JP5730269B2 - Communication LSI and game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication LSI and game machine for transmitting and receiving data.

  For example, Patent Document 1 supplies an arithmetic logic unit and a product-sum unit provided for arithmetic processing of communication data, and control codes for controlling operations of the arithmetic logic unit and the product-sum unit. There is disclosed a communication LSI that includes a processor for controlling the arithmetic logic unit and the product-sum unit based on a control code supplied by the processor. Conventionally, the communication LSI configured as described above is provided on each of the transmission-side substrate and the reception-side substrate, and transmission and reception of data are controlled by a control unit provided on each of the substrates.

JP 2004-227264 A

  By the way, when data is transmitted and received between the boards, there are cases where fraudulent acts such as data interception and tampering are performed. For example, in a gaming machine such as a pachislot machine or a pachinko machine, the game result data differs depending on the operation from the outside while the game result data is being transmitted from the main control unit that controls the game result to the sub-control unit. There is a case where a fraudulent act of being replaced with is performed. Accordingly, there is an increasing need to take measures to prevent such illegal activities.

  Therefore, conventionally, in order to prevent the above-described fraud, a state monitoring command for monitoring the communication state of the control command data in a predetermined communication path is transmitted, and the sub control unit uses the state monitoring command to control the control command data. It has been proposed to cause the control unit to perform processing so as to stop the control of the control target when it is determined that there is an error. However, in this case, since the control unit in each board performs various processes and controls in addition to the control of the communication LSI, there may be a problem such as a slow control speed due to a large load. In particular, in recent years, the amount of communication data has increased dramatically with the development of communication technology, so there is a high possibility that communication control will be delayed. Therefore, it is desired to provide a communication system that can prevent fraud without increasing the burden on the control unit of each board.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a communication LSI and a gaming machine that can prevent fraud without increasing the burden on the control unit of each board.

  The communication system of the present invention is a communication system for communicating processing data between control boards each having a control circuit and a communication LSI, wherein the communication LSI of one of the control boards is the one control board. A first receiving unit for receiving processing data from the control circuit, an encryption unit for encrypting the processing data received by the first receiving unit, and processing data encrypted by the encryption unit on the other side A first transmission unit that transmits to the communication LSI on the control board, and the communication LSI on the other control board is encrypted from the communication LSI on the one control board. A second reception unit that receives the processed data, a decryption unit that decrypts the encrypted processing data received by the second reception unit, and a process data decrypted by the decryption unit A second transmitter for transmitting to the control circuit of the other control board, and at least one of the communication LSI of the one control board and the communication LSI of the other control board One includes a data length changing unit that changes the data length of the processing data, and at least the data of the processing data transmitted from the control circuit of the one control board and received by the first receiving unit The length is different from the data length of the processing data transmitted from the second transmitter and received by the control circuit of the other control board.

According to the above configuration, the processing data communicated between the control circuit and the communication LSI on at least one control board by the data length changing unit provided in at least one of the communication LSIs, and the other The processing data communicated between the control circuit on the control board and the communication LSI can be made different. That is, unencrypted processing data can be made different between the sender side (one control board side) and the receiver side (the other control board side).
Then, communication between the control circuit on one control board and the communication LSI (sender side), or communication between the control circuit on the other control board and the communication LSI (receiver side), and each communication The communication between LSIs is illegally read and processed data before encryption is compared with the processed data after encryption to analyze the encryption process and try to use it for fraud However, since it is not known which data (sender side or receiver side) before encryption should be compared with data after encryption, such an action can be prevented.

  In the communication system of the present invention, the data length changing unit may change the data length of the processing data by adding additional data to the processing data.

  According to the above configuration, since the data length changing unit changes the data length of the processing data by adding the additional data, the processing data received by the control circuit in at least the other control board is added with the additional data. Become. Therefore, not only the communication between the communication LSIs is concealed by encryption, but also the additional data is added to the processing data in the communication path from the communication LSI to the control circuit on the other control board. Confidentiality is ensured along the way. As a result, it is possible to prevent an illegal act by stealing the processing data in the middle of transmission and reading the contents of the communication path that is output from one control board and reaches the control circuit via the communication LSI of the other control board. it can.

  A gaming machine of the present invention includes the communication system.

According to the above configuration, the processing data communicated between the control circuit and the communication LSI on at least one control board in the gaming machine by the data length changing unit provided in at least one of the communication LSIs, The processing data communicated between the control circuit on the other control board and the communication LSI can be made different. That is, the processing data that is not encrypted in the gaming machine can be made different between the sender side (one control board side) and the receiver side (the other control board side).
Then, in the gaming machine, communication between the control circuit on one control board and the communication LSI (on the sender side), or communication between the control circuit on the other control board and the communication LSI (on the receiver side). , And the communication between each LSI for communication are illegally read, the processed data before being encrypted is compared with the processed data after being encrypted, the encryption processing is analyzed, and the illegal act Even if you are trying to use it, you can't know which one (sender side or receiver side) the data before encryption should be compared with the data after encryption, so this kind of behavior against gaming machines is prevented. can do.

  The present invention can prevent fraud without increasing the burden on the control unit of each board.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of the process data in the communication system of structure 1. FIG. It is a block diagram of a communication LSI. It is a block diagram of the communication system of the structure 1. FIG. It is a block diagram of the communication system of the structure 1. FIG. It is a block diagram of the communication system of the structure 2. FIG. It is a block diagram of the communication system of the structure 2. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of the process data in the communication system of the structure 2. FIG. It is a perspective view of a gaming machine. It is a perspective view of the game machine of an open state. It is an electrical block diagram of a gaming machine. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the data transfer by radio | wireless communication. It is an electrical block diagram of a gaming machine. It is explanatory drawing of a symbol arrangement | positioning table. It is a flowchart by control of main CPU. It is a flowchart of the interruption process routine by control of main CPU. It is a flowchart of the main board | substrate communication task performed by sub CPU. It is a flowchart of the production registration task performed by a sub CPU. It is a flowchart of a host side data transmission processing routine. It is a flowchart of a UART processing routine. It is a flowchart of a UART master operation processing routine. It is a flowchart of an SPI processing routine. It is a flowchart of an SPI master operation processing routine. It is a flowchart of an encryption / decryption processing routine. It is a flowchart of a DMAC processing routine. It is a flowchart of an I2C processing routine. It is a flowchart of a main board side communication LSI transmission processing routine. It is a flowchart of a sub-side board side communication LSI reception processing routine. It is a flowchart of a sub-side board side communication LSI transmission processing routine. 12 is a flowchart of an I2C device side communication LSI reception processing routine.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

(Communication system: Overview)
The communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention communicates processing data between control boards, and each control board replaces the control board CPU and encrypts the control board processing data and different data. A communication LSI having a function of changing to a long length and transmitting to the outside is provided.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the communication system includes a control board 11 having control circuits 71 and 72 (main control circuit 71 and sub control circuit 72) and communication LSIT1 (communication LSIT33 and T34). Processing data is communicated between 12 (main board 11 and sub-side board 12).

  Specifically, the communication LSI T33 of one control board 11 includes a first receiving unit T2 that receives plain text processing data from the control circuit 71 of the one control board 11. In addition, the communication LSIT 33 includes an encryption unit T3 that encrypts plaintext processing data received by the first reception unit T2. In addition, the first transmission unit T4 that transmits the processing data encrypted by the encryption unit T3 to the communication LSI T34 of the other control board 12 is provided.

  The communication LSIT 34 of the other control board 12 has a second receiving unit T2 that receives encrypted processing data from the communication LSIT 33 of the one control board 11. Moreover, it has the decoding part T5 which decodes the encrypted process data received by the 2nd receiving part T2 in plaintext. In addition, it has a second transmission unit T4 that transmits the plaintext processing data decrypted by the decryption unit T5 to the control circuit 72 of the other control board 12.

  At least one of the communication LSIT 33 on one control board 11 and the communication LSIT 34 on the other control board 12 includes a data length changing unit T7 that changes the data length of the processing data. The data length changing unit T7 is transmitted from at least the control circuit 71 of one control board 11 and received by the first receiving unit T2, and is transmitted from the second transmitting unit T4. The control circuit 72 of the other control board 12 has a function of differentiating the data length of the processing data received.

  In the present embodiment, communication is performed in one direction from the communication LSIT 33 of one control board 11 to the communication LSIT 34 of the other control board 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, communication may be performed in one direction from the communication LSIT 34 on the control board 12 to the communication LSIT 33 on the control board 11. In this case, the control board 12 functions as “one control board”, and the control board 11 functions as “the other control board”. Further, bidirectional communication may be performed between the communication LSIT 34 of the control board 12 and the communication LSIT 33 of the control board 11. In this case, the control boards 11 and 12 both have a function as “one control board” and a function as “the other control board”.

  The receiving units T2 of the control boards 11 and 12 may receive the processing data in parallel or serially. When the reception unit T2 receives the processing data in parallel, it can be directly connected to the data bus of the CPU, so that transmission delay can be minimized. Further, when the receiving unit T2 receives the processing data serially, it is possible to prevent an increase in signal lines due to mounting the communication LSI T1 on the control board.

  The receiving unit T2 includes a UART unit T11 having a UART communication function, an SPI1 unit T12 and an SPI2 unit T13 having an SPI communication function, and an I2C unit T16 having an I2C communication function. That is, the communication LSI T1 includes four receiving units T2, and these receiving units T2 can receive processing data in three types of communication modes. As a result, the communication LSIT 1 can receive processing data in a plurality of communication modes, and therefore can select an optimal communication mode for various control devices and communication environments, so that it is highly versatile.

  Note that the communication LSIT1 may include a receiving unit T2 having a communication function according to a communication standard other than the UART communication function, the SPI communication function, and the I2C communication function. That is, the communication LSIT1 only needs to include one or more reception units T2 having one or more types of communication functions. The “process data” may include command information for instructing the operation content of the output destination, or may include image and character information used for information processing such as display of the output destination. In other words, the processing data may be any data.

  The transmission units T4 of the control boards 11 and 12 may transmit the processing data in parallel or serially. When the transmission unit T4 transmits the processing data in parallel, the transmission time can be shortened compared to the case where the transmission data is transmitted serially. Further, when the transmission unit T4 transmits the processing data serially, the number of communication signal lines can be reduced as compared with the parallel case, so that an increase in the outer diameter of the signal cable can be suppressed.

  The transmission unit T4 corresponds to the UART unit T11, the SPI1 unit T12, the SPI2 unit T13, and the I2C unit T16. That is, the communication LSIT1 includes four transmission units T4, and these transmission units T4 can transmit processing data in three types of communication modes. As a result, the communication LSIT 1 can transmit processing data in a plurality of communication modes, and therefore can select an optimal communication mode for various control devices and communication environments, so that it is highly versatile.

