JPH11276694A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the processing burden of a microcomputer, which is used for controlling a play state, and to easily recycle components used for controlling the operation of a game machine. SOLUTION: The operation of a PACHINKO machine is controlled by a microcomputer 330 for play control, microcomputer 200 for display control, microcomputer 500 for ball dispensation control and microcomputer 91 for sound control provided on individual control circuit boards (play control circuit board 71, display control circuit board 125, ball dispensation control circuit board 117 and sound control circuit board 90) for each control function.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a pachinko game machine,
The present invention relates to a gaming machine represented by a coin gaming machine, a slot machine, and the like, and more particularly, to a gaming machine capable of generating a sound in accordance with a gaming state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A game machine of this type, which has been generally known, has been controlled by a microcomputer having a microprocessor. In such a gaming machine, a control circuit including a microcomputer is provided on a control circuit board.

[0003] In recent years, in order to perform various controls such as variable display control, game medium payout control, and sound control in accordance with a game state, the control contents of the game machine have become complicated and sophisticated. And, in the gaming machine, in order to further enhance the interest of the player, it is required to provide a more advanced and interesting game.

[0004]

As described above, in order to provide a more sophisticated and interesting game, a game machine represented by game control, variable display control, game medium dispensing control, and sound control is used. It is necessary to further complicate the control contents. When the control contents are complicated in this way, in the control microcomputer, the information processing contents become complicated, the processing load becomes excessive, and various obstacles occur, such as lowering the processing speed. In order to solve such an obstacle, it is conceivable to provide a plurality of microcomputers on the control circuit board to improve the overall processing capability of the microcomputer.

However, simply increasing the number of microcomputers causes the following problem. When replacing a gaming machine with such a configuration with a gaming machine of a new model on a gaming machine installation island of a gaming arcade, the structure of the gaming machine such as a gaming board and the control circuit board described above are mainly new ones. It is generally exchanged. When designing a control circuit board for a new type of gaming machine, what is changed from the old type of gaming machine is mainly some components such as circuits related to game control, and other circuits related to control. Includes components that can be used in common even if the model of the gaming machine is new.

In recent years, recycling of parts has been actively promoted from the viewpoint of resource saving. As described above, in the case of a gaming machine, when a new model is used, the entire control circuit board becomes new, so in order to perform such recycling, the parts of the control circuit that can be used in common are reused. To do so, the reusable parts must be reused separately. For this reason, in the above-described gaming machine, the reuse of the reusable part becomes complicated, and the components of the control circuit cannot be easily reused.

The present invention has been conceived in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the processing load of a microcomputer used for controlling a game state, and to use the microcomputer for controlling the operation of a gaming machine. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine capable of easily reusing parts used.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a game machine whose operation is controlled by a microcomputer having a microprocessor, which is capable of controlling a game state. A game control board provided with a microcomputer, and a display control microcomputer provided with a display control microcomputer for performing control for performing a predetermined display according to the game state, and a display control connected to the game control board so as to be able to communicate information. A board, a game medium payout control microcomputer that performs control to pay out premium game media according to the game state is provided, and a game medium payout control board connected to the game control board so as to be able to communicate information. A sound control microcomputer for performing control for generating a predetermined sound in accordance with the game state; A sound control board connected to the control board for information communication, the game control board, the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board are each configured separately. It is characterized by having.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the game control board, the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board are provided. The transmission of information by one-way communication from the game control board to the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board is performed between the game control board and the sound control board.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect, the sound control board further comprises:
There is provided a sound information storage means in which information of a sound generated under the control of the sound control microcomputer is stored, and the sound information storage means is rewritable.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect, the sound control board further comprises:
A sound information storage unit in which information of a sound generated by the control of the sound control microcomputer is stored, and the sound information storage unit is detachable from the sound control board. I do.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the sound control board is housed inside and is detachably attached to the gaming machine. It further includes a sound control board container.

[0013]

According to the present invention, the operation is as follows. A game control board is provided with a game control microcomputer capable of controlling a game state. A display control microcomputer is provided on a display control board connected to the game control board so as to be able to communicate information, so as to perform a predetermined display according to a game state. A game medium payout control board, which is connected to the game control board so as to be able to communicate information, is provided with a game medium payout control microcomputer for performing control for paying out prize game media in accordance with a game state. A sound control microcomputer that performs control for generating a predetermined sound in accordance with a game state is provided on a sound control board that is connected to the game control board so that information communication is possible. Game control board, display control board, game medium payout control board, and sound control board,
Each is composed separately. As described above, the operation control of the gaming machine is performed by the game control microcomputer, the display control microcomputer, the game medium payout control microcomputer, and the sound control microcomputer provided for each control function. In this case, the display control, the game medium payout control, and the sound control are performed by the individual microcomputers, so that the processing load on the game control microcomputer is reduced. As a result, it is possible to provide an even more sophisticated and interesting game without causing any trouble in the processing burden. Furthermore, since each microcomputer is provided on a separate board, it is possible to replace only the game control board with a new one when a new control content of the game state is used, and a new one is provided. Control boards that can be commonly used in accordance with the control content of the game state can be individually reused as they are. This makes it possible to easily reuse components used for controlling the operation of the gaming machine. Furthermore, by dividing the control board for each control function, the configuration of the control board can be unified for each control function, and the control board can be easily reused.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the following operation is performed in addition to the operation of the first aspect. A game control board, a display control board, a game medium payout control board,
Further, between each of the sound control boards, information is transmitted from the game control board to the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board by one-way communication. In other words, each of the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board performs control while performing information communication with the game control board. In this case, information communication is performed from the game control board. Limited to one-way communication. For this reason, it is possible to prevent as much as possible the unauthorized control operation of the game control microcomputer due to the input of unauthorized data from each of the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board to the game control board. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the following operation is performed in addition to the operation of the first or second aspect of the invention. A sound information storage means in which information of a sound generated under the control of the sound control microcomputer is stored is provided on the sound control board, and the sound information storage means is capable of rewriting the stored information. For this reason, when only the game control board is replaced in order to make the control content of the game state new, the sound storage information of the sound information storage means is rewritten to correspond to the control content of the new game state. By using the sound control board, it is possible to easily reuse the sound control board in accordance with the control content of a new game state.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the following operation is performed in addition to the operation of the first or second aspect of the invention. A sound information storage means storing sound information generated by control of the sound control microcomputer is provided on the sound control board, and the sound information storage means is detachable from the sound control board. For this reason, when replacing only the game control board in order to make the control content of the game state new, in order to make the storage information of the sound of the sound information storage means correspond to the control content of the new game state. The work relating to the replacement of the sound information storage means or the rewriting of the storage information of the sound information storage means is facilitated. This makes it possible to easily reuse the sound control board in accordance with the control content of a new game state.

According to the invention described in claim 5, according to claim 1,
In addition to the effects of the invention described in any one of the above-mentioned items, the following operation is performed. A sound control board is housed inside a sound control board housing detachably attached to the gaming machine. The sound control board is housed inside the sound control board housing, and the sound control board housing is detachably attached to the game machine, so that the sound control board can be easily removed from the game machine,
The work of reusing the sound control board in accordance with the control of a new game state can be easily performed. Further, when the work for reusing the sound control board in accordance with the control of a new game state is performed at a place away from the gaming machine, the sound control board housing and the sound control board housing body transport the sound control board when the sound control board is transported. It becomes possible to protect the information storage means.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, a pachinko gaming machine is shown as an example of a gaming machine, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to other gaming machines such as coin gaming machines and slot machines. is there. That is, the present invention is applicable to all gaming machines whose operations are controlled by a microcomputer having a microprocessor.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the configuration of a game board of a pachinko gaming machine according to the present invention. The gaming area 3 is provided on the front of the gaming machine main body 102 of the pachinko gaming machine, and a front frame 103 that can be opened and closed is further provided.

Left and right speakers 61 and 61 for generating a stereo sound effect are provided on the left and right of the front frame 103 above the game area 3. A game effect lamp 18a, a ball cut lamp 44a, and a prize ball lamp 44b are provided above the game area 3 of the front frame 103. A gaming handle 1 for a player to operate the driving of a pachinko ball is provided at a lower front portion of the pachinko gaming machine.
06 is provided. When the player operates the game handle 106, pachinko balls as game media are fired one by one. The fired pachinko balls are guided into the game area 3 by a guide path formed between an outer rail and an inner rail described later with reference to FIG. Gaming area 3
The pachinko balls hit inside are referred to as “hit balls” in the following description.

In the center of the game area 3, a variable display device 4 for variably displaying a plurality of types of images including identification information is provided. The variable display device 4 has a variable display unit 5 composed of a CRT in the case of the present embodiment. Below the variable display device 4, a variable winning ball device 11 is provided. At a position on the left side of the variable winning ball device 11, which is generally called a “sleeve portion”, a variable starting port device 16 made of a so-called electric tulip is provided.

In the game area 3, a side lamp 18 is provided.
And various LEDs such as the decorative LED 18b.

An upper plate 107 for storing the paid-out pachinko balls, and an upper plate 1
07, the lower plate 10 for storing the pachinko balls discharged by operating the upper plate ball release lever 105.
8 are provided. The pachinko balls stored in the lower plate 108 can be discharged by operating the lower plate ball removal lever 110. In the figure, reference numeral 104 denotes a key for preventing the front frame 103 from being opened and closed, and reference numeral 107 denotes an ashtray used by a player. A door switch 257 for detecting the open / closed state of the front frame 103 is provided behind the front frame 103.

Referring to FIG. 2, the structure of the game board 1 will be described in more detail. On the front surface of the game board 1, two section rails 2 are planted in a circular shape. Section rail 2
It consists of an outer rail and an inner rail. A circular area surrounded by the section rails 2 is called a game area 3.

The variable display device 4 provided at the center of the game area 3 has the variable display section 5 composed of a CRT as described above. The variable display section 5 includes three variable display sections 5a, 5
b and 5c. Each variable display section 5a,
5b and 5c variably display a plurality of types of images including identification information. At the upper part of the variable display device 4, a winning opening 9 is provided. A normal winning opening 10 is provided at a position called “sleeve” at the lower right of the game area 3.

The variable winning ball device 11 will be described. The variable winning prize ball device 11 is provided with an opening / closing plate 14 that can be tilted in a predetermined range in the front-rear direction of the game area 3. Opening / closing plate 1
4 is driven by a solenoid 24 (shown by a broken line) provided on the back surface of the game board 1.

The variable winning ball device 11 normally puts the open / close plate 14 in a closed state, which is disadvantageous for a player who cannot easily hit a ball (hereinafter, this state is referred to as a "second state"). ing. On the other hand, on the display unit 5 of the variable display device 4, based on the fact that a ball is hit in the starting port 19 of the variable starting port device 16 or the starting port 13 provided above the variable winning ball device 11, three The symbol is fluctuated. When the variable display is stopped, a “big hit” occurs when the combination of the three symbols becomes a predetermined specific combination. This state is called a specific game state. When a big hit occurs, the variable winning ball device 11 changes from the second state to an advantageous state for a player who easily hits the ball (hereinafter, this state is referred to as a “first state”).
Becomes When the above-mentioned big hit occurs, the variable prize ball device 11 opens the opening / closing plate 14 so that the hit ball can win the large prize hole of the variable prize ball device 11, which is advantageous to the first player. State.

The first state of the variable prize ball device 11 is such that a predetermined time, for example, 29.5 seconds, has elapsed after the opening and closing plate 14 has been opened, or that the variable prize ball device 11 has a large prize. The process ends when the earlier condition of whether a predetermined number (for example, 10) of hit balls are won in the mouth is satisfied. That is, when the above condition is satisfied, the open / close plate 14 is in the closed state, and the variable winning ball device 11
Is in the second state.

All hit balls that have won the special winning opening are detected by a 10-count switch 23 provided on the back of the game board 1. On the other hand, in the central part inside the big winning opening,
A specific area commonly called a “V pocket” is provided. When the hit ball entering the special winning opening wins this specific area, the specific winning ball is detected by the V winning switch 22 provided on the back surface of the gaming board 1. When a specific prize ball is detected, the continuous continuation control for driving and controlling the variable prize ball device 11 to the first state again is waited until the first state of the variable prize ball device 11 is completed. Done. By the repetition continuation control, the variable winning ball device 11 is continuously in the first state a predetermined number of times, for example, up to 16 times.

The number of hit balls that have won the variable winning ball device 11 is displayed by the number display 15.

Next, the above-mentioned start winning will be described.
The fact that a ball is hit in the starting opening 13 or 19 is particularly called "starting winning". The ball hitting the starting port 13 or 19 is a start winning switch 21 provided on the back of the game board 1.
Or 25 respectively. Triggered by the fact that a ball is hit in the starting opening 13 or 19, the display of the symbol is changed on the display unit 5 of the variable display device 4. If a specific symbol combination is displayed when the variable display is stopped, as described above, the variable prize ball device 11
State. The variable prize ball device 11 is displayed while the variable display of the symbol is being performed and based on the result of the variable display of the symbol.
If a ball is hit in the starting port 13 or 19 while the first state is in the first state, the starting winning is stored. This is called start memory. The number of start memories is indicated by the start memory display 6.
Is notified to the player by the lighting of. The upper limit of the start memory is set to a predetermined number, in this embodiment, four. If there is a start memory, the display change of the symbol by the display unit 5 is started again after the symbol change display on the display unit 5 is stopped or after the first state of the variable prize ball device 11 ends.

Next, the configuration of the variable starting port device 16 will be described in detail. The variable starting device 16 has the starting port 19 as described above, and the variable display device 4 is used when the hit ball that has won the starting port 19 is detected by the start winning switch 25.
Is started. This variable starter device 16
Has a movable member 17 that can be opened and closed.
With the opening of 7, the ball can be won in the starting port 19. Whether or not to open the movable member 17 is determined as follows. In the left area of the game area 3, a passage 20 is provided. When the hit ball passes through the passage opening 20, the hit ball is detected by the passing ball detector 27, and based on the detection output, the variable display of the ordinary symbol variable display device 28 provided in the variable starting port device 16 starts. Is done.

The ordinary symbol variable display device 28 includes a 7-segment display (7-segment LED) 281,
The segment display 281 variably displays an ordinary symbol including identification information such as numbers. When the display result of the variable symbol display device 28 at the time of variable stop becomes predetermined specific identification information (for example, “7”), the left and right movable members 17 of the variable starter device 16 are driven by the solenoid 26. When the ball is opened, the ball is in an advantageous state for a player who can win a ball in the starting port 19. This variable starting port device 1
When a hit ball is awarded in the starting port 19, the hit ball is detected by the start winning switch 25, and the variable display of the variable display unit 5 of the variable display device 4 is started based on the detection output.

If the hit ball passes through the passage 20 and is detected by the passing ball detector 27 again during the variable display of the normal symbol variable display device 28, the passing ball is stored, and the normal symbol variable After the variable display on the display device 28 is stopped, the variable display can be started again, and then the variable display on the ordinary symbol variable display device 28 is started again based on the storage of the passing balls. The passing balls can be stored up to a predetermined number, for example, up to "4", and the passing balls are usually displayed on the symbol start storage display 29.

