JPH07231973A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry out a complex control and then improve the entertainingness by providing a first microprocessor to control a game and a second microprocessor to input commands or data therefrom and drive peripherals. CONSTITUTION:Both MPU 1 and MPU 2 have an internal ROM and internal RAM, respectively. A win detection switch 7, a grand-prize win detection switch 9 and a V win detection switch 11 are connected to MPU l through a waveform shaping circuit 13. The signal of a startup switch 23 is inputted to a reset signal generation circuit 19 and a reset signal, an output signal thereof, is inputted to the reset terminals of MPU 1 and MPU 2 to run an initial program. An indicator drive circuit 25, an indicator selection circuit 31, and a driver 39 are connected to each output port of MPU 1. SSG33 connected to MPU 2 inputs control data for sound output from MPU 2 to each register and convert a waveform generated on the basis of the control data from digital to analog and output to a speaker 35.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game machine using a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some recent game machines use a computer to electronically control the winning probability of a ball. In this gaming machine, in order to determine the winning mode,
An event that depends on the chance is caused, the winning mode is determined from the event, and the development of a more complicated game is controlled according to the winning mode. But,
Output devices such as light emitting devices and sounding devices perform only simple control such as single tone and single light emission, and in order to improve entertainment, more detailed control is required in response to complicated game modes. It is requested to do so.

[0003]

However, in the conventional game machine, the processing capacity is being saturated because of the control mainly for such complicated game development, and the program must be developed by one person. did not become. Therefore, in the control of the output device such as the sounding device and the light emitting device, more complicated control, for example, each sound is composed of more musical sounds according to the progress state of the game, and continuous music having melody is generated. It is difficult to control the output or the generation of complicated illumination.

The present invention has been made to remedy the above drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to realize more complicated control of a gaming machine and further improve entertainment.

[0005]

The structure of the present invention for solving the above problems is as follows. That is, a prize detection device for detecting a prize of a ball at a specific winning opening is provided,
In a gaming machine that uses a random number that generates a random number in accordance with the winning of the specific winning opening, controls the game, and controls peripheral devices such as a light emitting device and a sounding device, the control device is A first microprocessor for controlling the game, and at least one second microprocessor for inputting a command or data from the first microprocessor to drive a peripheral device. .

In the division of labor of the microprocessor of the above 2,
For example, there are the following means. The first is a method in which the first microprocessor controls the winning probability and random number generation, mainly manages the game progress of the gaming machine, and the second microprocessor performs other tasks. The second is a method in which the second microprocessor controls at least one of the sounding device, the light emitting device, and the other output devices, performs the operation of generating a random number, and performs other work by the first microprocessor. is there.

[0007]

The operation and effect of the invention:
For example, it is used for the main processing that controls the progress of the game,
The second microprocessor is used for sub-processing to control the sounding device, the light emitting device, and other output devices. The second microprocessor can operate by receiving a command or data from the first microprocessor, and both microprocessors can operate in parallel. Thus, both microprocessors can operate in parallel while sharing control data.

Therefore, since real-time parallel processing is possible, for example, management of the progress of the game and management of the output device can be performed separately in parallel. Therefore, more detailed and complicated control can be performed. Further, unlike interrupt processing, it is not necessary to perform processing unique to interrupt processing such as saving of registers, so that the operation is efficient.

Further, the processing of random number generation, which has a large processing load, is
Since it can be selectively executed by any of the microprocessors, the design becomes extremely easy.

Further, since both microprocessors can execute in parallel along with their own processing programs while sharing necessary data, different jobs can be processed simultaneously. Therefore, it is possible to make the game development of the pachinko machine more complicated, to output a melody composed of complicated musical sounds in parallel with the progress of the game, and to realize lighting that changes in a complicated manner. It is possible to improve entertainment. Also, the program development is
A unique program for controlling each central processing unit can be executed independently without being affected by the programs of other microprocessors. Therefore, the development of the game program and the development of the program for controlling the pronunciation can be carried out by the respective experts, and the development of the device becomes easy.

