JP7430240B2 - gaming machine - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a gaming machine that uses a lottery to determine whether or not to award a gaming benefit to a player.

In general, in a gaming machine (pachinko machine), a game ball is launched toward a gaming area within the gaming board by the player's handle operation, and a special condition is set in which the gaming ball that flows down the gaming area enters the starting port. A lottery regarding the symbols is executed. Then, on the special symbol display, the special symbol is displayed in a variable manner, and furthermore, the special symbol determined by the lottery is stopped and displayed, thereby notifying the player of the lottery result. At this time, when a specific special symbol indicating a jackpot is stopped and displayed on the special symbol display, a big prize game that is more advantageous to the player than a normal game is started. In this big prize game, the attacker device opens and closes a predetermined number of times, allowing game balls to enter the big prize opening, allowing the player to receive a payout of many prize balls.

In such a gaming machine, in order to make the player expect that the variable display on the special symbol display is a jackpot, there are measures such as driving the accessories provided on the gaming machine in accordance with the variable display. Sometimes I perform. Therefore, inside the gaming machine, output information, which is information for driving the accessory, is generated, for example, and the generated output information is output to each driving element as a serial signal represented by a bit string. Then, the drive element converts the serial signal into a parallel signal and rotates, for example, a unipolar stepping motor to drive the accessory.

Furthermore, in a gaming machine, a bipolar stepping motor can be used instead of a unipolar stepping motor as a drive source for an accessory, as in Patent Document 1.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-005269

These unipolar stepping motors and bipolar stepping motors have different drive methods and control signals in principle, and a dedicated drive element (motor driver) must be prepared depending on the stepping motor in question. Must be.

In view of these problems, the present invention provides a gaming machine that can appropriately control a unipolar stepping motor and a bipolar stepping motor with a simple configuration even when using them in parallel. is intended to provide.

In order to solve the above problems, a gaming machine of the present invention includes: a controller that transmits a serial signal; a plurality of serial-to-parallel conversion elements capable of converting the serial signal into at least 4-bit parallel signals; - a unipolar stepping motor connected to a first serial-parallel converting element of the parallel converting elements and operated by the at least 4-bit parallel signal; and a second serial-parallel stepping motor of the plurality of serial-parallel converting elements. The controller includes a bipolar drive element connected to the conversion element and operated by at least 3-bit parallel signals of the at least 4-bit parallel signals, and a bipolar stepping motor connected to the bipolar drive element. , transmitting a four-phase excitation signal for driving the unipolar stepping motor as a serial signal to the first serial-to-parallel conversion element, a two-phase excitation signal for driving the bipolar stepping motor, and The enable signal is transmitted as a serial signal to the second serial-to-parallel conversion element.

According to the present invention, even when a unipolar stepping motor and a bipolar stepping motor are used in parallel, it is possible to appropriately control both with a simple configuration.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the gaming machine with the door opened. FIG. 3 is a front view of the gaming machine. It is a block diagram of a gaming machine. It is a block diagram for explaining the control aspect of the performance display section, the performance accessory device, the performance lighting device, and the music output device in the sub-control board. 3 is a flowchart showing a control mode in a sub-control board. It is an explanatory view for explaining a control mode of a rotary accessory. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the output timing of a parallel signal to a unipolar stepping motor. It is an explanatory view for explaining other control modes of a rotary accessory. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the output timing of a parallel signal to a bipolar stepping motor. It is an explanatory view for explaining still another control mode of a rotary accessory. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a specific circuit configuration of a permission circuit. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the output timing of the permission circuit. FIG. 2 is an external view for explaining a schematic mechanical configuration of a slot machine. FIG. 2 is an external view of the slot machine with the front door opened for explaining the general mechanical configuration of the slot machine. It is a diagram showing the symbol arrangement of the reels. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic electrical configuration of a slot machine. FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in these embodiments are merely illustrative to facilitate understanding of the invention, and do not limit the invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and the drawings, elements with substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to omit redundant explanation, and elements not directly related to the present invention are omitted from illustration. do.

In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, first, the mechanical configuration and electrical configuration of the gaming machine will be briefly explained, and then specific processing on each board will be explained.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gaming machine 100 of this embodiment, showing a state in which the door is open. As shown in the figure, the gaming machine 100 includes an outer frame 102 in which a surrounding space is formed by four sides arranged in a substantially rectangular shape, an inner frame 104 attached to the outer frame 102 so as to be openable and closable by a hinge mechanism, and The front frame 106 is attached to the middle frame 104 by a hinge mechanism so as to be openable and closable.

Similar to the outer frame 102, the inner frame 104 has a surrounding space formed by four sides arranged in a substantially rectangular shape, and a game board 108 is held in this surrounding space. Further, the front frame 106 holds a transparent plate 110 made of glass or resin. When the middle frame 104 and the front frame 106 are closed to the outer frame 102, the game board 108 and the transparent plate 110 face each other substantially parallel to each other while maintaining a predetermined distance, and from the front side of the game machine 100, , the game board 108 becomes visible through the transparent plate 110.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the gaming machine 100. As shown in this figure, an operating handle 112 that protrudes toward the front side of the gaming machine 100 is provided at the lower part of the front frame 106. This operation handle 112 is provided so that the player can rotate it, and when the player rotates the operation handle 112 to perform a firing operation, the operation handle 112 has a strength corresponding to the rotation angle of the operation handle 112, and when the player performs a firing operation, the operation handle 112 has a strength corresponding to the rotation angle of the operation handle 112. A game ball is fired by the firing mechanism. The game ball launched in this manner ascends between the rails 114a and 114b provided on the game board 108 and is guided to the game area 116.

The game area 116 is a space formed between the game board 108 and the transparent plate 110, and is an area where the game balls can flow down or roll. The game board 108 is provided with a large number of nails and windmills, and the game balls guided into the game area 116 collide with the nails and windmills to flow down and roll in irregular directions.

The game area 116 includes a first game area 116a and a second game area 116b, which differ in the degree of entry of game balls depending on the firing intensity of the firing mechanism. The first gaming area 116a is located on the left side of the gaming area 116 when viewed from the player facing the gaming machine 100, and the second gaming area 116b is located on the left side of the gaming area 116 when viewed from the player facing the gaming machine 100. It is located on the right side. Since the rails 114a and 114b are on the left side of the game area 116, game balls fired by the firing mechanism with a firing strength lower than the predetermined strength enter the first game area 116a and are fired with a firing strength equal to or higher than the predetermined strength. The game ball that has been played enters the second game area 116b.

In addition, the gaming area 116 is provided with a general winning opening 118, a first starting opening 120, and a second starting opening 122 into which game balls can enter. When a game ball enters the second starting port 122, a predetermined prize ball is paid out to the player. The number of prize balls may be any number as long as it is one or more, and the number of prize balls paid out in each of the general prize opening 118, first starting opening 120, and second starting opening 122 may be different. , may be set to the same number of prize balls. At this time, it is also possible to set the number of prize balls that are paid out when game balls enter the first starting port 120 to be smaller than the number of prize balls that are paid out when game balls enter the second starting port 122. be.

Note that a first starting region is provided within the first starting port 120, and a second starting region is provided within the second starting port 122. Then, when the game ball enters the first starting port 120 or the second starting port 122 and enters the first starting area or the second starting area, one of the plurality of special symbols provided in advance is selected. A lottery is held to determine the No. 1 special symbol. Each special symbol is associated with various gaming benefits, such as whether or not a big prize game that is advantageous to the player can be executed, and what kind of gaming state the subsequent gaming state will be. Therefore, when a game ball enters the first starting port 120 or the second starting port 122, the player not only obtains a predetermined prize ball but also has the opportunity to obtain the right to receive various gaming benefits. becomes.