Big winning opening, winning openings 10 and 12, starting opening 1
After the hit balls are won on 3, 19, and the winning balls are detected by the corresponding detectors, the winning balls are gathered,
The player is guided to the winning ball processing device 150 described later. The winning ball thus induced is detected by the winning ball detection switch 151, and a predetermined number of pachinko balls are paid out according to the detection.

At the left and right of the lower position of the variable display device 4, there are provided members, which are named as warp entrances 7, for guiding hit balls. The pachinko balls that entered the warp entrance 7
It is guided to the warp exit 8 provided above the starting port 13 and is discharged again into the game area 3 and falls. Therefore, the ball that has entered the warp entrance 7 is more likely to win the starting opening 13, and has the effect that the interest of the player is higher than in the case where the warp entrance 7 and the warp exit 8 are not provided.

A normal winning opening 12 is provided on the left and right of the variable winning ball device 11, and an out opening 30 for accommodating an out ball is provided in the lower center of the game area 3.

While the game is being played, the left speaker 60
Stereo sounds based on various sounds including natural sounds are reproduced from the right speaker 61, and a predetermined sound effect is generated during variable display by the variable display device 4 or when a big hit occurs. In this case, the localization of the sound source can be moved relative to the player due to the characteristics of the stereo sound, and for example, an effect that the sound source orbits around the player can be generated. Therefore, there is an effect that the interest of the game is higher than in the case of the conventional monaural sound.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the gaming machine main body 102. A ball tank 111 is arranged at the upper center of the back surface. Pachinko balls are supplied into the ball tank 111 from above with the pachinko gaming machine installed on the gaming machine installation island. The pachinko balls stored in the ball tank 111 are supplied to the prize ball unit 113 including the ball payout device 97. The prize ball hit into the prize area such as the prize port 10 and the variable prize ball device 11 or the variable prize ball device 11 as described above is processed by the prize ball processing device 150 and the prize ball is processed. A predetermined number of prize balls (also referred to as prize balls), which are prize game media, are paid out from the ball payout device 97 into the upper plate 107.

On the lower side of the ball tank 111, a ball alignment rail 69 for arranging the prize balls stored in the ball tank 111 in a plurality of rows (two rows in the left and right rows in the present embodiment).
Is provided. The ball alignment rail 69 is used for the ball tank 11
One ball is attached in an inclined manner from one end, which is the outlet of the ball, to the other end, and a partition wall is erected in the center of the inside. The partition wall ensures that the prize balls flowing out of the falling port of the ball tank 111 are aligned in two rows on the left and right as they go downstream. A curved gutter 74 is provided on the downstream side of the ball alignment rail 69 so as to change the direction of the prize ball guided by the ball alignment rail 69 toward the prize ball unit 113 described later. The balls aligned and guided by the ball alignment rail 69 are changed in flowing direction left and right by the curved gutter 74.

At a position below the curve gutter 74, a passage body 84 is provided.
And a ball payout device 97 is provided below the passage body 84. Explaining in more detail, the passage body 84 is
There are prize ball passages 86a and 86b for allowing two rows of prize balls whose flow direction has been changed left and right by the curve gutter 74 to flow downward. The prize ball passages 86a, 86
On the upstream side of b, ball cutout switches 87a and 87b are provided so as to face each other. This switch 87a, 8
7b detects the presence or absence of a prize ball in the prize ball passages 86a and 86b.
When a and 87b no longer detect the prize ball, the ball-out lamp 44a is turned on, the rotation of a payout motor 189 composed of a stepping motor of the ball payout device 97 described later is stopped, and the payout of the prize ball is deactivated. You.

The prize balls flowing down the prize ball passages 86a and 86b are supplied to a ball discharging device 97 on the downstream side. The ball payout device 97 is configured to be housed inside a rectangular parallelepiped case. The ball payout device 97 is of a type in which a screw (not shown) is rotated by a payout motor 189 (to be described later), which is a stepping motor, to pay out balls while counting them one by one. In the ball discharging path in the ball discharging device 97, ball discharging detectors 240a and 240b for detecting the balls discharged from the ball discharging device 97 are provided.

On the exit side of the ball in the ball payout device 97,
The prize balls paid out from the ball payout device 97 are transferred to the upper plate communication port 11.
A prize ball channel 201 for guiding toward 0a is provided. The upper plate communication port 110a guides a prize ball to the upper plate 107 provided on the front of the pachinko gaming machine.
Therefore, the prize ball paid out from the ball payout device 97 is
The prize ball 201 is guided to the upper plate 107 via the upper plate communication port 110a.

The passage body 84 and the ball dispensing device 9 as described above.
7. The ball cutout switches 87a and 87b and the prize ball channel 201 are provided as a unit in the prize ball unit 113. Then, the prize ball unit 113 is attached to the back side of the pachinko gaming machine. In this way, the unit related to the payout of prize balls is unitized, so that the assembling work at the time of manufacturing the pachinko gaming machine, the maintenance work in the case of failure of the pachinko gaming machine, and the replacing work at the time of parts replacement are performed. It can be facilitated.

A communication passage (not shown) is connected to a side of the upper plate communication port 110a, and an excess ball passage (not shown) is connected to an end of the communication passage. Thus, when a large number of prize balls based on the prize are paid out and the upper plate 107 becomes full of prize balls, and finally reaches the upper plate communication port 110a and continues to pay out the prize balls, the prize balls pass through the communication passage. After that, it is guided to the surplus ball passage, and then discharged to the lower plate 108 via a connection gutter (not shown). When the prize balls continue to be paid out, the lower plate 108 is also full, but when the prize balls reach a full tank detection plate (not shown) provided on the side wall of the surplus ball passage, a full tank detection plate is provided. Is pressed by the prize ball and swings outward around the upper end support shaft, whereby the full tank switch 114 for detecting the full state of the lower plate 108 is turned on, and the ball discharging device 97 The driving of the payout motor is stopped to deactivate the prize ball payout operation, and the driving of the hit ball firing device 140 is also stopped.

A CRT display 44 constituting the variable display section 5 of the variable display device 4 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is fixed to the center of the rear surface. On the lower surface of the CRT display 44,
A display control circuit board 125 on which an image display control circuit 112 including a display control microcomputer 200 for controlling image display by the CRT display 44 is provided. The display control circuit board 125 is housed inside the display control board box 125a.

Here, the microcomputer means a small electronic computer constituted by using a microprocessor. Further, a microprocessor refers to one in which a CPU is integrated on one LSI (or a small number). A game control board box 115 is provided at the lower center of the back of the gaming machine. Inside the game control board box 115, a game control circuit board 71 including a game control microcomputer 330 for controlling a game state is housed. On the surface of the game control board box 115, a model name sticker 66 describing a model name of a pachinko game machine to which the control content of the game control executed by the game control microcomputer 330 is applied is visibly stuck. I have.

The game control contents of the pachinko gaming machine are as follows:
Generally, it differs depending on the type of pachinko gaming machine.
The game control circuit board 71 is generally manufactured for each type of pachinko game machine. Therefore, if the model of the pachinko game machine is different, the type of the game control circuit board 71 is different, and the game control content executed by the game control microcomputer 330 is different. For this reason, the above-described model name label 66 indicates the type of the game control content by indicating the model of the pachinko gaming machine.

The game control circuit board 71 and the display control circuit board 125 are connected by a cable via a connector 118. A ball payout control circuit board 117 is provided at the lower left of the game control board box 115. The ball payout control circuit board 117 includes the ball payout control board box 11.
7a. Ball payout control circuit board 11
7 includes a prize ball unit 113 and a launch motor 140a.
Control microcomputer 5 for controlling ball discharge
A payout control circuit including “00” is mounted.

In this case, the game control board box 115
Are provided so that a part thereof covers a part of the ball payout control circuit board 117. The ball payout control microcomputer 500 of the ball payout control circuit board 117 receives the prize ball number signal output from the game control microcomputer 330 of the game control circuit board 71 in response to the winning of the ball, and the ball payout device. A driving start signal is output to the payout motor 189 of the 97 and the signals from the ball payout detectors 240a and 240b provided in the ball payout device 97 are counted, and the counted value becomes a predetermined payout prize ball number. Then, a drive stop signal is given to the payout motor 189 to stop the prize ball payout operation. Here, the prize ball number signal is a signal for requesting the payout of prize balls and specifying the number of prize balls to be paid out,
It consists of 4-bit signals of 0, 1, 2, and 3.
The number of prize balls to be paid out is indicated by the information of the bit.

The game control microcomputer 3
Reference numeral 30 denotes a time point at which the payout operation for winning is completed when a prize ball impossible signal, which will be described later, is input from the game control microcomputer 330 based on the detection signals of the ball breaking switches 87a and 87b and the full tank switch 114 and the like. A stop signal is output to the payout motor 189.

A terminal board box 780 made of a transparent synthetic resin is provided at an upper corner of the pachinko gaming machine. An information terminal board 781 and a power supply board 783 are provided separately in the terminal board box 780. The power supply board 783 is provided with a power supply connector 62 and a power switch 610 for connecting to an external power supply. The information terminal plate 781 has replenishment information (information indicating the number of paid-out prize balls, which is output as a pulse indicating that every time a predetermined number of prize balls are paid out (for example, 10 pieces)) and out of balls. An information terminal 782 including an output terminal for outputting various information such as information (information indicating the lack of balls in the ball tank 111) to the outside (an external device such as a hall management computer) is also provided. The terminal board box 780 is made of a transparent synthetic resin, so that the inside can be visually recognized from the outside.
1 and the power supply board 783 can be easily visually recognized.

On the left side of the CRT display 44, there is provided an information terminal plate 65 connected to the game control circuit board 71 by a cable. From the information terminal board 65, jackpot information (information indicating that a jackpot has occurred), symbol determination frequency information (information indicating the number of times the symbol has been determined by variable display), and probability variation information (in a probability variation state). Various information, such as information indicating that the hall is present, is output to the outside (hall management computer).

Reference numeral 140 denotes a hitting ball firing device, which uses a rotating force of a firing motor 140a included in the hitting ball firing device 140 to fire hit balls one by one into a game area.
The hit ball launching device 140 includes a launch control circuit board 1 on which a launch control circuit for controlling the launch motor 140a is formed.
40b is provided. This launch control circuit board 140
b is covered with a cover (not shown) made of a transparent synthetic resin. Thus, the launch control circuit board 140b is covered by the cover, but since the cover is transparent,
The firing control circuit board 140b inside is easily visible from the outside of the cover.

A winning ball processing device 150 is provided below the upper plate communication port 110a, and one winning ball as described above is processed. In the winning ball processing device 150,
All winning balls that have won the winning areas are sent. In the winning ball processing device 150, the winning ball is temporarily stopped. Then, when a prize ball is detected by the prize ball detection switch 151 in a state where the prize ball is once stopped, one prize ball is processed each time a predetermined prize ball is paid out.

More specifically, the winning ball processing device 150 includes a winning ball discharging solenoid 127 and a ball locking member 152 driven by the winning ball discharging solenoid 127. In a normal state in which the winning ball discharge solenoid 127 is OFF (demagnetized state), the ball locking member 15 is in a state where the winning ball is detected by the winning ball detection switch 151.
Stopped by 2 In this case, a detection signal of a winning ball is sent from the winning ball detection switch 151 to the game control microcomputer 330 of the game control circuit board 71, and the ball payout control circuit board 117 receives the prize ball number signal from the game control circuit board 71. Upon receipt, the ball payout device 97 is driven and controlled by the ball payout control microcomputer 500, and a predetermined number of prize balls are paid out.

With the payout of a predetermined number of prize balls, the game control microcomputer 33 of the game control circuit board 71
From 0, a drive signal is sent to the winning ball discharging solenoid 127, and the winning ball discharging solenoid 127 is turned on for a predetermined time (turned on). When the winning ball discharge solenoid 127 is turned on, the ball locking member 152 causes the stopped ball to
Release them. The released prize balls flow downward. Then, when a certain time elapses, the winning ball discharging solenoid 1
27 is turned off, the ball locking member 152 stops the next winning ball, and the payout operation of the prize ball by the next winning ball is performed.

In the vicinity of the prize ball processing device 150, the ball cut-out switches 87a and 87b, the full switch 114, the prize ball detection switch 151, and the ball payout detector 240
a, 240b, and a wiring for transmitting a detection signal between the game control circuit board 71 and the game control circuit board 71.
A relay board 154 is provided to collectively relay wiring for transmitting a drive signal to various lamps such as a ball-out lamp 44a and a prize-ball lamp 44b. Ball break lamp 44
The wiring of various lamps such as a and the prize ball lamp 44b is extended to the relay board 154 after being collected on a relay board (not shown) provided on the front frame 103.

Further below the winning ball processing device 150 is a box-shaped box in which a sound control circuit board 90 in which a circuit for performing a control for generating a sound such as a sound effect according to a game state is accommodated. A sound control circuit board box 120 is provided. On the sound control circuit board 90, various circuits such as a sound control microcomputer 91, a sound ROM 93, and a volume changeover switch 95 are mounted. here,
The sound control microcomputer 91 is for executing a program for performing control for generating sounds such as sound effects according to a game state. ROM 93 for audio
Is composed of a flash memory in which stored data is rewritable, and information of various sounds generated by the control of the sound control microcomputer 91 (hereinafter referred to as voice control data) and a pachinko machine to which the voice control data is applied. Various types of information including collation information indicating a model code for specifying the model of the gaming machine are stored. The volume changeover switch 95 is a switch operated by a staff member when switching the volume of the sound generated under the control of the sound control microcomputer 91.

The sound control circuit board 90 is connected to the game control circuit board 71 via a cable. The power supply power of the sound control circuit board 90 is supplied from the game control circuit board 71. Further, the sound control circuit board 90 is connected to the speaker wiring 9.
9 are connected to a left speaker 60 and a right speaker 61. The sound control circuit board box 120 is made of metal and houses the sound control circuit board 90. The sound control circuit board box 120 is configured to be screwed to a pachinko gaming machine by a plurality of screws 100. For this reason, the sound control circuit board box 120 can be easily attached to and detached from the pachinko gaming machine by attaching and detaching the screw 100.

At a predetermined position on the sound control circuit board 90, a model name sticker indicating the model name of the pachinko game machine to which the sound information stored in the sound ROM 93 provided on the sound control circuit board 90 is applied. 96 is attached so as to be visible. The model name sticker 96 describes the same information as the model name sticker 66 described above, and is stored in the audio ROM.
The content of the description differs depending on the type of 93.

The sound control circuit board box 120 is provided with a window 121 as an opening.
, A transparent plate 122 is attached. This window 121
The transparent plate 122 is attached to the sound control circuit board 90 accommodated in the sound control circuit board box 120 by attaching the model name sticker 96 from outside the sound control circuit board box 120.
It is formed at a position that can be seen through. Therefore,
The attendant visually recognizes the model name sticker 96 inside through the window 121, and thereby the model name of the pachinko gaming machine to which the sound control data stored in the sound ROM 93 provided on the sound control circuit board 90 is applied. Can be confirmed.
As described above, in the game control board box 115, the model name sticker 66 is attached in a visible manner, and in the sound control circuit board box 120, the window 12 is attached.
Since the model name sticker 96 is affixed to the sound control circuit board 90 in a manner that can be visually recognized from 1, the attendant compares the model name sticker 66 and the model name sticker 96 and determines whether or not both model names match. Judgment by the voice ROM
It is possible to easily confirm whether or not 93 is suitable for the game control content of the game control microcomputer 330.