  Note that the communication LSIT1 may include a transmission unit T4 having a communication function based on a communication standard other than the UART communication function, the SPI communication function, and the I2C communication function. That is, the communication LSI T1 only needs to include one or more transmission units T4 having one or more types of communication functions. In addition, the communication LSIT1 in the present embodiment is configured to include both the reception unit T2 and the transmission unit T4 because the UART unit T11, the SPI1 unit T12, the SPI2 unit T13, and the I2C unit T16 have a transmission / reception function. However, it is not limited to this. That is, the communication LSIT1 may include a reception unit T2 dedicated to reception and a transmission unit T4 dedicated to transmission.

  Each encryption part T3 of the control boards 11 and 12 is provided with an encryption function for processing information with a conversion algorithm for conversion so that a third party cannot read without special knowledge. As the encryption function, encryption by a steganography method, a code method, or a cipher method can be employed. The steganography method is a method of recording a communication sentence such as a digital watermark in which processing data is embedded in image data or the like in a place where it is not visible to the public. The code method is a method of replacing words and phrases in correspondence with words / symbols determined in advance. The cipher method is a method of converting a communication sentence into an unreadable sentence by performing substitution or transposition for each one or more characters or bits according to a predetermined algorithm regardless of the meaning. Cipher systems include a common key encryption system that uses the same key for encryption and decryption, and a public key encryption system that uses different keys for encryption and decryption.

  Further, the communication LSIT 1 according to the present embodiment has a decryption function for decrypting received processing data in addition to the encryption function in place of the CPU of the control board. That is, the communication LSI T1 receives the processing data when the processing data received by the receiving unit T2 and the processing data received by the receiving unit T2 are plaintext, and the processing received by the receiving unit T2 and the encryption unit T3 that encrypts the processing data. When the data is ciphertext, it has a decryption unit T5 that decrypts the processing data, and a transmission unit T4 that transmits the processing data encrypted by the encryption unit T3 and the processing data decrypted by the decryption unit T5. doing. Here, the decryption unit T5 may perform decryption using a common key based on a common key cryptosystem using the same key for encryption / decryption, or decryption using a secret key based on a public key cryptosystem.

  In the communication LSIT1 in the present embodiment, the AES unit T21 having an AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) function corresponds to the encryption unit T3 and the decryption unit T5. As a result, the communication LSIT1 can be encrypted and decrypted by one AES unit T21. Note that the communication LSIT1 may include an encryption unit T3 and a decryption unit T5 independently. Further, the communication LSIT1 may be configured to encrypt and decrypt by a plurality of types of encryption methods.

  Note that the encryption unit T3 is preferably encrypted by a common key block encryption method. In this case, since logical compression is possible in encryption, it is easy to implement, and the data path can be easily divided into predetermined bits, so it can be flexibly supported from small packaging to high-speed processing. It can be LSIT1. The encryption unit T3 preferably has an AES encryption algorithm as a common key block encryption method. In the communication LSIT1, the AES unit T21 has an AES function of a common key block encryption method. As a result, the communication LSIT 1 has high encryption strength and performs all internal processing in units of bytes, so that the computation efficiency during encryption processing is high, so the time required for encryption and decryption processing is shortened. Can be timed.

  The AES unit T21 has a function as the data length changing unit T7. In the present embodiment, the AES unit T21 in the communication LSIT1 (communication LSIT33) on the transmission side (one control board 11) changes the data length of the processing data by adding error correction data to the processing data, The processing data before encryption is different. Further, the AES unit T21 in the communication LSIT1 (communication LSIT34) on the receiving side (the other control board 12) changes the data length of the processing data by adding the parity bit data to the processing data, and converts the processing data into the processing data. It is different. As a result, it is possible to perform error correction or error detection on the processing data in the communication LSIT 34 or the control board 12 on the receiving side that receives the processing data to which error correction data or parity bit data is added. Can be ensured. In this embodiment, the error correction data added to the processing data by the data length changing unit T7 of the communication LSIT 33 is removed by the communication LSIT 34, but the present invention is not limited to this. The position (address) where error correction data or parity bit data is added to the processing data is not limited. For example, the start position, the last position, and a predetermined position in the middle of the processing data may be used, or the position of the processing data to which error correction data or parity bit data is added is changed depending on the timing or data type. There may be.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the communication LSIT 33 and the communication LSIT 34 both have a function of changing the data length of the processing data, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is sufficient that at least one of the communication LSIT 33 and the communication LSIT 34 has a function of changing the data length of the processing data.

Further, the method for changing the data length of the processing data (how to change the data length of the processing data) is not limited to this. For example, the data length of the processing data may be changed by adding a communication log to the processing data. The communication log may be a result of error correction using error correction data (presence / absence of error, content of corrected error, etc.). The communication log may be a communication time, a communication time, or the like. Thereby, since the data length to add can be changed at random, the confidentiality of the process data in the middle of transmission is improved more. Further, information indicating the data length of the additional data added to the additional data to be added may be included.
Further, the data length of the processing data may be changed by removing the data added to the processing data. Further, the data length may be changed by compressing the processing data or deleting a part thereof. Further, the data length may be changed by combining a plurality of processing data into one processing data, or the data length may be changed by dividing the processing data into a plurality of processing data.

  For example, the AES unit T21 may change the data length by performing an electronic signature. Specifically, digital signature data that has been subjected to irreversible data compression such as a hash function may be added to the plaintext processing data. As a result, it is possible to detect falsification of the processing data by generating the same digital signature data for the processing data in the communication LSIT1 on the receiving side and comparing it with the added digital signature data.

  Further, the data length changing method as described above may be changed to another data length changing method when the communication integrated amount of the processing data exceeds a predetermined amount, and the date and time or start of use (power-on) May be changed every time the processing time elapses. Thereby, the confidentiality of process data can be improved further. Further, the data length changing methods as described above may be used in combination.

In this way, the processing data communicated between the control circuit 71 and the communication LSIs T33 and T34 on at least one control board 11 by the data length changing unit T7 provided in at least one of the communication LSIs T33 and T34, The processing data communicated between the control circuit 72 and the communication LSIT 34 on the other control board 12 can be made different. That is, plaintext processing data that is not encrypted can be made different between the sender side (one control board 11 side) and the receiver side (the other control board 12 side).
Then, communication between the control circuit 71 and the communication LSI 34 on one control board 11 (sender side), or communication between the control circuit 72 and the communication LSIT 34 on the other control board 12 (receiver side). , And the communication between the LSIs for communication TIT33 and T34, the processing data before being encrypted and the processing data before being encrypted are compared with the processing data after being encrypted, and the encryption processing is analyzed. Even if you try to use it for fraudulent activity, you can't know which one (sender side or receiver side) should compare the data before encryption with the data after encryption. be able to.
Further, since the encryption process, the decryption process, and the data length change process are executed by the communication LSI, it is possible to prevent fraud without increasing the burden on the control unit of each control board.

  Further, the communication LSIT1 includes a storage unit T6 that rewriteably stores a common key used for encryption and decryption, and a dedicated terminal connected to a common key writing device (not shown) that writes the common key to the storage unit T6. T221. Accordingly, when writing or rewriting the common key, it is necessary to connect to the dedicated terminal T221 of the common key writing device, so that it is possible to prevent an illegal act due to the change of the common key. Moreover, a common key can be changed for every product and every model. Therefore, even if the common key is known for one product, it is possible to prevent an illegal act from being performed on other products.

  In the present embodiment, the non-volatile memory unit T22 of the communication LSI T1 corresponds to the storage unit T6, but is not limited thereto. For example, the common key may be stored in the AES unit T21 or the like.

  Each functional block included in the communication LSIT1 (communication LSIT33 / T34) may be any of hardware, software, and a combination of hardware and software. For example, the data length changing unit T7 executes a data length changing program, an execution unit that executes the data length changing program, a logical component (logical block) that implements a function used for changing the data length in hardware, and a logical component in order. Execution information, setting information necessary for changing the data length, and the like.

(Communication LSI: Configuration: Receiver / Transmitter: UART T11)
The configuration of the communication LSI in the communication system will be specifically described.
The communication LSIT1 has a bus T19. The communication LSIT1 has a UART unit T11 as a transmission unit and a reception unit. The UART unit T11 is connected to the bus T19 so that data can be transmitted and received in parallel. The UART unit T11 has a serial communication device including a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) as a hardware configuration. The UART unit T11 has a hardware configuration for executing the UART processing routine of FIG. 19 and the UART master operation processing routine of FIG.

  Here, “HOST” connected to the UART unit T11 is a control device that transmits and receives processing data. The “LSI” is a communication LSI connected to the communication LSI T1 via a signal cable. The “LSI” is preferably the communication LSI T1 having the same configuration from the viewpoint of cost reduction, but may have a different configuration.

  The UART unit T11 has a function of decomposing data in time series and outputting (transmitting) or inputting (receiving) one bit at a time so that 1-byte (8-bit) data is transmitted by one signal cable. Yes. The UART unit T11 has a three-wire configuration for transmission, reception, and GND. The UART unit T11 has a TX terminal for transmission and an RX terminal for reception, and the connection to the other UART on the other side is performed by connecting the TX terminal for transmission to the RX terminal for reception on the other side. It is done by being connected.

  The communication format is a method called start-stop synchronization, which eliminates the need for a synchronous clock line for timing. The normal communication format is a format in which transfer from the start bit to the stop bit is one byte. When there is no transfer of processing data, it is at the H level. When processing data is transferred, an L level pulse is output as a start bit from the TX terminal for transmission for a certain period. As a result, the receiving RX terminal in the partner UART recognizes that the transfer is started when the start bit changes from the H level to the L level (0 V or the like). When the start bit ends, 1 byte of processing data is transmitted in order from the bit 0 side (also referred to as LSB), and when transmission of 1 byte (8 bits) is completed, the parity bit is used for error checking as necessary. Sent as bits. Thereafter, a parity bit is transmitted as necessary, and then a stop bit (H level pulse) is transmitted.

  In addition, the UART unit T11 is capable of switching the communication speed (baud rate). Specifically, a specific setting speed can be selected from a plurality of setting speeds such as 110 bps, 150 bps, 300 bps, 1200 bps, 2400 bps, 4800 bps, 9600 bps, 1920 bps, 38400 bps, and 115 kbps. bps is bits / second.

  In the communication system using the communication LSIT1 of the present embodiment, the transmission speed when the processing data is plaintext before encryption is different from the transmission speed when the processing data is plaintext after decryption. Speed is set. Thereby, the confidentiality of the processing data is improved due to the difference in communication speed. Here, the communication speed may be changed when the communication integration amount of the processing data becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, or may be changed every time when the processing time has elapsed since the start of use (power-on). . Thereby, the confidentiality of process data can be improved further.

(Communication LSI: Configuration: receiving unit / transmitting unit: SPI1 unit T12, SPI2 unit T13)
The communication LSIT1 includes an SPI1 unit T12 and an SPI2 unit T13 as a transmission unit and a reception unit. These SPI1 unit T12 and SPI2 unit T13 are connected to a bus T19. The SPI 1 unit T12 and the SPI 2 unit T13 have a hardware configuration of SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface). Furthermore, the SPI1 unit T12 and the SPI2 unit T13 have a hardware configuration for executing the SPI processing routine of FIG. 21 and the USPI master operation processing routine of FIG.

