sphere information control board 110 are connected so that bidirectional data communication is possible. As shown in FIG. 13, the main control board 100 for controlling the progress of the game is a main control MPU 101 which is a microprocessor in which a ROM for storing various processing programs and various commands, a RAM for temporarily storing data, and the like are incorporated. A main control I / O port 102 as an input / output device (I / O device), a main control input circuit 103 to which detection signals from various detection switches are input, and a main control solenoid for driving various solenoids A drive circuit 104 and a RAM clear switch 105 for completely erasing information stored in a RAM (hereinafter referred to as “main control built-in RAM”) built in the main control MPU 101 are provided.

  The main control MPU 101, in addition to its built-in ROM (hereinafter referred to as “main control built-in ROM”) and main control built-in RAM, in addition to a watchdog timer that monitors its operation (system) and to prevent fraud These functions are also built in. The main control MPU 101 has a built-in non-volatile RAM, and this non-volatile RAM has a unique code for identifying an individual by the manufacturer of the main control MPU 101 (a code that exists only once in the world). ) Is stored in advance. The ID code once assigned is stored in the nonvolatile RAM, and therefore cannot be rewritten even if an external device is used. The main control MPU 101 can take out and refer to the ID code from the nonvolatile RAM.

[RTC control unit]
Further, the main control MPU 101 of the embodiment includes an external real-time clock (hereinafter referred to as “RTC”) 107 capable of acquiring time information as time information acquisition means. Although not shown, the RTC 107 includes a register circuit, a clock input circuit, a clock output circuit, an interrupt output circuit, a data input / output circuit, and a control circuit.

  The RTC 107 has a clock / calendar function. The clock / calendar function is a function that counts the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second. Moreover, you may use what counts to a day of the week as needed. The RTC control unit 106 is provided with an RTC 107 and a battery 108 for driving the RTC 107. By providing the battery 108, the RTC 107 does not interrupt the timekeeping and calendar function even when the power supply of a power supply board (not shown) is shut off.

  The battery 108 may be a primary battery (for example, a button battery), or a rechargeable secondary battery, thereby avoiding the need to arrange a backup power supply and avoiding the complicated configuration of the main control board 100. Can do. The battery 108 is also used as a backup power source for the RAM 109.

  The main control MPU 101 includes the RTC 107 and has a function of specifying year / month / day / hour / minute / second (calendar information and time information). In other words, in this embodiment, the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 acquires time information (hour / minute / second) from the RTC 107 when the gaming machine is turned on.

  An upper start switch 90 for detecting a game ball won in an upper start port (not shown) arranged in the game area 5 of the game board 4 and a lower one for detecting a game ball won in a lower start port (not shown). A detection signal from a general winning opening switch 93 that detects a game ball won in the start opening switch 91 and a general winning opening (not shown) is first input to the main control input circuit 103, and the main control I / O port 102. Is input to the main control MPU 101.

  In addition, a gate switch 92 that detects a game ball that has passed through a gate portion (not shown), a general winning port switch 94 that detects a gaming ball won in a general winning port (not shown), and a big winning port (not shown). The detection signal from the count switch 98 that detects the game ball that won the game is first input to the main control input circuit 103 via the panel relay terminal board 140 attached to the game board 4, and the main control I / O port 102. Is input to the main control MPU 101.

  Based on these detection signals, the main control MPU 101 outputs a control signal from the main control I / O port 102 to the main control solenoid drive circuit 104, so that the start-up solenoid 96 and the large-size solenoid 96 are connected via the panel relay terminal plate 140. A drive signal is output to the winning opening solenoid 97, the upper special symbol display 142, the lower special symbol display 143, and the upper special symbol from the main control I / O port 102 through the panel relay terminal board 140 and the function display board 141. A drive signal is output to the symbol memory display 144, the lower special symbol memory display 145, the normal symbol display 146, the normal symbol memory display 147, the game state display 148, and the round display 149.

  Further, the main control MPU 101 transmits various information related to the game (game information) and various commands related to the winning ball according to the prize to the ball information control board 110 in a serial manner, or the pachinko game from the ball information control board 110 Various commands relating to the status of the machine 1 are received in a serial manner. Further, the main control MPU 101a transmits various commands related to the control of the game effect and various commands related to the state of the pachinko gaming machine 1 to the peripheral control board 130.

[Sphere Information Control Board 110]
FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a main part of the sphere information control board 110 mainly disposed in the encapsulated sphere pachinko machine. The ball information control board 110 includes a ball information control unit 118 that performs management of the number of balls and various controls related to the ball circulation feed motor 47 and a launch control unit 119 that performs launch control by the launch motor 23. Further, the main control board 100 and the sphere information control board 110 are connected so as to enable bidirectional data communication.

[Sphere Information Control Unit 118]
As shown in FIG. 14, the sphere information control unit 118 includes a sphere information control MPU 111, which is a microprocessor in which various processing programs and various commands are stored, a ROM that stores various data, a RAM that temporarily stores data, and the like. A sphere information control I / O port 112 as an O device and an external watchdog timer 116 (hereinafter referred to as “external WDT 116”) for monitoring whether or not the sphere information control MPU 111 is operating normally. A circulating ball feed motor driving circuit 114 for outputting a driving signal to the circulating ball feed motor 47 for performing the ball feeding, a ball information control input circuit 113 for receiving detection signals from various detection switches relating to the circulating ball feeding, And a CR unit input / output circuit 115 for exchanging various signals with the settlement machine 200. In addition to its built-in ROM (hereinafter referred to as “ROM with built-in sphere information control”) and RAM (hereinafter referred to as “RAM with built-in sphere information control”), the sphere information control MPU 111 is also adapted to fraud. It also has built-in functions to prevent it.

  The ball information control MPU 111 receives various information (game information) related to games from the main control board 100 and various commands related to prize balls in a serial manner via the ball information control I / O port 112, or from the main control board 100. An operation signal (detection signal) of the RAM clear switch 105 is input via the ball information control I / O port 112.

  Detection signals from a door frame opening switch 131 that detects opening of the door frame 3 with respect to the main body frame 2 and a body frame opening switch 132 that detects opening of the main body frame 2 with respect to the outer frame are first input to the ball information control input circuit 113. And input to the sphere information control MPU 111 via the sphere information control I / O port 112. Further, a touch detection signal (ON signal) from the touch switch 87 for detecting whether or not a palm or finger is touching the hitting handle 7 is input to the firing control input circuit 120 via the handle relay terminal plate 123 and further touched. The detection signal is input to the sphere information control MPU 111 via the sphere information control I / O port 112.

  Also, the blower 62, the circulating ball feed motor 47, the first and second launch standby ball switches 50 and 51, the ball capacity confirmation switch 43, the launch ball confirmation switch 24, the launch ball detection switch 25, the foul ball detection switch 41, The detection signal from the out-safe sphere detection switch 40 is input to the sphere information control input circuit 113 via the sensor relay board 124 and input to the sphere information control MPU 111 via the sphere information control I / O port 112. . The ball information control MPU 111 outputs a drive signal for driving the blower 62 and the circulating ball feed motor 47 to the blower 62 and the circulating ball feed motor 47 via the ball information control I / O port 112.

  In addition, the ball information control MPU 111 can receive operation input signals of the end ball number display button 16, the YES button 53, and the NO button 54 disposed on the operation panel unit 10 through the ball information control I / O port 112. It is connected. Further, in the ball information control MPU 111, a gaming machine possession ball number display unit 14, a terminal ball number display unit 15, and a message display unit 57 disposed on the operation panel unit 10 are controlled from the ball information control I / O port 112. It is connected so that it can be displayed by output. In addition, the ball information control board 110 relays the electrical connection between the main control board 100 and the external terminal board 133, and in addition to the door frame opening switch 131, the body frame opening switch 132, the external terminal board 133, The electrical connection between is relayed. The external terminal board 133 is electrically connected to a hall computer installed in the game hall (hall).

[Launch Control Unit 119]
A launch control unit 119 that performs launch control by the launch motor 23 includes a launch control input circuit 120 to which detection signals from various detection switches related to launch are input, an oscillation circuit 121 that outputs a clock signal at regular intervals, and this clock. An output of a firing reference pulse for launching a game ball toward the game area 5 based on the signal, and a firing motor drive circuit 122 that outputs a drive signal to the firing motor 23 based on the firing reference pulse are provided. .

  A detection signal from a touch switch 87 for detecting whether or not a palm or finger is touching the hitting handle 7 and a firing stop switch 86 for detecting whether or not the game ball is forcibly stopped according to the player's will. Is first input to the launch control input circuit 120 via the handle relay terminal plate 123. Further, when the settlement machine 200 and the ball information control board 110 are electrically connected, the CR control signal is input to the launch control input circuit 120.

  Note that DC power supplies + 24V, + 12V, and + 5.2V are supplied to the spherical information control board 110 from a power supply board (not shown). In addition, DC power supplies + 24V, + 12V, and + 5.2V are supplied to the main control board 100 via the sphere information control board 110.

  The power failure monitoring circuit 117 compares and monitors the voltage V1 based on + 24V and the reference voltage, and the voltage V2 based on + 12V and the reference voltage, respectively, and detects a sign of power failure or instantaneous power failure, that is, the voltage V1 or V2 is the reference. When it becomes smaller than the voltage, a power failure warning signal is output as a power failure warning. The power failure notice signal output from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 is supplied to the main control MPU 101 in addition to being supplied to the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110. Although not shown, the power failure warning signal is also input to the peripheral control board 130.

[Settlement machine 200]
FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing each element mainly connected to the checkout machine 200. The payment machine 200 and the ball information control board 110 are connected so that data communication can be performed in both directions. Although not shown, the control unit of the checkout machine 200 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an input / output interface, a communication interface, and the like.

  To the checkout machine 200, operation input signals of the ball lending button 11 and the checkout button 12 disposed on the operation panel unit 10 of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 1 are connected so as to be input through an interface, for example. Further, the remaining frequency display unit 13 and the operable notification lamp 52 disposed on the operation panel unit 10 of the encapsulated ball pachinko machine 1 are connected so as to be able to be displayed by a control output from the settlement machine 200. Further, the checkout machine 200 is provided with a card processing machine 202 at the back of the card insertion slot 201 of FIG.

[Card 203]
The card 203 used in the embodiment is composed of, for example, a magnetic card or an IC card, and is issued to a player by being issued by a card issuing machine (not shown) when the player pays a predetermined amount. FIG. 13 shows the data structure stored in the card 203.

  In the card 203, an ID storage unit 204 in which an ID number (hereinafter simply referred to as an ID) as identification information individually given to the card 203 is stored, which corresponds to the amount paid when the card 203 is purchased. The remaining number storage unit 205 that stores the remaining number as valuable value information to be stored, and the number of stored balls 206 that stores the number of balls (game machine balls) acquired by the player as a result of playing the game. Is set. When the card 203 is issued, the ID is stored in the ID storage unit 204, and the remaining number corresponding to the amount paid when the card 203 is purchased in the remaining number storage unit 205 (for example, the amount paid is 5000 yen). In this case, “5000” is stored as the remaining number, but “0” is stored in the number-of-balls storage unit 206 as the initial value of the number of balls.

  The card processor 202 is conventionally known, a card sensor for detecting the card 203, a card reader / writer for reading data stored in the card 203 and writing data to the card 203, and data reading of the card 203. A card conveying means is provided for sending the card 203 to the writing position and discharging the card 203 to the card insertion slot 201. When the card 203 is inserted into the card insertion slot 201, the card processor 202 sends the card 203 to a predetermined data reading / writing position, and the card reader / writer stores the stored data, that is, the ID, the remaining frequency, and the like. The number of balls held is read and output to the checkout machine 200. Further, in response to a write command from the settlement machine 200, the ID, the remaining number and the number of balls are written (stored) in each storage unit described above.

  The checkout machine 200 stores the ID read from the card 203 through the card processing machine 202, the remaining number and the number of balls in the RAM.

[Lending by ball with card 203]
When the settlement machine 200 reads the data of the card 203, the settlement machine 200 displays the remaining number stored in the RAM on the remaining number display unit 13. When the card 203 can be used, the checkout machine 200 lends a ball according to the operation of the ball lending button 11. This ball lending shall lend, for example, a ball lending number 125 (ball unit price is 4 yen) per operation of the ball lending button 11. In the ball lending, when there is a number of balls held and the number of balls held is less than 125, the number of balls held is lended as the number of balls lent. The checkout machine 200 transmits the number of rented balls to the ball information control board 110. Further, the checkout machine 200 obtains a consideration for the ball rental by multiplying the set ball unit price by the number of the rental balls, and subtracts the calculated consideration (the consideration corresponding to the ball rental is the remaining frequency) from the current remaining frequency. If there is a number of balls and if a ball is lent from the number of balls, the number of balls is subtracted from the current number of balls. The checkout machine 200 displays this result on the remaining frequency display unit 13. In addition, the remaining number is written in the remaining number storage unit 205 of the card 203.