The box and cover for covering various substrates such as a control circuit board and a relay board provided on the back side of the pachinko gaming machine may be made of a transparent synthetic resin. Specifically, the cover of the firing control circuit board 140b, the game control board box 115, the display control board box 125a, the ball payout control board box 117a, the sound control circuit board box 120, and the terminal board box 780 are all made of a transparent synthetic resin. It may be made.
In this case, the inside of the box and the cover can be easily visually recognized from the outside.

Next, the configuration of the sound control circuit board box 120 will be described in detail. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the sound control circuit board box 120.

Referring to FIG. 4, sound control circuit board box 120 is provided for mounting sound control circuit board box 120 to a pachinko game machine and mounting sound control circuit board box 90 within sound control circuit board box 120. And a metal cover body 124 mounted on the mounting board 123 and used to cover the sound control circuit board 90.

In the mounting board 123, the sound control circuit board box 12 is provided at each of both longitudinal ends of the bottom surface.
A board box fixing portion 123c having a screw hole 100a formed therein for inserting a screw 100 for fixing 0 to a pachinko gaming machine is provided. Further, in the mounting board 123, a side wall having a predetermined height is formed at an edge portion, and first supporting portions 123a, 123a,... For supporting the lower surface of the sound control circuit board 90 at a plurality of positions on the side wall. , And second support portions 123b, 123b. Screw holes 101a into which screws 101 for fixing the sound control circuit board 90 on the mounting board 123 are inserted are formed in each of the second support portions 123b. Further, screw holes 109 a through which screws 109 for fixing the cover body 124 are inserted are formed at a plurality of locations on the side wall of the mounting board 123.

On the sound control circuit board 90, a sound control microcomputer 91, a sound synthesis IC 92, a sound RO
Electronic components such as an M93, a rewriting terminal portion 94, and a volume switch 95 are mounted by soldering. A sound ROM on the sound control circuit board 90
A model name sticker 96 is attached near 93. Of these, the volume changeover switch 95 is attached to one end of the sound control circuit board 90 in the longitudinal direction, and the rewriting terminal 94 is attached to the edge of the sound control circuit board 90 at the center in the longitudinal direction. I have. The rewriting terminal portion 94 is provided such that a part thereof protrudes outward from an edge of the sound control circuit board 90. A protruding portion of the rewriting terminal portion 94 is set in a socket portion of a ROM rewriting device described later. In the sound control circuit board 90, screw holes 90a, 90a through which the screws 101 are inserted are formed in the above-described portion located on the second support portion 123b.

The positions of the screw holes 90a, 90a and the screw holes 10
Sound control circuit board 9 so that the positions of 1a and 101a match.
0 to the first support portion 123a and the second support portion 123b.
The sound control circuit board 90 is mounted on the mounting board 123 by being mounted thereon and fixed by the screws 101.

The cover 124 includes a microcomputer 91 for sound control, a voice synthesis IC 92, a ROM 93 for voice,
It is configured to cover the rewriting terminal portion 94 and the volume switch 95. In the cover body 124, a window portion 121 is formed so that at least the sound control microcomputer 91, the voice synthesis IC 92, and the voice ROM 93 can be visually recognized from the outside. In the window 121, a transparent plate 122 made of transparent synthetic resin is attached. In this way, the main components such as the sound control microcomputer 91 can be visually recognized, and even if the device has been tampered with, the evidence can be easily confirmed. A screw hole 120 into which the above-mentioned screw 109 is inserted is provided on a side surface of the cover body 124.
a is formed at a plurality of locations. Also, the cover body 124
An opening 120 for projecting a lever of the volume changeover switch 95 is provided at a position on the volume changeover switch 95 in FIG.
b is formed. Here, the volume switch 95
Is composed of a slide switch, and the left speaker 60 and the right speaker 6
It is possible to switch the volume of the sound generated from No. 1.

The cover 124 is attached to the mounting board 123 so that the position of the screw hole 109a and the position of the screw hole 120a match.
By putting it on the top and fixing it with screws 109,
The cover body 124 and the mounting board 123 are mounted. When the cover body 124 and the mounting board 123 are mounted in the manner described above, the main part of the sound control circuit board 90 is covered and protected by the sound control circuit board box 120.

The screw 100 passing through the screw hole 100a
The sound control circuit board box 120 accommodating the sound control circuit board 90 is attached to the back side of the pachinko game machine.

When the sound control circuit board 90 is removed from the pachinko game machine for maintenance of the sound control circuit board 90, rewriting of information stored in the audio ROM 93, or replacement of the sound control circuit board 90, etc. Is
After removing the connector such as the speaker wiring 99 and the screw 100, the sound control circuit board 90 is moved to the sound control circuit board box 12
Removed every zero. Here, the rewriting of the information stored in the voice ROM 93 corresponds to the exchange when the model of the pachinko gaming machine for exchanging the gaming board 1 and the game control circuit board 71 of the pachinko gaming machine with another is exchanged. This is performed when the sound used for sound control is changed.

In the case of removing the sound control circuit board 90, the sound control circuit board 90 is removed together with the sound control circuit board box 120, so that the sound control circuit board 90 is protected by the sound control circuit board box 120. The sound control circuit board 90 can be prevented from being damaged as much as possible during the work of removing the board 90.

When rewriting the information stored in the sound ROM 93 of the sound control circuit board 90, the sound control circuit board 90 is taken out from the removed sound control circuit board box 120, and the sound control circuit board 90 is replaced with a ROM rewriter ( It is possible to rewrite the stored information by setting it in a ROM rewriter 493) described later. Specifically, in the ROM rewriting device, a socket portion into which the rewriting terminal portion 94 of the sound control circuit board 90 can be inserted is provided. The rewriting terminal portion 94 of the sound control circuit board 90 is inserted into the socket portion of the ROM rewriter and set.
The stored information of 93 is rewritten. Like that, for voice R
When the storage information of the OM 93 has been rewritten, it is necessary to replace the model name sticker 96 with a model name sticker indicating the model of the pachinko gaming machine to which the new storage information corresponds.

As described above, the sound control circuit board 90 is provided separately from the game control circuit board 71,
Since the information stored in the voice ROM 93 can be rewritten, even if the game control content is changed, the sound control circuit board 90 can be reused in accordance with the new game control content without being discarded. Thus, the sound control circuit board 90 can be easily recycled, and resources can be saved.

Further, the sound control circuit board 90 is housed in the sound control circuit board box 120, and the sound control circuit board box 120 can be easily attached to and detached from the pachinko gaming machine with the sound control circuit board 90 housed. Therefore, when the sound control circuit board 90 is transported to a ROM rewriter or a game machine maker for rewriting the information stored in the sound ROM 93, the sound control circuit board 90 and the sound ROM 93 are transferred by the sound control circuit board box 120. And other electronic components can be protected. This can prevent electronic components such as the sound control circuit board 90 and the sound ROM 93 from being damaged when the sound control circuit board 90 for rewriting information stored in the sound ROM 93 is transported.

In the state where the sound control circuit board 90 is accommodated in the sound control circuit board box 120, the sound ROM 93 is provided.
May be rewritten. That is, after the rewriting terminal portion 94 is projected outside the sound control circuit board box 120 and the sound control circuit board box 120 is removed from the back surface of the pachinko game machine, the sound control circuit board 9 is removed.
0 is stored in the sound control circuit board box 120 and the rewriting terminal 94 of the sound control circuit board 90 is
The information may be rewritten in the audio ROM 93 by inserting it into the socket portion of the M rewriter and using the ROM rewriter. In this case, the model name sticker 96 is attached to the outside of the sound control circuit board box 120, and the model name sticker 96 corresponds to the rewritten storage information in response to rewriting of the storage information in the audio ROM 93. Stick it to something.

As described above, the sound control circuit board 90 is stored in the sound control
If the configuration of rewriting the storage information of M93 is adopted, it is not necessary to remove the sound control circuit board 90 from the sound control circuit board box 120, so that the game board of the pachinko machine and the game control circuit board 71 are separated. Rewriting of the information stored in the voice ROM 93 can be performed very easily when the model of the pachinko gaming machine to be replaced is changed. Further, with the sound control circuit board 90 accommodated in the sound control circuit board box 120, the sound ROM 9
3 can be rewritten, so the RO for audio
The sound control circuit board box 120 can prevent the sound control circuit board 90 such as an electronic circuit from being damaged when the sound control circuit board 90 is carried when the information stored in the M93 is rewritten.

In this embodiment, the sound control circuit board 90 is simply housed in the sound control circuit board box 120. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
A structure may be adopted in which the entirety of the sound control circuit board box 120 is housed in the sound control circuit board box 120 and the sound control circuit board box 120 is sealed with a sealing seal or the like. In this way, even if the sound control circuit board 90 is illegally modified to perform the illegal control operation of the game control microcomputer, it is checked whether or not the seal has been broken. This makes it possible to easily detect such misconduct.

In the case of this embodiment, the audio R
Although the example in which the OM 93 is fixed to the sound control circuit board 90 by soldering has been described, the present invention is not limited to this.
As shown in a third embodiment to be described later, a socket type may be configured to be easily detachable from the sound control circuit board 90.

Further, in this embodiment, an example in which the volume change switch 95 is a slide type is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the volume change switch 95 is a rotary knob type (trimmer type) switch. Is also good.

Next, the overall configuration of the control system of this pachinko gaming machine will be schematically described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a control system of the pachinko gaming machine.

Referring to FIG. 5, the game control microcomputer 330 provided on the game control circuit board 71 includes:
Various detection signals are received from various switches such as the start winning switch 25. In accordance with the detection of the start winning ball by the start winning switch 25, the game control microcomputer 33
By the control of 0, the display control command data, which is display control command information, is given from the game control circuit board 71 to the display control microcomputer 200 provided on the display control circuit board 125. The display control command data is data for instructing display control of each of the variable display device 4 and the normal symbol variable display device 28. Information communication between the game control circuit board 71 and the display control circuit board 125 in this case is performed by the game control circuit board 71.
Is performed by one-way communication from the display control circuit board 125 to the display control circuit board 125. Upon receiving the display control command data, the display control microcomputer 200 operates the CRT display 4 of the variable display device 4 according to the content of the display control command data.
Variable display control is performed on the 7-segment display 281 of the 4 and normal symbol variable display device 28.

Also, the game control microcomputer 3
When the game control is performed by the game control circuit board 30, the sound control circuit board 90 is controlled by the game control microcomputer 330 to generate a sound such as a sound effect according to the game control state. Is provided with sound control command data, which is sound control command information. Details of the sound control command data will be described later with reference to FIG. Further, under the control of the game control microcomputer 330, the sound control microcomputer 91 provided on the sound control circuit board 90 from the game control circuit board 71 determines whether or not the audio ROM 93 is suitable for the game control. ROM collation data is given at predetermined timing as information for making a determination. Here, the ROM collation data is model code data capable of specifying the model of the pachinko gaming machine to which the content of the game control executed by the game control microcomputer 330 is applied. The output process of the ROM collation data will be described later with reference to FIG.

Information communication between the game control circuit board 71 and the sound control circuit board 90 in such a case is performed by one-way communication from the game control circuit board 71 to the sound control circuit board 90. When receiving the sound control command data, the sound control microcomputer 91 outputs sounds according to the contents of the sound control command data to the speakers 60 and 61.
Is performed. When the ROM control data is received, the microcomputer 91 for sound control
Based on the OM collation data, a process (ROM collation process) of determining whether or not the voice ROM 93 is suitable for game control is performed.

The sound control microcomputer 91 provided on the sound control circuit board 90 has a ROM (ROM 91 shown in FIG. 9) in which a sound control program and data are stored.
a) and a CPU for executing a sound control program (FIG. 9)
9) and a RAM (RA shown in FIG. 9) used as a work area when executing a sound control program.
M91c) on a single semiconductor chip. The sound control microcomputer 91 performs control to generate various sounds such as sound effects from the left speaker 60 and the right speaker 61 according to a sound control command signal given from the game control microcomputer 330.

Specifically, when performing control for generating a sound, the sound control microcomputer 91 gives a command for generating a sound corresponding to the sound indicated by the sound control command data to the voice synthesis IC 92. In response to the command, the speech synthesis IC 92 reads the speech control data instructed by the command from the speech ROM 93, and
Voice is synthesized according to the CM method, and the voice is generated from the left speaker 60 and the right speaker 61.

When receiving the ROM collation data output from the game control circuit board 71 under the control of the game control microcomputer 330, the sound control microcomputer 91 reads out predetermined collation information from the audio ROM 93, The collation information is compared with the ROM collation data, and it is determined whether or not the voice control data stored in the voice ROM 93 corresponds to the game control content of the game control microcomputer 330. .

When connected to the above-described ROM rewriting device, the rewriting terminal portion 94 gives the voice control data sent from the ROM rewriting device to the voice ROM 93. Thus, the voice control data stored in the voice ROM 93 is rewritten. The volume changeover switch 95 supplies a switch operation signal to the sound control microcomputer 91. Thereby, the volume of the sound generated from the left speaker 60 and the right speaker 61 is switched.

When a winning ball is detected by the winning ball detection switch 151, the game control microcomputer 330
, The prize ball number signal, which is prize ball payout command information, is given from the game control circuit board 71 to the ball payout control microcomputer 500 provided on the ball payout control circuit board 117. When the ball payout control microcomputer 500 receives the prize ball number signal, it outputs a drive signal to the payout motor 189 of the ball payout device 97 and performs control to pay out the number of prize balls instructed by the prize ball number signal. . In addition, the microcomputer 500 for controlling the payout of balls
Is controlled by the game control microcomputer 330 by the ball breaking switches 87a and 87b and the full tank switch 114.
When there is a prize ball impossible signal, the stop signal is output to the payout motor 189 when the payout operation for the winning is completed, thereby stopping the payout of the prize ball.

Various information such as supply information, jackpot information, symbol determination frequency information, and probability variation information are provided from the game control microcomputer 330 to the information terminal boards 65 and 781.

A drive signal is supplied from the game control microcomputer 330 to various lamps such as the game effect lamp 18a and various LEDs such as the number display 15, and the various lamps and various LEDs are driven according to the drive signals. .

In the case of a so-called CR machine provided with a card unit capable of lending a ball using the storage information (card balance) of the gaming card in a pachinko gaming machine, a ball payout control microcomputer is used. Since the ball 500 also performs ball lending control, ball lending information (information indicating the ball lending number) is sent from the ball payout control microcomputer 500 to the information terminal plate 781.
May be given. In the case of the CR machine, a card unit, a ball lending switch (a switch operated when receiving a ball lending), a balance display (displaying a card balance), and the like are provided in the ball payout control microcomputer 500. Equipment related to ball lending is connected.