In addition, a movable piece 122b is provided in the second starting port 122 so that it can be opened and closed, and the ease with which the game ball enters the second starting port 122 changes depending on the state of the movable piece 122b. It has become. Specifically, when the movable piece 122b is in the closed state, the game ball cannot enter the second starting port 122. On the other hand, when the game ball passes through the entry area in the gate 124 provided in the game area 116, a lottery of normal symbols is carried out, and if the lottery results in a winning result, the movable piece 122b is kept open for a predetermined period of time. controlled by. In this way, when the movable piece 122b is in the open state, the movable piece 122b functions as a tray that guides the game ball to the second starting port 122, making it easy for the game ball to enter the second starting port 122. In addition, here, when the second starting port 122 is in the closed state, it is assumed that it is impossible to enter the game ball into the second starting port 122, but if the second starting port 122 is in the closed state. Even in certain cases, it may be configured such that game balls can be entered at a certain frequency.

Furthermore, the gaming area 116 is provided with a grand prize opening 128 into which a gaming ball can enter. This grand prize opening 128 is provided with an opening/closing door 128b that can be opened and closed, and normally, the opening/closing door 128b closes the grand prize opening 128, making it impossible for game balls to enter the grand prize opening 128. It has become. On the other hand, when the above-mentioned big winning game is executed, the opening/closing door 128b is opened and the game ball can enter the big prize opening 128. When a game ball enters the big prize opening 128, a predetermined prize ball is paid out to the player.

In addition, at the bottom of the gaming area 116, game balls that have not entered any of the general prize opening 118, the first starting opening 120, the second starting opening 122, and the big winning opening 128 are stored from the gaming area 116. A discharge port 130 is provided on the back side of the board 108 to discharge the fluid.

The gaming machine 100 includes a performance display device 200 consisting of a liquid crystal display device, a performance accessory device 202 consisting of a drive device, and a performance device 200 that performs effects during the progress of the game, which are controlled to various lighting modes and colors. A production lighting device 204 consisting of a lamp, a music output device 206 consisting of a speaker, and a production operation device 208 that accepts operations from a player are provided.

The effect display device 200 includes an effect display section 200a consisting of an image display section that displays an image, and this effect display section 200a is made visible from the front side of the gaming machine 100 at approximately the center of the game board 108. It is placed. In this performance display section 200a, performance symbols 210a, 210b, and 210c are displayed in a variable manner as shown in the figure, and a variable performance in which the player is informed of the major prize lottery results based on the stop display mode of each of these performance symbols 210a, 210b, and 210c. will be executed.

The performance accessory device 202 is arranged in front of the performance display section 200a, and moves and rotates in an area that can be seen by the player, thereby giving the player a sense of anticipation of a jackpot. For example, the rotating accessory 202a as the performance accessory device 202 in FIG. 2 is linked to the rotation of the motor (pulse motor or geared motor) that is the drive source during the variable display of the above-mentioned performance symbols 210a, 210b, and 210c. and rotates around the longitudinal axis. In addition, the moving accessory 202b as the performance accessory device 202 in FIG. 2 is normally retracted to a retreat area on the game board 108, but during the fluctuating display of the performance symbols 210a, 210b, and 210c, etc. Move to the front of the effect display section 200a.

The production lighting device 204 is made up of, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode), and is provided in the production accessory device 202, the game board 108, etc., and lights up in various ways according to the image etc. displayed on the production display section 200a. controlled.

The music output device 206 is provided at the upper position of the front frame 106 or the lowermost position of the outer frame 102, and outputs various music pieces toward the front side of the gaming machine 100 in accordance with the image displayed on the effect display section 200a. Output.

The production operation device 208 is composed of a button that accepts a player's press operation and a rotation operation section (for example, a jog dial) that accepts a player's rotation operation, and is located approximately at the center in the width direction of the gaming machine 100, and It is provided at a lower position than the transmission plate 110. This performance operation device 208 is activated in accordance with the image etc. displayed on the performance display section 200a, and when an operation from the player is received within the operation validity period, various performances are executed in accordance with the operation. .

Further, behind the production operation device 208, there is an upper tray 132 through which prize balls paid out from the gaming machine 100 and game balls lent out from the game ball rental device are guided, and when the upper tray 132 is full of game balls, , the game ball will be guided to the lower tray 134. Further, a ball removal hole (not shown) for ejecting game balls from the lower tray 134 is formed in the bottom surface of the lower tray 134. This ball removal hole is normally closed by an opening/closing plate (not shown), but by sliding the ball removal knob 134a in the left-right direction in the figure, the opening/closing plate slides together with the ball removal knob 134a. However, it is possible to discharge the game balls below the lower tray 134 from the ball ejection hole.

In addition, on the game board 108, a first special symbol display 160, a second special symbol display 162, and a first special symbol reserved are located outside the gaming area 116 and in a position that is visible to the player. A display 164, a second special symbol reservation display 166, a normal symbol display 168, a regular symbol reservation display 170, and a right hit notification display 172 are provided. Each of these displays 160 to 172 is a device for displaying various situations related to the game.

(Internal configuration of control means)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the control means that controls the progress of the game. The main control board 300 controls the basic operations of the game. This main control board 300 includes a main CPU 300a, a main ROM 300b, and a main RAM 300c. The main CPU 300a reads the program stored in the main ROM 300b and performs arithmetic processing based on input signals from each detection switch and timer, and also directly controls each device and display, or uses the results of the arithmetic processing. Send commands to other boards accordingly. The main RAM 300c functions as a data work area during arithmetic processing by the main CPU 300a.

The main control board 300 includes a general winning opening detection switch 118s that detects that a game ball has entered the general winning opening 118, and a first starting opening that detects that a gaming ball has entered the first starting opening 120. A detection switch 120s, a second starting port detection switch 122s that detects that a game ball has entered the second starting port 122, a gate detection switch 124s that detects that a game ball has passed through the gate 124, and a grand prize opening 128. A big prize opening detection switch 128s that detects that a game ball has entered is connected, and detection signals are inputted to the main control board 300 from each of these detection switches.

In addition, the main control board 300 includes a normal electric accessory solenoid 122c that operates the movable piece 122b of the second starting port 122, and a large winning opening solenoid 128c that operates the opening/closing door 128b that opens and closes the large winning opening 128. The main control board 300 controls the opening and closing of the second starting opening 122 and the big winning opening 128.

Furthermore, the main control board 300 includes a first special symbol display 160, a second special symbol display 162, a first special symbol reservation display 164, a second special symbol reservation display 166, a normal symbol display 168, and a normal symbol display 168. A symbol holding display 170 and a right hit notification display 172 are connected, and the main control board 300 controls the display of each of these displays.

In addition, the gaming machine 100 of the present embodiment mainly provides a special game that is started when a game ball enters the first starting port 120 or the second starting port 122, and a special game that is started when the game ball passes through the gate 124. It is broadly divided into normal games that are played. The main ROM 300b of the main control board 300 stores various programs for playing special games and normal games, as well as data and tables necessary for various games.

Further, a payout control board 310 and a sub-control board 330 are connected to the main control board 300.