[Game start]
When the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 receives the number of rented balls transmitted from the checkout machine 200, the ball information control MPU 111 adds the number to the number of gaming machine balls, and displays the addition result on the gaming machine ball number display unit 14. A launch permission signal is output to the launch control input circuit 120 of the launch control unit 119, and the hitting ball launching device 20 can be launched to enter a playable state.

[During game]
When the player operates the hitting handle 7, the launch motor 23 is actuated, and when the game ball in the ball launch position is launched into the game area 5 by the launch hammer 22, this is the launch ball confirmation switch 24 and the launch ball detection switch. Based on the detection of 25 balls, it is detected that each game ball is shot into the game area 5. Then, the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 sequentially “1” from the game machine possession ball number data stored in the game machine possession ball number storage area in response to the detection of each game ball. And is displayed on the gaming machine possession ball number display section 14.

  The ball information control MPU 111 detects a launch ball check switch 24 and a launch ball detection switch 25 that detect a game ball fired by the launch hammer 22, and a game ball (out ball and safe ball) that is driven into the game area 5. Out-safe ball detection switch 40, foul ball detection switch 41 for detecting a foul game ball (foul ball), ball capacity check switch 43 for checking the capacity of the game ball recovered in the recovery joint channel 34, circulation Based on the signals input from the first and second firing standby ball switches 50, 51 and the like for controlling the feeding of the game ball to the ball hitting device 20 by the ball feed motor 47, the corresponding signals are respectively sent to the main control board. 100, output to the circulating ball feed motor 47 and the like.

  In addition, when a game ball is driven, when the game ball flows backward through the launch guide path 8a to become a foul ball, the foul ball enters the foul ball collection port 38 and is sent to the foul ball collection path 32. It is detected by the sphere detection switch 41. The ball information control MPU 111 adds “1” to the game machine ball number data stored in the game machine ball number storage area each time one foul ball is detected by the foul ball detection switch 41 as described above. At the same time, this is displayed on the gaming machine possession ball number display unit 14 to avoid the problem of subtracting the foul ball from the gaming machine possession ball number data.

  On the other hand, the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 includes a gate switch 92 disposed on a gate (not shown) that allows game balls to pass through the game board 4 and a normal winning opening (not shown). General winning opening detection switches 93, 94, which are arranged with respect to 94, a count switch 98 which is arranged with respect to a large winning opening (not shown), and a starting opening (not shown) which is an upper starting opening. Based on the detection signals from the start port switches 90 and 91, processing related to the game is performed, and commands and signals as processing results are sent to the ball information control board 110, the peripheral control board 130, and the upper and lower special symbol displays 142 and 143. The upper and lower special symbol memory displays 144 and 145, the normal symbol display 146, the normal symbol memory display 147, the start port solenoid 96, the big prize port solenoid 97, etc.

  When the game ball launched by the hitting ball launching device 20 wins various winning holes in the game area 5 (starting winning hole, big winning hole, etc.), the game ball has various winning detection switches provided for each winning hole. (Upper start port switch 90, lower start port switch 91, general winning port switch 93, general winning port switch 94, count switch 98).

  The main control MPU 101 detects the game ball in response to a detection signal of a detection switch (general winning port detection switches 93 and 94, count switch 98, and start port switches 90 and 91 correspond) provided for each winning port. A prize ball command for instructing the number of prize balls set according to the winning prize winning opening is output to the ball information control board 110 as necessary.

  Further, the main control MPU 101 periodically outputs a game state signal (status) indicating the type of the current game state to the ball information control board 110. The gaming state means, for example, a winning lottery due to a winning at the start opening and a start opening, a special symbol variable display based on the lottery result to stop the symbol, and the lottery result In the case of the first type pachinko gaming machine that shifts to the special gaming state (big hit gaming state) in the case of, the normal gaming state (the probability of winning by the lottery is normal probability, and the time of variable display of the normal symbol is normal), short time Game state (state that normal symbol variable display time is shortened than usual, time output information output signal), jackpot gaming state (15 round jackpot information output signal or 2 round jackpot information output signal), high probability game Based on the status (state that the probability of winning by lottery is higher than usual, information output signal during probability variation), special symbol variation (special symbol display information output signal), start opening prize Distillate is state (starting opening winning information output signal) and the like have.

  The peripheral control board 130 is based on a command output from the main control board 100, a liquid crystal display panel (not shown), an accessory decoration board (not shown), a board decoration board (not shown), and a frame decoration. By outputting a control signal to a substrate (not shown), the lighting display of various decorative LEDs is controlled, and sound (sound, sound, sound effect, etc.) output from a speaker (not shown) is controlled. The design of effect display on the liquid crystal display panel (not shown) is controlled.

  Based on various input signals, the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 includes a launch control unit 119, a circulating ball feed motor 47 constituting the ball circulation device, a blower device 62, a number of balls possessed by the gaming machine 14 and A signal is output to the checkout machine 200. The launch control unit 119 considers a signal transmitted from the touch switch 87 that detects whether or not the player is touching or a launch stop switch 86 that instructs the stop of the hitting ball launching device 20 to hit the game ball. The launch device 20 is controlled to be driven or stopped. The ball circulation device (circulation ball feed member 44) is driven by a circulation ball feed motor 47 and circulates the game ball in the enclosed ball type pachinko machine 1. The sphere information control board 110 instructs the launch control unit 119 to launch (permit) or stop firing (impossible). Also, the circulating ball feed motor 47 is instructed to be operable or to be deactivated.

  A game state signal and a prize ball command output from the main control board 100 are input to the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110.

  In response to receiving such a prize ball command, the ball information control MPU 111 sets the value of the number of prize balls set in advance for each winning slot in the gaming machine ball number data stored in the gaming machine ball number storage area. Is added and displayed on the gaming machine possession ball number display section 14.

  In addition, game balls (safe balls) that have won prizes in various winning holes are out through a collection bowl on the back of the game board 4 together with game balls (out balls) that have flowed into the out port 19 without winning any of the winning ports. -It is sent to the safe ball collection path 31 and detected by the out-safe ball detection switch 40. In addition, the game ball that has passed through the out-safe ball collection path 31 is sent to the collection joint path 34 together with the game ball that has passed through the foul ball collection path 32, and is detected by the ball capacity confirmation switch 43. Then, the ball information control MPU 111 determines whether or not a game ball to be sent to the arrangement passage 35 (circulation ball feeding member 44) is secured based on the detection of the game ball by the ball capacity confirmation switch 43, in other words, circulation. It is detected whether or not the game ball is properly circulated in the path 30.

  Thereafter, the game balls sent one by one to the inlet passage portion 48 of the launching / feeding path 36 along with the rotating operation of the circulating ball feeding member 44 naturally flow down the sending passage portion 49 with the apex of the launching / delivery path 36 as a boundary. Then, it is derived to the ball launch position of the hit ball launching device 20. At this time, the game balls that naturally flow down the delivery passage portion 49 are detected by the first and second firing standby ball switches 50 and 51.

  Then, the ball information control MPU 111 controls the driving of the circulation ball feed motor 47 that rotates the circulation ball feed member 44 based on the detection of the game ball by the first and second launch standby ball switches 50 and 51. By doing so, the feeding of the game ball from the collecting and combining channel 34 side to the launching and sending channel 36 side is controlled. The control of the game ball inward to the launch and delivery path 36 will be described in detail later.

[Game ends, settlement]
Thereafter, when the checkout button 12 is operated by the player to end the game, the checkout machine 200 transmits a game end command to the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110.

  When the settlement machine 200 transmits a game end command to the ball information control MPU 111 according to the operation of the settlement button 12, the ball information control MPU 111 receives the game end command sent from the settlement machine 200. The control MPU 111 transmits “Finishable” to the settlement machine 200. Next, the ball information control MPU 111 stops the launch motor 23 to stop the game, stops the circulating ball feed motor 47, and stops the ball feed. The current number of gaming machine balls stored in the gaming machine ball number storage area is transmitted to the settlement machine 200.

  Then, when the processing of the settlement machine 200 corresponding to the number of gaming machine possessed balls transmitted from the ball information control MPU 111 is completed, the settlement machine 200 transmits a process termination, so that the ball information control MPU 111 receives the process termination. Thus, the gaming machine possession ball number storage area in the RAM is cleared to 0, and the processing is completed.

  On the other hand, after the settlement machine 200 receives “end ready” as an answer to the end state in response to the game end command, the ball information control MPU 111 transmits the number of gaming machine balls to the settlement machine 200. When the number of held balls is received, the received number of gaming machine balls is added to the number of adjusted machine balls stored in the RAM when the card is inserted, and the addition result is stored as the number of adjusted machine balls. Thereby, all of the number of possessed balls as the game result of the game played by the player is stored as the number of adjusted machine balls. Then, the processing end is transmitted to the ball information control MPU 111, the number of adjusting machine balls is written into the ball number storage unit 206 of the card 203, the card 203 is ejected from the card insertion slot 201, and the processing is ended. As a result, the rewritten card 203 with the number of gaming machine balls as a game result added is returned to the player.

[Control of feeding game ball to hitting ball launcher 20]
Next, driving control of the circulating ball feed motor 47 by the ball information control MPU 111 (ball circulation control means), in other words, to the hitting ball launching device 20 side based on the ball detection by the first and second firing standby ball switches 50 and 51. The game ball feeding control will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing game ball feeding control based on ball detection by the first and second firing standby ball switches 50 and 51.

  First, in a state in which the game ball is not driven by the hitting ball launching device 20 (operation of the launching hammer 22 based on the driving of the launching motor 23), as shown in FIG. The first and second firing standby ball switches 50 and 51 are stopped in the delivery passage portion 49 on the first firing standby ball switch 50 located on the circulating ball feeding member 44 side (near the entrance passage portion 48). The last game ball is positioned. This state is the state in which the game ball is most stopped in the delivery passage portion 49, and both the launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 are in the detection state (ON) of the game ball.

  The ball information control MPU 111 is based on the state of detection of the game ball by the launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 (the launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 are both ON), and the game ball stopped in the delivery passage portion 49. Detect that is full. Then, by stopping the driving of the circulating ball feed motor 47 (rotating operation of the circulating ball feed member 44), the collection and delivery flow path 34 side to the launch delivery path 36 side (in other words, the entrance passage section 48 side of the launch delivery path 36). To the game passage 49 side) is stopped.

  Note that the first firing standby ball switch 50 is disposed at a position away from the apex T (the boundary between the entrance passage portion 48 and the delivery passage portion 49) of the firing delivery path 36 by a distance A1 corresponding to approximately one game ball. ing. For this reason, in a game ball driving stop state, approximately one game ball is placed between the last game ball stopped in the delivery passage portion 49 and the frontmost game ball stopped in the entrance passage portion 48. The space for the minute becomes empty. Therefore, there is at least one game ball between the game ball in the delivery passage portion 49 that naturally flows down to the hitting ball launcher 20 side and the game ball in the entrance passage portion 48 that is pushed up by the circulating ball feed member 44. Space can be secured at all times.

  As a result, it is possible to avoid a problem in which the game ball stopped in the entrance passage portion 48 due to the operation of feeding the game ball by the circulating ball feeding member 44 is applied more than necessary. The game balls can be sent smoothly. However, the arrangement position of the first firing standby ball switch 50 is a position at a distance A1 of about one game ball from the apex T of the launching and sending path 36 that is the boundary between the entrance passage 48 and the sending path 49. It is not limited to this, and it is only necessary to be arranged at a position at least one game ball away from the apex T, so that the game is stopped in the entrance passage 48 and the delivery passage 49. It is possible to avoid problems such as applying more pressure to the ball than necessary.

  Thereafter, when the game ball is driven by the hit ball launching device 20, as shown in FIG. 11 (B), the game balls stopped in the delivery passage section 49 are one by one. When the game ball is no longer on the first and second launch standby ball switches 50 and 51, the launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 are both in the non-detected state of the game ball. (OFF).

  The ball information control MPU 111 determines whether or not the game ball stopped in the delivery passage portion 49 is based on the detection state of the game ball by the launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 (the launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 are both OFF). It is detected that the number of game balls that decrease and are supplied to the hitting ball launcher 20 is insufficient. Then, by driving the circulating ball feed motor 47 (rotating operation of the circulating ball feed member 44), it is sent from the collection and delivery path 34 side to the launch / sending path 36 side (in other words, from the entrance passage section 48 side of the launch / sending path 36). A game ball is sent to the passage portion 49 side.

  Of the first and second launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 arranged in the delivery passage portion 49, the second launch standby ball switch 51 located on the side of the hitting ball launcher 20 has a front end at the first launch standby. The ball switch 50 is disposed at a position away from the rear end of the ball switch 50 by a distance A2 corresponding to approximately three game balls. Therefore, the game ball feeding operation by the circulating ball feeding member 44 is started when three game balls are reduced from the full state of the game balls in the delivery passage portion 49. In other words, the ball information control MPU 111 detects that the game balls supplied to the ball hitting device 20 are short when three game balls are reduced from the full state of the game balls in the delivery passage portion 49. It has become.