According to the configuration described above, the operation of the pachinko gaming machine is controlled by the game control microcomputer 330, the display control microcomputer 200, and the ball payout control microcomputer 50 provided for each control function.
0 and the sound control microcomputer 91. In this case, the display control, the ball payout control, and the sound control are performed by the individual microcomputers, so that the processing load of the game control microcomputer 330 can be reduced. As a result, the game control microcomputer 330 can execute more complicated and advanced game control processing, so that a more sophisticated and interesting game can be performed without causing any trouble in the processing burden. Can be provided. Further, since each microcomputer is provided on a separate board, it is possible to replace only the game control circuit board 71 with a new one when making a new control of the game state. Control boards that can be commonly used in accordance with control contents of a new game state can be individually reused as they are. Thereby, parts used for operation control of the pachinko gaming machine can be easily reused. Further, since the control circuit boards are divided according to the control functions, the configuration of the control circuit boards can be unified for each control function, and the control circuit boards can be easily reused.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control circuit provided on the ball payout control circuit board 117 and the game control circuit board 71.

The game control circuit board 71 is provided with a game control microcomputer 330 integrated into one chip. This game control microcomputer 330
Is provided with a CPU 330a, a RAM 330b, an I / O port 330c, a security circuit 330d, and the like. A ROM 207, an address decode circuit 208, a signal circuit 209, a switch circuit 229, and a lamp solenoid circuit 230 are provided outside the one-chip game control microcomputer 330. The address decode circuit 208 decodes the address data from the game control microcomputer 330, and decodes the address data in the game control microcomputer 330.
AM 330b, I / O port 330c, or R
A chip select signal is applied to each of the OMs 207.

The switch circuit 229 is provided with a detection signal from the winning ball detection switch 151, a ball cutout switch 87a, 87.
b, the detection signal from the full tank switch 114, the detection signal from the door switch 257, the detection signals from the ball payout detectors 240a and 240b, the V winning switch 2
2, a detection signal from the count switch 23, a detection signal from the start winning switches 21, 25,
It receives a detection signal from the passing ball detector 27 and a reset operation signal from a reset switch 156 for the ball payout control circuit board 117 described later, and provides these signals to the I / O port 330c. These signals are provided from I / O port 330c to CPU 330a.

The lamp solenoid circuit 230 has a CPU
The drive signal of the winning ball discharge solenoid 127 given from the I / O port 330c from the 330a, the prize ball lamp 4
4b, a drive signal to the burnout lamp 44a,
In addition, drive signals for various solenoids such as the game effect lamp 18a and the like and the lamps are given to the respective devices.

The security circuit 330d includes the ROM
It has a function of monitoring unauthorized alteration of the program stored in 207. Security circuit 330d
Stores security data corresponding to the storage program in the ROM 207.
The program stored in the ROM 207 is read, the program is compared with the stored security data, and it is determined whether or not the two have consistency. Make it operable. During the operation of the pachinko gaming machine, the CPU 330a operates according to the program data stored in the ROM 207. However, it is assumed that the address of the program data stored in the ROM 207 exceeds the normal address range. The security circuit 330d determines whether or not the address is in the normal address range. If the security circuit 330d determines that the address is outside the normal address range, the CPU 330a is brought into a state where the control operation cannot be performed normally.

The ROM 207 stores prize ball number data which is the number of prize balls to be paid out in accordance with which prize area the hit ball has won. Then, if the winning ball detection switch 151 (see FIG. 2) detects a winning ball and the detection signal is input to the game control microcomputer 330 through the switch circuit 229, the game control microcomputer 330 The prize ball number data corresponding to the winning area in which the hit ball is won is read out from the ROM 207, and the payout of the number of prize balls corresponding to the winning area is requested via the signal circuit 209 (both of which are constituted by photocouplers). The prize ball number signal to be transmitted is sent to the ball payout control microcomputer 500. In the present embodiment, the prize ball number signal indicates the number of prize balls in the form of 4-bit data (D0 to D3) composed of four signal lines as shown in FIG. 500. In this example, the data D0 to D3 are in the ON state in the normal state in which no payout is requested, and when turned off, the data D0 to D3 indicate a request for payout of the prize ball and the number thereof. Therefore, transmitting (outputting) the number-of-prize-balls signal in this embodiment means that any of the data D0 to D3 is turned off.

As described above, the microcomputer 330 for controlling the game is provided with the ball breaking switches 87a, 87b.
b, a detection signal indicating that the lower plate 108 is full by the full tank switch 114, a recognition of an occurrence of a game control error such as an abnormality of the 10 count switch 23, Alternatively, when the occurrence of an award ball-related error such as an award ball payout error, which will be described later, is recognized, the award ball disable signal that disables the award ball (prize ball payout) is output to the signal circuit 209. It is transmitted to the microcomputer 500 for controlling the payout of balls through the controller. When receiving the prize ball impossible signal, the ball payout control microcomputer 500 prohibits the process of performing a prize ball.

The game control microcomputer 3
30 is an information output circuit 2 via the I / O port 330a.
70, and supplies supply information via the I / O port 330a and the information output circuit 270. As described above, the supply information is information indicating the number of prize balls paid out, and each time a predetermined number (for example, 10) of prize balls are paid out, the information terminal 782 serves as a pulse indicating that.
(See FIG. 2) and output to the outside of the pachinko gaming machine and provided to the hall management computer.

The ball payout control microcomputer 500 provided on the ball payout control circuit board 117 includes a RAM 50
0a, ROM 500b, CPU 500c, I / O port (not shown), and the like. In the ball payout control circuit board 117, the ball payout control microcomputer 500 receives the winning ball number data and the winning ball impossible signal via the signal circuit 217.

The ball payout control circuit board 117 is further provided with a switch circuit 218, and the ball payout detector 24
0a, 240b, a detection signal from a position detector 187 for detecting the rotational position of the screw of the payout motor 189, and a reset operation signal from the reset switch 156 are used for controlling the payout of balls through a switch circuit 218. The data is input to the microcomputer 500.
When a staff at the game hall operates the reset switch 156 to perform a reset operation, the reset operation signal is input to the ball payout control microcomputer 500 via the switch circuit 218. Note that this reset switch 15
As described above, 6 is also connected to the switch circuit 229 of the game control circuit board 71, and a reset operation signal output when a reset operation is performed is also given to the game control circuit board 71.

Game control microcomputer 330
Supplies display control command data to the display control circuit board 125 via the I / O port 330a and the signal circuit 209. In addition, the game control microcomputer 33
0 gives sound control command data to the sound control circuit board 90 via the I / O port 330a and the signal circuit 209.

[0107] Here, an example has been described in which a prize-ball impossible signal is output when the above-mentioned abnormal condition is satisfied. Alternatively, the game control microcomputer 330 may transmit the ball payout control microcomputer 500 from the game control microcomputer 330 to issue a command to cause the firing motor 140a to stop so that the hit ball firing is stopped. When receiving the firing stop signal, the microcomputer 500 for controlling the ball payout controls the firing control circuit board 14.
A signal for stopping the firing motor 140a is output to 0b. A specific example when the firing stop signal is used is shown below. When recognizing the occurrence of a game control error such as an abnormality of the ten-count switch 23, the game control microcomputer 330 outputs a prize ball impossible signal and does not output a firing stop signal. Also, when a detection signal of a broken ball by the broken ball switches 87a and 87b is received, the game control microcomputer 330 outputs a prize ball impossible signal and does not output a firing stop signal. Also, the full tank switch 114
Receives the detection signal indicating that the lower plate 108 is full, the game control microcomputer 330 outputs both a prize ball impossible signal and a firing stop signal. When the occurrence of a prize ball-related error such as a prize ball payout error is recognized, the game control microcomputer 330 outputs both a prize ball disable signal and a firing stop signal.

If the pachinko gaming machine is a so-called CR machine, instead of outputting the prize ball impossible signal as described above, a prize ball non-lending signal for stopping prize balls and ball lending is output. Good.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a control circuit including various control devices controlled by the ball payout control microcomputer 500. Ball payout control circuit board 117
Includes an LED circuit 222 and a motor circuit 223 in addition to the circuits described above.

The ball dispensing control circuit board 117 is further provided with an error display 155, and this error display 155 is connected to the LED circuit 222. Then, an error code display control signal from the ball payout control microcomputer 500 is given to the error display 155 via the LED circuit 222. A motor control signal is supplied from the ball dispensing control microcomputer 500 to the dispensing motor 189 via the motor circuit 223, and the firing motor 14 is controlled via the firing control circuit board 140b.
0a.

In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the reset switch 156 for resetting the control processing in the ball payout control circuit board 117 is provided. However, the invention is not limited thereto, and a reset switch for resetting the control processing in the game control circuit board 71 may be provided.

A power supply circuit 219 is further provided on the ball dispensing control circuit board 117. Electric power from an external power supply 24V AC is supplied to the power supply circuit 219, and various control circuits are converted into a predetermined DC current. This direct current is supplied to the electronic device.

Microcomputer 500 for controlling payout of balls
In, the ball payout control based on one-way communication from the game control circuit board 71 to the ball payout control circuit board 117 and the prize ball impossible signal is performed. This allows
The illegal control operation of the game control microcomputer 330 due to the input of illegal data from the ball payout control circuit board 117 to the game control circuit board 71 can be prevented as much as possible.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the structure of the display control circuit board 125. The display control circuit board 125 includes:
Display control microcomputer 200, VDP29
1, a character ROM 288 and a VRAM 287 are included. The display control microcomputer 200 is C
It includes a PU 200a and a control data ROM 200b.
The CPU 200a is a game control circuit board 7 shown in FIG.
Data for controlling the display of the variable display device 4 is read from the control data ROM 200b in accordance with the display control command data sent from Step 1.

The CPU 200a sends a control signal to the VDP 291 based on the read control data. VDP29
1 reads character data from the character ROM 288 in accordance with the control signal, generates image data to be displayed on the CRT display 44 using the read character data, and stores the image data in the VRAM 287. As described above, the image data stored in the VRAM 287 is transmitted as a video signal to the CRT display 44, and the image is displayed on the CRT display 44.

The CPU 200a reads data for controlling the display of the ordinary symbol variable display device 28 from the control data ROM 200b in accordance with the display control command data sent from the game control circuit board 71 shown in FIG. . Then, the CPU 200a sends a drive signal to the 7-segment display 281 of the ordinary symbol variable display device 28 based on the read control data. Thus, the display control of the ordinary symbol variable display device 28 is performed.

Control data ROM 200b and character R
The OM 288 is composed of a flash memory. The flash memory is a read-only memory that can be electrically erased collectively.

In the display control microcomputer 200, variable display control based on one-way communication of display control command data from the game control circuit board 71 to the display control circuit board 125 is performed. Thereby, the microcomputer 330 for game control based on the incorrect data input from the display control circuit board 125 to the game control circuit board 71
Can be prevented as much as possible.

FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram of the speech synthesis IC 92 and its peripheral circuits. Referring to FIG. 8, voice synthesis IC 92 includes a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) 76.
, A memory interface 75, a microcomputer interface 85, a reset circuit 86, and a clock oscillator 87.
, ADPCM decoder 77 and electronic volume 81
a, 81b and 81c, a pan pod circuit 82, mixing circuits 83a and 83b, and digital / analog converters (D / A) 84a and 84b. D
The outputs of / A 84a and 84b are connected to a left channel amplifier 58 and a right channel amplifier 59 via low pass filters 93a and 93b, respectively.

ADPCM decoder 77 includes an ADPCM decoder 78 for channel 0 (CH0) for synthesizing an audio signal for the left channel from the audio control data supplied from memory interface 75 in accordance with the ADPCM method, and an ADPCM decoder 78 for the right channel. ADPCM decoder 79 for synthesizing audio for channel 1 (CH1) and ADP for synthesizing audio for channel 2 (CH2)
And a CM decoder 80.

The sound control microcomputer 91 includes the ROM 91a, the CPU 91b, and the RAM 9 as described above.
1c. The reset circuit 86 resets the voice synthesis IC 92 in response to a reset signal from the microcomputer 91 for sound control. The clock oscillator 87 oscillates a clock signal used in the voice synthesis IC 92 and the sound control microcomputer 91.

The microcomputer interface 85 is for receiving a command for voice control from the microcomputer 91 for voice control and giving the command to the DSP 76. When the sound control microcomputer 91 performs special sound control, the microcomputer interface 85 receives control data for the special sound control and outputs the data to the DSP 76.
Give to.

The DSP 76 has a microcomputer interface 8
The address of data to be read from the audio ROM 93 is stored in the memory interface 75 in response to a command given from the sound control microcomputer 91 via the memory interface 75.
To read out data for voice synthesis from the voice ROM 93. The DSP 76 further controls the electronic volumes 81a, 81b and 81c and the pan pod circuit 8 according to a command given from the sound control microcomputer 91.
2 to adjust the volume of the synthesized voice of each channel. By properly controlling these electronic volume and pan pod circuits as described below, the sound source circulates around the player using stereo sound,
Voice control can be performed on the player such that the sound source moves forward, backward, left, and right.

The memory interface 75 includes a DSP 76
ADPCM data is read from audio ROM 93 in accordance with a control signal and an address given from
The data is supplied to the decoders 78, 79 and 80 of the M decoder 77, and data necessary for reproduction control such as reproduction control data is read and supplied to the DSP 76.

ADPCM decoders 78, 79 and 80
Performs ADPCM decoding on the data of channel 0, channel 1 and channel 2, respectively, generates a 16-bit digital audio signal, and provides it to electronic volumes 81a, 81b and 81c, respectively.

Electronic volumes 81a, 81b and 81
c respectively adjusts the volume of the given digital audio data based on the control performed by the DSP 76 in accordance with the reproduction control data. Normally ROM 93 for audio
Stores audio data at the maximum volume, the electronic volumes 81a, 81b and 81c attenuate the audio data by a predetermined amount. Since the target data is actually digital, this control is performed by multiplying the coefficient by 1 or less.

The pan pod circuit 82 distributes the audio data of channel 2 to the right channel and the left channel by a predetermined amount according to the control of the DSP 76. By adjusting the sound data of channel 2 to be distributed to both channels by the pan pod circuit 82, reproduction of stereo sound that moves the localization of the sound source or circulates around the player, that is, the sound source fixed position of the reproduced sound (Panning) can be performed.

The mixing circuit 83a mixes (actually adds) the sound for the left channel of channel 2 provided from the pan pod circuit 82 to the audio signal of channel 0 provided from the electronic volume 81a, and performs D / A 84a Give to. The mixing circuit 83b adds the right channel audio data of the channel 2 supplied from the pan pod circuit 82 to the right channel audio data supplied from the electronic volume 81b, and adds a D / A signal.
84b.

The D / As 84a and 84b convert the digital 16-bit audio data supplied from the mixing circuits 83a and 83b into analog signals and supply the analog signals to low-pass filters 93a and 93b. The low-pass filters 93a and 93b pass only the low-frequency component of the given audio signal, apply it to the left channel amplifier 58 and the right channel amplifier 59, amplify the signal, and generate the stereo sound by the speakers 60 and 61 described above.