  SPI is a standard for synchronous serial communication, and can communicate at a higher speed than asynchronous serial communication and can connect a plurality of slaves. Specifically, the SPI is a kind of a synchronous serial bus, and includes an SCK (Serial Clock) for a clock signal, a MISO (Master In Slave Out) for transmission, a MOSI (Master Out Slave In) for reception, And four signal lines composed of SS (Slave Select) for slave selection.

  The SPI1 unit T12 and the SPI2 unit T13 have a shift register equivalent function, serial data is sequentially output from the transmission side according to the clock signal SCK, and serial data is parallelized on the reception side. The data is output to the internal bus as data. The processing data transmission timing is determined by the SPI 1 units T12 and T13 on the clock output side. The side that transmits the clock signal is called the master. On the other hand, a side that receives a clock signal and transmits / receives processing data according to the timing is called a slave. Thus, for example, the communication LSIT1 on the master side, the communication LSIT1 on the slave side, the control device on the slave side, and the like can be referred to. The clock signal is generated by the reload timer unit T14 and the clock / reset control unit T15.

  For example, when communication is performed between one master and one slave, a transmission MISO (Master In Slave Out) and a reception MOSI are alternately connected, and SCK (Serial Clock) for clock signals are connected to each other. Is done. When communicating between one master and a plurality of slaves, a plurality of slave SSs are connected to one master. Then, using the SS for slave selection, it is possible to select whether or not to communicate an SPI that is a partner to communicate with the master from among a plurality of slaves. In order to identify a partner to communicate with the master from among a plurality of slaves, the slave is made valid by setting the SS terminal for slave selection to L level.

  In the case of one-way communication, the data signal from the slave to the master can be omitted. Thereby, one-way communication can be realized in hardware. Further, in the communication system using the communication LSIT1 of the present embodiment, when the communication LSIT1 is connected to each other by SPI communication, the SPI1 unit T12 and the SPI2 unit T13 are connected, one being a master and the other being a slave. And The communication speed between the communication LSIT1 and the communication LSIT1 is set to a speed different from the communication speed of the UART unit T11. Thereby, the confidentiality of the processing data is improved due to the difference in communication speed between the reception side and the transmission side of the communication LSIT1. Here, the communication speeds of the SPI1 part T12 and the SPI2 part T13 may be changed when the communication integrated amount of the processing data becomes a predetermined amount or more, or the processing time from the start date / time of use (power-on). It may be changed every time. Thereby, the confidentiality of process data can be improved further.

(Communication LSI: Configuration: receiving unit / transmitting unit: I2C unit T16)
The communication LSIT1 has an I2C unit T16 as a transmission unit and a reception unit. The I2C unit T16 is connected to the bus T19. The I2C unit T16 has a hardware configuration of I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) that performs synchronous serial communication. The I2C unit T16 has a hardware configuration for executing the I2C processing routine of FIG. The I2C unit T16 can communicate at a higher speed than the asynchronous serial communication, and can connect a plurality of slaves similarly to the SPI. The master selects a slave by designating an address from a plurality of slaves, and then communicates with the slave. Depending on the bit rate, a plurality of communication speeds such as a standard mode, a fast mode, and a high speed mode can be switched.

  The communication speed of the I2C unit T16 is preferably different from the communication speed of the UART unit T11 and the communication speed of the SPI1 unit T12. Thereby, the confidentiality of the processing data is improved due to the difference in communication speed between the reception side and the transmission side of the communication LSIT1. Here, the communication speed of the I2C unit T16 may be changed when the communication integration amount of the processing data becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, or is changed every time the processing time has elapsed since the start of use (power-on). May be. Thereby, the confidentiality of process data can be improved further.

  The I2C unit T16 is configured to be capable of data communication by connecting a single master and a single or multiple slaves in a party line shape with an SCL line and an SDA line. The I2C unit T16 is always authorized by the master, and the data signal is transferred on the SDA line with reference to the clock signal SCL transmitted by the master. In addition, each slave has an address, the address is included in the data, and the ACK signal is returned from the receiving side for each byte transfer, and the data transfer is performed while confirming each other. To do. The I2C unit T16 can transfer a large amount of data by block transfer.

  The basic transfer operation of I2C communication starts with the start condition when SDA is Low when the SCL on the master side is High, and then the address and Read / Write request while the master continues to supply the clock. Send the data. Thereafter, the slave designated by the address communicates with the master in the direction designated on a one-to-one basis. That is, 8-bit data is output from the transmission side in accordance with the SCL clock, and then an acknowledgment (ACK) signal is returned from the reception side. At this time, if the receiving side is busy and the SCL is forcibly set to Low until extraction of the processing data is completed, the clock apparently disappears during this period, so the transmitting side waits to output the next data. It will be. After completing the last data transmission and confirming the ACK, the slave releases SDA, the master sets SDA to Low, stops the clock and sets it to High, and then sets SDA to High, so that the stop sequence becomes a communication. Complete.

  The basic communication data format of I2C communication includes an address format and a data format. When the master becomes the receiving side, the format of the entire communication data is first sent to the specific slave in the address format part, and then the designated slave sends the data. To start. When the master receives the data, it returns an ACK.

(Communication LSI: Configuration: Receiver / Transmitter: DMAC T17)
The communication LSIT1 has a DMAC unit T17 connected to the communication LSIT1. The DMAC unit T17 has a hardware configuration of DMA (Direct Memory Access) including a DMA controller that performs data transfer without using a CPU. The DMAC unit T17 has a hardware configuration for executing the DMAC processing routine of FIG. When the UART unit T11, the SPI1 unit T12, the SPI2 unit T13, and the I2C unit T16 serve as a transmission unit and serially transmits the DMAC unit T17, if necessary, the DMAC unit T17 transmits processing data using the DMA function in conjunction with these transmissions. It is supposed to send serially.

  The DMAC unit T17 is readable / writable via the bus T19 with respect to the SRAM unit T18 for communication buffer. The DMAC unit T17 may be readable / writable with respect to the work SRAM unit T20. For example, the DMAC unit T17 may transfer data from the work SRAM unit T20 to the communication buffer SRAM unit T18. In this case, data transfer between the SRAM units T20 and T18 can be processed in a short time.

  The DMAC unit T17 has a single transfer mode, a block transfer mode, and a demand transfer mode that can be switched. These transfer modes can be selectively used according to the purpose of use and the function of the DMA slave device. Here, the single transfer mode is a system in which the bus control right is released every time one cycle of DMA transfer is executed. In the block transfer mode, when DMA transfer is started, DMA transfer is continuously executed until the designated transfer count is completed, and the bus control right is not released. The demand transmission mode is a system in which DMA transfer is started by a DMA transfer request signal issued from a DMA slave device, and DMA transfer is performed only while the request signal is active. Note that the bus control right is the right to exclusively use the bus T19. For example, when the DMAC unit T17 has the bus control right, a device such as an AES unit T21 described later is connected to the receiving unit T20 via the bus T19. Inaccessible state.

  Note that the DMAC unit T17 may add error correction data to the processing data as necessary during transfer. As a result, at the transfer destination, it becomes possible to correct the error of the processed data transferred before or after encryption. Note that the error correction data may be stored in the DMAC unit T17, may be stored in a storage unit such as the SRAM unit T20, the SRAM unit T18, the nonvolatile memory unit T22, or further, may be a transmission unit. It may be stored in the SPI1 unit T12, SPI2 unit T13, UART unit T11, or I2C unit T16 serving as T4. When error correction data is stored in the SRAM unit T20, the error correction data is added when the received processing data is stored in the SRAM unit T20.

(Communication LSI: Configuration: Encryption / Decryption: AES T21)
The communication LSIT1 has an AES unit T21 as an encryption unit and a decryption unit. The AES unit T21 is connected to the bus T19. The AES unit T21 performs encryption and decryption by a common key block encryption method using a secret common key. That is, the AES unit T21 includes an AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption algorithm and an AES decryption algorithm that is an inverse function of the AES encryption algorithm in hardware configuration. These algorithms encrypt the plaintext process data using a common key and return the encrypted process data using the same common key to the original plaintext. The AES unit T21 has a hardware configuration for executing the encryption / decryption processing routine of FIG.

  Here, the AES encryption algorithm is a typical encryption algorithm of the common key encryption method, and the key length can be selected from 128 bits, 192 bits, and 256 bits, and the block length is a 128-bit SPN structure. Block cipher.

  The SPN structure (Substitution Permutation Network Structure) is a kind of block cipher configuration method. The SPN structure is referred to as a structure consisting of a small non-linear replacement and a transposition that expands it into processing block units. Most block ciphers are repetitive ciphers that repeat the same round function in order to increase the implementation cost, and the SPN structure is a typical configuration method of repetitive ciphers. Another configuration is a Feistel structure. The block cipher is a kind of common key cipher and is a generic name for ciphers that are processed in units of fixed-length data (referred to as blocks). On the other hand, ciphers that perform processing in bit units or byte units are called stream ciphers.

  In addition, the AES unit T21 can add error correction data and parity bit data to the processing data. This makes it possible to correct and detect errors in the processing data received at the transfer destination. Information for adding error correction data and parity bit data may be stored in the AES unit T21, or stored in a storage unit such as the SRAM unit T20, the SRAM unit T18, or the nonvolatile memory unit T22. May be. When error correction data is stored in the SRAM unit T20, the error correction data is added when the received processing data is stored in the SRAM unit T20.

(Communication LSI: Configuration: Storage unit: Non-volatile memory unit T22)
The communication LSIT1 has a nonvolatile memory unit T22. The nonvolatile memory unit T22 is connected to the bus T19. The non-volatile memory unit T22 has a non-volatile memory that retains memory even when power is not supplied. Non-volatile memory includes EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM: Magnetostatic Random Access Memory), and resistance change memory (ReRAM: Resistor Memory Memory). Random Access Memory), PRAM (Phase change RAM), etc. can be used.

  The nonvolatile memory unit T22 stores the AES encryption algorithm, the AES decryption algorithm, and the common key used for encryption and decryption in the AES unit T21 in a rewritable manner.

  The nonvolatile memory unit T22 is connected to the dedicated terminal T221, and the stored contents can be changed by the dedicated terminal T221 connected to the dedicated terminal T221. The dedicated terminal T221 is a special terminal that is different in shape, size, number of pins, and the like from a general-purpose terminal, and the common key writing device includes a terminal that can be connected to the dedicated terminal T221. As a result, the nonvolatile memory unit T22 can be accessed only from a common key writing device that can be connected to the dedicated terminal T221.