  Thereafter, the circulating ball feeding member 44 delivers one game ball from the inlet passage 48 side at a speed higher than the game ball driving speed (the speed at which one game ball is driven into the game area 5) by the hit ball launching device 20. As shown in FIG. 11C, the game balls stopped in the entrance passage portion 48 are gradually increased by being sent to the passage portion 49 side. FIG. 11C shows a state in which one more game ball is stopped in the entrance passage 48 than in the state shown in FIG. 11B, and accordingly, the ball is positioned on the ball hitting device 20 side. The case where the game ball is stopped on the second launch standby ball switch 51 and the second launch standby ball switch 51 is in a detection state (ON) of the game ball is illustrated. At this time, the game ball is not stopped on the first firing standby ball switch 50, and the first firing standby ball switch 50 is in a non-detection state (OFF) of the game ball.

  Thereafter, the circulating ball feeding member 44 continues to feed the game ball from the inlet passage portion 48 side to the delivery passage portion 49 side, and is positioned on the circulating ball feed member 44 side as shown in FIG. When a game ball is also stopped on the first firing standby ball switch 50, both the firing standby ball switches 50 and 51 are in the detection state (ON) of the game ball. Then, the ball information control MPU 111 drives the circulation ball feed motor 47 (circulation) based on the detection state of the game balls by the launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 (both launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 are both ON). The rotation of the ball feeding member 44 is stopped, and the feeding of the game ball from the inlet passage portion 48 side to the delivery passage portion 49 side is stopped.

  By the way, as described above, in this embodiment, two ball detection switches (first and second standby standby ball switches 50 and 51) are provided in the delivery passage portion 49, and the two ball detection switches are provided. Based on the detection of the game ball by, the ball information control MPU 111 controls the feeding of the game ball to the ball hitting device 20 by the circulation ball feed motor 47 (circulation ball feed member 44).

  Specifically, due to the arrangement relationship of the respective launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 provided with the distance A2 corresponding to approximately three game balls, there is no game ball on each launch standby ball switch 50 and 51, and each launch standby ball switch 50. , 51 are turned off, that is, when three game balls are depleted from the full state of the game balls in the delivery passage portion 49, the feeding of the game balls by the circulating ball feeding member 44 is started. It has become.

  That is, in the control of the game ball in the present embodiment, every time three game balls are stopped in the delivery passage portion 49 according to the game ball being driven, the entrance passage portion 49 side is changed to the delivery passage portion 49 side. It is designed to send game balls to. For this reason, when a game ball is driven into the game area 5, the circulation ball feed motor 47 is not frequently started and stopped in response to the game ball being driven. can do.

  In addition, when the game ball in the delivery passage section 49 is detected by one ball detection switch and the control of the game ball is performed, the ball detection switch instantaneously generates a false detection and the game ball There is a risk of abnormalities in feeding. On the other hand, in the configuration in which two ball detection switches are provided in the delivery passage portion 49 that sends the game ball to the hitting ball launching device 20 side as in the present embodiment, any one of the ball detection switches instantaneously. By making normal detection with the other ball detection switch even if an erroneous detection occurs, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of an abnormality caused by a momentary erroneous detection, and to control the feeding of the game ball more reliably. .

  In the above-described embodiment, the two ball detection switches (launch standby ball switches 50 and 51) provided in the delivery passage portion 49 have an arrangement relationship in which a distance A2 corresponding to approximately three game balls is provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a configuration of a modification shown in FIG.

  FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing game ball feeding control based on ball detection by the first and second firing standby ball switches 50 and 51 ′ in the modified example. However, the second firing standby ball switch 51 ′ in the modified example is composed of the same components as the second firing standby ball switch 51 of the above-described embodiment, and only the arrangement position in the delivery passage portion 49 is different.

  As a configuration of the modified example, as shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C, the circulating ball feeding member 44 among the first and second firing standby ball switches 50 and 51 ′ arranged in the delivery passage portion 49. The first firing standby ball switch 50 located on the side (near the entrance passage portion 48) is located at the same position as that of the above-described embodiment, that is, the apex T (the entrance passage portion 48 and the delivery passage portion 49) of the launch / delivery passage 36. It is arranged at a position with a distance A1 of about one game ball from the boundary). On the other hand, the second firing standby ball switch 51 ′ located on the hitting ball launching device 20 side is at a position where the front end of the second firing standby ball switch 51 is spaced from the rear end of the first firing standby ball switch 50 by a distance A3 corresponding to approximately six game balls. Has been placed.

  Then, in the state where the game ball has been stopped by the hitting ball launching device 20 (operation of the launching hammer 22 based on the drive of the launching motor 23), as shown in FIG. The first and second firing standby ball switches 50 and 51 ′ are stopped in the delivery passage portion 49 on the first firing standby ball switch 50 located on the circulating ball feed member 44 side (near the entrance passage portion 48). The last game ball is placed. This state is the state in which the game ball is most stopped in the delivery passage portion 49, and both the standby standby ball switches 50 and 51 'are in the detection state (ON) of the game ball.

  The ball information control MPU 111 is stopped in the delivery passage portion 49 based on the detection state of the game balls by the launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 ′ (the launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 ′ are both ON). Detects that the game ball is full. Then, by stopping the driving of the circulating ball feed motor 47 (rotating operation of the circulating ball feed member 44), the collection and delivery flow path 34 side to the launch delivery path 36 side (in other words, the entrance passage section 48 side of the launch delivery path 36). To the game passage 49 side) is stopped.

  Thereafter, when the game ball is driven by the hit ball launching device 20, as shown in FIG. 12 (B), the game balls stopped in the delivery passage portion 49 one by one are hit by the hit ball launching device 20 (starting point of the launch rail 21). When the game balls are no longer detected on the first and second launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 ', the launch standby ball switches 50 and 51' are both detected as non-detected game balls. It will be in a state (OFF).

  The ball information control MPU 111 is based on such a detection state of the game balls by the launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 ′ (both launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 ′ are both OFF). It is detected that the number of game balls supplied to the hitting ball launcher 20 is insufficient due to a decrease in the number of balls. Then, by driving the circulating ball feed motor 47 (rotating operation of the circulating ball feed member 44), it is sent from the collection and delivery path 34 side to the launch / sending path 36 side (in other words, from the entrance passage section 48 side of the launch / sending path 36). A game ball is sent to the passage portion 49 side.

  At this time, in the configuration of the modified example, as described above, the position where the front end portion of the second firing standby ball switch 51 ′ is spaced from the rear end portion of the first firing standby ball switch 50 by a distance A3 of about six game balls. Is arranged. Therefore, the game ball feeding operation by the circulating ball feeding member 44 is started when six game balls are reduced from the full state of the game balls in the delivery passage portion 49. That is, the ball information control MPU 111 detects that the game balls to be supplied to the hitting ball launcher 20 are insufficient when six game balls are reduced from the full state of the game balls in the delivery passage portion 49. It has become.

  Thereafter, the circulating ball feeding member 44 delivers one game ball from the inlet passage 48 side at a speed higher than the game ball driving speed (the speed at which one game ball is driven into the game area 5) by the hit ball launching device 20. As shown in FIG. 12C, the game balls stopped in the entrance passage portion 48 are gradually increased by being sent to the passage portion 49 side. FIG. 12C shows a state in which two more game balls are parked in the entrance passage portion 48 than in the state shown in FIG. 12B, and accordingly, the ball is positioned on the ball hitting device 20 side. The case where the game ball is stopped on the second launch standby ball switch 51 ′ and the second launch standby ball switch 51 ′ is in the detection state (ON) of the game ball is illustrated.

  At this time, the game ball is not stopped on the first firing standby ball switch 50, and the first firing standby ball switch 50 is in a non-detection state (OFF) of the game ball. Thereafter, the circulating ball feed member 44 continues to feed the game ball from the inlet passage portion 48 side to the delivery passage portion 49 side, and is positioned on the circulating ball feed member 44 side as shown in FIG. When a game ball is also stopped on the first firing standby ball switch 50, each of the firing standby ball switches 50 and 51 'is in a gaming ball detection state (ON).

  Then, the ball information control MPU 111 drives the circulating ball feed motor 47 based on the detection state of the game balls by the launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 ′ (both launch standby ball switches 50 and 51 ′ are both ON). (Rotating operation of the circulating ball feeding member 44) is stopped, and the feeding of game balls from the inlet passage portion 48 side to the delivery passage portion 49 side is stopped.

  As described above, in the configuration of the modified example, the two ball detection switches (the first and second firing standby ball switches 50 and 51 ′) in the delivery passage portion 49 are separated by a distance A3 that is approximately six game balls. Are arranged. Thereby, when the game balls on each of the standby standby ball switches 50 and 51 ′ disappear and both of the standby standby ball switches 50 and 51 ′ are turned off, in other words, the gaming ball is full in the delivery passage portion 49. When the number of game balls is reduced from 6, the feeding of game balls by the circulating ball feeding member 44 is started.

  That is, in the game ball feeding control in the modified example, every time six game balls are stopped in the delivery passage portion 49 according to the game ball being driven, the entrance passage portion 48 side is changed to the delivery passage portion 49 side. It is designed to send game balls. For this reason, compared with the configuration in which the feeding of the game ball by the circulating ball feeding member 44 is started when three game balls are reduced from the full state of the game balls in the delivery passage portion 49 shown in the above-described embodiment. The interval between the start of game ball feeding (the period during which the circulating ball feed motor 47 is stopped when the game ball is driven) can be increased, and as a result, the driving load of the circulating ball feed motor 47 can be further reduced. .

  As described above, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, two delivery ball detection means (first and second delivery ball detection) are provided in the launch delivery path (sending passage portion) through which the game ball is fed by the circulating ball feeding member. Means) and the two delivery ball detecting means are arranged at a predetermined interval for detecting the presence or absence of individual game balls at the respective arrangement positions.

  When there is a game ball detected by each of the two send-out ball detecting means, it is determined that sufficient game balls are stopped in the launch and send-out path (send-out passage section), and the game ball is fed by the circulating ball feed member. Stop. On the other hand, if no two game balls are detected by the two delivery ball detection means, it is determined that sufficient game balls are not stopped in the launch delivery path (sending passage section), and the game balls are fed by the circulating ball feed member. Start. For this reason, even when the game is continuously performed, it is not necessary to frequently start and stop the electric drive source that operates the circulating ball feeding member, and the burden on the electric drive source can be reduced. Since the performance degradation of the function can be suppressed, normal game balls can be continuously fed by the circulating ball feeding member.

  Further, the first sending ball detecting means located on the circulating ball sending member side among the first and second sending ball detecting means is from the apex portion of the launch sending path which becomes the boundary between the inlet passage section and the sending passage section. It is arranged at a position that is at least one game ball away. In this case, in a game ball driving stop state, a space of at least one game ball is provided between the last game ball stopped in the delivery passage and the front game ball stopped in the entrance passage. Can be freed up.

  Therefore, a space of at least one game ball is always ensured between the game ball in the delivery passage section that naturally flows down to the ball launching means side and the game ball in the entrance passage section that is pushed up by the circulating ball feeding member. be able to. As a result, it is possible to avoid a problem that the game ball stopped in the entrance passage due to the operation of feeding the game ball by the circulating ball feeding member can be avoided, and the game ball is smoothly placed on the ball launching means. Can be sent to.

[Empty turning of enclosing ball]
In the embodiment described below, when the power is turned on before the opening time, all the enclosed balls (25 in this embodiment) that fire all the enclosed balls at least once are fired at least once and the circulation path 30 is circulated. , By performing idling to clean the surface of all encapsulated spheres with the ball cleaning member (conductive brush 61), the encapsulated spheres are kept clean and the game conditions for the encapsulated spheres are equalized regardless of the platform. It relates to the invention.

  In an enclosed ball type gaming machine, the balls used in the game will not be replaced, so the enclosed balls are likely to get dirty, and depending on whether the game balls are clean or not, for example, the repulsion between balls or the game balls hit the nail It is conceivable that a large difference occurs in the difference in the movement of the game ball, such as a mode when a bullet is fired and a mode when the ball is fluttering on the stage. That is, if the encapsulated sphere stays for a long time without moving, the surface of the encapsulated sphere will adhere to the surface of the encapsulated sphere, dust, dust, fiber scraps, and the like. For this reason, the movement of the encapsulated ball may not be equal to the player at the beginning of the game. In any enclosed ball-type game machine installed in the hall, there is a possibility that the principle that a player has fairness with respect to a chance to win with a game ball to be used may be broken.

  Therefore, at least once a day, when there is no player, if the encapsulated ball is launched and moved, it can be avoided that the encapsulated ball stays for a long time without moving, and the game ball can be kept clean. Conceivable.