By using the voice synthesis IC 92 as shown in FIG.
ADPCM data obtained by recording various sounds including natural sounds can be decoded and then synthesized as stereo sound. Further, by making the component of channel 2 monaural and distributing it to the left and right channels by the pan pod circuit 82, the sound source localization can be moved as described above. The audio ROM 93 contains not only ADPCM audio data but also data for reproduction control. By the function of DSP76,
By controlling the reproduction of the ADPCM data according to the reproduction control data, various sound effects can be generated. In this case, the sound control microcomputer 91
Therefore, the sound can be reproduced only by giving a command indicating the start of reproduction together with information indicating which sound should be reproduced to the voice synthesis IC 92, so that the load of the sound control by the sound control microcomputer 91 is very low. Become smaller.

Next, the game control microcomputer 3
A specific example of the sound control command data sent from the computer 30 to the sound control microcomputer 91 by one-way communication will be described.

FIG. 10 shows a list of sound control command data indicating sound effects according to the game state. In FIG.
The sound effects are assigned a to p, and different characters represent different sound effects.

Referring to FIG. 10, sound effects a to e are generated during special reach 1 and special reach 2 during symbol fluctuation, during symbol stop, during reach, and special reach 1 and special reach 2, respectively. Note that “reach” satisfies the condition that a specific symbol combination occurs when a part of the display area that is independently and variably displayed in the plurality of display areas is stopped as described above. In some cases, the special reach 1 and the special reach 2 each represent a case where the expectation that a specific combination of symbols will occur is higher than that of the normal reach. Also, as the combination of stop symbols becomes more advantageous to the player, the special reach 1
(For example, when a big hit is expected among the reach of the same symbols other than 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 described later), the special reach 2 (for example, the same symbol of 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 described later) (The case where the jackpot is expected to be higher in the reach) may be adopted.

During 0.500 seconds from the stop of all symbols to the judgment, a sound effect f at the time of stopping each symbol is generated.

When the symbol is stopped so as to generate a big hit, a sound effect of a fanfare g is generated for 6.500 seconds of opening of the special winning opening, and during the opening of the special winning opening and until the next opening. , Different sound effects h to m are assigned to the respective periods as shown in FIG.
Note that the interval refers to the interval between the opening of the special winning opening and the next opening, and “R” refers to the opening period of the special winning opening. The number before “R” is 16
Indicates the number of the release that is performed.

When the final release is completed, a sound effect n is output to notify the player that the release is the final release.

Further, when an abnormality occurs, the occurrence of the abnormality can be easily detected by generating the sound effect o.

Further, when an abnormality occurs in the above-described ROM collation processing, the occurrence of an abnormality due to the collation of the audio ROM 93 can be easily detected by generating a sound effect p.

When the sound control microcomputer 91 receives the sound control command data a to p as described above, the sound control microcomputer 91 performs control for generating a sound effect corresponding to the sound control command data. Perform

By performing such sound control based on one-way communication, illegal control operation of the game control microcomputer 330 due to input of illegal data from the sound control circuit board 90 to the game control circuit board 71 is minimized. can do.

FIG. 11 shows that from the start of fluctuation to the occurrence of reach,
FIG. 9 shows a sound volume pattern showing an example of what kind of sound is assigned to each of the special reach 1 and the special reach 2 at the time of the reach. In FIG. 11, 1 indicates that a sound effect is generated in a small volume or a low range, 2 indicates that a sound effect is generated in a large volume or a high range as compared with 1, and 3
Indicates that a sound effect is generated at a higher volume or higher frequency range than 2.

For example, according to the pattern A, a sound effect is generated in a small sound volume or a low sound range from the start of the fluctuation to the occurrence of the reach, but in the case of the reach, the sound effect is generated in a medium sound volume or the middle sound range. In the case of pattern D, the volume is low or low from the start of fluctuation to the occurrence of reach, the volume is medium or high in the case of reach and special reach 1, and large or low in the case of special reach 2. Generates sound effects in the treble range. In general, by increasing the volume or the range of the sound as the expectation that a big hit occurs becomes large, the expectation of the player increases and the interest of the game increases, and the surrounding attention is also taken. This is effective for improving the atmosphere of the entire game hall. In the present embodiment, to set the sound effect at a low volume, the setting value of the electronic volume in the reproduction control data may be increased, and to set the volume at a high volume, the setting value of the electronic volume may be decreased. I just need. To make the sound effect low, sample the sound whose main component is the low-frequency range and sample the sound ROM.
It is sufficient to store the data as ADPCM data in 93 and read the data and reproduce the data by the system shown in FIG. , Stored as ADPCM data, and the data may be read and reproduced by the system shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a timing chart for changing the probability that the variable winning ball device will be in the first state, which is performed in the gaming machine of the present embodiment. In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, a big hit occurs when the symbols displayed on the variable display portions 5a, 5b and 5c of the variable display device 4 shown in FIG. 2 are the same symbol. When the big hits of "333", "555", "777" and "999" are obtained, at least the display result of the variable display device 4 becomes a combination of specific symbols after the big hits are completed. Until a big hit occurs, control is performed such that the probability that the display result of the ordinary symbol variable display device 28 becomes specific identification information is set to a high probability, and the movable member 17 of the variable starter device 16 is frequently opened. I do. Therefore, not only the starting port 13 but also the starting port 1
There is also a possibility that a hit ball will be won in 9, and the variable display device 4 starts variable display more frequently. As a result, as a result, the number of times the symbols are variably displayed on the variable display portions 5a to 5c of the variable display device increases, and the probability that the variable winning ball device 11 will be in the first state advantageous to the player increases.

It should be noted that the variable prize ball device 11 has the above-described 5
When a big hit is caused by a combination other than the above combinations, the process of opening the movable member 17 of the variable starting port device 16 with a high probability as described above is not performed after the end of the big hit.

FIG. 13 shows variables for random numbers used in the game control program for controlling the gaming machine of the present embodiment, their possible ranges, uses, and when. A table shows whether the values of the variables are added. Referring to FIG. 13, the random number WC_RND1 for determining a big hit is incremented by one every 0.002 seconds, and fluctuates in a range of 0 to 1499.

The random number WCRND_L for displaying the left symbol
Is changed by repeatedly performing a process of adding one to the remaining time of the interrupt process, and can take a range of 0 to 14. The random number WCRND_WC for displaying the medium symbol is added by one at the time of the carry of the random number WCRND_L for displaying the left symbol described above, and can take a range of 0 to 14. The random number WCRND_R for displaying the right symbol is added by one at the time of the carry of the random number WCRND_C described above, and can take a range of 0 to 14. These WCRN
D_L, WCRND_C and WCRND_R have the value 0
This is because the number of displayed symbols is fifteen.

In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the symbol display is first stopped at the left symbol and the right symbol, and when a reach state is reached, two opponents of the fighting game of the game are displayed and compete. When the last symbol is stopped and displayed, if the winning combination is a big hit, the player's opponent wins the opponent, and if it loses, the player's opponent loses the opponent. Control is being performed. The opponent at the time of the reach at this time is designated by a random number WCRND_ENEMY. This random number is 1 in the remaining time of interrupt processing.
It is updated by successively executing the process of adding each time, and can take a range of 0 to 3.

A random number WCRN for determining whether or not to reach the state when a part of the symbol is stopped and displayed.
D_RCH is added by one at the time of carry of WCRND_ENEMY described above, and can take a range of 0 to 144. Further, a random number WC for determining the reach operation
RND_ACT is incremented by one at the time of carry of the reach determination random number described above.
It can take a range of 27. Finally, the random number WCRND_FVR for determining the jackpot symbol is updated by repeatedly performing a process of adding one to the remaining time of the interrupt process, and can take a range of 0 to 9.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart for determining whether or not to make a big hit. As shown in FIG. 14, first, WC_RND1 is sampled and 3, 41, 3
There are two branches at 11, 601, 907, and 1231 and at other times. WC_RND1 is 3, 41,
311, 601, 907, 1231 and W
C_RND1 is 41 or 311 or 3, 601, 90
A determination is made as to whether it is 7 or 1231. 41
Or at 311 it is determined to be a big hit and WCRND
A specific symbol to be a big hit symbol is determined by _FVR. The specific symbol in this case refers to a symbol that causes a probability variation as described with reference to FIG. WC_RN
When D1 is 3, 601, 907, and 1231, a big hit is made, and a symbol to be a big hit symbol is determined by WCRND_FVR. The symbol in this case is a symbol that does not cause the probability variation described with reference to FIG. WC_
RND1 is 3, 41, 311, 601, 907, 123
If it is other than 1, it is determined to be out of place, and the left, middle, and right symbols are determined using WCRND_L, C, and R, respectively. If it coincides with the jackpot design by accident, WC
RND_C is incremented by 1 to forcibly display a missing symbol.

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of a process for determining whether or not the symbol should be brought into the reach state at the time of the stop control in cases other than the big hit. This judgment is random number W
This is performed using CRND_RCH. More specifically, when WCRND_RCH is 60 to 69, the display control is performed so that the right symbol and the left symbol are the same symbol to be in the reach state. The symbol is determined using the value of the random number WCRND_L. WCRND_RCH is 60 to 69
Otherwise, stop control other than reach is performed. In this case, the random numbers WCRND_L and R are used to determine the left and right symbols, respectively. If the left symbol and the right symbol determined in this way coincide with the reach symbol by accident, the symbol is forcibly displayed as a state other than the reach by adding 1 to WCRND_R.

FIG. 16 shows a random number WCRND_L,
The relationship between C and R and the left, middle, and right symbols is shown. WCRND_
The symbols of the left, middle, and right symbols are determined according to the values of L, C, and R as shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 shows a random number WCRND_FVR.
WCRND_FV when determining special symbols using
The combination of R and a special symbol is shown. FIG. 17A shows WC
FIG. 17 (2) shows a random number WC_RND when _RND1 is 3, 601, 907, and 1231.
The combination when 1 is 41 or 311 is shown. FIG.
(1) shows a combination of special symbols when a normal big hit occurs, and FIG. 17 (2) shows a combination of symbols that causes a probability change at the end.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the RO for audio
M93 stores sound control data necessary for synthesizing stereo sounds based on various sounds including natural sounds, and gives a command for sound reproduction from the sound control microcomputer 91 to the sound synthesis IC 92. By doing
The voice synthesis IC 92 reads out data from the voice ROM 93 based on the command, and performs stereo sound control.
For this reason, a wider variety of sound effects can be generated as stereo sounds than monaural sound effects, and the sound source localization can be moved. Therefore, for example, it is possible to generate a sound effect such that the sound source goes around the player or the sound source moves forward, backward, left and right with respect to the player. For this reason, since the sound effect according to the game state can be reproduced in various sounds including natural sounds and in stereo, the sound effect and the playability can be further improved.

Further, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, data for voice synthesis is stored in a voice ROM 93, and a voice synthesis IC 92 different from the sound control microcomputer 91 is used for the sound control microcomputer 92. Data is read from the voice ROM 93 based on the command from the CPU 91 to perform stereo sound control. Therefore, the sound data to be stored in the sound control microcomputer 91 can be reduced, and the amount of sound control processing to be performed in the sound control microcomputer 91 can be further reduced. Therefore, new data for improving sound controllability such as sound quality can be stored in the sound control microcomputer 91, and more advanced sound control can be realized.

In the game control microcomputer 330, when a hit ball is won, various processes are executed to pay out a prize ball according to the winning ball. An example of such processing is shown below.

First, the prize ball payout process will be described. The prize ball payout process is a process mainly executed in the game control microcomputer 330 in order to pay out a predetermined number of prize balls in accordance with a winning ball. FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 are flowcharts showing the processing contents of the prize ball payout processing.

First, in step SI (hereinafter simply referred to as SI) 1, it is determined whether or not the award ball data output flag is set. Here, the prize ball data output flag is a flag that is set when a prize ball number signal is transmitted to the ball payout control circuit board 117. SI1
If it is determined that the prize ball number signal has been set, the prize ball number signal is being transmitted, so that the prize ball payout state according to the prize ball number data indicated by the prize ball number signal will be described later. Proceed to SI6. On the other hand, if it is determined by SI1 that it has not been set, the process proceeds to SI2 and 10
Whether any of a count error flag (a flag set when an abnormal condition related to the 10 count switch 23 occurs) and all error flags related to payout of prize balls, such as a prize ball discharge error flag, which will be described later, is set. A determination is made as to whether or not it is.

If it is determined by SI2 that the error flag is set, the process proceeds to SI19 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined by SI2 that the error flag is not set, the process proceeds to SI3, and the above-described winning ball switch flag (a flag that is set when a winning ball is detected by the winning ball detection switch 151) is set. A determination is made as to whether or not they have been performed. That is, it is determined whether or not a winning ball has been detected.

If it is determined by SI3 that the winning ball switch flag has not been set, then SI12 described later is used.
Proceed to. On the other hand, when it is determined by SI3 that the winning ball switch flag is set, the process proceeds to SI4, and a prize ball information output process is executed. Thereby, a prize ball number signal (prize ball number data) is output. The details of the prize ball information output processing will be described later with reference to FIG. SI2
As shown in SI5, when no prize ball number signal is being transmitted and no error has occurred and a prize ball is detected, in order to request payout of a prize ball according to the prize ball. An award ball number signal (award ball number data) is output.

After SI4, the process proceeds to SI5, where a process of clearing the winning ball switch flag is performed. In other words, the prize ball number signal is output according to the detection of the winning ball,
The winning ball switch flag is cleared. After SI5, proceed to SI6. When proceeding to SI6, it is determined whether or not the award ball payout timer is being set (during counting). Here, the award ball payout timer is a timer set in SI8 to be described later, and is used to manage a time interval of payout of the prize ball.

If it is determined by SI6 that the award ball payout timer is being set, the process proceeds to SI13 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined by SI6 that the prize ball payout timer is not being set, the process proceeds to SI7, and the ball payout switch flag (a flag set when a prize ball is detected by the ball payout detectors 240a and 240b). Is determined whether or not is set. That is, it is determined whether or not the payout of the prize ball is detected. If it is determined by SI7 that the ball payout switch flag is not set, the process proceeds to SI12 described later. On the other hand, when it is determined by SI7 that the ball payout switch flag is set, the process proceeds to SI8, and after the process of setting the prize ball payout timer is performed, the process proceeds to SI9.

At SI9, a process of adding "1" to the counter value of the winning ball number counter is performed. Here, the prize ball number counter is a counter for counting the number of prize balls detected by the ball payout detectors 240a and 240b. Next, the process proceeds to SI10, where a process of adding "1" to the supply information output counter is performed. Here, the replenishment information output counter is a counter for counting the number of paid-out prize balls in order to output the above-described supply information for specifying the number of prize balls paid out from the ball payout device 97. . Next, the process proceeds to SI11, and a process of clearing the ball payout switch flag is performed to perform a process corresponding to the next detected premium ball. After SI11, SI12
Proceed to.