(Communication LSI: Configuration: Storage unit: SRAM unit T20)
The communication LSIT1 has a work SRAM unit T20 as a storage unit. The SRAM unit T20 is connected to the bus T19. The SRAM unit T20 has an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) such as 496B. The SRAM unit T20 is used as a memory for temporary storage when the processing data from the control device is received by the UART unit T11, and is used for encryption and decryption of the processing data by the AES unit T21. .

(Communication LSI: Configuration: Storage unit: SRAM unit T18)
The communication LSIT1 has a communication buffer SRAM unit T18 as a storage unit. The SRAM unit T18 is connected to the bus T19. The SRAM unit T18 has an SRAM of 32K × 8 pages or the like. The SRAM unit T18 temporarily stores the plaintext processing data decrypted by the AES unit T21, and is used as a communication buffer for processing data transmitted to the outside by the DMAC unit T17 via the transmission unit such as the I2C unit T16. It is supposed to be.

(Communication LSI: Configuration: Receiver / Transmitter: Reload Timer T14 / Clock / Reset Controller T15)
The communication LSIT1 includes a reload timer unit T14 and a clock / reset control unit T15 connected to the bus T19. The reload timer unit T14 has a hardware configuration of a reload timer. In the reload timer, the countdown start value is determined. When the timer starts, the countdown is performed at a fixed period determined by the setting, and when the count reaches 0, the countdown ends, the counter start value is reset, This timer repeats the operation of restarting the countdown again. The reload timer unit T14 includes the reload timer for two channels. The reload timer is used as a clock for communication of processing data such as the UART unit T11 and the I2C unit T16.

  The clock reset control unit T15 is connected to an OSC (electronic oscillator), and receives a clock pulse that is a periodic signal for taking a timing when the communication LSIT1 operates. Yes. The clock reset controller T15 receives an external reset signal, and initializes the operation of the communication LSI T1 using the input of the external reset signal as a trigger. The external reset signal is output automatically or manually. For example, when an administrator finds that an irregularity or malfunction has occurred, the external reset signal is clocked by pressing the abnormal button. -Used when outputting to the reset control unit T15 and performing an emergency reset. The AES unit T21, the DMAC unit T17, the SPI1 unit T12, the SPI2 unit T13, the UART unit T11, and the I2C unit T16 include a program for executing condition determination and operation processing as a hardware configuration. The communication LSIT1 may be connected to the bus T19 and may include a CPU unit that executes each program.

(Communication system with communication LSI: Configuration 1)
An example of a communication system equipped with the communication LSIT1 will be described. First, the communication system of the structure 1 applied also to the communication system of this embodiment is demonstrated with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the communication system of Configuration 1 is configured to be able to communicate with the host-side control device T31 that outputs the processing data before encryption and the host-side control device T31, and the processing data received by this communication is encrypted. The master side communication LSIT 33 and the master side communication LSIT 33 that can communicate with each other, and communicate with the communication side LSIT 34 and the slave side communication LSIT 34 that decrypts the encrypted processing data received by this communication. A sub-host-side control device T32 that is enabled and operates based on the decrypted processing data received by this communication. That is, in this embodiment, the host-side control device T31 corresponds to the control circuit (main control circuit) 71 in one control board (main board) 11, and the sub-host side control apparatus T32 corresponds to the other control board (sub-side board). 12 corresponds to the control circuit (sub-control circuit) 72 in FIG.

  As described above, the communication LSIT1 (see FIG. 2) is used for each of the communication LSIT33 and the communication LSIT34. The communication may be either wired or wireless. A specific example of a combination of wired and wireless will be described later. The host-side control device T31 and the sub-host-side control device T32 include game machine control devices, home appliances such as vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, and televisions, control devices for automobiles and trains, and other industrial equipment control devices. Applicable. Further, as described above, the control circuit and the communication LSI are not limited to being physically on the same substrate, and a communication system can be constructed by adding a communication LSI to an existing product.

  The host-side control device T31 and the communication LSI T33 are capable of serial transmission in both directions by UART communication. The first communication speed between the host-side control device T31 and the communication LSI T33 is set to 38400 bps. Further, the communication LSIT 34 and the sub-host-side control device T32 are capable of serial transmission in both directions by UART communication. The third communication speed between the communication LSIT 34 and the sub-host control device T32 is set to 38400 bps. In the present embodiment, the first communication speed and the third communication speed are set to the same communication speed, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be set to different communication speeds. Thereby, it is possible to improve the confidentiality of the processing data.

  The communication LSIT 33 and the communication LSIT 34 are configured to be capable of serial communication in one direction from the communication LSI T 33 to the communication LSI T 34 by SPI communication. The second communication speed between the communication LSIT33 and the communication LSIT34 is set to be lower than the first communication speed between the host-side control device T31 and the communication LSIT33, and between the communication LSIT34 and the sub-host-side control device T32. Is set to be lower than the third communication speed. As a result, the second communication speed for transmitting the encrypted processing data is set to a communication speed different from the first communication speed and the third communication speed, thereby improving the confidentiality of the processing data. ing. Note that the first communication speed, the second communication speed, and the third communication speed may be different from each other.

  The communication system of configuration 1 will be specifically described. As shown in FIG. 4, the UARTTT 311 of the host-side control device T31 is connected to the UART unit T11 of the communication LSIT33. The SPI1 unit T12 of the communication LSIT33 is connected to the SPI1 unit T12 of the communication LSIT34. The UART unit T11 of the communication LSIT 34 is connected to the UART T321 of the sub-host side control device T32.

  Note that a transmission MISO (Master In Slave Out) in the SPI1 part T12 of the communication LSIT33 and a reception MOSI in the SPI1 part T12 of the communication LSIT34 are connected only for data signals. That is, the connection between the other MISO for transmission and the MOSI for reception is not performed. Thereby, one-way data communication from the communication LSIT 33 to the communication LSIT 34 is realized.

The operation of the communication system configured as described above will be described.
First, the common key writing device in which the common key data for encryption, the AES encryption algorithm, and the AES decryption algorithm are connected to the dedicated terminal T221 at the shipment stage or after the installation of the device equipped with the communication LSIT1. To the non-volatile memory unit T22. This process is performed in all the communication LSIT 33 and communication LSIT 34.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1, when a predetermined amount of processing data is serially transmitted in units of 8 bits (1 byte) from the host side control device T31, it is received by the UART unit T11 of the communication LSIT33. At this time, no parity bit is added. Communication is asynchronous and is performed based on a clock using a reload timer and OSC. In UART communication, data loss is prevented by hardware flow control.

  The processing data received by the UART unit T11 of the communication LSIT 33 is stored in the work SRAM unit T20 of 496B. When a predetermined amount of processing data is stored in the SRAM unit T20, the AES unit T21 operates, and after error correction data is added to the processing data, the processing data and error correction are performed using the common key data and the AES encryption algorithm. Data is encrypted. As a result, the processing data and the error correction data are replaced with the encryption processing data and the encryption error correction data composed of ciphertext. In the present embodiment, storing a predetermined amount of processing data is used as a trigger for encryption by the AES unit T21. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, encryption by the AES unit T21 may be performed every predetermined time and every time a predetermined number of processing data is received.

  Next, in the communication LSIT 33, the encryption processing data and the encrypted error correction data are serially transmitted to the communication LSIT 34 by SPI communication between the SPI1 unit T12, and stored in the work SRAM unit T20 in the communication LSIT34. Then, when all the processing data is stored, the AES unit T21 performs decoding. It should be noted that the decoding by the AES unit T21 may be sequentially performed every time a part of the processing data is stored. That is, the encryption process data and the encryption error correction data are decrypted using the common key data and the AES decryption algorithm. Then, error correction of the processed data is performed using the decoded error correction data. As a result, the work SRAM unit T20 is replaced with the decrypted processing data.

  Thereafter, while the parity bit is added to the decoded processing data, it is serially transmitted in units of parity bit + 8 bits (1 byte) to the UART T321 of the sub-host side control device T32. Then, the success or failure of the data transmission is determined by a parity check in the sub-host-side control device T32. If the data transmission has failed, the UART unit T11 of the communication LSIT 34 at the transmission destination is urged to retransmit or the data is discarded.

  Further, when an external reset signal is automatically or manually input to the clock / reset control unit T15 during such a series of processing operations or before and after the processing operations, the communication LSIT 33 and the communication LSIT 34 are in an initial state. Will be restored. By configuring the external reset signal so that it can be input automatically or manually when detecting or discovering fraud or abnormal behavior, it can be reset in a short time after detecting or discovering fraud or abnormal behavior. it can.

(System with communication LSI: Configuration 2)
Further, it is possible to construct a communication system such as the following configuration 2 using the above-described communication LSIT1. A communication system having the configuration 2 in which the communication LSIT1 is mounted will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the communication system of Configuration 2 is configured to be able to communicate with the host-side control device T41 that outputs the processing data before encryption and the host-side control device T41, and the processing data received by this communication is encrypted. The master-side communication LSIT 43 and the master-side communication LSIT 43 that can communicate with each other, and the slave-side communication LSIT 44 that decrypts the encrypted processing data received by this communication. T45 and a plurality of (4 × 2 etc.) I2C devices T42 which are communicable with these communication LSIs T44 and T45 and operate based on the decoded processing data received by this communication Yes. Although not shown, a control circuit for controlling the I2C device T42 is connected to the I2C device T42. The control circuit receives processing data from the communication LSIs T44 and T45, and the I2C device T42 is processed based on the processing data. Is configured to control. The control circuit is provided in association with one or more I2C devices T42. That is, in the example of FIG. 5, at least one control circuit is connected to each of the communication LSIs T44 and T45. Hereinafter, the control circuit that controls the I2C device T42 may also be referred to as the I2C device T42.

  The communication LSIT1 is used for the communication LSIT43 and the communication LSIT44. The communication may be either wired or wireless. A specific example of a combination of wired and wireless will be described later. The host-side control device T41 corresponds to a control device for a gaming machine, a home appliance such as a vacuum cleaner, a refrigerator, and a television, a control device for an automobile, a train, and the like, and a control device for other industrial equipment.

  The host-side control device T41 and the communication LSIT 43 are capable of serial transmission in both directions by SPI communication. The fourth communication speed between the host-side control device T41 and the communication LSI T43 is set to a maximum of 5 Mbps. The communication LSIT 43 and each communication LSIT 44 can be serially transmitted in both directions by SPI communication. The fifth transmission rate between the communication LSIT 43 and each communication LSIT 44 is set to a maximum of 5 Mbps. The fourth communication speed and the fifth communication speed may be the same communication speed, but are preferably different communication speeds from the viewpoint of data confidentiality. Furthermore, although the same communication speed may be used among a plurality of fifth communication speeds, it is preferable that the communication speeds are different from the viewpoint of data confidentiality.