[Various control processing of main control board]
First, various control processes performed by the main control board 100 shown in FIG. 13 according to the progress of the game of the pachinko gaming machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 is a flowchart showing a main control side power-on process executed by the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100, and FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the main control side power-on process of FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a main control timer interrupt process executed by the main control MPU 101. FIG.

[Main control side power-on processing]
When the pachinko machine 1 is powered on, the main control MPU 101 (hereinafter simply referred to as main control MPU) of the main control board 100 performs main control side power-on processing as shown in FIGS. When the main control side power-on process is started, the main control MPU sets the stack pointer (step S10). The stack pointer indicates, for example, the address accumulated on the stack to temporarily store the contents of the memory element (register) in use, or temporarily returns the return address of this routine when returning to this routine after completing the subroutine. It indicates the address that is stacked on the stack for storage, and the stack pointer advances each time the stack is stacked. In step S10, an initial address is set in the stack pointer, and the contents of the register, the return address, etc. are stacked on the stack from this initial address. Then, the stack pointer returns to the initial address by sequentially reading from the last stacked stack to the first stacked stack.

  Subsequent to step S10, wait timer processing 1 is performed (step S12), and it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal is input (step S14). The voltage does not increase immediately from when the power is turned on until the voltage reaches the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, when a power outage or a momentary power interruption (a phenomenon in which the supply of power is suddenly stopped) occurs, the voltage decreases, and when it becomes smaller than the power outage notification voltage, the power outage monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110 notifies the power outage as a power outage notification. A signal is output and input to the main control MPU. Similarly, when the voltage becomes lower than the power failure notice voltage from when the power is turned on until it reaches the predetermined voltage, a power failure notice signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110.

  Therefore, the wait timer process 1 in step S12 is a process for waiting after the power is turned on until the voltage becomes larger than the power failure warning voltage and stabilizes. In this embodiment, the wait timer process 200 waits for 200 milliseconds (wait timer) (wait timer). ms) is set. The determination in step S14 is performed based on a power failure warning signal from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110. After the power is turned on, when the voltage becomes larger than the power failure warning voltage and becomes stable, the power failure warning signal from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 is not output, and the main control MPU proceeds to step S16.

  In step S16, the main control MPU determines whether or not the RAM clear switch 105 shown in FIG. 11 is operated (step S16). This determination is made based on whether or not the RAM clear switch 105 of the main control board 100 is operated and an operation signal (detection signal) is input to the main control MPU. When the detection signal is input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated. On the other hand, when the detection signal is not input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is not operated.

  When it is determined in step S16 that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to a value 1 (step S18), and the process proceeds to step S20, while the RAM clear switch 105 is set in step S16. When it is determined that it is not operated, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to 0 (step S19), and the process proceeds to step S20.

  This RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is a game related to a game such as probability fluctuation, unpaid prize ball, etc. stored in a RAM (hereinafter referred to as “main control built-in RAM”) built in the main control MPU 101. It is a flag indicating whether or not to erase information, and is set to a value of 1 when erasing game information and a value of 0 when not erasing game information. Note that the value of the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG set in step S18 and step S19 is stored in a general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register) of the main control MPU.

  When the process proceeds to step S20, a current time information acquisition process is performed (step S20). That is, current time information is acquired from the external RTC 107 and stored in a current time data storage unit set in a predetermined area of the internal RAM.

  Following step S20, the current time acquired in step S20 is compared with the opening time preset and stored in accordance with the opening time of the amusement hall, and it is determined whether or not the current time is earlier than the opening time. Determination is made (step S21). For example, when 10:00 is set and stored as the opening time and the power-on time is 8:30, it is determined that the current time is before the opening time. Since the store opening time varies depending on the game hall, it is preset and stored in the ROM in accordance with the store opening time when the product is delivered. The store opening time may be configured such that the store opening time can be set and input using an input device connected to the main control I / O port 102 during idling.

  In this embodiment, when determining whether or not to perform idling based on the current time, the main control MPU is for identifying whether to perform idling or not to perform idling according to the determination result. The idling identification data is transmitted to the sphere information control MPU. In addition, the sphere information control MPU waits until idling identification data is received.

  When the main control MPU determines that the current time is before the opening time, the main control MPU transmits the idling identification data including the idling execution to the ball information control board 110 (step S22). Next, the watchdog timer is cleared (step S23). The watchdog timer is cleared by setting value A, value B, and value C in this order in the watchdog timer clear register WCL. Then, the process proceeds to step S24, and it is determined whether or not the idling end signal transmitted from the sphere information control board 110 is received (step S24).

  Since the idling control process is directly performed by the ball information control MPU, the main control MPU cannot directly determine the end of idling. On the other hand, the ball information control MPU directly determines whether or not the idling end condition is satisfied in the idling control process.

  If the idle control end signal transmitted from the ball information control board 110 is not received, the main control MPU returns to step S23 and performs clear setting of the watchdog timer. Therefore, the main control MPU stands by by repeating the process of step S23 and the process of determining step S24 as NO. In other words, the watchdog timer is set to be clear and waits until an idle rotation end signal transmitted from the ball information control board 110 is received. This prevents the watchdog timer from timing out during standby and resetting the main control MPU.

  On the other hand, the ball information control MPU 111 (hereinafter simply referred to as the ball information control MPU) of the ball information control board 110 does not depend on an operation on the hit ball handle 7 when the content of the received idling identification data is idling execution. By automatically operating the ball striking device 20 (the firing motor 23) and the circulating ball feeding member 44 (the circulating ball feeding motor 47), all the enclosed balls (25 or 50 in this embodiment) are at least once. It is fired to circulate through the circulation path 30, and idle rotation control is performed to clean the surfaces of all encapsulated spheres by means of a sphere cleaning member (conductive brush 61).

  During the idling control, the ball information control MPU determines that the idling is completed when the number of balls fired from the idling execution start or the execution time from the idling execution start is a predetermined end condition, and the main control MPU In response to this, an idling end signal is transmitted. When the main control MPU receives the idle rotation end signal transmitted from the ball information control board 110, the main control MPU proceeds to step S30.

  When the enclosing sphere is idled, the enclosing sphere moves and circulates in the circulation path 30, so that it is possible to avoid a state in which the enclosing sphere stays for a long time without moving, and dust and dust accumulate on the enclosing sphere. Can be avoided. Thereby, the game conditions for the encapsulated ball can be equalized regardless of the number of players, and it is possible for the player to ensure the fairness of the winning chance by the game ball used. Further, dust or the like attached to the surface is removed by the conductive brush 61 of the sphere cleaning mechanism 60, and the encapsulated sphere can be kept clean.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S21 that the acquired current time is compared with the store opening time set and stored in advance and the current time is not earlier than the store opening time, the main control MPU executes step S21. The determination is NO, the process proceeds to step S28, and the idling identification data including the idling and non-execution content is transmitted to the ball information control MPU (step S28), and the process proceeds to step S30. Accordingly, the enclosing ball is idled only once when the power is turned on before the opening time.

  For example, if there is a power outage or a momentary power failure (a phenomenon where power supply is suddenly stopped) during business hours after the store opening time, when the power is restored, the enclosing ball may have been idled before the store opening time. Since it should have been completed and there is no need for idle rotation, and there should be a possibility that the player has played a game at the time of a power outage or instantaneous stop, No inconvenience to the person.

  Also, in the main control side power-on process, the main control MPU does not shift to a game control process (main control side timer interrupt process), which will be described later, after the idling is executed until the idling end signal is received. stand by. As a result, in the unlikely event that the ball hit for emptying wins, it will be added to the number of game machines held as a winning or change in symbols, jackpots, production and prize balls even though it is empty The game data in the reset work area of the RAM is not distorted at the time of power recovery, so that both the player and the game hall can be avoided. In addition, no unnecessary load is applied to the main control MPU, and other necessary processing is not hindered.

  When the main control MPU proceeds to step S30, the main control MPU performs the wait timer process 2 (step S30). In this wait timer process 2, the system waits until a system that performs drawing control of a liquid crystal display device (not shown) by the liquid crystal control unit of the peripheral control board 130 starts (boots). In this embodiment, 2 seconds (s) is set as a time until booting (boot timer).

  Subsequent to step S30, it is determined whether or not the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is 0 (step S32). As described above, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to a value of 1 when erasing game information and a value of 0 when not erasing game information. When it is determined in step S32 that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is 0, that is, when the game information is not erased, a checksum is calculated (step S34). This checksum is calculated by regarding the game information stored in the main control built-in RAM as a numerical value and calculating the sum.

  Following step S34, whether or not the calculated checksum value (sum value) matches the checksum value (sum value) stored in the main control side power-off processing (power-off) described later. Is determined (step S36). If they match, it is determined whether or not the backup flag BK-FLG is 1 (step S38). The backup flag BK-FLG is stored and held in the main control built-in RAM in the main control side power-off processing described later, such as game information, checksum value (sum value), and backup flag BK-FLG value. This flag is set to a value of 1 when the main control side power-off process is normally terminated, and to a value of 0 when the main control-side power-off process is not terminated normally.

  When the backup flag BK-FLG has a value of 1 in step S30, that is, when the main control side power-off process is normally terminated, the work area of the main control built-in RAM is set as the time of power recovery (step S40). In this setting, in addition to setting the backup flag BK-FLG to a value of 0, the power recovery time information is read from the ROM built in the main control MPU (hereinafter referred to as “main control built-in ROM”). Time information is set in the work area of the main control built-in RAM. In addition, “recovery” means not only the state where the power is turned off but also the state where the power is turned on, the state where the power is restored after a power outage or a momentary power failure, and the detection that a high frequency has been applied. It also includes the state of returning after that.

  Subsequent to step S40, power-on command creation processing is performed (step S42). In the power-on command creation process, the game information is read from the backup information, and various commands corresponding to the game information are stored in a predetermined storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S32 that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is not 0 (i.e., 1), that is, when the game information is deleted, or the checksum value (sum value) matches in step S36. If not, or if it is determined in step S38 that the backup flag BK-FLG is not a value 1 (value 0), that is, if the main control side power-off process has not been terminated normally, the main control built-in RAM All areas are cleared (step S44). Specifically, the value 0 is written in the main control built-in RAM (a predetermined value may be read from the main control built-in ROM as an initial value and set). Further, the big hit determination initial value determination random number used for determining the initial value of the big hit determination random number is when the RAM clear switch 105 is operated to erase the game information, the sum value does not match, or When the main control-side power-off process has not ended normally, a unique ID code stored in advance in the non-volatile RAM of the main control MPU is extracted, and the jackpot determination random number is updated based on the extracted ID code An initial value deriving process for always deriving the same fixed value from the fixed numerical value range of the counter is executed, and this fixed value is set as the initial value.

  Following step S44, the work area of the main control built-in RAM is set as an initial setting (step S46). In this setting, the initial information is read from the main control built-in ROM, and the initial information is set in the work area of the main control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S46, RAM clear notification and test command creation processing is performed (step S48). In the RAM clear notification and test command creation processing, a power-on command classified into power-on for notifying that the main control built-in RAM is cleared and the initial setting is performed is created, and various peripheral control board 130 Test commands that are classified as related to tests for inspection are created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S42 or step S48, interrupt initialization is performed (step S50). This setting is to set an interrupt cycle when a main control timer interrupt process described later is performed. In this embodiment, it is set to 4 ms.

  Subsequent to step S50, interrupt permission is set. (Step S52). With this setting, the main control side timer interrupt process is repeated every interrupt cycle set in step S50, that is, every 4 ms. The processing in steps S10 to S52 is referred to as “main control side power-on processing”.

  Subsequent to step S52, a value A is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S54). The watchdog timer is cleared by setting value A, value B and value C in this order in this watchdog timer clear register WCL.

  Subsequent to step S54, it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal is input (step S56). As described above, when the power of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is cut off, or when a power failure or a momentary power failure occurs, if the voltage falls below the power failure warning voltage, the power failure warning signal is displayed as a power failure monitoring circuit of the ball information control board 110. 117 is input. The determination in step S56 is made based on this power failure notice signal.

  If no power failure warning signal is input in step S56, a non-winning random number update process is performed (step S58). In this non-winning random number update process, for example, a reach determination random number, a variable display pattern random number, a big hit symbol initial value determining random number, a small hit symbol initial value determining random number, and the like are updated. In this way, in the non-winning random number update process, random numbers that are not involved in the winning determination (big hit determination) are updated. It should be noted that the random number for normal symbol determination, the random number for initial value determination for normal symbol determination, the random number for normal symbol variation display pattern, and the like are also updated by this non-winning random number update process.

  Following step S58, the process returns to step S54 again to set the value A in the watchdog timer clear register WCL. In step S56, it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal has been input. For example, a non-winning random number update process is performed in step S58, and steps S54 to S58 are repeated. The processing from step S54 to step S58 is referred to as “main control side main loop processing”.

  On the other hand, when a power failure warning signal is input in step S56, interrupt prohibition setting is performed (step S60). With this setting, the main control side timer interrupt processing described later is not performed, writing to the main control built-in RAM is prevented, and rewriting of game information is protected.