As shown in SI7 to SI11, when the payout of the prize ball is detected, the prize ball payout timer is set according to the detection, and the management of the time until the detection of the next prize ball is started. The number of prize balls paid out is counted by the prize ball number counter for controlling the prize ball payout, and the number of prize balls paid out is counted by the supply information output counter for outputting the number of prize ball paid out. You.

When the process proceeds to SI12, a winning ball discharge check process is executed to check whether or not a winning ball has been paid out. The details of the winning ball discharge check processing will be described later with reference to FIG.

If it is determined in step SI6 that the prize ball payout timer is being set and the process proceeds to step SI13, the prize ball payout is performed based on the time measured by the prize ball payout timer set in step SI8. A determination is made as to whether a predetermined time has elapsed after the timer starts counting. That is, in SI13, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the detection of a certain premium ball. The predetermined time in this case is a time longer than the payout interval of one prize ball required when a predetermined number of prize balls are continuously paid out in accordance with the detection of a winning prize ball. The time is determined in advance so that it can be determined that the payout of the prize ball is completed. Specifically, the predetermined time determined by SI13 is
The time is set to the sum of the time required for normal prize ball payout when there is no retry of the prize ball payout operation, the time required for retry described later, and a predetermined margin time (margin time). It is.

If it is determined by SI13 that the predetermined time has not elapsed, it is determined that there is a possibility that a series of continuous prize ball payouts may still be continued.
Proceeding to I7, the above-described processing is repeated. On the other hand, SI
If it is determined that the predetermined time has passed by 13, it is considered that there is no possibility that a series of continuous prize ball payouts are still continued, so the process proceeds to SI 14, in which the award ball payout timer is cleared. Is made. After SI14, S
Proceeding to I15, the prize ball number indicating the number of prize balls paid out indicated by the prize ball number counter, and the prize ball number storage value indicating the number of prize balls to be paid out stored based on the transmitted prize ball number signal. (See SJ8 in FIG. 20 described later).

If it is determined by SI15 that they do not match, the process proceeds to SI22 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined by SI15 that they match, the payout of the number of prize balls to be paid out is completed, so the process proceeds to SI16, and a process of stopping the output of the prize ball number signal is performed. Next, the process proceeds to SI17, in which the award ball data output flag is cleared in response to the stoppage of the output of the award ball number signal by SI16. This indicates that the prize ball is not required to be paid out. The prize ball data output flag is a flag that is set when a prize ball number signal is output by a prize ball information output process described later, and is in a state in which it is requested to pay out prize balls by being set. Is shown. Next, the process proceeds to SI18, and a process of clearing the prize ball number counter is performed in order to count prize balls to be paid out according to the next detected prize ball. After SI18, SI
Proceed to 12.

When it is determined by the above-mentioned SI15 that they do not match and the process proceeds to SI22 (see FIG. 19),
It is determined whether or not the number of prize balls described in SI15 is larger than the stored number of prize balls. If it is determined by SI22 that the number of prize balls is not larger than the stored number of prize balls, the process proceeds to SI27 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined by SI22 that the number of prize balls is larger than the stored number of prize balls, the process proceeds to SI23, and a process of setting the prize ball discharge error flag 1 is performed. Such an abnormal state in which the prize ball discharge error flag 1 is set is referred to as a prize ball discharge error 1 state. here,
The prize ball discharge error flag 1 is a flag indicating an abnormal state in which the number of prize balls paid out exceeds the expected number of prize balls.

After SI23, the process proceeds to SI24, in which the output of the prize ball number signal is stopped (prize ball number signal data D0 to D0).
D3 is turned on). next,
Proceeding to SI25, a process of clearing the prize ball data output flag in response to the stoppage of the output of the prize ball number signal by SI16 is performed. This indicates that the prize ball is not required to be paid out. Next, the process proceeds to SI26, and a process of clearing the prize ball number counter is performed in order to count the prize balls to be paid out according to the next detected prize ball. After SI26, the process proceeds to SI12. As described above, when the number of the paid-out prize balls becomes larger than the expected number of payouts, the error flag is set, and
The output of the prize ball number signal is stopped, and the payout of the prize ball is completed.

On the other hand, if it is determined by SI22 that the number of prize balls is not larger than the stored number of prize balls, and the process proceeds to SI27, that is, if the number of prize balls paid out is smaller than the planned number of prize balls, A process of setting the ball discharge error flag 2 is performed. An abnormal state in which the prize ball discharge error flag 2 is set in this way is referred to as a prize ball discharge error 2 state. Here, the prize ball discharge error flag 2 is a flag indicating an abnormal state in which the number of prize balls paid out is smaller than the expected number of prize balls. After SI27, the process proceeds to SI12. As described above, when the number of prize balls becomes smaller than the memorized value of the number of prize balls, an error flag is set. Let it continue.

When it is determined that the error flag is set by the above-described SI2 and the process proceeds to SI19, it is determined whether or not the prize ball discharge error flag 1 is set. If it is determined in SI19 that the award ball discharge error flag 1 is not set, the process proceeds to SI12 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined by SI19 that the prize ball discharge error flag 1 is set, the process proceeds to SI20, and it is determined whether a reset signal has been received.

When it is determined by SI20 that the reset signal has not been received, the process proceeds to SI12. On the other hand, SI
If it is determined that the reset signal has been received, the process proceeds to SI21, and processing for clearing the prize ball discharge error flag 1 is performed. For example, when an abnormal state occurs in which the number of prize balls paid out is larger than the number expected to be paid out, such as when the prize ball discharge error flag 1 is set, an error notification as described later is made. After the clerk performs the recovery work, the reset switch 156 is operated. In such a case, the error state is released by the SI 21 in response to the reset signal. SI21
After that, the process proceeds to SI12.

In this example, at the timing when the prize ball payout timer reaches the predetermined value, the match is determined by the SI15. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is determined whether the prize ball payout timer has reached the predetermined value. Irrespective of this, it may be possible to determine the match each time the winning ball number counter is updated. However, in this case, whether to proceed to the step of stopping the prize ball number signal or to proceed to the step of determining the magnitude relationship between the number of prize balls and the stored value of the number of prize balls is determined by the prize ball payout timer to a predetermined value. You need to do it later.

According to the prize ball payout process described above, the game control microcomputer 330 side, that is,
On the game control circuit board 71 side, the number of prize balls paid out from the ball payout device 97 is grasped, and the output control of the prize ball number signal is performed. Therefore, the game control circuit board 7
1 is a one-way communication to the ball payout control circuit board 117.
On one side, the payout state of the prize ball can be checked.

Furthermore, the abnormal state in which the number of prize balls actually paid out is larger than the planned number of payouts, and the number of prize balls actually paid out is smaller than the planned number of payout balls. When an abnormal state occurs, an error flag is set in accordance with each of the abnormal states. Therefore, it is possible to recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the prize ball payout state based on the error flag.

Further, when an abnormal state occurs in which the number of prize balls actually paid out is smaller than the number of prize balls expected to be paid out, the number of prize balls until the number of prize balls expected to be paid out is paid out. Since the prize ball number signal requesting the payout continues to be output, by giving priority to the payout number of the prize ball grasped on the game control microcomputer 330 side, the game control microcomputer 330 and the ball payout control Even if the number of prize balls paid out by the two does not match with the microcomputer 500, the payout control can be performed without any trouble.

Furthermore, by monitoring the detection output of the next prize ball after the detection output of the prize ball, it is possible to reliably determine the end timing of paying out a predetermined number of prize balls. That is, when there is no payout of the prize ball next for the predetermined period, a series of payout of the predetermined number has been completed. It is determined whether or not a predetermined number of prize balls have been normally paid out based on the series of prize ball payout end timings that are reliably determined in this manner. Dispensing control circuit board 11
7, while controlling the payout of prize balls by one-way communication to the game control microcomputer 330,
The payout state of the prize ball can be reliably checked. This makes it possible to reliably check an excessive number of payouts that would be disadvantageous for the game arcade.

Next, the award ball information output processing described above will be described in detail. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the processing content of the prize ball information output processing. First, step SJ
Based on (hereinafter, simply referred to as SJ) 1, it is determined whether or not the special winning opening winning counter is 1 or more. here,
The special winning opening winning counter is a counter for determining the number of winning balls, and counts all the winning balls that have won the special winning opening of the variable winning ball device 11. The special winning opening winning counter is determined by the V winning switch 22 or 10
The addition is updated in response to the detection of a winning ball to the special winning opening by the count switch 23.

If SJ1 determines that the value is 1 or more, the process proceeds to SJ4 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined by SJ1 that it is not one or more, the process proceeds to SJ2, and a process of setting the number of award ball data outputs to “6” is performed.
That is, in the case of a prize in a prize area other than the special winning opening, six prize balls are paid out for one prize ball. Next, the process proceeds to SJ3, in which a process of setting a prize ball data output = 6 flag is performed. Here, the prize ball data output = 6 flag is a prize ball data output flag that is set when instructing the payout of six prize balls. SJ3
After that, the process proceeds to SJ7 described later.

It is determined by SJ1 that it is 1 or more,
When the process proceeds to J4, a process of subtracting and updating the value of the special winning opening winning counter by 1 is performed. Next, proceed to SJ5,
A process of setting the number of award ball data outputs to “15” is performed. That is, in the case of a winning in the special winning opening, 15 prize balls are paid out for one winning ball. Next, the process proceeds to SJ6, in which a process of setting the award ball data output = 15 flag is performed. Here, the prize ball data output = 15 flag is a prize ball data output flag that is set when a command to pay out 15 prize balls is issued. SJ
After 6, the process proceeds to SJ7 described below.

In SJ7, a process of outputting a winning ball number signal indicating the winning ball number data of the number set by SJ2 or SJ5 according to the type of the winning area (the winning ball number data to the ball payout control circuit board 117). Is transmitted). Next, the process proceeds to SJ8, and processing for storing the data of the number of winning balls output by SJ8 in the RAM 330b is performed. Next, the process proceeds to SJ9, and a winning ball discharging process for discharging a winning ball is executed. Details of the winning ball discharging process will be described later with reference to FIG.

As described above, payout control of 15 prize balls is performed for the winning prize ball to the special winning opening, and 6 prize balls are controlled for the winning prize ball to the winning area other than the special winning opening. Payout control is performed. Also, the number of prize balls indicated by the data of the outputted prize ball number signal is checked whether or not the prize balls are normally paid out, and the ball payout control circuit board 117 is reset during the payout of the balls. This is stored for the purpose of paying out the remaining number of prize balls in the event that the prize is left.

In this example, the case of paying out two types of prize balls according to the type of the prize area has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more types of prize balls may be paid out according to the type of the prize area. The payout of the number may be performed. For example, in the case of three types, the starting port 13 or 19, the special winning opening,
If a ball detection switch is provided in each of the other winning areas (general winning ports 10, 12 and the like), the number of prize balls is determined based on the detection output. Prize balls may be paid out, such as 6 pieces, a large winning opening, 15 pieces, and a general winning opening, 10 pieces.

Next, the details of the winning ball discharging process will be described. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the content of the winning ball discharging process. First, step SK (hereinafter simply referred to as SK
1), a process of setting a discharge process flag is performed. Here, the discharge processing flag is a flag that indicates that the discharging of the winning prize ball is being executed.
Next, the process proceeds to SK2, in which the winning ball discharge solenoid 127 is set to O.
Processing for driving to the N (excitation) state is performed. Thereby, the winning balls held in the winning ball processing device 150 are released and discharged.

Then, the flow advances to SK3, for performing processing for setting a winning ball discharge timer. As a result, time counting by the winning ball discharge timer is started. Here, the winning ball discharge timer is a timer for measuring the time required to discharge the winning ball. After SK3, the winning ball discharging process ends.

Next, the above-described SI12 winning ball discharge check processing will be described. FIG. 22 and FIG. 23 are flowcharts showing the processing contents of the winning ball discharge check processing. First, step SQ (hereinafter simply referred to as SQ)
According to 1, it is determined whether or not the above-described discharge processing flag is set. That is, it is determined whether or not the winning balls are being discharged.

If it is determined in SQ1 that the discharge processing flag has not been set, the flow advances to SQ9 described later.
On the other hand, if it is determined in SQ1 that the discharge processing flag is set, the process proceeds to SQ2, and after the prize ball is discharged, the prize ball discharge solenoid 127 is turned off (demagnetized) to process the next prize ball. It is determined whether or not it is the solenoid OFF timing, which is the timing at which the operation is performed. Here, the solenoid OFF timing is a timing managed by the winning ball discharge timer described above,
It is set after a predetermined time has elapsed after the winning ball discharging solenoid 127 is turned on. In other words, the winning ball discharge solenoid 127 is returned to the OFF state to process the next winning ball when a predetermined time elapses after the winning ball discharging solenoid 127 is changed from the OFF state to the ON state to discharge the winning ball. The timing of turning off is controlled by a winning ball discharging timer. The predetermined time in this case is determined based on the payout ball discharge time that is normally required when the prize ball processing device 150 operates normally.

If it is determined in SQ2 that it is not the solenoid OFF timing, the flow proceeds to SQ4 described later.
On the other hand, if it is determined in SQ2 that it is the solenoid OFF timing, the process proceeds to SQ3, and a process of turning off the winning ball discharge solenoid 127 is performed. As a result, the winning ball processing device 150 is set to be able to hold the winning ball. After SQ3, the winning ball discharge check processing ends.

If it is determined at SQ2 that it is not the solenoid OFF timing and the process proceeds to SQ4,
It is determined whether or not it is the winning ball check timing. The winning ball check timing is a timing managed by the above-described winning ball discharging timer, and is set after a predetermined time has elapsed from the above-described solenoid OFF timing. When the winning ball is discharged and the winning ball discharge solenoid 127 is turned off, the state returns to a state in which the next winning ball can be held. When the winning ball is normally discharged, such a winning ball is discharged. The winning ball should not be detected by the winning ball detection switch 151 even if there is the next winning ball until the state in which can be held. For this reason, the winning ball check timing is a timing for checking whether or not the winning ball is normally ejected.
The timing is set such that a winning ball should not be detected from the time when the winning ball discharging solenoid 127 is turned off until the winning ball is returned to a state where the winning ball can be held.

If it is determined by SQ4 that it is not the winning ball check timing, the winning ball discharging check processing ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in SQ4 that it is the winning ball check timing, the process proceeds to SQ5, and the above-described counter value of the winning ball switch ON counter is set to “0”.
Is determined. If it is determined in SQ5 that the counter value is not “0”, it is an abnormal state in which the winning prize ball is not normally discharged, and SQ12 described later.
Proceed to. On the other hand, if it is determined by SQ5 that the counter value is "0", it means that the winning ball has been normally discharged, and the process proceeds to SQ6, where SQ6 to SQ8 check the discharge of the next winning ball. Perform the process for preparation.

When the process proceeds to SQ6, a process for clearing the retry flag is performed. Here, the retry flag is a flag that indicates the state when retrying (retrying) discharge of the winning ball when the winning ball is not normally discharged, and is set by SQ13 described later. In SQ6, the retry flag is initialized regardless of whether the retry flag is set. Next, the process proceeds to SQ7, where a process of clearing the discharge process flag is performed. This indicates that the winning ball is not being discharged. Next, the process proceeds to SQ8, and after a process of clearing the winning ball discharge timer is performed, the winning ball discharge check process ends.