The payout control board 310 performs control for shooting game balls and control for paying out prize balls. This payout control board 310 also includes a CPU, ROM, and RAM, and is connected to the main control board 300 so as to be able to communicate in both directions. A game information output terminal board 312 is connected to this payout control board 310, and various information regarding game progress outputted from the main control board 300 is transmitted via the payout control board 310 and the game information output terminal board 312. , and will be output to the hall computer of the game parlor.

Further, a payout motor 314 is connected to the payout control board 310 for paying out the game balls stored in the storage section as prize balls to the player. The payout control board 310 controls the payout motor 314 based on the payout number designation command transmitted from the main control board 300 to pay out predetermined prize balls to the player. At this time, the number of game balls that have been paid out is detected by the paid-out ball counting switch 316s, so that it can be ascertained whether the prize balls that should be paid out have been paid out to the player.

Further, a tray full detection switch 318s that detects the full state of the lower tray 134 is connected to the payout control board 310. This tray full detection switch 318s is provided in a passage that guides game balls that are paid out as prize balls to the lower tray 134, and each time a game ball passes through the passage, a game ball detection signal is sent to the payout control board 310. It is now entered.

When a predetermined amount or more of game balls are stored in the lower tray 134 and the game ball becomes full, the game balls stay in the passage toward the lower tray 134 and are sent from the tray full detection switch 318s toward the payout control board 310. , game ball detection signals are continuously input. When the game ball detection signal is continuously input for a predetermined period of time, the payout control board 310 determines that the lower tray 134 is full, and sends a full tray command to the main control board 300. On the other hand, if the continuous input of the game ball detection signal is interrupted after transmitting the full plate command, it is determined that the full state has been canceled, and a full plate release command is sent to the main control board 300.

Further, the payout control board 310 is provided with a launch control circuit 320 that controls the launch of game balls. A touch sensor 112s that is provided on the operating handle 112 and detects that the player has touched the operating handle 112, and an operating volume 112a that detects the operating angle of the operating handle 112 are connected to the payout control board 310. ing. Then, when a signal is input from the touch sensor 112s and the operation volume 112a, the firing control circuit 320 controls to energize the firing solenoid 112c provided in the game ball firing device to fire the game ball.

The sub-control board 330 mainly controls various effects such as during gaming and on standby. The sub-control board 330 includes a sub-CPU 330a, a sub-ROM 330b, and a sub-RAM 330c, and communicates with the main control board 300 in one direction from the main control board 300 to the sub-control board 330 in order to prevent fraud. Possibly connected. The sub CPU 330a reads out the program stored in the sub ROM 330b based on commands transmitted from the main control board 300, input signals from the timer, etc., performs arithmetic processing, and controls execution of effects. At this time, the sub-RAM 330c functions as a data work area during arithmetic processing by the sub-CPU 330a.

Specifically, the sub-control board 330 performs image display control to display an image on the effect display section 200a. The sub ROM 330b stores a large amount of image data such as patterns and backgrounds to be displayed on the effect display section 200a, and the sub CPU 330a reads out the image data from the sub ROM 330b to a VRAM (not shown) and displays the image data on the effect display section 200a. Control image display. Further, the sub-control board 330 performs driving control of the production accessories device 202, lighting control of the production lighting device 204, and music output control for outputting music from the music output device 206.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining the control mode of the effect display section 200a, the effect accessory device 202, the effect lighting device 204, and the music output device 206 in the sub-control board 330, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control mode. A sub-CPU (CPU) 330a provided in the sub-control board 330 functions as a performance determining means 332 and a performance execution means 334 in cooperation with the program stored in the sub-ROM 330b and the sub-RAM 330c. The effect determining means 332 decodes the command sent from the main control board 300, and determines the effect pattern (content indicating a series of effects) corresponding to the command. The performance execution means 334 sends commands to each device such as the image IC 340a, the controller 342, and the music IC 346a to execute the performance based on the determined performance pattern. The performance determining means 332 and the performance execution means 334 both perform processing (interruption processing) in response to an interruption, and are executed at an interruption timing associated with each device.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the effect determining means 332 waits for the arrival of a predetermined interrupt cycle (for example, 33.3 msec) (NO in S10), and when the predetermined interrupt cycle arrives (YES in S10), Image data (data corresponding to the image to be displayed on the effect display section 200a among the effects indicated by the effect pattern) based on the effect pattern is determined (S11). Then, the effect execution means 334 transmits an image command capable of specifying image data to the image IC 340a (S12), and repeats the processing from step S10. Image IC 340a is also called VDP (Video Display Processor), reads image data specified by an image command from image ROM 340b to image RAM (VRAM) 340c, and sequentially outputs the image data to effect display section 200a. Note that some kind of image is always displayed on the effect display section 200a. Therefore, the effect determining means 332 always determines the image data at each interruption period. Note that the image RAM 340c has different layers, and each layer can hold different image data. The image IC 340a then superimposes the image data held in a plurality of layers, and outputs the superimposed image data to the effect display section 200a.

In addition, in parallel with the control over the image IC 340a described above, when a predetermined interrupt period (for example, 2 msec) arrives (YES in S10), the performance determining means 332 performs a role based on the performance pattern. An object pattern (content indicating a series of operations of the performance accessory device 202 among the performances indicated by the performance pattern) is determined (S11). Then, the effect execution means 334 sends a command indicating at least one of the direction of movement (direction of rotation), amount of movement (amount of rotation), and speed of movement (rotation speed) to the controller 342 at predetermined time intervals according to the accessory pattern. It is transmitted (S12), and the process from step S10 is repeated. The controller 342 drives the performance accessory device 202 in accordance with the command. Here, the production accessory device 202 operates only when the accessory pattern is determined. It should be noted that since the performance role device 202 is a temporary performance that involves physical movements that increases the player's expectation of a jackpot, the role performance device 202 is Object patterns are determined less frequently.

In addition, when a predetermined interruption period (for example, 33 msec) arrives (YES in S10) with the determination of the performance pattern, the effect determining means 332 determines the lighting pattern based on the effect pattern (among the effects indicated by the effect pattern). content indicating a series of lighting modes of the lighting device 204) is determined (S11). Then, according to the illumination pattern, the effect execution means 334 transmits a 1 (ON) or 0 (OFF) command to the controller 342 at predetermined time intervals in the same manner as the accessory pattern (S12), and repeats the processing from step S10. . The controller 342 turns on or off the FET that drives the performance lighting device 204 in accordance with the command. In this way, the lighting of the lamp that is the effect lighting device 204 is controlled. Note that the effect lighting device 204 is always repeatedly turned on and off. Therefore, the performance determining means 332 always determines the performance pattern for each interruption period.

In addition, in parallel with the control over the image IC 340a and the controller 342 described above, when a predetermined interrupt period (for example, 50 msec) arrives (YES in S10), the effect determining means 332 changes the effect pattern to the effect pattern. Based on the music data (data corresponding to the music to be output to the music output device 206 among the performances indicated by the performance pattern) is determined (S11). Then, the production execution means 334 transmits a music command that can identify music data to the music IC 346a (S12), and repeats the processing from step S10. The music IC 346a reads the music data specified by the music command from the music ROM 346b to the music IC 346a, and sequentially outputs the music data to the speaker, which is the music output device 206. Note that some music is always output to the music output device 206. Therefore, the production determining means 332 always determines the music data at each interruption period. Note that the music IC 346a has a plurality of music buffers (buffers), and each music buffer can hold different music data. Then, the music IC 346a superimposes the music data held in the plurality of music buffers, and outputs the superimposed music data to the music output device 206.