[0011]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below based on specific examples. In this embodiment, a second microprocessor (hereinafter abbreviated as “MPU2”) is used for control for generating various melodies depending on the state of the game, and the first M
PU (hereinafter abbreviated as “MPU1”) is used to manage the progress of the game.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing the mechanism of the pachinko machine. Reference numeral 50 denotes a frame body, and the play board 51 is supported by the frame body 50. The game board 51 is provided with various winning openings, among which 52, 53 and 54 are specific winning openings, and when the specific winning openings are won, a combination operation for determining a winning mode is started. . 56, 57,
58, 59, 60 are ordinary winning openings, 61, 62
Is a winning entrance with a tulip-style accessory. 63 is a special winning opening that is opened / closed according to the winning mode, and an opening / closing door 64 is opened / closed by a solenoid 41 provided inside. Also, in the central part of the big prize hole,
A V winning opening 63 is provided, and when the winning opening is won, the opening / closing door 64 generates a continuation right to continuously open and close.

At the center of the game board 51, a specific winning opening 5
A numerical display 27 and a lamp display 29 are provided for displaying a combination of chances when a ball is won in 2, 53, 54. The numerical display 27 is a 3-digit LED display, and the lamp display 29 is a lamp in which red and blue LEDs are cyclically arranged. When a specific winning opening is won, in order to determine the winning mode, the numerical value of each of the three-digit numerical value and the lighting LED of the lamp indicator 29 rotate in different cycles, respectively, and they are in a stationary state. The winning mode is determined based on the combination when the game becomes, and the opening time of the opening / closing door 64 of the special winning opening 63 is controlled in accordance with the mode.

The play board 51 is also provided with various indicators and lamps for displaying the operating state. Reference numeral 30 in the center is a memory number indicator for displaying the number of balls which have won a specific winning opening and whose winning process is suspended.
47a to 47j are operation lamps that blink during the combination operation for determining the winning mode. 43a-43
c is a panic lamp that blinks together with the lamps 47a to 47j at the time of a big hit. Also, 45a to 45c are V
It is a V lamp that blinks when there is a winning in the winning opening 63.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical construction of the apparatus of this embodiment. MPU1 and MPU2
Have an internal ROM and an internal RAM, respectively.
A RAM 5 is connected to the outside via a multiplexer 6 so that both sides can access it. Then, the respective CPUs can be operated in parallel along with their own programs.

The winning detection switch 7 for detecting a winning ball at a specific winning opening, the large winning opening winning detecting switch 9 for detecting a winning ball at the big winning opening, and the V winning detection switch 11 for detecting a winning ball at the V winning opening, Waveform shaping circuit 1 consisting of flip-flops for preventing chattering
3 is connected to MPU1. The above-mentioned switch is composed of a limit switch, and is arranged on a rail for guiding a ball won from each winning port. The clock generation circuit 17 outputs a 4 MHz clock signal to the MPU.
1, and outputs the signal to the frequency divider 15 as well as to the MPU 2. The frequency divider 15 frequency-divides the clock signal and outputs an external interrupt signal having a cycle of 4.096 msec to the MPU 1. The main control of the MPU 1 is activated in synchronization with this interrupt signal.

Reference numeral 21 is a power supply circuit, and a start switch 23
Is input to the reset signal generation circuit 19, and the output reset signal is input to the reset terminals of the MPU1 and MPU2.
The initial program is executed. The display drive circuit 25, the display selection circuit 31, and the driver 39 are connected to each output port of the MPU 1. The display unit drive circuit 25 and the display unit selection circuit 31 are connected to the numerical display unit 27, the lamp display unit 29, and the stored number display unit 30 described above. These display devices are dynamically driven by outputting the selection data from the MPU 1 and the display data at fixed intervals. That is, each display unit is selected by the display selection circuit 31 and displayed according to the output signal of the display drive circuit 25 at that time. The driver 39 drives the solenoid 41 according to the signal from the MPU 1 to control the lighting operation of the panic lamp 43, the V lamp 45, and the operation lamp 47.

The software controlled sound generator (hereinafter simply referred to as "SSG") 33 is an M
It is connected to PU2. The SSG 33 inputs control data for sound output from the MPU 2 to each register, D / A converts a waveform created based on the control data, and outputs the converted waveform to the speaker 35. The control data for such sounding is stored in the ROM 3 connected to the MPU 2.

Next, the operation of the pachinko machine having such a configuration will be described as follows.
Description will be given based on a flowchart showing the processing procedure of PU1 and MPU2.