  Subsequent to step S60, the start opening solenoid 96, the big prize opening solenoid 97, the upper special symbol display 142, the lower special symbol display 143, the upper special symbol storage display 144, and the lower special symbol storage display shown in FIG. The drive signal output to the display unit 145, the normal symbol display unit 146, the normal symbol storage display unit 147, the game state display unit 148, the round display unit 149, etc. is stopped (step S62).

  Subsequent to step S62, a checksum is calculated and the calculated value is stored (step S64). This checksum is calculated by regarding the game information in the work area of the main control built-in RAM as a numerical value excluding the storage area for the checksum value (sum value) and backup flag BK-FLG described above.

  Subsequent to step S64, a value 1 is set in the backup flag BK-FLG (step S66). Thereby, the storage of the backup information is completed.

  Subsequent to step S66, the watchdog timer is cleared (step S68). As described above, the clear setting is performed by sequentially setting the value A, the value B, and the value C in the watchdog timer clear register WCL.

  Subsequent to step S68, a loop process of repeating a state in which nothing is executed is entered. Note that the processing and loop processing in steps S60 to S68 are referred to as “main control side power-off processing”. In this loop processing, since the value A, the value B, and the value C are not sequentially set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, the watchdog timer is not cleared. Therefore, the watchdog timer times out and outputs a time-out signal, and the main control MPU is reset by the time-out signal, and then the main control MPU performs this main control side power-on process from the beginning again.

  The pachinko gaming machine 1 (main control MPU 4100a) is reset when a power failure occurs or when an instantaneous power failure occurs, and performs power-on processing on the main control side by subsequent power recovery.

  In step S36, it is checked whether or not the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM is normal. In step S38, it is determined whether or not the main control side power-off process has been normally completed. I am inspecting. In this way, by checking the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM twice, it is inspected whether the backup information is stored by an illegal act.

[Main control timer interrupt processing]
Next, the main control timer interrupt process will be described. This main control side timer interrupt process is repeated at every interrupt cycle (4 ms in this embodiment) set in the main control side power-on process shown in FIGS.

  When the main control timer interrupt process is started, the main control MPU of the main control board 100 sets a value B in the watchdog timer clear register WCL as shown in FIG. 18 (step S70). At this time, the value B is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL following the value A set in step S54 of the main loop on the main control side.

  Subsequent to step S70, the interrupt flag is cleared (step S72). When the interrupt flag is cleared, the interrupt cycle is initialized, and the next interrupt cycle is counted from the initial value.

  Subsequent to step S72, switch input processing is performed (step S74). In this switch input process, various signals input to the input terminal of the main control I / O port 102 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S74, timer subtraction processing is performed (step S76). In this timer subtraction process, for example, the time during which the upper special symbol display unit 142 and the lower special symbol display unit 143 are turned on in accordance with the variable display pattern determined in the special symbol and special electric accessory control process described later, In addition to the time that the normal symbol display 146 is turned on according to the normal symbol variation display pattern determined in the normal electric accessory control process, the ball information control substrate 110 receives various commands transmitted by the main control board 100 (main control MPU). Time management such as an ACK signal input determination time set as a determination condition is performed when determining whether or not a ball information main ACK signal that indicates normal reception is input. Specifically, when the fluctuation time of the fluctuation display pattern or the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern is 5 seconds, the timer interruption period is set to 4 ms. Therefore, every time this timer subtraction process is performed, the fluctuation time is subtracted by 4 ms. When the subtraction result is 0, the fluctuation time of the fluctuation display pattern or the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern is accurately measured.

  In this embodiment, the ACK signal input determination time is set to 100 ms. Each time this timer subtraction process is performed, the ACK signal input determination time is subtracted by 4 ms, and the subtraction result becomes 0, thereby accurately measuring the ACK signal input determination time. The various times and the ACK signal input determination time are stored as time management information in the time management information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S76, a winning random number update process is performed (step S78). In the winning random number update process, the big hit determination random number, the big hit symbol random number, and the small hit symbol random number described above are updated. Further, in addition to these random numbers, a big hit symbol initial value determination random number that is updated by the non-winning random number update process of step S58 in the main control side power-on process (main control side main process) shown in FIG. And the random number for determining the initial value for the small hit symbol is also updated. The random value for determining the initial value for the big hit symbol and the random number for determining the initial value for the small hit symbol are updated in the main control side main process and the main control side timer interrupt process, respectively, thereby improving the randomness. . On the other hand, since the big hit determination random number, the big hit symbol random number, and the small hit symbol random number are random numbers related to the winning determination (big hit determination), each time the winning random number update process is performed, each counter Counts up. For example, the counter for updating the jackpot determination random number is an initial value updating type counter as described above, and is a predetermined fixed numerical value range from the minimum value to the maximum value (in this embodiment, the value as the minimum value). 0 to the maximum value is updated within the value 32767), and the range from the minimum value to the maximum value is incremented by incrementing by 1 each time the main control timer interrupt processing is performed. The big hit determination initial value determination random number is counted up toward the maximum value (value 32767), and then the big hit determination initial value determination random number is counted up. When the counter for updating the big hit determination random number finishes counting up within the range from the minimum value to the maximum value of the big hit determination random number, the big hit determination initial value determination random number is updated by the winning random number update process. At this time, the updated value is always the same from the fixed numerical value range of the counter in which the main control MPU extracts the ID code from the built-in nonvolatile RAM and updates the big hit determination random number based on the extracted ID code. An initial value deriving process for deriving a fixed value of is performed, and the derived fixed value is set as an initial value. In other words, the initial value determination random number for jackpot determination is always overwritten and updated with the same fixed value derived based on the ID code as a result of execution of the initial value derivation process. Note that the above-described random numbers for normal symbol determination and random numbers for determining the initial value for normal symbol determination are also updated by this winning random number update process. The random number for determining normal symbols is the same as the method for updating the random number for determining big hits, and the description thereof is omitted.

  Subsequent to step S78, prize ball control processing is performed (step S80). In this prize ball control process, the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area and a prize ball command for transmitting to the ball information control board 110 based on this input information is created, or the main control board 100 and the ball information A self-check command for confirming a connection state between the control board 110 and the board is created. Then, the created prize ball command and self-check command are transmitted to the ball information control board 110 as main ball information serial data. For example, when one game ball enters the big prize opening, a prize ball command representing 15 balls as the number of prize balls is created and transmitted to the ball information control board 110, or this prize ball command is sent to the ball information control board. When a ball information main ACK signal notifying that 110 has been successfully received is not input within a predetermined time, a self-check command is generated to check the connection state between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110. Or transmitted to the sphere information control board 110.

  Subsequent to step S80, frame command reception processing is performed (step S82). The sphere information control board 110 transmits various commands of 1 byte (8 bits) divided into status displays. In the frame command reception process in step S82, when these various commands are normally received as the sphere information main serial data, information that informs the sphere information control board 110 to the effect is stored in the output information storage area of the main control built-in RAM as output information. Remember. Further, the command normally received as the sphere information main serial data is shaped into a 2-byte (16-bit) command and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

  Subsequent to step S82, an illegal act detection process is performed (step S84). In this fraud detection process, the abnormal state related to the prize ball is confirmed. For example, when the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area and the detection signal from the count switch 98 is input when the game is not in the big hit game state (when the game ball enters the big winning opening), etc. A winning abnormality display command that is classified as a notification display as an abnormal state is created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

  Subsequent to step S84, a special symbol and special electric accessory control process is performed (step S86). In this special symbol and special electric accessory control processing, the value of the counter for updating the jackpot determination random number described above is taken out, and it is determined whether or not it matches the jackpot determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM. It is determined whether or not a gaming state is to be generated (referred to as “special lottery”)), or a counter value for updating the jackpot symbol random number is extracted, and the probability variation hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM It is determined whether or not they match (determining whether or not probability fluctuations are generated). Here, “probability fluctuation” means that the probability of a big hit changes to a high probability (at the time of probability change) that is set higher than that at normal time (low probability). In the present embodiment, the value 32668 to the value 32767 are set for the low probability as the range of the big hit determination value (big hit determination range) described above, and read from the normal determination table, whereas the value 32438 for the high probability. ˜value 32767 is set and read from the probability variation determination table. As described above, in the special symbol and special electric accessory control process in step S86, the value of the counter for updating the big hit determination random number matches the big hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM. Is determined depending on whether or not the value of the counter for updating the jackpot determination random number is included in the jackpot determination range.

  When these determination results are based on the upper start opening switch 90, various commands related to the special figure 1 tuning effect are created, whereas when the lottery result is based on the lower start opening switch 91, the special figure 2 is created. Create various commands related to the tuning effect, store them in the transmission information storage area as transmission information, and turn on the upper special symbol display 142 or the lower special symbol display 143 according to the determined variation display pattern of the special symbol The output of the lighting signal to the special symbol display unit 142 or the lower special symbol display unit 143 is set and stored as output information in the output information storage area described above.

  Also, depending on the gaming state to be generated, for example, when the big hit gaming state is entered, various commands classified as jackpot related are created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area, or the opening / closing member is opened and closed. When the output of the drive signal to the winning opening solenoid 97 is set and stored in the output information storage area as output information, or when the number of times that the large winning opening is changed from the closed state to the opened state (round) is two times, the round display The lighting signal output to the two-round display lamp is set so that the two-round display lamp of the device 149 is lit, and stored in the output information storage area as output information, or when the round is 15 times, Set the output of the lighting signal to the 15 round display lamp to light the 15 round display lamp, and output information as output information. And stores in the storage area, presence or absence of occurrence probability variations sets the output of the lighting signal to the game state indicator 148 to be lit in a predetermined color, or stored in the output information storage area as the output information.

  Subsequent to step S86, normal symbol and normal electric accessory control processing is performed (step S88). In the normal symbol and normal electric accessory control process, the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area, and the gate winning process is performed based on the input information. In this gate winning process, it is determined from the input information whether the detection signal from the gate switch 92 has been input to the input terminal. Based on this determination result, when a detection signal is input to the input terminal, the gate information storage area of the main control built-in RAM is extracted as gate information by extracting the counter value etc. for updating the random number for determination per normal symbol described above To remember.

  Subsequent to step S88, port output processing is performed (step S90). In this port output process, output information is read from the output information storage area described above from the output terminal of the main control I / O port 102, and various signals are output based on this output information. For example, the main sphere information ACK signal is output to the sphere information control board 110 when various commands from the sphere information control board 110 are normally received from the output terminal of the main control I / O port 102 based on the output information. When in the big hit gaming state, a driving signal is output to the big winning opening solenoid 97 for opening / closing the opening / closing member of the big winning opening, or a driving signal is output to the starting opening solenoid 96 for opening / closing the movable piece. In addition, 15 rounds jackpot information output signal, 2 rounds jackpot information output signal, probability changing information output signal, special symbol display information output signal, normal symbol display information output signal, short and medium time information output information, start opening prize information output signal For example, various information (game information) signals relating to the game such as, are output to the ball information control board 110.

Subsequent to step S90, peripheral control board command transmission processing is performed (step S92).
In the peripheral control board command transmission process, the transmission information is read from the transmission information storage area described above, and the transmission information is transmitted to the peripheral control board 130 as main peripheral serial data. This transmission information includes various commands created in the main control side timer interrupt processing, which is this routine, classified as related to the special figure 1 tuning effect, various commands classified as related to the special figure 2 synchronous effect, and classified as related to the jackpot. Various commands that are classified as power-on, various commands that are classified as related to ordinary drawing effects, various commands that are classified as related to ordinary electronic effects, various commands that are classified into notification displays, and status displays Various commands classified, various commands classified as related to tests, and various commands classified into others are stored. The main serial data consists of 3 bytes per packet.

  Specifically, the main peripheral serial data includes a status indicating a type of command having a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), a mode indicating a production variation having a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), and a status. And a sum value obtained by calculating the sum with the mode regarded as a numerical value, and this sum value is created at the time of transmission. The processing from step S74 to step S92 is referred to as “game control processing”.

  Subsequent to step S92, a value C is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S94). By setting the value C in the watchdog timer clear register WCL in step S94, the value C is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL following the value B set in step S70. As a result, the value A, the value B, and the value C are sequentially set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, and the watchdog timer is cleared.

  Subsequent to step S94, the register is switched (returned) (step S96), and this routine is terminated. Here, when the main control side timer interrupt processing, which is this routine, is started, the main control MPU loads the contents of the general-purpose registers on the stack and saves them. This prevents the contents of the general-purpose register used in the main process on the main control side from being destroyed. In step S96, the contents saved on the stack are read and written to the original register. The main control MPU sets interrupt permission after the return in step S96.

[Various control processing of sphere information control board]
Next, various control processes performed by the sphere information control board 110 shown in FIG. 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a sphere information control side power-on process executed by the sphere information control MPU 111 of the sphere information control board 110, and FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the sphere information control side power-on process of FIG. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the continuation of the ball information payout control side power-on process following FIG. 20, and FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of the ball information control side timer interruption process.