When it is determined at SQ5 that the counter value is not "0" and the process proceeds to SQ12 (see FIG. 23), it is determined whether the retry flag is set. . If it is determined in SQ12 that the retry flag has been set, the process proceeds to SQ16 described later. On the other hand, if SQ12 determines that the retry flag has not been set, SQ13
To set a retry flag in order to retry discharging the winning ball. Then, the process proceeds to SQ14, in which a process of turning on the winning ball discharge solenoid 127 is performed. Thereby, the ejection of the winning ball is tried again. Then, the process proceeds to SQ15, in which a process for setting a winning ball discharge timer is performed, and then the winning ball discharging check process ends. In the case where the retry of the discharging of the winning ball is performed in this way, the above-described processing of SQ1 to SQ5 is similarly executed, and it is determined whether or not the discharging of the winning ball has been performed. Even if such retry is performed, if it is determined that the winning ball has not been discharged, it is determined that the retry flag is set by SQ12,
The process proceeds to SQ16.

At SQ16, processing for clearing the retry flag is performed. Next, the process proceeds to SQ17, and a process of setting the winning ball discharge error flag 2 is performed. The state in which the winning ball discharge error flag 2 is set in this way is referred to as the state of the winning ball discharge error 2. Here, the winning ball discharge error flag 2 is a flag indicating an abnormal state in which a winning ball is not properly discharged from the winning ball processing device 150. Next, S
Proceeding to Q18, processing for clearing the discharge processing flag is performed. Next, the process proceeds to SQ19, in which a process of clearing the winning ball discharge timer is performed, and then the winning ball discharging check process ends.

If it is determined in SQ1 that the discharge processing flag is not set and the process proceeds to SQ9, it is determined whether or not the above-described winning ball discharge error flag 1 is set. If it is determined in SQ9 that it has not been set, this winning ball discharge check processing ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in SQ9 that it has been set, the process proceeds to SQ10, and it is determined whether or not the above-described reset signal has been received. SQ10
If it is determined that the reset signal has not been received, the prize-ball discharging check process ends. On the other hand, S
If it is determined in Q10 that the reset signal has been received, the process proceeds to SQ11, and a process of clearing the winning ball discharge error flag 1 is performed. For example, when an abnormal state occurs in which a prize ball is not once held by the prize ball processing device 150 and passed by, as in a case where the prize ball discharge error flag 1 is set, an error notification as described later is performed. After the staff member performs the recovery work, reset switch 1
56 is operated. In such a case, the error state is released by SQ11 in response to the reset signal. After SQ11, the winning ball discharge check processing ends.

According to the winning ball discharge check processing described above, even though the discharging control of the winning ball is performed,
If the winning prize ball is not ejected normally, the retrial of the winning prize ball will be retried once, so if there is a minor abnormality such as a clogged ball that can be easily recovered, the abnormal state should be automatically restored. This makes it possible to reduce the work load on the staff. Further, if the retry is not successful and the winning ball is not ejected normally, the winning ball ejection error flag 2 is set, thereby recognizing that the abnormal ejection of the winning ball has occurred. be able to. The retry of discharging the winning ball is not limited to one time, and may be performed two or more times. Further, in this example, when it is determined that the reset signal has been received in the discharge processing state, the winning ball discharge error flag 1 is released. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
May be automatically canceled without the use of the reset signal on condition that the winning ball detection switch 151 normally detects the winning ball after the occurrence of the error state.

Next, the processing executed to determine whether or not the audio ROM 93 is suitable for the control of the game control microcomputer 330 will be described. As a process for determining such suitability, the game control microcomputer 330 executes a ROM collation data output process, and the sound control microcomputer 91 executes a ROM collation process.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the contents of the ROM collation data output processing. First, step S
A (hereinafter simply referred to as SA) 1 determines whether or not the current state is a sound output silence state where no sound is output. This determination is made by checking whether or not sound control command data such as a sound effect is output (command data for silence is output, and whether or not the output is output is also checked). Good.) That is, if no sound control command data is output, no sound control is performed in accordance therewith, and no sound should be output.

Next, if it is determined by SA1 that the sound output is not in the silent state, the ROM collation data output processing ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in SA1 that the sound output is in the silent state, the process proceeds to SA2, and a process of outputting the ROM collation data to the sound control circuit board 90 is performed. As described above, the ROM collation data indicates the timing at which the sound control command data is not output, that is, the sound control microcomputer 91 does not perform the sound generation control, and the left speaker 60 and the right speaker 61 output the sound. Is output in a state where is not output.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the contents of the ROM collation processing. First, in step SB (hereinafter simply referred to as SB) 1, it is determined whether or not ROM collation data has been input (received) from the game control circuit board 71.

If SB1 determines that there is no input (reception) of ROM collation data, the process proceeds to SB4, where sound output processing is executed, and this ROM collation processing ends.
This sound output processing is processing for executing normal sound control for generating a sound in accordance with sound control command data. By executing the sound output process, a sound such as a sound effect according to the game control state is generated. It should be noted that the sound output processing is performed immediately even during the ROM collation processing by inputting the sound control command data. In that case, ROM collation may be interrupted at that point. Alternatively, the processes may be performed simultaneously until the verification is completed.

On the other hand, if it is determined by SB1 that the ROM collation data has been input (received), the process proceeds to SB2, where the above-described collation information is read from the audio ROM 93 and received. Next, the process proceeds to SB3, and a process of comparing and collating the data with the received ROM collation data and collation information is performed. Here, since the ROM collation data specifies the model to which the game control content is applied, and the collation information specifies the model to which the sound control data is applied, if the collation information matches the ROM collation data, , RO for audio
M93 is suitable for the control content of the game control microcomputer 330.

Next, the process proceeds to SB5, where it is determined whether or not the collation result by SB3 is NG (if they do not match). When it is determined by SB5 that the collation result is not NG (when they match), the ROM collation processing ends. In this case, since it can be determined that the audio ROM 93 is suitable for the control of the game control microcomputer 330, no special processing is performed, and thereafter, the sound control according to the sound control command data is performed by SB4. Is performed.

On the other hand, if it is determined by SB5 that the collation result is NG (if they do not match), the process proceeds to SB6, where a predetermined specific error sound (the above-described sound effect p) is transmitted to the left speaker 60. Then, a process of outputting from the right speaker 61 is performed. The error sound in this case is a special sound that is not generated in a normal game. In this case, since it can be determined that the audio ROM 93 does not conform to the control content of the game control microcomputer 330, this is notified by an error sound. S
After B6, the ROM comparison processing ends.

As described above, in the sound control microcomputer 91, data collation is performed based on the ROM collation data received in the sound output silence state, so that control is performed such that normal sound output processing is not executed. It is determined whether or not the voice ROM 93 conforms to the control content of the game control microcomputer 330 in the empty state.

As described above, since the determination as to whether or not the audio ROM 93 is compatible with the control contents of the game control microcomputer 330 is performed by the electrical collation processing of information collation by information transmission, R for audio
It is possible to more reliably determine whether or not the OM 93 matches the control content of the game control microcomputer 330.

When the sound ROM 93 does not conform to the control contents (game contents) of the game control microcomputer 330, a notification is made by an error sound, so that the sound ROM 93 is stored in the game control microcomputer 330. The attendant can easily know that the control contents are not suitable. In addition, such information
Since this is performed using an existing device such as a speaker, it is not necessary to provide a special device for such notification.

Also, the sound control microcomputer 91
In the case of, the sound R in the idle state (sound output silence state) in which the normal sound output processing is not executed.
Since it is determined whether the OM 93 is compatible with the control content of the game control microcomputer 330,
In terms of processing load, the RO for audio can be controlled without affecting the normal sound control by the microcomputer 91 for sound control.
Judgment on the suitability of M93 can be made. further,
Since the suitability of the audio ROM 93 is determined in the sound output silence state, there is no need to consider the balance with the normal sound output processing. As a result, the control process for determining the suitability of the audio ROM 93 can be simplified.

The data output from the game control microcomputer 330 and the sound RO are described above.
The collation with the data possessed by M93 is not limited to the sound output silence state, but may be performed only when the power of the pachinko gaming machine is turned on. However, if the timing is limited to only when the power of the pachinko gaming machine is turned on, Such a problem may occur. That is, when the power of the pachinko gaming machine is turned on, if the power of the sound control circuit board 90 is turned on after the power of the game control circuit board 71 is turned on, the game control microcomputer 330 operates to operate the ROM collation data. May be in a state where the sound control microcomputer 91 has not yet been effectively operated at the time when the sound ROM 93 is output.
Cannot be determined with certainty. On the other hand, since the sound output silence state occurs during the game after the power of the game control circuit board 71 and the sound control circuit board 90 is securely turned on, as described above in such a sound output silence state. By checking the appropriate data, the suitability of the audio ROM 93 can be reliably determined. Only when the power is turned on, the audio ROM 9 is turned on.
In the case of determining the suitability of 3, even if there is an error in the determination at that time, the voice ROM 9 is not activated until the next power-on.
3 cannot be determined, but the suitability of the audio ROM 93 is determined by repeatedly determining the suitability of the audio ROM 93 at a timing that occurs many times during the operation of the pachinko game machine, such as a sound output silence state. Even if an error in gender determination occurs, the determination error can be eliminated at an early stage.

Here, the collation result by SB5 is N
Although an example in which an error sound is output in the case of G has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. Control may be performed such that an error sound is not output and a sound output is prohibited in which no sound is output thereafter. . In such a case, an abnormal situation occurs in which no sound is output in the normal game state, so that the voice ROM 93 matches the control contents of the game control microcomputer 330 based on such a situation. The clerk can easily know that it is not.

[0210] Also, here, an example has been described in which it is determined whether or not the voice ROM 93 conforms to the control contents of the game control microcomputer 330 by comparing data indicating the model code. Not only
The matching of the corresponding model may be performed using the checksum function of the microcomputer 91 for sound control. Specifically, this is performed as follows. All the stored data (binary data) of the voice ROM 93 are added, the total value is converted into a hexadecimal number, and data of a plurality of lower digits is used as collation information. In this case, the ROM collation data output from the game control microcomputer 330 is data (hexadecimal) that matches the collation information obtained by converting the data stored in the voice ROM 93 conforming to the game control contents as described above. Is set to Therefore, when receiving the ROM collation data from the game control microcomputer 330, the sound control microcomputer 91 collates the ROM collation data with the collation information obtained by the checksum as described above, and In this case, it is determined that the audio ROM 93 is suitable. By doing so, it is not necessary to store the data dedicated to verification in the audio ROM 93.

In this case, the case where the sound control microcomputer 91 is directly connected to the sound ROM 93 is shown, but such a direct connection is not made, and the sound control microcomputer 91 Synthetic IC
Even if it is connected only to the audio ROM 93 via the audio ROM 92, the collation information is received from the audio ROM 93 via the audio synthesis IC 92 so that the RO
You may make it collate M collation data and collation information.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram for explaining a case where data stored in the audio ROM 93 composed of a flash memory is rewritten using the ROM rewriter 493. R for audio
When rewriting the data stored in the OM 93, as described above, the rewriting terminal portion 94 of the sound control circuit board 90 is inserted into the rewriting terminal portion which is a socket portion of the ROM rewriter 493, and the rewriting operation of the ROM rewriter 493 is performed. Is executed.

In audio ROM 93, a memory array in which transistors for storing data are arranged in a matrix, a high voltage / write timing generation circuit for defining erasing and writing timings of data in the memory array, A word line high voltage driver for applying a high voltage to a word line connected to a transistor in each row of the memory array, a column gate for selecting a bit line connected to a transistor in each column of the memory array, a memory array It includes a configuration used for erasing and writing data, such as a write circuit for writing data.

As shown, the microcomputer 91 for sound control and the ROM 93 for sound are connected by an address bus, a control signal bus and a data bus. In this state, the audio ROM 93 is provided with an address bus connection pin 411a, a control signal bus connection pin 411b, and a data bus connection pin 411c for connection to the ROM rewriter 493 in an empty state.

The ROM rewriter 493 includes a CPU 494,
A ROM 495 for storing a data rewriting program and data for rewriting and a RAM 496 are provided.

When data is rewritten by the ROM rewriter 493, an erase / write control signal for stored data is input from the ROM rewriter 493 to the audio ROM 93 via the control signal bus connection pin 411b. When an erase / write control signal for stored data is input via control signal bus connection pin 411b, a high voltage / write timing generation circuit operates to operate a high voltage / write for data erase / write. A timing signal is output to a word line high voltage driver and a column gate. When an address signal is input from the ROM rewriter 493 to the address bus connection pin 411a,
The word line in the memory array provided in the audio ROM 93 is specified according to the address signal. Then, a high voltage is applied to the specified word line to set all the storage states of the transistors on the word line to "1" and erase the stored data.

Next, an address signal is input from the ROM rewriter 493 to the address bus connection pin 411a, and the transistor of the memory array is specified according to the input address signal. The rewriting data for further rewriting from the ROM rewriting machine 493 is the data bus connection pin 411c.
And the input rewrite data is input to the write circuit, and only the bit line of the transistor to be set to the storage state of “0” is specified via the column gate according to the rewrite data. Then, a high voltage is applied to the transistor specified by the input address and the column gate, the storage state is rewritten to “0”, and the rewrite data is stored in the memory array 401.

As described above, the audio ROM 93, which is a flash memory, can rewrite stored data in units of the minimum word line. On the other hand, if no address signal is input from ROM rewriter 493 or if there is no address bus connection pin connectable to ROM rewriter 493, the address to be rewritten is not specified. In that case, the audio ROM 93 once erases the storage states of all addresses in the memory array 401, and then writes new data for all addresses.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the ROM collation data output processing and the ROM collation processing in the first embodiment described above are replaced.
Alternatively, processing for confirming the suitability of the audio ROM added to those processing will be described.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing the contents of the ROM audio check output processing according to the second embodiment. This ROM sound check output process is executed by the game control microcomputer 330.

First, in step SC (hereinafter simply referred to as SC) 1, it is determined whether or not the power of the pachinko gaming machine is currently turned on. If the SC1 determines that the power is not turned on, the ROM audio check output process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined by SC1 that the power has been turned on, the process proceeds to SC2, and processing for outputting command information for outputting a power-on sound is performed. Here, the power-on sound is a sound such as “This model name is XX” that indicates the model of the pachinko gaming machine to which the voice ROM 93 is compatible. The power-on sound is stored in advance in the audio ROM 93 as power-on sound data in accordance with the model of the compatible pachinko gaming machine.

As described above, when the command information for outputting the power-on sound is output from the game control circuit board 71, the sound control microcomputer 91 receives the command information. In that case, the microcomputer 91 for sound controls the ROM 93 for sound in accordance with the received command information.
The power-on sound data is read from the CPU and a process for generating the power-on sound is performed. Thereafter, the ROM audio check output processing ends. When the power-on sound that specifies the model of the pachinko gaming machine compatible with the audio ROM 93 is output when the power is turned on in this way, the attendant listens to the power-on sound and the model specified by the power-on sound is output. ,
It is determined whether or not it matches the model of the installed pachinko gaming machine.