Furthermore, the sub-control board 330 receives detection signals from a press detection switch 208s that detects that the production operation device 208 is pressed and a rotation detection switch 209s that detects that the production operation device 208 is rotated. is input. When the controller 342 receives a detection signal from the performance operation device 208 (press detection switch 208s or rotation detection switch 209s), it transmits this to the performance determination means 332, and the performance determination means 332 receives the input of the detection signal. Depending on the situation, various effects are determined, such as displaying an image on the effect display section 200a.

Here, a series of functional units such as a sub CPU 330a, a sub RAM 330c, an image IC 340a, an image ROM 340b, an image RAM 340c, a controller 342, a music IC 346a, and a music ROM 346b are integrated into one integrated circuit as an SoC (System-on-a-Chip). are accumulated in. However, which functional units are integrated in such an SoC can be arbitrarily set. Further, each functional unit such as the sub CPU 330a, the sub RAM 330c, the image IC 340a, the image ROM 340b, the image RAM 340c, the controller 342, the music IC 346a, the music ROM 346b, etc. may be integrated as different integrated circuits and electrically connected.

Note that a power supply board (not shown) is connected to each board, and power is supplied to each board from a commercial power source via the power supply board.

(unipolar stepping motor)
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the control mode of the rotating accessory 202a, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the output timing of parallel signals to the unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b, 220c, and 220d. It is. Here, an example in which a rotating accessory 202a as the performance accessory device 202 is rotated by a unipolar stepping motor 220 (220a, 220b, 220c, 220d in FIG. 6) will be described. Note that the sub-control board 330 is connected to a unipolar drive board (unipolar drive module) 350, and the controller 342 controls the rotation of the unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b, 220c, and 220d via the unipolar drive board 350. Note that although four unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b, 220c, and 220d will be described as control targets here, the number is not limited to four, and may be three or less or five or more. Needless to say.

As described above, in the sub-control board 330, the performance determining means 332 determines the accessory pattern based on the performance pattern, and the performance execution means 334 controls the rotation of the performance accessory device 202 according to the accessory pattern, for example. Generate commands that specify direction, amount of rotation, and rotation speed.

As shown in FIG. 6, the controller 342 is connected to a plurality of unipolar drive elements 222 (222a, 222b, 222c, and 222d in FIG. 6) provided on a unipolar drive board 350. Here, the controller 342 outputs output information to the unipolar drive element 222 through synchronous serial communication. Synchronous serial communication is a communication method in which serial signals are transmitted and received in synchronization with a reference clock signal.

The data transmitter 342a of the controller 342 generates output information consisting of a plurality of bits (here, 16 bits) to be output to the performance accessory device 202 based on a command etc., serializes the output information, and converts the serialized serial A signal is sent to the unipolar drive element 222a (see FIG. 7). Further, the data transmitter 342a transmits a clock signal, which is a synchronization signal for acquiring the serial signal, to the unipolar drive element 222a in parallel with the serial signal.

The unipolar drive element 222a is a so-called serial-parallel conversion element, and receives a serial signal from a serial input terminal (SI) based on a clock signal input from a clock input terminal (CI), and holds it in an internal shift register. do. Then, by latching the output information held in the shift register bit by bit to the output ports (Q0 to Q3) based on the latch signal (at the rising edge of the latch signal), multiple bits (here output information (4 bits) is output in parallel. Here, parallel output means outputting output information in parallel and independently bit by bit. Further, from the output port, either a binary (binary digital signal) discrete signal of Hi (high level) or Low (low level) is continuously outputted until the next latch timing. Hereinafter, such a bit-by-bit signal that is continuously output until a latch signal is received will be referred to as a parallel signal.

Then, the serial signal input to the serial input terminal of the unipolar drive element 222a is transmitted from the serial output terminal (SO) with a delay of the shift register (by the number of bits of the parallel output, here 4 bits). Note that the clock signal input to the clock input terminal is also output from the clock output terminal (CO). Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the unipolar drive element 222a is connected to the unipolar drive element 222b, the unipolar drive element 222c, and the unipolar drive element 222d in a daisy chain. Therefore, when the unipolar drive elements 222a, 222b, 222c, and 222d are connected as shown in FIG. will be retained.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when a latch signal is input while the 16-bit output information is located (held) in the shift register of the corresponding unipolar drive element 222a, 222b, 222c, 222d, Output information is latched to each output port, allowing 16 bits of parallel output. In addition, the unipolar drive elements 222a, 222b, 222c, and 222d have their respective output ports (Q0 to Q3) connected to each of the four phases (A phase , B phase, /A phase, /B phase), and controls the drive of unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b, 220c, and 220d. Therefore, here, one unipolar stepping motor 220a, 220b, 220c, 220d corresponds to each unipolar drive element 222a, 222b, 222c, 222d.

The unipolar drive elements 222a, 222b, 222c, and 222d output Hi or Low discrete signals to each of the excitation phases of the unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b, 220c, and 220d, and perform one-phase excitation, two-phase excitation, or one-phase excitation. - Performs rotational drive control using two-phase excitation. For example, in the case of one-phase excitation, the unipolar drive elements 222a, 222b, 222c, and 222d turn the current ON/OFF in order for each phase as shown in FIG. Rotation drive control is performed so that any one of the B phases becomes Hi and the other three phases become Low. Then, by sequentially switching the Hi phase, an excitation pattern can be formed.

In this way, by managing the output to the unipolar stepping motor 220 between the controller 342 and the unipolar drive element 222 through serial communication, the following versatility can be obtained. That is, when adding output information, it can be handled by assigning it to a spare (reserved) output port without changing the number of harnesses or the routing of the harnesses. Further, even if there are no spare output ports left, it can be handled by simply modifying the software by simply adding more unipolar drive elements 222.

The data receiving section 342b of the controller 342 receives a serial signal from the unipolar drive element 222d based on the clock signal. In this way, the output information actually output can be taken into the sub CPU 330a.

(First embodiment of combined use of stepping motor)
In the above, an example in which the rotating accessory 202a is rotated by the unipolar stepping motor 220 has been described using FIGS. 6 and 7. Unipolar stepping motors are superior to bipolar stepping motors in that they do not require any operation to change the direction of the current, complete processing simply by switching the current coil, and have large high-speed torque. . On the other hand, a bipolar stepping motor can rotate more efficiently than a unipolar stepping motor even if the number of coil turns is the same.In other words, the number of turns of the coil can be increased to rotate with the same efficiency. It is excellent in that it can reduce the engine speed and has large low-speed torque. Therefore, depending on the specifications of the gaming machine 100, a unipolar stepping motor, a bipolar stepping motor, or a combination of both may be used.

However, a unipolar stepping motor and a bipolar stepping motor have different driving methods and control signals in principle, and a dedicated driving element must be prepared depending on the stepping motor to be used. For example, a unipolar stepping motor must generate signals for four phases (A phase, B phase, /A phase, /B phase), but a bipolar stepping motor has two phases ( It is sufficient to generate signals for phase A and phase B). In addition, bipolar stepping motors require an enable signal, which will be described later, in order to identify that the excitation phase inputs (AI, BI) are both valid signals, but unipolar stepping motors require an enable signal. Not needed. Therefore, when a unipolar stepping motor and a bipolar stepping motor are used in parallel, control lines (serial signals) for controlling each driving element must be prepared separately for each driving element.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining another control mode of the rotating accessory 202a, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the output timing of parallel signals to the bipolar stepping motors 230a and 230b. . Here, a rotating accessory 202a as a production accessory device 202 is rotated in parallel by a unipolar stepping motor 220 (220a, 220b in FIG. 8) and a bipolar stepping motor 230 (230a, 230b in FIG. 8). This will be explained using an example of how it works. Note that the sub-control board 330 is connected to a common drive board 360, and the controller 342 controls the rotation of the unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b and the bipolar stepping motors 230a, 230b via the common drive board 360.