[Ball information control side power-on processing]
When the pachinko gaming machine 1 is turned on, the ball information control MPU 111 (hereinafter simply referred to as the ball information control MPU) of the ball information control unit 118 in the ball information control board 110 is as shown in FIGS. Sphere information control side power-on processing is performed. When the ball information control side power-on process is started, the ball information control MPU sets an interrupt mode (step S500). This interrupt mode is for setting the priority order of interrupts of the sphere information control MPU. In this embodiment, a sphere information control unit timer interrupt process, which will be described later, is set as the highest priority, and when an interrupt of this sphere information control unit timer interrupt process occurs, the process is preferentially performed.

  Subsequent to step S500, input / output setting (I / O input / output setting) is performed (step S502). In this I / O input / output setting, the I / O port input / output setting of the sphere information control MPU is performed.

  Subsequent to step S502, output of the power failure clear signal is started to the power failure monitoring circuit 117 shown in FIG. 14 (step S504). The power failure monitoring circuit 117 is composed of a voltage comparison circuit and a D-type flip-flop IC. The voltage comparison circuit compares the voltage between + 24V and the reference voltage, or compares the voltage between + 12V and the reference voltage, and outputs the comparison result. This comparison result shows that when no power failure or instantaneous power failure occurs, the logic becomes HI and is input to the PR terminal which is the preset terminal of the D-type flip-flop. The logic becomes LOW and is inputted to the PR terminal which is a preset terminal of the D-type flip-flop. In step S504, output of the power failure clear signal is started to the CLR terminal which is the clear terminal of the D type flip-flop. This power failure clear signal is input to the clear terminal with the logic being LOW via the ball information control I / O port 112 of the ball information control unit 118. Thereby, the sphere information control MPU can release the latch state of the D-type flip-flop, and inverts the logic input to the PR terminal which is the preset terminal of the D-type flip-flop until the latch state is set. Thus, the output from the 1Q terminal, which is the output terminal, can be made, and the signal from the 1Q terminal can be monitored.

  Subsequent to step S504, wait timer processing 1 is performed (step S506), and it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal is input (step S508). The voltage does not increase immediately from when the power is turned on until the voltage reaches the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, when there is a power failure or a momentary power failure (a phenomenon in which the supply of power is temporarily stopped), the voltage decreases, and when it becomes lower than the power failure warning voltage, a power failure warning signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 as a power failure warning. Similarly, when the voltage becomes lower than the power failure warning voltage from when the power is turned on until it reaches the predetermined voltage, a power failure warning signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117. Therefore, the wait timer process 1 in step S506 is a process for waiting until the voltage becomes higher than the power failure warning voltage and stabilizes after the power is turned on. In this embodiment, the wait timer process 1 is 200 milliseconds (wait timer). ms) is set. In step S508, it is determined whether or not the power failure notice signal is input. This determination is performed based on the signal output from the 1Q terminal, which is the output terminal of the D-type flip-flop described above, as the power failure warning signal.

  Subsequent to step S508, the output of the power failure clear signal is stopped at the CLR terminal which is the clear terminal of the D-type flip-flop (step S510). By stopping the output of the power failure clear signal, the logic becomes HI via the ball information control I / O port 112 and is input to the CLR terminal which is a clear terminal. Thereby, the sphere information control MPU can set the D-type flip-flop in the latched state. When the D-type flip-flop latches the state that the logic is LOW and is input to the PR terminal that is the preset terminal, the D-type flip-flop outputs a power failure warning signal from the 1Q terminal that is the output terminal.

  Subsequent to step S510, it is determined whether or not the RAM clear switch 105 is operated (step S512). This determination is made based on whether or not the RAM clear switch 105 of the main control board 100 is operated and an operation signal (detection signal) is input to the sphere information control MPU. When the detection signal is input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated. On the other hand, when the detection signal is not input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is not operated.

  If it is determined in step S512 that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated, the value 1 is set in the sphere information RAM clear flag (step S514), and the process proceeds to step S518, while the RAM clear switch 105 is operated in step S512. If it is determined that it is not, the value 0 is set in the ball information RAM clear (step S516), and the process proceeds to step S518.

  The sphere information RAM clear flag is stored in, for example, various flags and various information storage areas stored in a RAM (hereinafter referred to as “sphere information control built-in RAM”) built in the sphere information control MPU. It is a flag indicating whether or not to delete various sphere information, and is set to a value of 1 when the sphere information is deleted and a value of 0 when the sphere information is not deleted. The sphere information RAM clear flag set in step S514 and step S516 is stored in a general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register) of the sphere information control MPU.

  Subsequent to step S514 or step S516, setting for permitting access to the spherical information control built-in RAM is performed (step S518). This setting allows access to the sphere information control built-in RAM, for example, writing (storage) or reading of the sphere information.

  Subsequent to step S518, the stack pointer is set (step S520). The stack pointer indicates, for example, the address accumulated on the stack to temporarily store the contents of the memory element (register) being used, or temporarily returns the return address of this routine when returning to this routine after completing the subroutine. It indicates the address that is stacked on the stack for storage, and the stack pointer advances each time the stack is stacked. In step S520, an initial address is set in the stack pointer, and the contents of the register, the return address, etc. are stacked on the stack from this initial address. Then, the stack pointer returns to the initial address by sequentially reading from the last stacked stack to the first stacked stack.

  Subsequent to step S520, the sphere information control MPU outputs an external WDT clear signal to the external WDT 116 and stops the output (turns ON / OFF, step S521). Thereby, the external WDT 116 is cleared so that the sphere information control MPU and the sphere information control I / O port 112 are not reset. Then, the process proceeds to step S522, and it is determined whether or not the idling identification data transmitted from the main control MPU is received (step S522).

  If the idle identification data transmitted from the main control MPU is not received, the sphere information control MPU returns to step S521, outputs the external WDT clear signal to the external WDT 116, and stops the output. Therefore, the main control MPU stands by by repeating the process of step S521 and the process of determining step S522 as NO. That is, while the clear setting of the external WDT 116 is performed, it waits until the idle identification data transmitted from the main control MPU is received. Thereby, it is avoided that the external WDT 116 times out during standby and the sphere information control MPU is reset.

  When the idling identification data transmitted from the main control MPU is received, the ball information control MPU proceeds to step S523, and determines whether the received idling identification data is the idling execution (step S523). . If it is determined that the idling identification data is not idling execution (idling non-execution), the process proceeds to step S526.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S523 that the idling identification data is idling execution (idling execution), the process proceeds to step S524, the idling control process is executed, and the idling control process is completed. The process proceeds to S526. The idle rotation control process will be described later.

  When the power is turned on before the store opening time, since the main control MPU sends the idling identification data including the idling execution in step S22, the sphere information control MPU is emptied via the sphere information control I / O port 112. Rotation identification data is received, step S523 is determined as YES, and the idling control process of step S524 is performed.

  On the other hand, if a power outage or momentary power failure (a phenomenon in which the supply of power is suddenly stopped) occurs during business after the opening time, the main control MPU idles when the power is restored. In order to transmit the rotation identification data, the sphere information control MPU rotates and receives the identification data via the sphere information control I / O port 112, determines that step S523 is NO, and performs the rotation control of step S524. Do not process.

  In step S526, it is determined whether or not the sphere information RAM clear flag is 0 (step S526). As described above, the sphere information RAM clear flag is set to a value of 1 when the sphere information is erased, and a value of 0 when the sphere information is not erased.

  When the sphere information RAM clear flag is 0 in step S526, that is, when the sphere information is not deleted, a checksum is calculated (step S528). This checksum calculates the sum by regarding the sphere information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM as a numerical value.

  Subsequent to step S528, it is determined whether or not the calculated checksum value matches a checksum value stored in a sphere information control unit power-off process (power-off) described later (step S530). ). If they match, it is determined whether or not the sphere information backup flag is 1 (step S532). This sphere information backup flag is a flag indicating whether or not sphere information backup information such as sphere information and checksum value is stored and held in the sphere information control built-in RAM in the sphere information control unit power-off process described later. A value of 1 is set when the sphere information control unit power-off process is normally terminated, and a value of 0 is set when the sphere information control unit power-off process is not terminated normally.

  When the sphere information backup flag has a value of 1 in step S532, that is, when the sphere information control unit power-off process is normally terminated, the work area of the sphere information control built-in RAM is set as power recovery (step S534). In this setting, in addition to setting the value 0 to the sphere information backup flag, the power recovery time information is read from a ROM built in the sphere information control MPU (hereinafter referred to as “sphere information control built-in ROM”). The power recovery information is set in the work area of the ball information control built-in RAM. Thereby, the information used for various processes is set based on the various information stored in the various information storage areas, such as various flags, which are the above-described spherical information backup information stored in the spherical information control built-in RAM. . Note that “recovery” includes not only a state in which the power is turned off from a state in which the power is turned off but also a state in which the power is restored after a power failure or a momentary power failure.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S526 that the sphere information RAM clear flag is not 0 (value 1), or if the checksum values do not match in step S530, or the sphere information backup flag is set in step S532. When it is determined that the value is not 1 (value 0), that is, when the process of turning off the power of the sphere information control unit is not normally terminated, the entire area of the sphere information control built-in RAM is cleared (step S536). Thereby, the sphere information backup information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM is cleared.

  Subsequent to step S536, the work area of the sphere information control built-in RAM is set as an initial setting (step S538). In this setting, the initial information is read from the sphere information control built-in ROM, and the initial information is set in the work area of the sphere information control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S534 or step S538, interrupt initialization is performed (step S540). This setting is to set an interrupt cycle when a sphere information control unit timer interrupt process described later is performed. In this embodiment, it is set to 1.75 ms.

  Subsequent to step S540, interrupt permission setting is performed (step S542). With this setting, the sphere information control unit timer interrupt process is repeatedly performed every interrupt cycle set in step S540, that is, every 1.75 ms.

  Subsequent to step S542, it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal is input (step S544). As described above, when the power of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is cut off, or when a power failure or a momentary power failure occurs, a power failure warning signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 as a power failure warning voltage when the voltage becomes equal to or lower than the power failure warning voltage. The determination in step S540 is made based on this power failure notice signal.

  If no power failure warning signal is input in step S544, it is determined whether or not the 1.75 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is 1 (step S546). This 1.75 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is a flag that counts 1.75 ms in a sphere information control unit timer interrupt process processed every 1.75 ms, which will be described later, and has a value of 1, 1 when 1.75 ms elapses. Set to 0 when no 75 ms has elapsed.

  If it is determined in step S546 that the 1.75 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG has a value of 0, that is, if 1.75 ms has not elapsed, the process returns to step S544 to determine whether a power failure warning signal has been input. To do.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S546 that the 1.75 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG has a value of 1, that is, when 1.75 ms has elapsed, a value 0 is set in the 1.75 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG (step S548). ), An external WDT clear signal is output to the external watchdog timer (external WDT) 116 (ON, step S550). The external WDT 116 monitors the operation (system) of the sphere information control MPU. When the external WDT clear signal is not stopped at the clear signal release time, a reset signal is sent to the sphere information control MPU and the sphere information control I / O port 112. Is output and reset (periodically diagnoses whether or not the system of the sphere information control MPU is out of control).

  Subsequent to step S550, port output processing is performed (step S552). In this port output process, various information is read from the output information storage area of the spherical information control built-in RAM, and various signals are output from the output terminal of the spherical information control I / O port 112 based on the various information.

  In the output information storage area, for example, ball information main ACK information indicating that various commands (prize ball command and self-check command) related to the prize ball from the main control board 100 have been normally received, to the circulating ball feed motor 47, Various information such as drive information for performing drive control is stored, and when a prize ball command from the main control board 100 is normally received from the output terminal of the ball information control I / O port 112 based on this output information. The ball information main ACK signal is output to the main control board 100, or the drive signal is output to the firing motor 23.

Subsequent to step S552, port input processing is performed (step S554). In this port input process, various signals input to the input terminal of the sphere information control I / O port 112 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the sphere information control built-in RAM. For example,
Door opening switch 131, body frame opening switch 132, launch standby ball switch 50, launch standby ball switch 51, ball capacity confirmation switch 43, launch ball confirmation switch 24, launch ball detection switch 25, foul ball detection switch 41, out-safe Main control board that informs that the main control board 100 has normally received the BRQ signal, the BRDY signal and the CR connection signal from the sphere detection switch 40, the touch switch 87, the settlement machine 200, and various commands transmitted in the command transmission process described later. The main sphere information ACK signal and the like from 100 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area.

  Subsequent to step S554, timer update processing is performed (step S556). The various determination times are stored as time management information in the time management information storage area of the sphere information control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S556, settlement machine communication processing is performed (step S558). In the settlement machine communication processing, whether or not various signals (BRQ signal, BRDY signal, and CR connection signal) from the settlement machine 200 are input based on the input information read from the input information storage area described above. Determine. Based on various signals from the payment machine 200, the ball information control MPU exchanges various signals with the payment machine 200. For example, when the ball information control MPU receives the number of balls lent transmitted from the checkout machine 200, the ball information control MPU adds the number of balls lent to the number of balls held by the gaming machine.