(1) Initial setting when power is turned on When the start switch 23 is turned on, MPU1 and MPU2
The reset signal generating circuit 19 outputs the reset signal S4 to the reset terminal. Then M
PU1 performs the process shown in FIG. That is, the numerical display registers X1, X2, X3 for storing the three-digit numerical values displayed on the numerical display 27 are set to initial values, and the display lamp register L for storing the lighting lamp of the lamp display 29 is set.
Is set to the initial value. In addition, a winning ball counter C that counts the number of winning balls that have been won and held in a specific winning port is set to zero, and a large winning hole winning counter G that counts the number of winning balls to the special winning port is set to zero, V A V winning ball counter A that counts the number of winning balls to the winning opening is initialized to zero.

A state register F storing the control state
To 0 and the hit mode register R for storing the hit mode is initialized to zero, and the timers T1, T2 and T3 are initialized to zero. Further, the activation flag S that stores the activation state of the MPU 2 is reset. These registers, counters, flags, timers, etc. are provided in the RAM 5.

(2) Background processing After the initial setting, the MPU 1 executes the programs shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 each time an external interrupt signal is input at fixed time intervals (4.096 msec). In step 100, the timer updating process is performed, and in step 102, the status signals S1, S2, S3 of the switch group are read. These status signals are composed of negative logic and indicate that the switch is in the ON state when the signal is at a low level and a winning ball is detected. Therefore, steps 104, 11
The falling of each state signal is detected at 0 and 114, and only at that time, the counters C, G, and A are updated by 1. However,
In step 106, the number of held winning prize balls is limited to four.

Steps 118 to 166 are processing steps corresponding to each state. Also, from step 170
Step 184 is a processing step of the output device. When the winning mode register R is 0, the solenoid 41 is turned off, so the special winning opening is closed or the closed state is continued. When the register R is other than 0, the solenoid 41 is turned on, so whether the special winning opening is open or not.
The open state is maintained (steps 170 to 174).

That is, the opening and closing of the special winning opening is controlled by the contents of the register R. The numerical display 27 is the register X
1, the value of X2, X3 is displayed, and the lamp indicator 29 turns on the LED specified by the register L (step 17).
6). When the register F is 1, that is, during the combination operation,
When the operation lamp 47 is blinking and the register F is 2, that is, when the special winning opening is open, the operation lamp 47 and the panic lamp 43 are blinking, when the register F is 2 and the counter A is not 0, that is, When there is a V winning ball, the V lamp 45 is turned on.

The value of the counter C is displayed on the memory quantity display 30 (step 178). Step 180
184 are steps for activating the MPU 2 according to the presence / absence of sound generation control. During tone generation control, that is, when the register F is other than 0, the activation flag S is set. After that, when the activation flag S is set, MPU1 and MP
U2 will perform real-time parallel processing. When the register F becomes 0, the tone generation control is stopped, so the activation flag S is reset and the MPU 2 is stopped.

(3) Processing when no winning ball is present When the winning ball is not present, that is, when the counter C is 0, the processes of steps 100 to 124 and 170 to 184 are performed, whereby numerical values are obtained. The display unit, the lamp display unit, and each lamp group perform a predetermined display.

(4) When there is a winning ball (C ≠ 0) (a) Combination operation processing In step 124, the value of the counter C is determined, and when the winning is detected, the value of the counter C is decremented by 1, The register F is set to 1 to indicate the combined operation state, and the timer T1 is set to a predetermined value (steps 124 to 130). Then, in step 132, random number generation processing is performed, and the generated random numbers are stored in the registers X1, X2, X3, and L. Step 100 until the time is up in step 134
~ 118, 132, 134, 170-184 are repeated. The random number is set every time the step 132 is passed. When the time is up, in Step 136, registers X1, X2, X3, L
The winning mode is determined from the contents set in, and the mode is set in the register R. 0 is off, 1 is small hit, 2 is medium hit, and 3 is big hit. When the player is out of position, the register F is set to 0, and the process goes to the next winning ball determination cycle.

(B) Processing when hitting When the result of the determination in step 136 is hitting, the time is set in the timer T2 according to the hitting mode. Then, the background process described above is performed until it is determined that the time is up. As a result, the special winning opening is opened for a predetermined time, the lamp group is displayed to indicate the panic state, and the speaker 35 plays the panic state music. At this time, when the number of winning balls to the special winning opening becomes 10, the same process as the time-up is performed even before the time-up. That is, the counter G is set to 0 and the register R is set to 0 (steps 150 and 152).