However, as described above, serial signals for controlling each drive element must be provided individually for each drive element. That is, the serial signal systems are different between the unipolar stepping motors 220a and 220b and the bipolar stepping motors 230a and 230b. Specifically, the controller 342 is provided with a serial signal system consisting of a data transmitting section 342c and a data receiving section 342d in addition to a serial signal system consisting of a data transmitting section 342a and a data receiving section 342b. do. The rotation of the unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b is controlled by a serial signal transmitted from the data transmitting section 342a, and the rotation of the bipolar stepping motors 230a, 230b is controlled by a serial signal transmitted from the data transmitting section 342c.

Note that the rotation control of the unipolar stepping motors 220a and 220b in FIG. 8 has substantially the same function as that described using FIG. The rotation control will be explained in detail.

The data transmitter 342c of the controller 342 generates output information based on commands and the like, and transmits a serial signal obtained by serializing the output information to the unipolar drive element 222c. The unipolar drive elements 222c and 222d receive a serial signal from a serial input terminal based on a clock signal input from a clock input terminal, and hold it in an internal shift register. Then, the unipolar drive elements 222c and 222d latch the output information held in the shift register bit by bit to the output ports (Q0 to Q2) based on the latch signal, so that the unipolar drive elements 222c and 222d transfer the output information to the bipolar drive element 232 (see FIG. 232a, 232b).

The bipolar drive elements 232a and 232b are drivers of the so-called bipolar stepping motor 230, and drive discrete Hi (high level) and Low (low level) signals input from the excitation phase inputs (AI, BI) in the forward direction. The current and reverse current are replaced with discrete signals and output from the excitation phase outputs (AO, BO). Therefore, the excitation phase inputs (AI, BI) of bipolar drive elements 232a, 232b are connected to output ports Q0, Q1 of unipolar drive elements 222c, 222d.

Furthermore, due to the characteristics of the bipolar stepping motor 230, the bipolar drive elements 232a and 232b output either a forward current or a reverse current, so excitation output from the excitation phase outputs (AO, BO) is permitted. There is an enable terminal (E) for An enable signal indicating that the excitation phase inputs (AI, BI) are valid signals must be input to this enable terminal. If the enable signal is not validly input, all excitation phase outputs become invalid (for example, Low) regardless of the excitation phase input. Therefore, the enable signal is used to disable the excitation phase output and release the excitation when the gaming machine 100 is powered on or when the bipolar stepping motors 230a, 230b are stopped. Enable terminals of bipolar drive elements 232a, 232b are connected to output ports Q2 of unipolar drive elements 222c, 222d.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 9, when a latch signal is input while 8-bit output information is located (held) in the shift register of the corresponding unipolar drive elements 222c and 222d, each output port The output information is latched to enable 8-bit parallel output.

The bipolar drive elements 232a, 232b have their excitation phase outputs connected to two excitation phases (A phase, B phase) of the bipolar stepping motors 230a, 230b, respectively, and drive and control the bipolar stepping motors 230a, 230b. . Therefore, here, one bipolar stepping motor 230a, 230b corresponds to each bipolar drive element 232a, 232b.

(Second embodiment of combined use of stepping motor)
In this way, it is possible to operate the unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b and the bipolar stepping motors 230a, 230b in parallel. However, in the configuration of FIG. 8, two serial signal systems must be prepared, making the arrangement of control lines complicated. Furthermore, since the controller 342 needs to individually control the unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b and the bipolar stepping motors 230a, 230b using two serial signals, there is a problem that the control process becomes complicated. Ta.

Therefore, in this embodiment, even when the unipolar stepping motor 220 and the bipolar stepping motor 230 are used in parallel, both are appropriately controlled with a simple configuration.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining still another control mode of the rotating accessory 202a. Here, as in FIG. 8, a rotating accessory 202a as a performance accessory device 202 is operated by a unipolar stepping motor 220 (220a, 220b in FIG. 10) and a bipolar stepping motor 230 (230a, 230b in FIG. 10). An example of rotation in parallel will be explained. Note that the sub-control board 330 is connected to a common drive board 360, and the controller 342 controls the rotation of the unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b and the bipolar stepping motors 230a, 230b via the common drive board 360.

However, unlike FIG. 8, here, the unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b and the bipolar stepping motors 230a, 230b share a serial signal system. Specifically, the controller 342 transmits one system of serial signals from one data transmitter 342a, and controls the rotation of all the unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b and the bipolar stepping motors 230a, 230b at once. Further, here, a common process for operating the unipolar stepping motor 220 is performed for the unipolar stepping motors 220a, 220b and the bipolar stepping motors 230a, 230b.

Note that the rotation control of the unipolar stepping motors 220a and 220b in FIG. 10 has substantially the same function as that described using FIG. The rotation control will be explained in detail.

In FIG. 10, the data transmitter 342a of the controller 342 generates output information based on a command or the like, and transmits a serial signal obtained by serializing the output information to the unipolar drive element 222a. The unipolar drive elements 222a, 222b, 222c, and 222d receive a serial signal from a serial input terminal based on a clock signal input from a clock input terminal, and hold it in an internal shift register. Then, the unipolar drive elements 222a, 222b, 222c, and 222d latch the output information held in the shift register bit by bit to the output ports (Q0 to Q3) based on the latch signal, thereby performing unipolar stepping of the output information. The output information can be outputted in parallel to the motor 220, and output information can be outputted in parallel to the bipolar drive elements 232a and 232b.

As described above, here, the same process of operating the unipolar stepping motor 220 is performed for the bipolar stepping motors 230a and 230b as well. In the bipolar stepping motor 230, rotation control is performed by two-phase excitation. The operation timings of the A phase and B phase in two-phase excitation are the same for the unipolar stepping motor 220 and the bipolar stepping motor 230. Therefore, the excitation phase inputs (AI, BI) of the bipolar drive elements 232a and 232b are connected to the output port Q0 corresponding to the A phase and B phase among the output ports Q0, Q1, Q2, and Q3 of the unipolar drive elements 222c and 222d. Connect only to Q1. Note that instead of the output ports Q0 and Q1, it is also possible to connect only to the output ports Q1 and Q2, the output ports Q2 and Q3, or the output ports Q3 and Q0. Then, the bipolar drive elements 232a and 232b replace the discrete signals of Hi (high level) and Low (low level) input from the excitation phase inputs (AI, BI) with discrete signals of forward current and reverse current. and output from the excitation phase outputs (AO, BO).

In addition, the bipolar drive elements 232a and 232b have their excitation phase outputs connected to two excitation phases (A phase and B phase) of the bipolar stepping motors 230a and 230b, respectively, to drive the bipolar stepping motors 230a and 230b. Control. Therefore, here, one bipolar stepping motor 230a, 230b corresponds to each bipolar drive element 232a, 232b.

However, as described above, the bipolar drive element 232 has an enable terminal (E), and an enable signal indicating that the excitation phase inputs (AI, BI) are valid signals is input to the enable terminal. There must be. However, when performing common processing for operating the unipolar stepping motor 220 for the bipolar stepping motors 230a and 230b, output ports Q0, Q1, Q2, and Q3 output four phases (A phase, B phase, /A phase, /B phase) signals are output, but the enable signal is not output.