  The communication LSIT 44 and the I2C device T42 can be serially transmitted in one direction from the communication LSIT 44 to the communication LSIT 43 by I2C. The sixth communication speed between the communication LSIT 44 and the I2C device T42 is set to a maximum of 1 Mbps. The sixth communication speed may be the same communication speed as the fourth communication speed and the fifth communication speed, but is preferably a different communication speed from the viewpoint of data confidentiality. Furthermore, it is preferable that different communication speeds are set between the plurality of sixth communication speeds from the viewpoint of data confidentiality.

  The communication system of configuration 2 will be specifically described. As shown in FIG. 6, the UARTTT 411 of the host-side control device T41 is connected to the SPI2 unit T13 of the communication LSIT43. The SPI1 unit T12 of the communication LSIT43 is connected to the SPI1 unit T12 of the plurality of communication LSIT44. The I2C unit T16 of the communication LSIT 44 is connected to a plurality of I2C devices T42.

  In the communication LSIT 43 and the communication LSIT 44, the MISO for transmission and the MOSI for reception in the SPI1 unit T12 are connected to each other. Thereby, bidirectional data communication between the communication LSIT 43 and the communication LSIT 44 is realized.

The operation of the communication system configured as described above will be described.
First, the common key writing device in which the common key data for encryption, the AES encryption algorithm, and the AES decryption algorithm are connected to the dedicated terminal T221 at the shipment stage or after the installation of the device equipped with the communication LSIT1. To the non-volatile memory unit T22. This processing is performed in all the communication LSIT 43 and the communication LSIT 44.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, when a predetermined amount of processing data is serially transmitted by the SPI communication in units of 8 bits (1 byte) from the host side control device T41, it is received by the SPI2 unit T13 of the communication LSIT43. . Communication is performed based on a clock using a reload timer and OSC.

  The processing data received by the SPI2 unit T13 of the communication LSIT 43 is stored in the work SRAM unit T20 of 496B. When a predetermined amount of processing data is stored in the SRAM unit T20, the AES unit T21 operates, and after error correction data is added to the processing data, the processing data and error correction are performed using the common key data and the AES encryption algorithm. Data is encrypted. As a result, the processing data and the error correction data are replaced with the encryption processing data and the encryption error correction data composed of ciphertext. In the present embodiment, storing a predetermined amount of processing data is used as a trigger for encryption by the AES unit T21. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, encryption by the AES unit T21 may be performed every predetermined time and every time a predetermined number of processing data is received.

  Next, the slave selection SS of the transmission destination communication LSIT 44 to be a slave is selected by being activated. Then, the encryption processing data and the encryption error correction data are serially transmitted to the SPI1 unit T12 of the communication LSI T44 by SPI communication. The serially transmitted encrypted data and encrypted error correction data are stored in the work SRAM unit T20. When all the encryption processing data and encryption error correction data are stored, the AES unit T21 performs the decryption. It should be noted that the decoding by the AES unit T21 may be sequentially performed every time a part of the processing data is stored. Then, error correction of the processed data is performed using the decoded error correction data. As a result, the work SRAM unit T20 is replaced with the decrypted processing data.

  The decrypted processing data is stored in the communication buffer SRAM unit T18. The stored data amount is monitored by the DMAC unit T17. Thereafter, when a predetermined amount or more of processing data is stored in the SRAM unit T18 for communication buffer, a transfer request is generated in the DMAC unit T17, and the DMAC unit T17 operates in the normal mode of cycle steal by this transfer request. . That is, after selecting the destination I2C device T42, the DMAC unit T17 performs one transfer unit (for example, 16 bytes) under the bus cycle formed by the reload timer and the OSC for the I2C device T42. Then, the data is transferred from the communication buffer SRAM unit T18 to the I2C device T42 via the I2C unit T16. Then, the bus right is transferred to another bus master such as the UART unit T11 or the AES unit T21 for each transfer unit. After that, if a transfer request is generated, the bus right is regained from the other bus master, and again one transfer unit. The communication process of transferring is repeated until the transfer end condition is satisfied.

  Further, when an external reset signal is automatically or manually input to the clock / reset control unit T15 during such a series of processing operations or before and after the processing operations, the communication LSIT 33 and the communication LSIT 34 are in an initial state. Will be restored. By configuring the external reset signal so that it can be input automatically or manually when detecting or discovering fraud or abnormal behavior, it can be reset in a short time after detecting or discovering fraud or abnormal behavior. it can.

(Amusement machine: Overview)
Next, the gaming machine 1 provided with the communication LSIT1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 9, the gaming machine 1 includes a main board 11 that executes a game, and a sub-side board 12 that executes an effect process related to the game based on processing data transmitted from the main board 11. . As shown in FIG. 10, the main board 11 has a first communication LSIT 33 that encrypts processing data and transmits it to the sub-side board 12, and the sub-side board 12 is used for the first communication. It has a second communication LSIT 34 that receives processing data from the LSIT 33 and decrypts the processing data. In the communication LSIT 33, the processing data before encryption is changed to a data length different from that of the processing data. That is, the data length of the processing data transmitted via the communication LSIT 33 is changed, encrypted, and transmitted to the communication LSIT 34 on the receiving side. The data length of the processing data in the communication LSIT 33 is changed by adding additional data. Specifically, the data length of the processing data in the communication LSIT 33 is changed by adding error correction data. On the other hand, in the communication LSIT 34, after the encrypted processing data is decrypted, the data length is changed to a data length different from that of the processing data. The data length of the processing data in the communication LSIT 34 is changed by adding additional data. Specifically, the data length of the processing data in the communication LSIT 34 is changed by adding parity bit data.

  In the present embodiment, the gaming machine 1 is described using a pachislot device, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the gaming machine 1 may be a pachinko device. Furthermore, the gaming machine 1 may be a slot machine that does not have a stop button, or may be a gaming machine such as another roulette game.

(Structure of gaming machine 1)
Next, the structure of the gaming machine 1 to which the pachislot device is applied will be described. FIG. 8 shows the external structure of the gaming machine 1.

(Reels 53a, 53b, 53c and display windows 55a, 55b, 55c)
The gaming machine 1 includes a cabinet 51 that houses a reel, a circuit board, and the like, and a front door 52 that is attached to the cabinet 51 so as to be openable and closable. Inside the cabinet 51, three reels 53a, 53b, and 53c are provided side by side. Each of the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c has a configuration in which a belt-like sheet is attached to the peripheral surface of a cylindrical frame. The belt-like sheet has a plurality of patterns (for example, 21 pieces). These symbols are continuously arranged along the rotation direction of the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c.

  A liquid crystal display device 54 is disposed at the center of the front door 52. The liquid crystal display device 54 includes a display screen including symbol display areas 54a, 54b, and 54c. The liquid crystal display device 54 is disposed so as to be positioned on the front side overlapping the three reels 53a, 53b, and 53c when viewed from the front. The symbol display areas 54a, 54b, and 54c are arranged corresponding to the three reels 53a, 53b, and 53c, respectively. The symbol display areas 54a, 54b, and 54c can pass through the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c provided behind the symbol display areas 54a, 54b, and 54c.

  That is, the symbol display areas 54a, 54b, and 54c serve as display windows 55a, 55b, and 55c, and the operation of rotating and stopping the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c provided behind them is performed by the player. Visible from the side. In the present embodiment, the entire display screen including the symbol display areas 54a, 54b, and 54c is used to display an image and execute an effect.

  Symbol display areas 54a, 54b, and 54c (hereinafter, display windows 55a, 55b, and 55c) are formed on the surfaces of the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c when the rotation of the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c provided behind them is stopped. Among a plurality of types of symbols arranged, one symbol (three in total) is displayed in each of the upper, middle, and lower regions within the frame. In addition, a target for determining whether or not to win a pseudo line that is a combination of any of the predetermined areas of the upper, middle, and lower areas of the display windows 55a, 55b, and 55c. Is defined as a line (winning determination line).

  In the present embodiment, a top line that combines the upper stages of the display windows 55a, 55b, and 55c, a center line that combines the middle stages of the display windows 55a, 55b, and 55c, and the lower stages of the display windows 55a, 55b, and 55c. A bottom line formed by combining the upper display of the left display window 55a, the middle display window 55b, and the lower display window 55c. The cross down line, the lower display window 55a, the lower display window 55b, the middle display window 55b, and the right display window. Five cross-up lines formed by combining the upper stages of the display windows 55c are provided as winning determination lines.

(Operating device)
The front door 52 is provided with various devices to be operated by the player. The bet buttons 56a, 56b, and 56c are for designating the number of bets for one game. The 1 bet button 56a designates 1 bet, the 2 bet button 56b designates 2 bets, and the MAX bet button 56c designates a maximum bet such as 3 bets as a MAX bet. These bet buttons 56a, 56b, and 56c incorporate the bet button lamps 76a to 76c shown in FIG. The checkout button 57 is for pulling out a medal to the outside. The medals are withdrawn using a game card or the like. The start lever 58 is provided to start rotation of all the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c. The stop buttons 59a, 59b, and 59c are associated with the three reels 53a, 53b, and 53c, respectively, and are for stopping the rotation of the corresponding reels 53a, 53b, and 53c.

(Other equipment)
The 7-segment display 60 is made up of 7-segment LEDs, and the number of medals bet in the current game (hereinafter referred to as inserted number), the number of medals to be paid out to the player as a privilege (hereinafter referred to as payout number), electronic Information such as the number of medals converted into data (hereinafter referred to as the number of credits) is digitally displayed to the player. The number of credits is, for example, 50, 100, 200, and no credit. The display lamp 61 (LED or the like) outputs light in a turn-on / off pattern according to the content of the effect. The speakers 62 and 62 are arranged on both lower sides of the front door 52, and output sound such as sound effects and music according to the contents of the production. A panel plate 63 made of a material that transmits light is provided above the speakers 62 and 62. On the panel board 63, patterns such as characters appearing in the game are formed. The medal payout opening 69 is provided below the panel plate 63 and guides medals discharged by driving a medal payout device 68 described later to the outside. The medals discharged from the medal payout opening 69 are stored in a medal tray 70 disposed at the lower end of the gaming machine 1.

(Internal structure)
Next, the internal structure of the gaming machine 1 will be described. FIG. 9 shows the internal structure of the gaming machine 1 in this embodiment. The state where the front door 52 is opened and the structure on the back surface side of the front door 52 and the structure in the cabinet 51 appears is shown.

  A board constituting the main control circuit (hereinafter referred to as the main board 11 is arranged in the upper part of the cabinet 51. The main control circuit determines the internal winning combination, rotates and stops the reels 53a, 53b and 53c, and wins a prize. This is a circuit that controls the main flow of the game in the pachislot, such as the determination of the presence or absence of this.The specific configuration of the main control circuit will be described later. Three reels 53a, 53b, and 53c are provided in the center of the cabinet 51. A stepping motor is connected to each of the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c via a gear having a predetermined reduction ratio.