(C) Processing when V winning ball is present When the V winning ball is present when the special winning opening is open, that is,
If the counter A is not 0 (step 156), step 1
At 58, the value of register F is set to 3 to indicate the occurrence of a continuing right. Then, the counter A is decremented by 1, and the timer T3
Is set to a predetermined time, and it is determined whether the time is up (steps 158 to 164). This process is to give a certain delay until the special winning opening is subsequently opened. After that, in step 166, the register R is set to 3 indicating a big hit, and the process proceeds to step 142 to perform the above-described hitting process. However, the continuation right is adjusted in step 152 so that it does not occur more than 10 times.

(5) Sound Generation Control Processing In the background processing of steps 180 to 184, when the sound generation control state is determined and the activation flag S is set,
The MPU 2 executes the process of FIG. 7 in parallel with the process of the MPU 1. That is, the MPU 2 determines whether the activation flag S is set in step 200, and if it is set,
The process proceeds to step 201 and subsequent steps, and the tone generation control is performed. In step 201, the status register F, the winning ball counter C,
Winning mode register R, big winning award winning counter G, V
The sound generation mode is determined from the value of the winning ball counter A, and the value is set in the register W. As shown in FIG. 8, the ROM 3 stores a control data group for outputting a different melody for each sounding mode.

The control data consists of a set of sounding data such as sound frequency, sound volume, envelope, and time data indicating the sounding duration of the sound. In step 202, it is determined whether the tone generation mode has changed from the change in the value of the register W. If there is a change, the process proceeds to step 204, and the head address storing the control data group of that mode is set to the data pointer. Set to P. Next step 20
In step 6, the stored content of the address indicated by the data pointer P is RO
When the data is read from M3 and is not the end code of the data, in step 210, time data is set in the timer based on the control data. Next, in step 212, the pronunciation data is S
By outputting to each register of SG33, one sound is produced from the speaker 35 until it is determined in step 214 that the time is up. Next, when it is determined in step 214 that the time is up, the process moves to step 216, the data pointer P is updated to the address of the next control data, and the process returns to step 201. When it is determined in step 202 that the tone generation mode has not changed, the initialization of the address is jumped, so that the control data of the next tone in that mode is input.

As described above, in this embodiment, the MPU
1 is used for main control of a pachinko machine, and MPU 2 is used only for controlling a sounding device, which has complicated control. Therefore, it is only necessary to develop an independent program,
Easy to make. Also, the MPU 2 can be used for controlling the lamp group. As shown in FIG. 9, the control data includes, as one set of data, light emission data designating which lamp of the plurality of lamps is to be turned on and time data for maintaining the state, and the data string is It is created for each light emission mode. The processing procedure of the MPU 2 is the same as that of FIG. 7. Step 201 is to determine the light emission mode, step 204 is to set an initial address corresponding to the light emission mode, step 210 is to set time data, and step 212 is By changing to the output of light emission data, it is possible to perform dynamic light emission control according to the control data.

The MPU 2 can also be used for random number generation, the number of times the numerical display is driven, the number of times the special winning opening is opened in the big hit mode, and other statistical processing. or,
Although the ROM 3 is an external ROM in the above embodiment,
It may be a ROM incorporated in the MPU 2. In the case of a ROM with a soft cloth, by replacing the ROM,
It is possible to easily change the operation pattern of the peripheral device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a pachinko machine according to a specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the outer appearance of the pachinko machine of the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a microprocessor used in the pachinko machine of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a microprocessor used in the pachinko machine of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a microprocessor used in the pachinko machine of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a microprocessor used in the pachinko machine of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a microprocessor used in the pachinko machine of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a structural diagram showing a structure of control data for controlling pronunciation.

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram showing a structure of control data for controlling a light emitting device of a pachinko machine according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 27 ... Numerical value display 29 ... Lamp display 30 ... Memory number display 43a-43c ... Panic lamp 45a-45c ... V lamp 47a-47j ... Operation lamp 50 ... Frame 51 ... Play board 52, 53, 54 ... Specific prize Mouth 63 ... Large winning hole 64 ... Opening / closing door 65 ... V winning hole

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A winning detection device for detecting a winning of a ball at a specific winning opening is provided, a random number is generated in accordance with winning at the specific winning opening, a game is controlled, a light emitting device, a sounding device, etc. In a gaming machine using a random number including a control device that drives peripheral devices of the game machine, the control device inputs a first microprocessor that controls the game and a command or data from the first microprocessor. And at least one second microprocessor for driving the peripheral device.