Here, if a part of the parallel signals is newly allocated to generate the enable signal, it becomes necessary to add that much parallel signal, which not only increases the circuit scale but also makes it difficult for the controller 342 to generate the enable signal. You will have to add a new process to generate the . Further, the output port of the unipolar drive element 222 is often configured with a power of 2, for example, 4 bits or 8 bits, and is used as an enable signal for a 4-bit parallel signal for operating one unipolar stepping motor 220. If only one bit is added to the signal, the total becomes 5 bits, and the regularity of the signal cannot be maintained. If priority is given to the regularity of the signal, one unipolar driving element 222 will be required for one bit, and the number of unipolar driving elements 222 will increase unnecessarily. On the other hand, if an attempt is made to suppress the increase in the unipolar drive element 222, the regularity of the signal will be sacrificed.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the enable signal is not assigned to the output port of the unipolar drive element 222, but is generated by hardware (the enabling circuits 234a and 234b) as shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a specific circuit configuration of the permission circuit 234, and FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the output timing of the permission circuit 234.

As shown in FIG. 11, the permission circuit 234 is composed of three OR elements L1, L2, and L3. The logical sum element L1 calculates the logical sum of the parallel signal (excitation signal) of the output port Q0 of the unipolar drive element 222 and the parallel signal (excitation signal) of the output port Q1, and the logical sum element L2 calculates the logical sum of the parallel signal (excitation signal) of the output port Q0 of the unipolar drive element 222. The logical sum of the parallel signal (excitation signal) of the output port Q2 and the parallel signal (excitation signal) of the output port Q3 is calculated. Then, the OR element L3 calculates the logical sum of the output of the OR element L1 and the output of the OR element L2, and outputs the result to the enable terminal of the bipolar drive element 232. Note that here, three two-input OR elements are used, but if there is a four-input OR element, that one OR element will control the output ports Q0, Q1, Q2, and The logical sum of the parallel signal (excitation signal) of Q3 may be calculated and output to the enable terminal of the bipolar drive element 232.

Here, regardless of whether the target stepping motor is the unipolar stepping motor 220 or the bipolar stepping motor 230, common processing is performed to operate the unipolar stepping motor 220 through the unipolar drive element 222. There is. Therefore, regardless of whether the target stepping motor is the unipolar stepping motor 220 or the bipolar stepping motor 230, as shown in FIG. The phase of at least one of the output ports Q0, Q1, Q2, and Q3 of the driving element 222 is always Hi. In this way, when the excitation signals are output as parallel signals from the output ports Q0, Q1, Q2, and Q3, the enable signal that is the logical sum of the excitation signals is always valid (for example, Hi). On the other hand, when the gaming machine 100 is powered on or when the bipolar stepping motor 230 is stopped, that is, when no parallel signal is output to the unipolar drive element 222, the enable signal becomes invalid (for example, Low). In this way, the bipolar stepping motor 230 can be deenergized and released when the gaming machine 100 is powered on or when the bipolar stepping motor 230 is stopped.

Here, as shown in FIG. 10, the unipolar drive element 222 is fixedly provided on the common drive board 360, and depending on the type of stepping motor, for example, when a bipolar stepping motor is used, the unipolar drive element 222 is , and further connects (arranges) the bipolar drive element 232 and the enable circuit 234. When a unipolar stepping motor is used, the drive is directly controlled by the unipolar drive element 222, and when a bipolar stepping motor is used, the drive is controlled by the bipolar drive element 232 connected to the unipolar drive element 222. With this configuration, it is possible to allocate arbitrary numbers of unipolar stepping motors and bipolar stepping motors to a common board (common drive board 360). Further, even when changing the stepping motor, the change can be easily made by simply changing the presence or absence of the bipolar drive element 232 and the permission circuit 234, which increases the degree of freedom in designing the gaming machine 100.

In addition, regardless of whether the target stepping motor is a unipolar stepping motor or a bipolar stepping motor, drive control can be performed using a common process that operates a unipolar stepping motor, reducing the design burden. can do. Furthermore, even if the specifications of the gaming machine 100 are compatible only with unipolar stepping motors, bipolar stepping motors can be applied by common processing for operating unipolar stepping motors.

In this way, even when a unipolar stepping motor and a bipolar stepping motor are used in parallel, it is possible to appropriately control both with a simple configuration.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. It is clear that those skilled in the art can come up with various changes and modifications within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention. be done.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the gaming machine includes a symbol determining means for determining one of a plurality of types of symbols including a jackpot symbol, and a symbol display unit that displays a symbol after a predetermined variable time has elapsed after the symbol is determined. a symbol display means for displaying a symbol on the symbol display section; a major prize game execution means for executing a major prize game consisting of a plurality of round games when a jackpot symbol is displayed on the symbol display section; When a game ball that enters a grand prize opening enters a specific area during a preset specific round game, a gaming profit giving means gives a predetermined gaming profit, and a performance execution means executes a performance during the big winning game. A pachinko machine equipped with the following is shown as an example. However, this is not limited to such a case, and there is a winning combination lottery means that determines one of multiple types of winning combinations by lottery based on the operation of the start switch, and a winning combination lottery means that determines one of multiple types of winning combinations by lottery based on the operation of the start switch. The rotation of a plurality of arranged rotating reels is controlled, and in response to the operation of a stop switch corresponding to the rotating rotating reel, the rotating reel corresponding to the operated stop switch is selected based on the lottery result of the winning combination lottery means. The present invention can also be applied to a slot machine that includes reel control means that respectively perform stop control and performance control means that executes one of a plurality of types of performances. The slot machine 600 will be described in detail below.

(Mechanical configuration of slot machine 600)
As shown in the external views of FIGS. 13 and 14, the slot machine 600 can be opened and closed by a housing 602 that is a substantially rectangular box and a connecting member that is rotatable with respect to the front opening of the housing 602. a front upper door 604 attached to the front upper door 604; It includes a tray section 608 located at the lower part of the door 606 for storing medals dispensed from a medal discharge port 608a.

An operation unit installation stand 622 is formed at the upper part of the lower front door 606, and a medal insertion unit 624, a bet switch 626, a start switch 628, a stop switch 630, a performance switch 632, etc. are arranged on the operation unit installation stand 622. ing.

A medal input unit 624 located on the right side of the operation unit installation base 622 accepts input of medals as game media through a medal input slot 624a, and inserts the medals into a medal selector (not shown) provided on the back of the lower front door 606. send. The medal selector includes a blocker (not shown) that guides medals inserted outside the input period in which medals can be inserted or non-standard medals to the medal ejection port 608a, and a blocker (not shown) that guides medals inserted outside the input period in which medals can be inputted or non-standard medals, and a blocker (not shown) that guides medals inserted outside the input period in which medals can be input, and medals within the standard that are input within the input period. An inserted medal detection unit 624b is provided to detect the passage of the medal. Here, the medals guided to the medal ejection port 608a are ejected to the receiving tray section 608. When a player inserts more medals than the specified number of medals required to start one game, the amount of medals exceeding the specified number of inputs will be reduced to a predetermined number (for example, 50 medals). ) are electrically stored inside the slot machine 600 (hereinafter simply referred to as credits). The above first game will be explained in detail later.

Further, here, the specified number of inputs is set to "3" or "2". In addition, if the number of medals required to play one game can be arbitrarily selected from multiple specified numbers of inputs, the largest of the multiple specified numbers of inputs is called the maximum specified number of inputs, and the minimum number of medals. is called the minimum specified number of inputs. If the specified number of inputs can be selected from 1 to 3, the maximum specified number of inputs will be "3" and the minimum specified number of inputs will be "1".