  On the left side of the three reels 53a, 53b, and 53c, a substrate (hereinafter referred to as a sub-side substrate 12) constituting a sub control circuit is provided. The main board 11 and the sub-side board 12 are connected by a communication cable 281 that enables data transfer by SPI communication. The sub-control circuit is a circuit that controls execution of effects by displaying images. A specific configuration of the sub control circuit will be described later. A power supply device 67 that supplies necessary power to each device is provided in the lower part of the cabinet 51. Further, a medal selector 64, a medal hopper 65, and a medal payout device 68 are disposed around the power supply device 67.

  In the present embodiment, the main board 11 and the sub-side board 12 are connected by the communication cable 281 so as to be able to perform data communication. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and data communication can be performed wirelessly. Also good. In this case, since the communication cable 281 is not necessary, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the main board 11 and the sub-side board 12 can be increased.

  Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, when the sub-side board 12 is arranged on the front door 52 and the front door 52 is opened from the cabinet 51, data communication becomes impossible, while the front door 52 is attached to the cabinet 51. By adopting a configuration in which the reach of radio waves is adjusted so that data communication is possible when closed, the open / closed state of the front door 52 can be detected. Specifically, when the antennas T331 and T341 are connected to the communication LSIT33 and the communication LSIT34, respectively, and the front door 52 is closed to the cabinet 51, the antennas T331 and T341 contact or face each other at a predetermined distance of 0 mm to 3 mm. It is also possible to transmit and receive radio waves only when they contact or face each other at this distance.

(Circuit configuration of the gaming machine 1)
Next, the circuit configuration of the gaming machine 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 10, the gaming machine 1 includes a main control circuit 71, a sub control circuit 72, and peripheral devices (actuators and the like) electrically connected thereto. (Main control circuit 71)
The main control circuit 71 includes a microcomputer 711 installed on a circuit board as a main component. The microcomputer 711 includes a CPU (hereinafter, main CPU 7111), ROM (hereinafter, main ROM 7112) and RAM (hereinafter, main RAM 7113), and also has a UART unit 7114.

  The main ROM 7112 stores a control program executed by the main CPU 7111, a data table such as an internal lottery table, data for transmitting various control commands (commands) to the sub control circuit 72, and the like. The main RAM 7113 is provided with a storage area for storing various data such as an internal winning combination determined by execution of the control program.

  A clock pulse generation circuit 712, a frequency divider 713, a random number generator 714, and a sampling circuit 715 are connected to the main CPU 7111. The clock pulse generation circuit 712 and the frequency divider 713 generate clock pulses. The main CPU 7111 executes a control program based on the generated clock pulse. The random number generator 714 generates a random number in a predetermined range (for example, 0 to 65535). The sampling circuit 715 extracts one value from the generated random numbers.

  A switch of the input switch unit 73 and the like are connected to the I / O port 716 of the microcomputer 711. The main CPU 7111 receives an input from a switch or the like and controls the operation of a peripheral device such as a stepping motor. The stop switches 731L, 731C, and 731R detect that each of the three stop buttons 59a, 59b, and 59c has been pressed by the player (stop operation). These stop switches 731L, 731C, and 731R are connected to an I / O port 716 via a reel stop signal circuit 735.

  The start switch 732 detects that the start lever 58 has been operated by the player (start operation). The 1-bet switch 733a detects that the 1-bet button 56a has been pressed by the player. The 2-bet switch 733b detects that the 2-bet button 56b has been pressed by the player. The MAX bet switch 733c detects that the MAX bet button 56c has been pressed by the player. The settlement switch 734 detects that the settlement button 57 has been pressed by the player.

(Peripheral devices and circuits)
Peripheral devices whose operations are controlled by the microcomputer 711 include a stepping motor and a 7-segment display. A circuit for controlling the operation of each peripheral device is connected to the output port of the I / O port 716 of the microcomputer 711.

  The motor driving circuit 741 controls driving of stepping motors 742a, 742b, and 742c provided corresponding to the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c. The reel position detection circuit 743 detects a reel index indicating that the reels 53 a, 53 b, and 53 c have made one rotation according to each reel 53 a, 53 b, and 53 c by an optical sensor having a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit.

  The stepping motors 742a, 742b, and 742c have a configuration in which the momentum is proportional to the number of output pulses and the rotation shaft can be stopped at a specified angle. The driving force of the stepping motors 742a, 742b, and 742c is transmitted to the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c via a gear having a predetermined reduction ratio. Each time one pulse is output to the stepping motors 742a, 742b, and 742c, the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c rotate at a constant angle.

  The main CPU 7111 counts the number of times the pulses are output to the stepping motors 742a, 742b, and 742c after detecting the reel index, so that the rotation angle of the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c (mainly, the number of symbols of the reels) The position of each symbol arranged on the surface of the reels 53a, 53b, and 53c is managed.

  The I / O port 716 is connected to the lamp driving circuit 717. A lamp driving circuit 717 controls operations of various lamps and a 7-segment display. The lamp driving circuit 717 turns on and off the 1-bet lamp 75a, the 2-bet lamp 75b, the MAX-bet lamp 75c, the 1-bet button lamp 76a, the 2-bet button lamp 76b, the MAX-bet button lamp 76c, and the display lamp 61. . The 1-bet button lamp 76a, the 2-bet button lamp 76b, and the MAX-bet button lamp 76c may be provided on the 1-bet button 56a, the 2-bet button 56b, and the MAX-bet button 56c, respectively. The lamps 75a to 75c and 76a to 76c and 61 may be configured to emit light so as to be changed into a plurality of colors by a full color LED or the like.

  Further, the main control circuit 71 configured as described above is connected to the external concentrated terminal board 14 so as to be able to transmit and receive data and signals. The external concentration terminal board 14 is connected to the hall computer 3 so that data and signals can be transmitted in one direction.

  The main control circuit 71 is connected to the sub-control circuit 72 via the communication LSIT 33 and the communication LSIT 34. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the UART 7114 of the microcomputer 711 can be serially transmitted to the communication LSIT 33 bidirectionally by UART communication. The communication LSIT 33 is provided on the main board 11 together with the main control circuit 71. The communication LSIT 33 has a function of encrypting processing data received from the UART unit 7114. The communication LSIT 33 is connected to the communication LSIT 34 of the sub-control circuit 72, and is capable of serial communication with the communication LSIT 34 in one direction by SPI communication. The communication LSIT 34 has a function of decrypting the encrypted processing data. The communication LSIT 34 is capable of bidirectional serial communication with the UART unit 7214 of the microcomputer 721 by UART communication. That is, the main control circuit 71 and the sub-control circuit 72 can transfer data by the communication system having the configuration 1 shown in FIGS.

(Sub control circuit 72)
The sub control circuit 72 is electrically connected to the main control circuit 71 through the communication system having the configuration 1, and performs processing such as determination and execution of effect contents based on a command transmitted from the main control circuit 71. The sub-control circuit 72 basically includes a microcomputer 721 having a CPU (hereinafter referred to as sub-CPU 7211), ROM (hereinafter referred to as sub-ROM 7212), RAM (hereinafter referred to as sub-RAM 7213), UART unit 7214, and SPI unit 7215. Have.

  The sub CPU 7211 is connected to the rendering processor 722, the drawing RAM 723, the driver 724, the DSP 725 (digital signal processor), the audio RAM 726, the A / D converter 727, and the amplifier 728.

  The sub CPU 7211 controls the output of video, sound, and light according to the control program stored in the sub ROM 7212 in accordance with the command transmitted from the main control circuit 71. The sub-RAM 7213 is provided with a storage area for registering the determined contents and effects data, and a storage area for storing various data such as an internal winning combination transmitted from the main control circuit 71. The sub ROM 7212 basically includes a program storage area and a data storage area.

  In the program storage area, a control program executed by the sub CPU 7211 is stored. For example, in the control program, a main board communication task for controlling communication with the main control circuit 71 and an effect registration task for extracting effect random numbers and determining and registering effect contents (effect data) , A drawing control task for controlling the display of the video by the liquid crystal display device 54 based on the determined production content, a lamp control task for controlling the light output by the lamp, a voice control task for controlling the sound output by the speaker, etc. . Further, the control program includes a first accessory control task that controls the operation of the first accessory 201 and a second accessory control task that controls the operation of the second accessory 202.

  The first accessory 201 and the second accessory 202 are provided in a symmetrical arrangement or the like at a position that can be viewed by a player who operates the gaming machine 1. For example, a character member is provided on the upper portion of the cabinet 51 of the gaming machine 1, and the character member moves both arms up and down to display a moving image on a full-color LED provided at the tip of both arms. If an operation of blinking the lamp in cooperation with the vertical movement of the arm or the moving image display is performed, the left arm and the right arm, which are both arms, correspond to the first accessory 201 and the second accessory 202. Become.

  The first accessory 201 includes a first lamp driving device 2011, a first motor driving device 2012, a first LED driving device 2013 that drives a full color LED, and a speaker driving device 2014. The second accessory 202 includes a second lamp driving device 2021, a second motor driving device 2022, a second LED driving device 2023, and a speaker driving device 2024. Note that lamp driving, LED driving, and speaker driving are examples, and are not limited to these. The drive devices 2011 to 2014 of the first accessory 201 and the drive devices 2021 to 2024 of the second accessory 202 can receive processing data by data communication by I2C communication so as to become the I2C device T42 of FIG. Has been.

  The above-mentioned accessory 201 and accessory 202 are capable of data communication with the sub-control circuit 72 by the communication system having the configuration 2 shown in FIGS. Specifically, the SPI unit 7215 of the microcomputer 721 is connected to the communication LSIT 43 mounted on the sub-side substrate 12 together with the sub-control circuit 72. The communication LSIT 43 is connected to the communication LSIs 44 and T45, and these communication LSIs 44 and T45 are connected to the I2C section of the accessory 201 and 202.

  In the present embodiment, the communication LSIT1 is described as being provided corresponding to one or more drive devices of a single unit like the first accessory 201. It is not limited and may be provided corresponding to one or more drive devices of the same function or the same use. For example, the first lamp driving device, the second lamp driving device, and the third lamp driving device are connected to one communication LSIT1, and the first motor driving device and the second motor are connected to another communication LSIT1. The driving device and the third motor driving device may be connected, and the first LED driving device, the second LED driving device, and the third LED driving device may be connected to another communication LSIT1. Furthermore, the communication LSIT1 may be provided for each drive device of the effect group that performs the cooperative operation.

  In addition, the data storage area of the sub ROM 7212 is a storage area for storing various data tables, a storage area for storing effect data constituting each effect content, a storage area for storing animation data related to the creation of video, BGM and sound effects. A storage area for storing sound data, a storage area for storing lamp data relating to the light on / off pattern, and the like are included.

(Data table in the main ROM 7112)
Next, the data table stored in the main ROM 7112 will be described. The main ROM 7112 stores various data tables such as a symbol arrangement table, a symbol combination table, a bonus operation time table, an internal lottery table, and an internal winning combination determination table.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the symbol arrangement table defines the position of each symbol in the rotation direction of each reel and data (hereinafter referred to as symbol code) specifying the type of symbol arranged at each position. In the symbol arrangement table, when the reel index is detected, the symbol position existing in the middle of the display window is set to “0”, and “0” to ““ 20 ”is assigned. Therefore, by managing the number of symbols that have been rotated since the reel index was detected, by referring to the symbol arrangement table, the position of the symbol that exists mainly in the middle of the display window and the type of the symbol can be determined. It can always be managed.