  Following step S558, command reception processing is performed (step S560). In this command reception process, various commands (prize ball commands and self-check commands) related to prize balls from the main control board 100 are received. When these various commands are normally received, the sphere information main ACK information to that effect is stored in the output information storage area described above. On the other hand, when various commands cannot be received normally, a connection that indicates that an abnormality has occurred in the connection between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 (an abnormality has occurred in various command signals). Abnormality information is stored in the state information storage area described above.

  Following step S560, command analysis processing is performed (step S562). In this command analysis processing, the command received in step S562 is analyzed, and the analyzed command is stored as received command information in the received command information storage area of the sphere information control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S562, main operation setting processing is performed (step S564). In this main operation setting process, the ball information control MPU performs operation settings of the circulating ball feed motor 47, the blower 62, and the like. In addition, the ball information control MPU sequentially “1” from the game machine ball number data stored in the game machine ball number storage area in response to the detection of each game ball shot by the ball detection of the shot ball detection switch 25. Each time one foul ball is detected by the foul ball detection switch 41, “1” is added to the game machine ball number data stored in the game machine ball number storage area. Further, when a winning ball command is stored in the received command information storage area, the number of winning balls corresponding to the winning ball command is added to the gaming machine ball number data stored in the gaming machine holding ball number storage area.

  Following step S564, LED display data creation processing is performed (step S566). In this LED display data creation processing, for example, the gaming machine possession ball number data stored in the above-mentioned gaming machine possession ball number storage area is read out, and display data to be displayed on the gaming machine possession ball number display unit 14 is created to display the LED display. Information is stored in the output information storage area described above.

  Subsequent to step S566, command transmission processing is performed (step S568). In this command transmission process, various information is read from the state information storage area described above, and various commands classified into status displays are created based on the various information and transmitted to the main control board 100.

  Subsequent to step S568, output of the external WDT clear signal to the external watchdog timer (external WDT) 116 is stopped (turns OFF, step S570). Thereby, the external WDT 116 is cleared so that the sphere information control MPU and the sphere information control I / O port 112 are not reset. The external WDT 116 starts counting the clear signal release time when the output of the external WDT clear signal is stopped.

  Following step S570, the process returns to step S544 again to determine whether or not a power failure warning signal has been input. If this power failure warning signal has not been input, the 1.75 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG has a value of 1 in step S546. When the 1.75 ms elapse flag HT-FLG has a value of 1, that is, when 1.75 ms elapses, the value 0 is set in the 1.75 ms elapse flag HT-FLG in step S548. In step S550, an external WDT clear signal is output (ON) to the external WDT 4120c, a port output process is performed in step S552, a port input process is performed in step S554, a timer update process is performed in step S556, and a checkout machine in step S558. Communication processing is performed, command reception processing is performed in step S560, and step S5 is performed. 2 performs command analysis processing, performs main operation setting processing in step S564, performs LED display data generation processing in step S566, performs command transmission processing in step S568, and outputs an external WDT clear signal to external WDT 116 in step S570. Is stopped (OFF), and Steps S544 to S570 are repeated. The processing from step S544 to step S570 is referred to as “sphere information control main processing”.

  On the other hand, when a power failure warning signal is input in step S544, interrupt prohibition setting is performed (step S572). With this setting, a sphere information control unit timer interrupt process, which will be described later, is not performed, writing to the sphere information control built-in RAM is prevented, and the rewriting of the sphere information described above is protected.

  Subsequent to step S572, the power failure clear signal is output to the CLR terminal, which is the clear terminal of the D-type flip-flop of the power failure monitoring circuit 117, via the ball information control I / O port 112 (step S574). Thereby, the D type flip-flop can be released from the latched state by outputting the power failure clear signal.

  Subsequent to step S574, the output of the drive signal to the firing motor 23 is stopped (step S576). Thereby, the launch of the game ball is stopped. Subsequent to step S576, output of the drive signal to the circulating ball feed motor 47 is stopped (step S578). Thereby, the feeding of the game ball to the hit ball launching device 20 side is stopped.

  Subsequent to step S578, an external WDT clear signal is output to the external WDT 116 and the output is stopped (ON / OFF, step S580). As a result, the external WDT 116 is cleared. Subsequent to step S580, a checksum is calculated and the calculated value is stored (step S582). The checksum is calculated by considering the sphere information in the work area of the sphere information control built-in RAM as a numerical value, excluding the storage area of the checksum value calculated in step S528 and the value of the sphere information backup flag HBK-FLG. To do. Subsequent to step S582, a value 1 is set in the sphere information backup flag (step S584). Thereby, the storage of the sphere information backup information is completed. Subsequent to step S584, access prohibition to the sphere information control built-in RAM is set (step S586). With this setting, access to the sphere information control built-in RAM is prohibited, and writing and reading cannot be performed, and the sphere information backup information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM is protected.

  Subsequent to step S586, a loop process of repeating a state of doing nothing is entered. In this loop processing, the clear signal is not turned ON / OFF to the external WDT 116. Therefore, the external WDT 116 resets the sphere information control MPU and the sphere information control I / O port 112 by outputting a reset signal. Thereafter, the sphere information control MPU performs this sphere information control side power-on process from the beginning again. Note that the processing and loop processing in steps S572 to S586 are referred to as “sphere information control power-off processing”.

  The pachinko gaming machine 1 (ball information control MPU) is reset when a power failure occurs or when a power failure occurs, and the ball information control side power-on process is performed by power recovery thereafter.

  In step S530, it is checked whether or not the sphere information backup information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM is normal, and in step S532, the sphere information control unit power-off process is normally terminated. It is inspected whether or not. As described above, the sphere information backup information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM is checked twice to check whether or not the sphere information backup information is stored by an illegal act.

[Ball information control timer interrupt processing]
Next, the sphere information control side timer interruption process will be described. This sphere information control side timer interruption process is repeatedly performed every interruption period (1.75 ms in the present embodiment) set in the sphere information control side power-on process shown in FIGS.

  When the sphere information control side timer interrupt process is started, the sphere information control MPU of the sphere information control unit 118 in the sphere information control board 110 sets the timer interrupt to be prohibited and switches registers (see FIG. 22). (Evacuation) is performed (step S590). Here, the general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register) used in the above-described sphere information control unit main process is switched to the auxiliary register. By using this auxiliary register in the sphere information control side timer interrupt process, the value of the general-purpose register is not overwritten. This prevents the contents of the general-purpose register used in the main process on the sphere information control side from being destroyed.

  Subsequent to step S590, a value 1 is set to the 1.75 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG (step S592). The 1.75 elapsed flag HT-FLG is a flag that counts 1.75 ms every time the ball information control unit timer interrupt process is performed, that is, every 1.75 ms, and has a value of 1 when 1.75 ms elapses. The value is set to 0 when 1.75 ms has not elapsed. Subsequent to step S592, the register is switched (returned) (step S594). This return is switched from the auxiliary register used in the sphere information control side timer interrupt process to the general-purpose memory element (general-purpose register). By using this general-purpose register in the main process on the sphere information control side, the value of the auxiliary register is not overwritten. This prevents the contents of the auxiliary register used in the ball information control unit timer interrupt processing from being destroyed. Subsequent to step S594, interrupt permission is set (step S596), and this routine ends.

[Improve control processing]
FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of idling control processing executed by the ball information control MPU. The idling control processing is performed automatically by operating the hitting ball launching device 20 (launching motor 23) and the circulating ball feeding member 44 (circulating ball feeding motor 47) without depending on the operation of the hitting ball handle 7. The sphere (25 or 50 in this embodiment) is fired at least once to circulate through the circulation path 30, and the sphere cleaning mechanism 60 controls to clean the surface of all encapsulated spheres.

  As described above, when the current time is before the store opening time when the power is turned on, the main control MPU transmits the idling identification data including the idling execution to the ball information control board 110 (step of FIG. 16). (See S22). In the ball information control side power-on process, the sphere information control MPU idles in step S522 and receives the identification data. In step S523, the sphere information control MPU idles and determines that the content of the identification data is idling execution. The idling control process is executed.

  When the idling control process is started, the ball information control MPU outputs an operation signal to the launch motor drive circuit 122, thereby driving the launch motor 23 to cause the hitting device 20 to perform a hitting operation (step S600). Next, the circulating ball feed motor 47 is driven to start ball feeding to the ball firing position (step S602). Thereby, the game ball is launched and the ball is fed to the hit ball launch position. The game balls launched for idling are collected in the out-safe ball collection path 31 and aligned with the arrangement passage 35 via the collection joint path 34.

  Subsequent to step S602, the sphere information control MPU outputs an external WDT clear signal to the external WDT 116 and stops the output (turns ON / OFF, step S604). This clears the external WDT 116 so that the ball information control MPU and the ball information control I / O port 112 are not reset during the idling control processing. The external WDT 116 starts counting the clear signal release time when the output of the external WDT clear signal is stopped.

  Subsequent to step S604, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not the idling end condition is satisfied (step S606). The determination as to whether or not the end condition is satisfied is made, for example, when the number of balls fired from the start of idling execution exceeds the number of encapsulated balls or when the execution time from the start of idling execution becomes a predetermined end condition. , It is determined that the idling is completed.

  If the ball information control MPU determines that the idling end condition is not satisfied, the process returns to step S604. Therefore, the sphere information control MPU outputs an external WDT clear signal to the external WDT 116 and stops outputting (turns ON / OFF), that is, clears the external WDT 116, and waits until the idling end condition is satisfied. ing.

  When the power is turned on before the opening time, the enclosed sphere is idled so that the enclosed sphere moves and circulates in the circulation path 30, so that the state where the enclosed sphere stays for a long time without moving can be avoided. It can be avoided that dust and dust accumulate on the enclosing ball. Thereby, the game conditions for the encapsulated ball can be equalized regardless of the number of players, and it is possible for the player to ensure the fairness of the winning chance by the game ball used. Further, dust or the like attached to the surface is removed by the conductive brush 61 of the sphere cleaning mechanism 60, and the encapsulated sphere can be kept clean.

  Then, by repeating the hitting operation by the hitting ball launching device 20 and the ball feeding to the ball launching position by driving the circulating ball feed motor 47, all the encapsulated balls (25 or 50 in this embodiment) are at least When fired once, the idling end condition is satisfied. The ball information control MPU determines that the idling is completed in step S606, stops the output of the operation signal to the discharge motor drive circuit 122, stops the discharge motor 23 (step S608), and the circulation ball feed motor 47 The driving is stopped and the ball feeding to the ball launching position is stopped (step S610), the idling end signal is transmitted to the main control MPU (step S612), the idling control process is terminated, and the process returns to the main routine. To do.

  In the main control side power-on process, the main control MPU performs the idling execution (after sending idling identification data including idling execution contents) until receiving the idling end signal. The main control MPU waits without shifting to the above-described game control process (main control timer interrupt process) (repeats the process of step S22 and the process of determining step S24 as NO). Then, when the idling end signal is received, step S24 is determined as YES, and the process proceeds to the game control process.

  As a result, in the unlikely event that the ball hit for emptying wins, it will be added to the number of game machines held as a winning or change in symbols, jackpots, production and prize balls even though it is empty The game data in the reset work area of the RAM will not be distorted when power is restored, so that both the player and the game hall are avoided. In addition, no unnecessary load is applied to the main control MPU, and other necessary processing is not hindered.

  In the above-described embodiment, an external real-time clock (hereinafter referred to as “RTC”) 107 capable of acquiring time information is provided on the main control board 100 as the time information acquisition means, and the main control MPU 101 is connected to the RTC 107. However, instead of this, as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, the main control MPU 101 may not include the RTC 107, and the ball information control MPU 111 may include the RTC 107.

  FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing the main part of the main control board in the second embodiment, and FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing the main part of the sphere information control board in the second embodiment. 24 to 25, the RTC control unit 106 (see FIG. 11) is not connected to the main control MPU 101, but is mounted on the sphere information control unit 118 and connected to the sphere information control MPU 111. Therefore, the sphere information control MPU 111 can acquire current time information from the external RTC 107. Other configurations are the same as those in the embodiment of FIGS. 13 and 14, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing a part of main control-side power-on processing executed by the main control MPU in the second embodiment, and FIG. 27 shows the ball information control side executed by the ball information control MPU in the second embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows a part of power-on process.

[Processing when the main control side power is turned on in the second embodiment]
In the main control side power-on process of the second embodiment, the processes of step S10, step S12, step S14, step S16, step S18, and step S19 are the same as the main control side power-on process of the first embodiment. Since this is the process, the description is omitted. The main control MPU proceeds to step S25 following step S18 or step S19.