The bet switch 626 is a press-type button switch that inserts (bets) a prescribed number of medals among the credited medals. If the bet switch 626 is pressed in a state where more than the specified number of inserted medals are credited, one game can be started, and the credited medals are reduced by the specified number of inserted medals.

The start switch 628 located on the left side of the operation unit installation base 622 is composed of a lever capable of detecting a tilting operation, and detects an operation to start one game by a player. Further, the start switch 628 can also be configured by a button switch whose press operation can be detected.

A colorless and transparent symbol display window 636 made of a glass plate, a transparent resin plate, etc. is provided approximately in the center of the lower part of the front upper door 604, and a reel display window 636 is provided in the housing 602 at a position corresponding to the symbol display window 636. A unit 634 is provided. The reel unit 634 has three rotating reels (left reel 634a, middle reel 634b, right The reels 634c) are provided to be rotatable independently, and the player can visually recognize the left reel 634a, middle reel 634b, and right reel 634c through the symbol display window 636. The reel unit 634 starts rotating the left reel 634a, middle reel 634b, and right reel 634c when the start switch 628 is operated.

The stop switch 630 located at the center of the operation unit installation base 622 is a button switch that is provided corresponding to the left reel 634a, the middle reel 634b, and the right reel 634c and can detect the player's press operation. A player's stopping operation to stop each of the reels 634a, middle reel 634b, and right reel 634c is detected. The three button switches related to the stop switch 630 are particularly referred to as stop button switches, and are designated as a stop button switch 630a, a stop button switch 630b, and a stop button switch 630c in order from the left according to their positions.

The production switch 632 is composed of a press-type button switch and a jog dial switch rotatably arranged around the button switch, and detects the player's press operation or rotation operation. The effect switch 632 is mainly used during the effect, and the effect mode can be changed by the player's operation.

A liquid crystal display section 638 is provided at the upper center of the front upper door 604 to display various images associated with the performance. In addition, on the upper part and on the left and right sides of the front upper door 604, display lamps 642 made of, for example, high-intensity light emitting diodes (LEDs) are provided. Further, between the symbol display window 636 and the operation unit installation stand 622, a performance accessory device 660 consisting of a drive device is provided.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 14, on the left and right positions of the liquid crystal display section 638 on the back side of the upper front door 604 and on the left and right positions on the inner side of the back side of the lower front door 606, there are speakers that provide auditory effects such as sound effects and musical sounds. 640 are provided. Furthermore, below the reel unit 634 in the housing 602, a medal dispensing device (medal hopper) 764 is provided for dispensing medals from the medal discharging port 608a. The medal dispensing device 764 includes a medal storage section 764a for storing medals, a dispensing control section 764b for discharging the medals stored in the medal storage section 764a from the medal ejection port 608a, and a medal discharging section 764b for discharging the medals stored in the medal storage section 764a from the medal ejection port 608a. and a payout medal detection unit 764c that detects. Specifically, the payout control section 764b is rotatably supported on the exterior of the main body of the payout control section 764b, and has a plurality of medal insertion holes in the circumferential direction into which medals dropped from the medal storage section 764a are inserted one by one from above. It is equipped with a disk (not shown) arranged in the form of a disk (not shown) and a disk motor (not shown) that rotates the disk, and by rotating this disk, the medals inserted into the medal insertion hole are pushed out one by one through an extrusion mechanism. The medals are continuously ejected one by one by being ejected to the outside and sequentially inserting the next medal into the medal insertion hole vacated by the ejection.

Although not shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, inside each of the rotating reels 634a, 634b, and 634c, there is a symbol display window for displaying the symbols on the left reel 634a, middle reel 634b, and right reel 634c. A reel backlight 644 that independently illuminates the upper, middle, and lower symbols of each rotating reel 634a, 634b, and 634c corresponding to 636 (which can be the target of the effective line that is the payout target line) from the back side. (See FIG. 16) is provided. Also, a reel upper light 646 is provided at the upper part of the back surface of the symbol display window 636 to directly illuminate the front of all the left reel 634a, middle reel 634b, and right reel 634c.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 13, in the operation unit installation base 622, a main credit display unit 652 and a main payout display unit are provided on a substantially horizontal surface of a stepped portion 622a provided between a symbol display window 636 and a stop switch 630. 654 are provided. Further, a sub-credit display section 656 and a sub-payout display section 658 are provided between the symbol display window 636 and the operation section installation stand 622. The number of credits is displayed on the main credit display section 652 and the sub-credit display section 656, and the number of medals to be paid out is displayed on the main payout display section 654 and the sub-payout display section 658. Note that the sub-credit display section 656 and the sub-payout display section 658 can also display various numerical values associated with the performance.

Further, a power switch 648 is provided at an arbitrary position within the housing 602. The power switch 648 is composed of a switch such as a rocker switch that can detect the pressing operation, and is operated by the administrator who manages the slot machine 600 to switch between two states: a power-off state and a power-on state. used.

In this embodiment, the above-mentioned one game is the insertion of medals through the medal insertion unit 624, the insertion of credited medals through the operation of the bet switch 626, or the display of a replay combination on the active line. After one of the automatic medal insertions based on the above is performed, the rotation of the plurality of rotating reels 634a, 634b, and 634c is controlled in response to the player's operation of the start switch 628, and the winning combination lottery is executed, and the winning combination is drawn. According to the lottery results of the lottery and the player's operation of the plurality of stop button switches 630a, 630b, 630c, the rotating reels 634a, 634b, 634c corresponding to the operated stop button switches 630a, 630b, 630c are controlled to stop, respectively. When a player wins a winning combination that can receive a payout of medals, it refers to the game until the payout of the medals is executed. Furthermore, if the player does not win a winning combination for which medals can be paid out, or if he wins but does not win, one game ends when all of the rotating reels 634a, 634b, and 634c stop. However, the start of one game may be read as the operation of the start switch 628 by the player instead of the above-mentioned insertion of medals or winning of the replay combination. Further, the number of times such one game is repeated is defined as the number of games.

(Electrical configuration of slot machine 600)
FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a schematic electrical configuration of the slot machine 600. As shown in FIG. 16, the slot machine 600 is mainly controlled by a control board. Here, as an example of the control board, a main control board 700 and a sub-control board 702, which share the functions of the control board, will be described. For example, among the programs related to the progress of the game, particularly important processing such as lottery of winning combinations for the game and prize winning thereof is executed on the main control board 700, and other processing related to performance, for example, is executed on the sub control board 700. is running. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 16, transmission of electrical signals between the main control board 700 and the sub-control board 702 is limited from the viewpoint of fraud prevention. Limited to direction only. However, without such limitations, electrical two-way communication is also technically possible.

(Main control board 700)
The main control board 700 has various semiconductor integrated circuits including a main CPU 700a which is a central processing unit, a main ROM 700b storing programs etc., a main RAM 700c which functions as a work area, etc., and controls the entire slot machine 600 in an integrated manner. do. However, a backup power supply (not shown) is connected to the main RAM 700c, so even if the power is cut off, the data will not be erased unless the settings are changed and the main RAM 700c is initialized. Retained.

The main control board 700 also includes an initialization means 800, a bet means 802, a winning combination lottery means 804, and a reel control means, which function when the main CPU 700a cooperates with the main RAM 700c based on a program stored in the main ROM 700b. 806, determination means 808, payout control means 810, state transition means 812, command determination means 814, command transmission means 816, and other functional units.