  In addition, the symbol combination table is determined to be a winning combination when the symbol combination displayed by each reel along the winning determination line matches the symbol combination defined by the symbol combination table, and a medal is paid out. Benefits such as re-game operation and bonus game operation are given to the player. The symbol combination table defines a symbol combination, a display combination, and a payout number that are predetermined according to the type of privilege. The display combination is data for identifying a combination of symbols displayed along the winning determination line.

  The display combination is represented as 1-byte data in which a unique symbol combination is assigned to each bit. For example, when the symbol “bell” of each reel is displayed along the winning determination line, “bell (00000010)” is determined as the display combination.

  Further, when a numerical value of 1 or more is determined as the payout number, medals are paid out. In the present embodiment, when a cherry, bell, or watermelon is determined as a display combination, medals are paid out. The number of payouts is defined according to the number of inserted sheets. Basically, a larger number of paid-out sheets is determined when the number of inserted sheets is small.

  In addition, when replay is determined as the display combination, replaying is performed. When BB is determined as the display combination, the bonus is activated. If the symbol combination displayed along the winning determination line does not match any of the symbol combinations defined by the symbol combination table, it is a so-called “losing”.

  The bonus operation time table defines data to be stored in various storage areas provided in the main RAM 7113 when the bonus operation is performed. The in-operation flag is data for identifying the type of bonus that is activated. In the present embodiment, BB (a combination continuous action device related to a first type special combination) and RB (a first type special combination) are provided as bonus types. The operation of RB is continuously performed while the operation of BB is performed. In the present embodiment, the maximum bet number in the RB is two and the other games are three. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  The operation of BB is ended when the medals that have reached the prescribed number are paid out. The operation of the RB is ended when a game that reaches the specified number of times is performed, when there is a winning that reaches the specified number of times, or when the operation of the BB ends. The bonus end number counter, the possible game number counter, and the possible winning number counter are data for managing whether or not the specified number of times or the specified number of times as a trigger end timing of the bonus has been reached.

  More specifically, numerical values defined by the bonus operation time table are stored in the respective counters, and the subtraction is performed through the operation of the bonus. As a result, the operation of the corresponding bonus is completed on condition that the value of each counter is updated to “0”.

  The internal lottery table defines a data pointer and a lottery value according to the winning number. The data pointer is data acquired as a result of lottery performed with reference to the internal lottery table, and is data for designating an internal winning combination defined by an internal winning combination determination table described later. The data pointer is provided with a small role / replay data pointer and a bonus data pointer.

  In the present embodiment, random numbers extracted from a predetermined numerical range “0 to 65535” are sequentially subtracted by lottery values corresponding to each winning number, and whether or not the result of the subtraction is negative ( An internal lottery is performed by determining whether or not a so-called “digit” has occurred.

  Therefore, the larger the numerical value defined as the lottery value, the higher the probability that the data (that is, the data pointer) to which it is assigned will be determined. The winning probability of each winning number can be represented by “the lottery value corresponding to each winning number / the number of all random numbers that may be extracted (65536)”.

  The internal winning combination determination table defines an internal winning combination in accordance with the data pointer. When the data pointer is determined, the internal winning combination is uniquely acquired. The internal winning combination is data for identifying a combination of symbols of each reel that is permitted to be displayed along the winning determination line. Like the display combination, the internal winning combination is represented as 1-byte data in which a unique symbol combination is assigned to each bit. When the data pointer is “0”, the content of the internal winning combination is “lost”, which indicates that any display of symbol combinations defined by the symbol combination table described above is not permitted.

(Configuration of storage area in main RAM 7113)
Next, the configuration of various storage areas provided in the main RAM 7113 will be described. The main RAM 7113 has an internal winning combination storage area, a carryover combination storage area, an operating flag storage area, and the like. The internal winning combination storing area stores the internal winning combination represented by the above-mentioned 1-byte data. When the bit is set to “1”, display of the corresponding symbol combination is permitted. When all bits are “0”, the content is lost. The main RAM 7113 is provided with a display combination storage area in which the display combination described above is stored. The configuration of the display combination storing area is the same as the configuration of the internal winning combination storing area. When “1” is set in the bit, the corresponding symbol combination is displayed along the winning determination line.

  The carryover combination storage area is stored when the internal winning combination related to the bonus operation is determined as a result of the lottery described above. The internal winning combination (hereinafter referred to as the carryover combination) related to the operation of the bonus stored in the carryover combination storage area is retained without being cleared until the corresponding symbol combination is displayed on the winning determination line. It has become. And while the carryover combination is stored in the carryover combination storage area, it is stored in the internal winning combination storage area regardless of the result of the lottery described above.

  The operating flag storage area stores an operating flag consisting of 1 byte. The operating flag has a unique bonus assigned to each bit. When “1” is set in the bit, the corresponding bonus is activated. The state when all bits are “0” is defined as a general gaming state.

(Game machine: Operation)
Next, the operation of the gaming system will be described using a flowchart.
When the power is turned on, the gaming machine 1 executes various programs. In the gaming machine 1, a game such as a main routine is executed in the main control circuit 71 by the main CPU 7111, and a program such as an effect routine is executed in the sub control circuit 72, thereby producing an effect of the liquid crystal display device 54. It becomes possible to display an image.

(Game machine 1: main control circuit 71: main routine)
Specifically, when a main routine or the like is executed in the main control circuit 71, an initialization process is first performed when the pachislot is turned on as shown in FIG. 14 (S1). Next, the designated storage area in the main RAM 7113 is cleared (S2). For example, data stored in a storage area that needs to be erased for each game, such as an internal winning combination storage area or a display combination storage area, is cleared.

  Next, a medal acceptance / start check process is performed (S3). In this process, the medal sensor and start switch input are checked.

  Next, a random value is extracted and stored in a random value storage area provided in the main RAM 7113 (S4). Next, an internal lottery process is performed (S5). In this process, the internal winning combination is determined by lottery based on a random value. Next, a start command is transmitted to the sub-control circuit 72 (S6). The start command includes a parameter for specifying an internal winning combination. Note that various commands such as a start command are processing data of the communication LSIT1, and are temporarily stored in the command area of the main RAM 7113 and then executed at a constant cycle (1.1173 msec) ( 16) is transmitted as a trigger.

  Next, the start of rotation of all main reels is requested (S7). When the start of rotation of all the main reels is requested, the driving of the stepping motor is controlled by an interrupt process executed at a constant cycle (1.1173 msec), and rotation of each reel is started.

  Next, a reel stop control process is performed (S8). In this process, the input of the stop switches 731L, 731C, and 731R is checked, and the rotation of the corresponding reels 53a, 53b, and 53c is stopped based on the timing when the stop buttons 59a, 59b, and 59c are pressed and the internal winning combination. Is done.

  Next, the combination of symbols displayed along the winning determination line is searched, and the payout number and the like are determined based on the result (S9). As a result of the search, if the symbol combination displayed along the winning determination line matches the symbol combination defined by the symbol combination table, the corresponding display combination and the number of payouts are determined. Next, a display command is transmitted to the sub-control circuit 72 (S10). The display command includes parameters that specify the display combination, the number of payouts, and the like. Similar to the start command and the like, the display command is processing data transmitted by the communication LSIT 33 and is temporarily stored in the command area of the main RAM 7113 and then executed at a constant cycle (1.1173 msec). (FIG. 16) is transmitted as a trigger. Although not shown, the processing data to be transmitted is not limited to game contents (information regarding BET and game results). For example, processing data related to an operation (such as a BET operation after the start operation is performed) performed during a period when the operation on various input devices is invalid may be transmitted.

  Next, a medal payout process is performed (S11). Based on the determined payout number, the hopper is driven and the credit number is updated. Next, the bonus end number counter is updated based on the payout number (S12). The numerical value determined as the payout number is subtracted from the bonus end number counter.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the bonus operating flag is ON (S13). When it is determined that the bonus operating flag is on, bonus end check processing is performed (S14). It is checked whether or not to end the bonus operation with reference to various counters for managing the bonus end timing.

  After S14 or when it is determined in S13 that the bonus operating flag is not on, bonus operation check processing is performed (S15). It is checked whether or not the bonus operation starts. When this process ends, the process proceeds to S2.

(Game machine 1: main control circuit 71: interrupt processing routine)
Next, an interrupt process (1.1173 msec) controlled by the main CPU will be described with reference to FIG. First, the main CPU saves the register (S161). Next, the main CPU performs an input port check process (S162). In this process, signals input from various switches such as a stop switch are checked. If the presence of a command is confirmed in the input port check process, the command is output in parallel to the UART unit 7114 and serially output from the UART unit 7114 to the communication LSIT 33. Then, it is serially transmitted from the communication LSIT 33 to the communication LSIT 34 of the sub-control circuit 72. The execution processing of the communication LSIT 33 and the communication LSIT 33 will be described in detail later.

  Next, the main CPU performs a reel control process (S163). In this process, when the start of rotation of all the reels is requested, the driving of the stepping motor is controlled so that the rotation of each reel is started and then rotated at a constant speed. When the number of sliding pieces is determined, the driving of the stepping motor is controlled so that the rotation of the corresponding reel waits for the number of sliding pieces and the rotation is decelerated and stopped.

  Next, the main CPU performs a lamp and 7-segment driving process (S164). Next, the main CPU restores the register (S165). When this process ends, the interrupt process ends.

  This completes the description of the contents of the program executed by the main CPU 7111 of the main control circuit. Next, the contents of a program executed by the sub CPU 7211 of the sub control circuit 72 will be described with reference to FIG.

(Game machine 1: Sub control circuit 72: Main board communication task)
First, the sub CPU 7211 of the sub control circuit 72 checks reception of a command transmitted from the main control circuit 71 (S301). Here, a command for the sub CPU 7211 to perform reception check or the like is output from the main control circuit 71 and transmitted via the communication LSIT 33 of the main board 11 and the communication LSIT 34 of the sub side board 12. That is, since the received processing data is data to which parity bit data is added, in step S301, a parity check is performed using the parity bit added to the processing data. If an error in the processing data is detected as a result of the parity check, the sub CPU 7211 may request the communication LSIT 34 to retransmit the processing data or discard the processing data. Next, when receiving a command, the sub CPU 7211 extracts the type of the command (S302). Next, it is determined whether or not a command different from the previous one has been received (S303). If it is determined that a command different from the previous command has not been received (S303: NO), the process proceeds to S301. On the other hand, if it is determined that a command different from the previous command has been received, the command is stored in the message queue (S304). Move on.