  In the second embodiment, since the main control MPU does not include the RTC 107, it cannot be directly determined whether or not to perform idling based on the current time. On the other hand, the sphere information control MPU including the RTC 107 directly determines whether or not to perform idling based on the current time. Therefore, in the second embodiment, when the ball information control MPU determines whether or not to perform idling based on the current time, whether to perform idling or not to perform idling according to the determination result. The idling identification data for identifying is transmitted to the main control MPU. Further, the main control MPU waits until idling identification data is received.

  When the main control MPU proceeds to step S25, the watchdog timer is cleared (step S25). The watchdog timer is cleared by setting value A, value B, and value C in this order in the watchdog timer clear register WCL. Then, the process proceeds to step S26, and it is determined whether or not the idling identification data transmitted from the sphere information control board 110 is received (step S26).

  If the idling identification data transmitted from the ball information control board 110 is not received, the main control MPU returns to step S25 and performs clear setting of the watchdog timer. Therefore, the main control MPU stands by by repeating the process of step S25 and the process of determining step S26 as NO. That is, while the watchdog timer is cleared, the system waits until idle identification data transmitted from the ball information control MPU is received. This prevents the watchdog timer from timing out during standby and resetting the main control MPU.

  When the idling identification data transmitted from the ball information control MPU is received, the main control MPU proceeds to step S27, and determines whether or not the received idling identification data is an idling execution (step S27). . If it is determined that the idling identification data is not idling and not executing (not idling), the process proceeds to step S30.

  On the other hand, in step S27, when it is determined that the idling identification data is idling execution (idling execution), the process proceeds to step S23. Then, clear setting of the watchdog timer is performed (step S23), and the process proceeds to step S24 to determine whether or not the idling end signal transmitted from the ball information system MPU is received (step S24).

  If the idling end signal transmitted from the ball information control MPU is not received, the main control MPU returns to step S23 and performs clear setting of the watchdog timer. Therefore, the main control MPU stands by by repeating the process of step S23 and the process of determining step S24 as NO. That is, while setting the watchdog timer to clear, it waits until an idle rotation end signal transmitted from the ball information control MPU is received. This prevents the watchdog timer from timing out during standby and resetting the main control MPU.

  Also in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the main control MPU does not shift to the game control process (main control side timer interrupt process) until the idling end signal is received in the main control side power-on process. Wait at. As a result, in the unlikely event that the ball hit for emptying wins, it will be added to the number of game machines held as a winning or change in symbols, jackpots, production and prize balls even though it is empty The game data in the reset work area of the RAM is not distorted at the time of power recovery, so that both the player and the game hall can be avoided. In addition, no unnecessary load is applied to the main control MPU, and other necessary processing is not hindered.

  On the other hand, the ball information control MPU executes the idling control process described above when the idling identification data indicating that idling is executed as the content of the idling identification data is transmitted to the main control MPU. Then, when the number of balls fired from the start of the idling run or the execution time from the idling execution start is a predetermined end condition, it is determined that the idling is completed, and the idling end signal is transmitted to the main control MPU. . When the main control MPU receives the idle rotation end signal transmitted from the ball information control MPU, the main control MPU proceeds to step S30. In addition, since the structure of the process after step S30 is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

[Sphere Information Control Side Power-On Processing of Second Embodiment]
In the ball information control side power-on process of the second embodiment, the processes executed from the time of power-on are the processes of steps S500 to S520 in FIG. 19 of the main control-side power-on process of the first embodiment. Since it is the same processing, explanation is omitted. After setting the stack pointer in step S520, the sphere information control MPU proceeds to step S5021 and performs current time information acquisition processing (step S5021). That is, current time information is acquired from the external RTC 107 and stored in a current time data storage unit set in a predetermined area of the internal RAM.

  Subsequent to step S5021, the current time acquired in step S5021 is compared with the store opening time set and stored in advance, and it is determined whether the current time is before the store opening time (step S5022). For example, when 9:00 is set and stored as the opening time and the power-on time is 8:30, it is determined that the current time is before the opening time.

  When the ball information control MPU determines that the current time is before the opening time, the ball information control MPU transmits idle identification data including the idle rotation content to the main control MPU (step S5023). Then, the process proceeds to the idling control process (step S5024), and when the idling control process is finished, the process proceeds to step S526.

  On the other hand, in step S5022, if the current time acquired is compared with the store opening time set and stored in advance and it is determined that the current time is not earlier than the store opening time, the ball information control MPU performs step S5022. Is determined to be NO, the process proceeds to step S5025, and the idling identification data including the idling and non-execution content is transmitted to the main control MPU (step S5025), and the process proceeds to step S526.

  In addition, since the structure of the process after step S526 is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Also in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the enclosing ball is idled only once when the power is turned on before the opening time. On the other hand, if a power outage or momentary power failure (a phenomenon in which power supply is suddenly stopped) occurs during business after the opening time, the ball information control MPU performs idle control processing when the power supply is restored. Absent.

  In the main control side power-on process, the main control MPU proceeds to the above-described game control process (main control side timer interrupt process) until it receives the idle execution end signal after receiving the idle execution. The process waits without repeating (the process of step S22 and the process of determining step S24 as NO are repeated). Then, when the idling end signal is received, step S24 is determined as YES, and the process proceeds to the game control process.

  As a result, in the unlikely event that the ball hit for emptying wins, it will be added to the number of game machines held as a winning or change in symbols, jackpots, production and prize balls even though it is empty The game data in the reset work area of the RAM will not be distorted when power is restored, so that both the player and the game hall are avoided. In addition, no unnecessary load is applied to the main control MPU, and other necessary processing is not hindered.

  In addition, the idle control process (step S524) is performed in the power-on process in the stage before the transition to the ball information control main process executed by the ball information control MPU and in the stage before the power recovery process (steps S526 to S534). Therefore, when the power is restored, the ball information data in the reset work area of the RAM is not distorted, so that both the player and the playground are prevented from being disturbed.

  By the way, the number of balls that can be fired per minute by the ball striking device 20 can be hit 100 times. That is, the time required to hit one ball by the hitting operation of the firing hammer 22 is 0.6 seconds. Therefore, in the process similar to the idling control process at the time of power-on as described above, the processing means for determining whether or not the number of encapsulated balls is sufficient to play a game, in other words, Then, if the number of encapsulated balls is not sufficient to play a game, it becomes impossible to provide a ball to the ball launch position, and a ball shortage detecting means for detecting a state in which the hitting operation of the launching hammer 22 becomes idle. May be provided. If it is determined that the sphere is insufficient, the sphere information control MPU transmits an error command to the main control MPU, the main control MPU 101 transmits an error command to the peripheral control board 130, for example, and the peripheral control board 130 displays, for example, a liquid crystal display panel It may be configured to notify by displaying a shortage of spheres.

  In this case, the determination time for determining the shortage of spheres, that is, the determination time for determining whether or not a shortage of spheres occurs by launching the encapsulated sphere is longer than the time required to launch all the encapsulated spheres. If the number of encapsulated spheres is about 50, the time required for launching all encapsulated spheres is 0.6 seconds × 50 = 30 seconds, so that the determination time longer than that is, for example, 1 minute And Since the single hitting operation interval of the launching hammer 22 is 0.6 seconds, the detection signal from the launching ball confirmation switch 24 that detects the presence or absence of the ball at the ball launching position is monitored during this period. Then, if a ball is not detected by the firing ball confirmation switch 24 for 0.6 seconds, it is determined that the hitting motion by the launching hammer 22 has been missed, and it is determined that the number of encapsulated balls is insufficient. When it is not determined that there is a shortage of balls in such monitoring for 0.6 seconds, the same monitoring is repeated 100 times to complete the determination time of 1 minute. Note that the time is measured every 0.6 seconds by a timer (external external WDT 116).

  According to such a configuration, when the power is turned on before the store opening time, it is possible to detect the shortage of the number of balls enclosed in the gaming machine, so when the shortage of the number of balls is detected, the amusement hall can appropriately cope with it. It is possible to easily manage the number of encapsulated balls.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pachinko machine 2 Main body frame 3 Door frame 4 Game board 5 Game area 6 Game window 7 Hitting ball handle 8 Guide rail 8a Launch guide way 9 Transparent board 10 Operation panel part 11 Ball rental button 12 Checkout button 13 Remaining frequency display part 14 Game machine Number of held balls 15 End ball number display 16 End ball number display button 18 Accommodating opening 19 Out port 20 Hitting ball launching device 21 Launching rail 22 Launching hammer 23 Launching motor 24 Launching ball confirmation switch 25 Launched ball detection switch 26 Opening / closing Plate member 26a Switch mounting portion 27 Opening / closing plate member 27a Opening 30 Circulating path 31 Out-safe ball collection path 32 Foul ball collection path 33 First ball path formation member 34 Collection joint path 35 Arrangement path 36 Launching delivery path 37 Second ball Passage forming member 38 Foul ball collection port 40 Out-safe ball detection switch 41 Fur Sphere detection switch 42 Sphere inflow port 43 Sphere capacity confirmation switch 44 Circulating sphere feed member 45 Shaft 46 Sphere receiving portion 47 Circulating sphere feed motor 48 Inlet passage portion 49 Outlet passage portion 50 Launch standby ball switch 51 Launch standby ball switch 52 Operable Notification lamp 53 YES button 54 NO button 55 Decoration cover 57 Message display part 60 Ball cleaning mechanism 61 Conductive brush 62 Blower 63 Brush insertion port 64 Ground wiring 65 Casing 66 Screw stop boss 67 Blower port 68 Blower duct 69 First duct Forming member 70 Second duct forming member 71 Screw stop boss 72 Air inlet 73 Air outlet 74 Air outlet 75 Air outlet 77 Air outlet 77 Air outlet 78 Air outlet 80 Fire base frame 81 Slide rod 82 Slide member 83 Reverse rotation prevention cam 84 Stopper single-sided Boss 85 Stopper piece 86 Launch stop switch 87 Touch switch 90 Upper start opening switch 91 Lower start opening switch 92 Gate switch 93 General winning opening switch 94 General winning opening switch 96 Start opening solenoid 97 Large winning opening solenoid 98 Count switch 100 Main control board 101 Main control MPU
102 Main Control I / O Port 103 Main Control Input Circuit 104 Main Control Solenoid Drive Circuit 105 RAM Clear Switch 106 RTC Control Unit 107 RTC
108 Battery 109 RAM
110 Sphere information control board 111 Sphere information control MPU
112 Ball information control I / O port 113 Ball information control input circuit 114 Circulation feed motor drive circuit 115 CR unit input / output circuit 116 External WDT
117 Power failure monitoring circuit 118 Sphere information control unit 119 Launch control unit 120 Launch control input circuit 121 Oscillation circuit 122 Launch motor drive circuit 123 Handle relay terminal board 124 Sensor relay board 130 Peripheral control board 131 Door frame release switch 132 Body frame release switch 133 External terminal board 140 Panel relay terminal board 141 Function display board 142 Upper special symbol indicator 143 Lower special symbol indicator 144 Upper special symbol memory indicator 145 Lower special symbol memory indicator 146 Normal symbol indicator 147 Normal symbol memory indicator 148 Game state indicator 149 Round indicator 200 Settlement machine 201 Card insertion slot 202 Card processor 203 Card 204 ID storage unit 205 Remaining number storage unit 206 Ball number storage unit 1010 Cylinder lock

Claims (1)

A game board in which a game area is partitioned;
A ball striking device for launching a game ball into the game area in response to an operation on the ball handle;
A circulation path for collecting the game balls launched by the hitting ball launching device as encapsulated balls on the back side of the game board and supplying them to the hitting ball launching device again;
A circulating ball feed member that feeds the encapsulated balls stored in an array passage formed in a part of the circulation path one by one into the ball launching position of the hitting ball launching device one by one based on driving of an electrical drive source;
A ball cleaning member that cleans the surface of the encapsulated sphere by contacting the encapsulated sphere in the circulation path;
A main control board for performing game control processing related to pachinko games;
Bidirectional data communication with the main control board is possible, a prize ball command transmitted from the main control board in the game control process, and ball number information of game balls launched by the hitting ball launcher, Information on the number of balls of the foul balls collected in the foul ball collection port formed in the middle of the ball guide path through the ball guide path from the ball launch position to the game area without reaching the game area And ball information for performing increase / decrease control of the number of balls possessed by the gaming machine based on the above, control for launching the game ball by the hitting ball launching device, and control for feeding the game ball to the ball launch position by the circulating ball feed member A control board;
In the enclosed ball type gaming machine with

A time measuring means for measuring time;
Time determination means for comparing whether the current time is before the opening time by comparing the current time measured by the timing means with the opening time set and stored in advance when the power is turned on. Provided,
The sphere information control board is
By automatically operating the hitting ball launching device and the circulating ball feeding member without depending on the operation of the hitting ball handle, the idling control for firing all the encapsulated balls at least once and circulating the circulation path is performed. Equipped with idle control means to perform,
On the condition that the time determination means determines that the current time is before the opening time, the idling control means executes the idling control.
Enclosed ball game machine characterized by that.

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