Initialization means 800 executes initialization processing in main control board 700. Betting means 802 bets medals to be used in games. Here, bets are placed based on the case where medals that have been credited are inserted through the operation of the bet switch 626, the case where medals are inserted through the medal insertion section 624, and the medals that are placed based on the fact that the replay combination is displayed on the active line. This includes cases in which the amount is automatically input. The winning role lottery means 804 determines one of a plurality of types of winning roles including a small role, a replay role, and a bonus role, as well as a losing role, based on the medal bet and the operation of the start switch 628. do.

The reel control means 806 controls the rotation of the plurality of rotating reels 634a, 634b, 634c according to the operation of the start switch 628, and controls the plurality of stop button switches 630a corresponding to the rotating rotating reels 634a, 634b, 634c, respectively. , 630b, 630c, the rotating reels 634a, 634b, 634c corresponding to the operated stop button switches 630a, 630b, 630c are controlled to stop, respectively. In addition, the reel control means 806 activates the operation of the stop switch 630 in the previous game in response to the operation of the start switch 628, and then activates the stop switch 630 by the player in order to display the lottery results of the winning combination lottery. The time until the operation is enabled (invalidated by the completion of the operation of the stop switch 630 in the previous game) is extended beyond the specified time, and during that time, the rotating reels 634a, 634b, and 634c are rotated in various ways. A reel performance (freeze performance) may be performed. Reel effects include not enabling a switch that should have been enabled for a predetermined period of time, suspending a process that should have been executed for a predetermined period of time, or causing signals from a switch that should have been sent or received to be sent or received for a predetermined period of time. This can be achieved by not having it.

The determining means 808 determines whether the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination determined in the winning combination lottery is displayed on the active line. Here, the display of a symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination determined in the winning combination lottery on the active line may simply be called winning. The payout control means 810 pays out the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination based on the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination determined in the winning combination lottery being displayed on the active line (winning). . The state transition means 812 transitions the gaming state based on winning a bonus combination or winning a prize.

The command determining means 814 sequentially determines commands related to the game associated with the operations of the betting means 802, the winning combination lottery means 804, the reel control means 806, the determining means 808, the payout control means 810, the state transition means 812, etc. Command transmitting means 816 sequentially transmits the commands determined by command determining means 814 to sub-control board 702.

The main control board 700 receives various detection signals from the inserted medal detection section 624b, the bet switch 626, the start switch 628, and the stop switch 630, and based on the received detection signals, the betting means 802, the winning combination lottery means 804, reel control means 806, and determination means 808 execute the various processes described above. Further, a main credit display section 652 and a main payout display section 654 are connected to the main control board 700, and a payout control means 810 displays the number of medal credits and the number of medals paid out on both display sections 652 and 654. Control.

Further, a reel drive control section 758 is connected to the main control board 700. The reel drive control section 758 drives the stepping motor 762 based on the rotation start signal of each rotating reel 634a, 634b, 634c transmitted from the reel control means 806 in response to the operation signal of the start switch 628, and stops the stepping motor 762. The stepping motor 762 is driven based on the stop signal of each of the left reel 634a, middle reel 634b, and right reel 634c transmitted from the reel control means 806 in response to the operation signal of the switch 630, and the detection signal of the rotational position detection circuit 760. stop.

Further, a medal payout device 764 is connected to the main control board 700. The main control board 700 is configured to receive a detection signal from the payout medal detecting section 764c, and the payout control means 810 counts the number of medals to be paid out according to the detection signal, while counting the number of medals to be paid out according to the detection signal. Controls the ejection of medals.

Further, the main control board 700 is provided with a random number generator 700d. The random number generator 700d generates (obtains) a random number by sequentially incrementing the count value, looping it within a predetermined total number (for example, 65536) (0 to 65535), and extracting the count value at a predetermined time point. The random numbers generated by the random number generator 700d of the main control board 700 (hereinafter referred to as winning combination lottery random numbers) are used to generate gaming profits to be given to the player, for example, when the winning combination lottery means 804 executes the winning combination lottery. It will be done.

(Sub control board 702)
Further, like the main control board 700, the sub control board 702 has various semiconductor integrated circuits including a sub CPU 702a which is a central processing unit, a sub ROM 702b storing programs etc., and a sub RAM 702c which functions as a work area. , particularly controls the presentation based on commands from the main control board 700. Further, like the main RAM 700c, the sub-RAM 702c is also connected to a backup power source (not shown), and even if the power is cut off, the data is retained without being erased. Note that the sub control board 702 is also provided with a random number generator 702d like the main control board 700, and the random numbers generated by the random number generator 702d (hereinafter referred to as performance lottery random numbers) mainly determine the mode of the performance. used to make decisions.

The sub-control board 702 also includes initialization determining means 830, command receiving means 832, effect control means 834, etc., which function when the sub-CPU 702a cooperates with the sub-RAM 702c based on the program stored in the sub-ROM 702b. It has a functional part.

Initialization determining means 830 executes initialization processing in sub control board 702. The command receiving means 832 receives commands from other control boards, such as the main control board 700, and processes the commands. The performance control means 834 receives the detection signal from the performance switch 632 and determines the performance of the game to be performed on each device of the liquid crystal display section 638, the speaker 640, and the performance lamp 642 based on the winning combination command. Specifically, the production control means 834 controls the image data displayed on the liquid crystal display section 638, the production lamp 642, the reel backlight 644, the reel upper light 646, the sub-credit display section 656, the sub-payout display section 658, etc. The illumination data for the performance through the illumination equipment is determined, and the audio data constituting the audio to be output from the speaker 640 is determined. Then, the performance control means 834 executes the determined game performance.

The effects include effects executed by the main control board 700, such as the above-mentioned reel effects, and effects executed by the sub-control board 702. As the game progresses, the effects executed by the sub-control board 702 include a liquid crystal display section 638, a speaker 640, a production lamp 642, a reel backlight 644, a reel upper light 646, a sub-credit display section 656, and a sub-payout display section. It is a visual and auditory means of expression provided through 658, etc., and can give a story to the game or suggest the results of the winning combination lottery with more dynamic images. In such a performance, for example, a performance suggesting winning of a bonus game can be performed over a plurality of games to increase a player's sense of expectation. In addition, even if the player has not won any of the winning roles, it is possible to make the player feel as if he or she has won, so that the player can expect a high payout and not get bored. It becomes possible.

In the slot machine 600, the performance accessory device 660 functions as the above-mentioned performance accessory device 202, and the sub CPU 702a functions as the above-described sub CPU 330a.

202 Performance accessory device 220 Unipolar stepping motor 222 Unipolar drive element 230 Bipolar stepping motor 232 Bipolar drive element 234 Permission circuit 342 Controller

Claims (1)

a controller that sends serial signals;
a plurality of serial-parallel conversion elements capable of converting the serial signal into at least 4-bit parallel signals;
a unipolar stepping motor connected to a first serial-parallel converter of the plurality of serial-parallel converters and operated by the at least 4-bit parallel signal;
a bipolar driving element connected to a second serial-parallel converting element of the plurality of serial-parallel converting elements and operated by at least 3-bit parallel signals of the at least 4-bit parallel signals;
a bipolar stepping motor connected to the bipolar drive element;
Equipped with
The controller includes:
transmitting a four-phase excitation signal for driving the unipolar stepping motor as a serial signal to the first serial-parallel conversion element;
A gaming machine, wherein two-phase excitation signals and enable signals for driving the bipolar stepping motor are transmitted as serial signals to the second serial-parallel conversion element.

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