In this way, when the power is turned on,
It can be easily determined whether or not the audio ROM 93 is compatible with a pachinko gaming machine. In this case, it is not necessary for the sound control microcomputer 91 to perform the data collation as described above.
The processing load on the sound control microcomputer 91 for determining the suitability of M93 can be reduced.

[0224] Here, an example in which the game control microcomputer 330 outputs the power-on sound by performing the ROM sound check output processing has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Without performing any necessary processing, the microcomputer 91 for sound control determines whether or not the power is turned on, and performs the above-described processing for outputting the power-on sound when the power is turned on. You may do so.
By doing so, the processing load on the game control microcomputer 330 for determining the suitability of the audio ROM 93 can be reduced.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, a modified example of the configuration of the sound control circuit board 90 in the first embodiment described above will be described.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of a sound control circuit board 90 according to the third embodiment. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a voice ROM is used.
Reference numeral 93 denotes a socket type which is detachably provided to the sound control circuit board 90.

Referring to FIG. 28, a ROM socket 930 is provided in the sound control circuit board 90 at a position where the sound ROM 93 is mounted. This ROM socket 9
Reference numeral 30 is electrically connected to the sound control microcomputer 91 and the speech synthesis IC 92 shown in the first embodiment.

The ROM socket 930 has an audio RO
A plurality of holes 930a into which a plurality of pins 930b of the M93 are inserted are formed. By inserting the pins 930b into the holes 930a and mounting the audio ROM 93 in the ROM socket 930, the audio ROM 93 is inserted.
Is mounted on the sound control circuit board 90. In this case, the sound ROM 93 is a socket type and the sound control circuit board 9
Since the audio ROM 93 is mounted on the sound control circuit board 90, the audio ROM 93 can be easily attached to and detached from the sound control circuit board 90.

In the case of such a configuration, the audio RO
Because the M93 is easy to attach and detach, when rewriting the information stored in the audio ROM 93, only the audio ROM 93 is removed from the sound control circuit board 90 and transported to a game machine maker or brought in with a ROM rewriter. ROM 93 for audio
By setting a single unit in a dedicated ROM rewriter, the information stored in the audio ROM 93 can be rewritten. Therefore, in this case, transport for rewriting the information stored in the audio ROM 93 or mounting on the ROM rewriter can be easily performed. In particular, when the stored information of the audio ROMs 93 of a large number of pachinko gaming machines is rewritten collectively, it is easy to transport a large number of the audio ROMs 93 at a time for rewriting the stored information and to easily mount the information on the ROM rewriter. Become. Further, it is not necessary to provide a rewriting terminal portion on the sound control circuit board 90. Furthermore, there is no possibility that the sound control circuit board 90 will be damaged during rewriting. It should be noted that not only a rewritable memory (flash memory, EEPROM, etc.) such as the audio ROM 93 but also a non-rewritable mask ROM or the like may be used. In this case, the sound control circuit board can be reused by replacing only the audio ROM by making it removable by a socket or the like. Furthermore, if it is a socket type as in the third embodiment, the replacement can be facilitated.

Next, modified examples and features of the present embodiment described above are enumerated below. (1) The game control circuit board 71 shown in FIG. 5 and the like constitutes a game control board provided with a game control microcomputer (game control microcomputer 330) capable of controlling a game state. ing.
The display control circuit board 125 shown in FIG. 5 and the like is provided with a display control microcomputer (display control microcomputer 200) for performing control for performing a predetermined display according to a game state. And a display control board connected so as to enable information communication. The microcomputer for controlling payout of a prize game medium (prize balls) according to the game state by the ball payout control circuit board 117 shown in FIG.
0) is provided, and a game medium payout control board is connected to the game control board so as to be able to communicate information. A sound control microcomputer (sound control microcomputer 91) for performing control for generating a predetermined sound according to the game state is provided by the sound control circuit board 90 shown in FIG. , A sound control board connected so as to enable information communication.
One microcomputer is provided for each of the game control board, the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board.

(2) The audio ROM 9 shown in FIG.
The sound information storage means 3 is provided on the sound control board (sound control circuit board 90) and stores information on sounds generated under the control of the sound control microcomputer 91. Sound control circuit board box 12 shown in FIG.
0, the sound control board is housed inside, and a sound control board housing body detachably attached to the gaming machine is constituted. The sound information storage means can rewrite stored information in a state where the sound control board is housed in a sound control board housing.

(3) The microcomputer for sound control provided on the sound control board and provided on the game control board (game control circuit board 71) by the sound control microcomputer 91 shown in FIG. A microcomputer for controlling sound which receives command information from the control microcomputer 330) and performs control for generating a sound from the sound generating means based on information stored in the sound information storing means in accordance with the command information. I have. The sound information storage means further stores corresponding model specifying sound information for outputting a corresponding model specifying sound (power-on sound) capable of specifying a model of the pachinko gaming machine to which the stored information is applied. The sound control microcomputer further performs control for generating the corresponding model specifying sound based on the corresponding model specifying sound information stored in the sound information storage unit when the power of the gaming machine is turned on.

(4) The game control microcomputer further controls the sound control microcomputer to provide corresponding model specific sound command information for instructing output of the corresponding model specific sound when the power of the gaming machine is turned on. (See FIG. 27). The sound control microcomputer further performs control for generating the corresponding model specific sound from the sound generating means when receiving the game control microcomputer specific model specific sound command information.

(5) In the above-described embodiment, the silence state is shown by outputting command data from the sound control microcomputer 91 when the silence state is set. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of outputting the silent output command data from the sound control microcomputer 91 to make it silent, the sound control microcomputer 91 uses an amplifier (the left channel amplifier 5).
8 and the right channel amplifier 59) may be directly controlled (such as turning off the power of the amplifier) so that no sound is output. By doing so, a completely silent state can be achieved.

(6) In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the game medium used for the game is a pachinko ball has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the game medium used for the game is a coin or a medal. You may. That is, the present invention is also applicable to a gaming machine that uses coins or medals instead of the above-mentioned pachinko balls and pays out prize coins or prize medals instead of the above-described prize balls.

(7) In the above embodiment, the audio ROM 93 provided on the sound control circuit board 90
It is shown that the storage information is configured to be rewritable (see the first embodiment) and that the storage information is configured to be detachable from the sound control circuit board 90 (see the third embodiment). Similarly to that case, the character ROM 288 (display control information storage means storing display control information) provided on the display control circuit board 125 (display control board) may be configured to be able to rewrite the stored information. (The same rewriting configuration as that shown in the first embodiment) or may be configured to be detachable from the display control circuit board 125 (the same mounting and dismounting configuration as that shown in the third embodiment). Furthermore, character ROM2
In addition to the control data ROM 200b, the control data ROM 200b may be configured so that the stored information can be rewritten (the same rewriting configuration as that shown in the first embodiment).
5 may be configured so as to be attachable / detachable (the same attach / detach configuration as that shown in the third embodiment). If you do that,
As in the case of the sound control circuit board 90 and the sound ROM 93 described above, the display control circuit board 12 having such a configuration is used.
5 and the ROM can be easily reused.

The embodiments disclosed this time are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

[0238]

Specific Examples of Means for Solving the Problems (1) Microprocessor (CPU 91b, CPU 330a, CPU
The operation of the gaming machine (game main body 102) is controlled by a microcomputer having the CPU 500a and the CPU 200a). A game control microcomputer (game control microcomputer 33) capable of controlling the game state by the game control circuit board 71 shown in FIG.
0) is provided. FIG.
And the like, a display control microcomputer (display control microcomputer 200) for performing control for performing a predetermined display in accordance with a game state is provided by the display control circuit board 125, and information is provided to the game control board. A display control board communicably connected is configured. A game medium payout control microcomputer (ball payout control microcomputer 500) for performing control for paying out prize game media in accordance with the game state is provided by the ball payout control circuit board 117 shown in FIG. A game medium payout control board is connected to the game control board so as to be able to communicate information. The sound control circuit board 90 shown in FIG. 5 and the like is provided with a sound control microcomputer (sound control microcomputer 91) for performing control for generating a predetermined sound according to the game state. , A sound control board connected so as to enable information communication. As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the game control board, the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board are each configured separately.

(2) As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the game control board is provided between the game control board, the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board. Then, information is transmitted by one-way communication to each of the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board.

(3) As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the sound control board is provided with sound information storage means (sound ROM 93) storing sound information generated under the control of the sound control microcomputer. Is provided. As shown in FIG. 26, the sound information storage means is capable of rewriting the stored information.

(4) As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the sound control board is provided with sound information storage means (sound ROM 93) storing sound information generated under the control of the sound control microcomputer. Is provided. As shown in FIG. 28, the sound information storage means is detachable from the sound control board.

(5) The sound control circuit board box 120 shown in FIG. 4 and the like accommodates the sound control board therein and constitutes a sound control board housing detachably attached to the gaming machine. .

[0243]

The effect of the concrete example of the means for solving the problems.
With regard to, the following effects can be obtained. The operation control of the gaming machine is performed by a game control microcomputer, a display control microcomputer, a game medium payout control microcomputer, and a sound control microcomputer provided for each control function.
In this case, the display control, the game medium payout control, and the sound control are performed by the individual microcomputers, so that the processing load on the game control microcomputer can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to provide an even more sophisticated and interesting game without causing any trouble in the processing burden. Furthermore, since each microcomputer is provided on a separate board, when the control content of the game state is to be renewed, only the game control board can be replaced with a new one, and the new game state can be changed. The control boards that can be commonly used in accordance with the above control contents can be individually reused as they are. This makes it possible to easily reuse parts used for controlling the operation of the gaming machine. Further, since the control boards are divided according to control functions, the configuration of the control boards can be unified for each control function, and the control boards can be easily reused.

Regarding claim 2, in addition to the effect according to claim 1, the following effects can be obtained. Between the game control board, the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board, the game control board, the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board, respectively. Information is transmitted by one-way communication. In other words, each of the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board performs control while performing information communication with the game control board. In this case, information communication is performed from the game control board. Limited to one-way communication. Therefore, it is possible to prevent as much as possible the illegal control operation of the game control microcomputer due to the input of illegal data from each of the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board to the game control board.

Regarding claim 3, in addition to the effect according to claim 1 or 2, the following effect can be obtained. A sound information storage means in which information of a sound generated under the control of the sound control microcomputer is stored is provided on the sound control board, and the sound information storage means is capable of rewriting the stored information. For this reason, when only the game control board is replaced in order to make the control content of the game state new, the sound storage information of the sound information storage means is rewritten to correspond to the control content of the new game state. By using the sound control board, the sound control board can be easily reused in accordance with the control content of a new game state.

Regarding claim 4, in addition to the effect according to claim 1 or 2, the following effect can be obtained. A sound information storage means storing sound information generated by control of the sound control microcomputer is provided on the sound control board, and the sound information storage means is detachable from the sound control board. For this reason, when replacing only the game control board in order to make the control content of the game state new, in order to make the storage information of the sound of the sound information storage means correspond to the control content of the new game state. The work relating to the replacement of the sound information storage means or the rewriting of the storage information of the sound information storage means can be facilitated. Thereby, the sound control board can be easily reused in accordance with the control content of the new game state.

According to claim 5, in addition to the effect according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the following effect can be obtained. Since the sound control board is housed inside the sound control board housing, and the sound control board housing is detachably attached to the game machine, the sound control board can be easily removed from the game machine. The task of reusing the control board in accordance with the control of a new game state can be easily performed. Further, when the work for reusing the sound control board in accordance with the control of a new game state is performed at a place away from the gaming machine, the sound control board housing and the sound control board housing body transport the sound control board when the sound control board is transported. The information storage means can be protected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a configuration of a front surface of a main body of a pachinko gaming machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a configuration of a game board of the pachinko gaming machine of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the pachinko gaming machine of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a sound control circuit board box.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a control system of the pachinko gaming machine.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control circuit provided on the ball payout control circuit board and the game control circuit board.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a control circuit including various control devices controlled by a ball payout control microcomputer.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display control circuit board.

FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram of a voice synthesis IC and its peripheral circuits.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing, in a table form, a list of sound control command data indicating sound effects according to a game state.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a sound volume pattern showing an example of what kind of sound is assigned to each of special reach 1 and special reach 2 at the time of reach from the start of fluctuation to the occurrence of reach.

FIG. 12 is a timing chart for changing the probability that the variable winning ball device will be in the first state, which is performed in the gaming machine of the present embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing, in a table form, random numbers for determining symbols in the embodiment and symbols corresponding to the values of the random numbers.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for determining whether to make a big hit.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a process for determining whether or not a symbol should be in a reach state during stop control in a case other than a big hit.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a relationship between a random number and left, middle, and right symbols.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing, in a table form, combinations of random numbers and corresponding special symbols when a big hit occurs.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of award ball payout processing.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing processing contents of award ball payout processing.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the content of award ball information output processing.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the content of a winning ball discharging process.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the content of a winning ball discharge check process.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the content of a winning ball discharge check process.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the contents of ROM collation data output processing.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the contents of a ROM collation process;

FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating a case where data stored in a voice ROM is rewritten using a ROM rewriter.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing the contents of ROM audio check output processing according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a main part of a sound control circuit board according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

91b, 330a, 500c and 200a are CPUs, 71
Is a game control circuit board, 330 is a game control microcomputer, 125 is a display control circuit board, 200 is a display control microcomputer, 117 is a ball payout control circuit board, 500 is a ball payout control microcomputer, 93
Is a sound ROM, 90 is a sound control circuit board, 91 is a sound control microcomputer, 120 is a sound control circuit board box, 60 is a left speaker, and 61 is a right speaker.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A game machine whose operation is controlled by a microcomputer having a microprocessor, a game control board provided with a game control microcomputer capable of controlling a game state, and the game state A display control microcomputer for performing a control for performing a predetermined display in accordance with the game control board, and a display control board connected to the game control board so as to be able to communicate with the game control board, and a payout of a prize game medium according to the game state. A game medium payout control microcomputer for performing control to perform a game medium payout control board connected to the game control board so as to be able to communicate information; and a control for generating a predetermined sound in accordance with the game state. A microcomputer for sound control is provided, which is connected to the game control board so that information can be communicated. And a sound control substrate, the game control board, the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and said sound control board is characterized in that it is formed separately, respectively, the gaming machine. 2. Between the game control board, the display control board, the game medium payout control board, and the sound control board, each of the game control board and the display control board and the game medium payout are provided. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein information is transmitted to each of the control board and the sound control board by one-way communication. 3. The sound control board is provided with sound information storage means for storing information of a sound generated under the control of the microcomputer for sound control, wherein the sound information storage means rewrites the stored information. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the gaming machine can be used. 4. The sound control board is provided with sound information storage means for storing information of a sound generated under the control of the sound control microcomputer, wherein the sound information storage means is provided with a sound control board. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the gaming machine is detachable from the game machine. 5. The sound control board according to claim 1, wherein the sound control board is housed therein and further includes a sound control board housing detachably attached to the gaming machine. Gaming machine.