(Game machine 1: Sub control circuit 72: Production registration task)
Next, an effect registration task performed by the sub CPU 7211 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the sub CPU 7211 takes out a message from the message queue (S311). Next, it is determined whether or not there is a message (S312). If it is determined that there is a message (S312: YES), game information is copied from the message (S313). For example, various data specified by parameters, such as an internal winning combination, a type of reel that has stopped rotating, a display combination, an operating flag, and the like are copied to a storage area provided in the sub RAM 7213.

  Next, effect content determination processing is performed (S314). In this process, depending on the type of the received command, the contents of the effect are determined and the effect data is registered.

  After S314 or when it is determined that there is no message in S312 (S312: NO), animation data is registered (S315). Next, registration is performed (S316). Thereafter, registration of lamp data is performed (S317). The registration of the animation data, the registration of the sound data, and the registration of the ramp data are performed based on the effect data registered in the effect content determination process. When this process ends, the process proceeds to S311. Thus, the contents of the processing data transmitted to the I2C device T42 are determined by registering the production contents. That is, the effect mode of the driving devices 2011 to 2014 included in the first accessory 201 is transmitted as processing data to the I2C device T42.

(Game machine 1: main control circuit 71: host side data transmission processing routine)
The command transmission from the main control circuit 71 to the sub-control circuit 72 is triggered by an interrupt process (FIG. 16) in which the host-side data transmission process routine of FIG. 18 is executed at a constant cycle (1.1173 msec). Is done. That is, when this routine is executed, after the command as processing data is read (S101), the UART unit 7114 and the UART unit T11 of the communication LSIT 33 are connected in a handshake state by hardware flow control. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the UART unit T11 of the communication LSIT 33 is in a receivable state (S102).

  If the UART unit T11 is not receivable (S102: NO), S102 is re-executed to transmit 8 bits of the read command as processing data at 38400 bps (S104). Thereafter, a stop bit is transmitted (S105). Thereafter, it is determined whether transmission of all data, that is, transmission of the command is completed (S106). If transmission of all data has not been completed (S106: NO), the process is re-executed from S102. On the other hand, if transmission of all data has been completed (S106: YES), this routine is terminated assuming that transmission of the command has been completed. The Note that the processing data consisting of commands is plaintext before encryption.

(UART part T11: UART processing routine)
The UART unit T11 in the communication LSIT1 (communication LSIT33 or the like) executes a UART processing routine. That is, as shown in FIG. 19, it is determined whether or not the operation is a slave operation (S111). If the operation is not a slave operation (S111: NO), it is subsequently determined whether or not the operation is a master operation (S112). ). If it is not a master operation (S112: NO), the process is re-executed from S111 and is in a standby state until any operation is performed. If the operation is a slave operation (S111: YES), it is subsequently determined whether or not data has been received (S114). If no data is received (S114: NO), S114 is re-executed to enter a standby state. When data is received (S114: YES), the data is received in units of 8 bits and stored in the work SRAM unit T20 (S115). Note that reception in units of 8 bits is performed by detecting a start bit and a stop bit. Then, it is determined whether or not the reception of all data has been completed (S116). If all the data has not been received (S116: NO), the process is re-executed from S114. If all the data has been received (S116: YES), this routine ends.

  If the operation is a master operation (S112: YES), a UART master operation process is executed (S113). That is, as shown in FIG. 20, it is determined whether or not the data transmission condition is satisfied (S121). For example, if data transmission conditions are satisfied (S121: YES), such as when data reception on the slave side that is a data transmission destination is possible and data decoding is completed, first, start bit data Is transmitted (S122), and then the encrypted data is read from the work SRAM unit T20 in units of 8 bits and transmitted at 38400 bps (S123). Thereafter, parity bit data is transmitted (S124), and stop bit data is transmitted (S125). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the transmission of all data has been completed (S126). If not completed (S126: NO), the process is re-executed from S122. On the other hand, if transmission of all data is completed (S126: YES), this routine is terminated.

(SPI1 part T12 / SPI2 part T13: SPI processing routine)
As shown in FIG. 21, the SPI1 unit T12 and the SPI2 unit T13 in the communication LSIT1 (communication LSIT33 etc.) execute an SPI processing routine. That is, it is determined whether or not it is a slave operation (S131). If it is not a slave operation (S131: NO), it is subsequently determined whether or not it is a master operation (S132). If it is not the master operation (S132: NO), the process is re-executed from S131, and is in a standby state until any operation is performed. If the operation is a slave operation (S131: YES), it is subsequently determined whether or not it is selected as a slave (S134). If it is not selected as a slave (S134: NO), this routine is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the slave is selected (S134: YES), it is determined whether or not data has been received (S135). If no data is received (S135: NO), S135 is re-executed to enter a standby state. When the data is received (S135: YES), the data is received in units of 8 bits and stored in the work SRAM unit T20 (S136). Then, it is determined whether or not reception of all data has been completed (S137). If all data has not been received (S137: NO), the process is re-executed from S135. If all data is received (S137: YES), this routine is terminated.

  If the operation is a master operation (S132: YES), an SPI master operation process is executed (S133). That is, as shown in FIG. 22, it is determined whether or not the data transmission condition is satisfied (S141). If the data transmission condition is satisfied (S141: YES), first, a slave is selected (S142). Thereafter, the data is transmitted at 25600 bps (S143). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the transmission of all data has been completed (S144). If it has not been completed (S144: NO), the process is re-executed from S142. On the other hand, if transmission of all data is completed (S144: YES), this routine is terminated.

(AES unit T21: encryption / decryption processing routine)
As shown in FIG. 23, the AES unit T21 in the communication LSIT1 (communication LSIT33 or the like) executes an encryption / decryption processing routine. That is, first, it is determined whether or not a predetermined amount of data is stored in the work SRAM unit T20 (S151). If not stored (S151: NO), S151 is re-executed to wait. Put into a state.

  On the other hand, when a predetermined amount of data is stored (S151: YES), it is subsequently determined whether the data is encrypted data (S152). If it is not encrypted data (S152: NO), encryption processing for encrypting plaintext data is executed (S153), and then this routine is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is encrypted data (S152: YES), a decryption process for decrypting the ciphertext data is executed in the SRAM unit T20 (S154). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the I2C transmission is possible (S155). If it is not in the I2C transmission enabled state (S155: NO), it is put into a standby state by re-execution of S155. If it is in the I2C transmission enabled state (S155: YES), the decrypted data is transferred from the SRAM unit T20 to the communication buffer. (S156), this routine is terminated.

(DMAC part T17: DMAC processing routine)
The DMAC unit T17 in the communication LSIT1 (communication LSIT33 or the like) executes a DMAC processing routine as shown in FIG. That is, first, it is determined whether or not a data transmission condition is satisfied (S161). If the condition is not satisfied (S161: NO), S161 is re-executed to enter a standby state. On the other hand, if the condition is satisfied (S161: YES), after the transfer destination slave is determined (S162), the transfer destination (slave) is output to the I2C unit T16 (S163). Thereafter, the data of the SRAM unit T18 is output to the I2C unit T16 in units of 16 bytes (S164). Then, it is determined whether or not the output of all data has been completed (S165). If it has not been completed (S165: NO), the process is re-executed from S164. When the output of all data is completed (S165: YES), this routine is terminated.

(I2C unit T16: I2C processing routine)
The I2C unit T16 in the communication LSIT1 (communication LSIT33 or the like) executes an I2C processing routine as shown in FIG. That is, first, it is determined whether transfer destination data has been received from the DMAC unit T17 (S171). If not received (S171: NO), S171 is re-executed to enter a standby state. On the other hand, when the transfer destination data is received (S171: YES), after the transfer destination slave is selected (S172), data transmission by the DMAC unit T17 is performed at the maximum (MAX) 1 Mbps (S173). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the transmission is completed (S174). If the transmission is not completed (S174: NO), the process is re-executed from S172. On the other hand, if the transmission has been completed (S174: YES), the slave is deselected (S175), and then this routine is terminated.

(Operation of communication LSI in gaming machine 1: Configuration 1)
Next, the operation of each communication LSIT1 on the main board 11 and the sub-side board 12 in the communication system having the configuration 1 applied to the gaming machine 1 will be described.

(Communication LSIT33: Main board side communication LSI transmission processing routine)
The communication LSI T33 from when the processing data is received from the main control circuit 71 of the main board 11 which is one control board to when the processing data is transmitted to the communication LSI T 34 of the sub-side board 12 which is the other control board The behavior will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the communication LSIT 33 determines whether or not processing data has been received from the main control circuit 71 by UART communication (see FIG. 19) (S200). The processing data received here is a start command, a display command, and the like transmitted from the main control circuit 71 in step S6 and step S10 in the flowchart (FIG. 14) under the control of the main CPU. When it is determined that the processing data has not been received (S200: NO), step S200 is repeatedly executed. That is, the communication LSIT 33 enters a process data reception standby state.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the processing data has been received (S200: YES), the processing data is arranged at a predetermined position (predetermined start address) in the storage unit of the SRAM T18 or SRAM 20 (S201). Note that either the SRAMT 18 or the SRAM 20 may be used as the storage unit, and the arrangement location is predetermined according to the communication standard or the like. Then, it is determined whether or not the processing data arranged in the storage unit has reached a predetermined amount (S202). Note that the determination of whether or not the predetermined amount has been reached may be made before arrangement of the processing data. When it is determined that the processing data has not reached the predetermined amount (S202: NO), the process returns to step S200 again.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the processing data has reached the predetermined amount (S202: YES), the data length of the processing data is changed by adding error correction data to each processing data (S203). . Then, encryption is performed on a group of processing data to which error correction data is added (S204). The encryption may be performed on each processing data. Thereafter, the encrypted processing data is arranged at a predetermined position in the storage unit (S205). The arrangement position of the encrypted processing data may be the same as the position where the processing data before encryption is stored, or may be a different position. Thereafter, the encrypted processing data is transmitted to the communication LSIT 34 of the sub-side board 12 by SPI communication (see FIG. 22) (S206), and this routine is terminated.

(Communication LSIT34: Sub-side board-side communication LSI reception processing routine)
Next, the behavior as the communication LSIT 34 from the reception of the processing data from the communication LSIT 33 of the main board 11 to the transmission of the processing data to the sub control circuit 72 of the sub-side board 12 will be described with reference to FIG. To do.

  First, it is determined whether the encryption processing data is received from the communication LSIT 33 on the main board 11 side by SPI communication (see FIG. 21) (S210). The processing data received here is the processing data encrypted with the error correction data transmitted from step S206 of the main board side communication LSI transmission processing routine (FIG. 26) added. When it is determined that the processing data has not been received (S210: NO), step S210 is repeatedly executed. That is, the communication LSIT 34 enters a process data reception standby state.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the processing data has been received (S210: YES), the encrypted processing data is arranged at a predetermined position (predetermined start address) in the storage unit of the SRAM T18 or SRAM 20 (S211). Note that either the SRAMT 18 or the SRAM 20 may be used as the storage unit, and the arrangement location is predetermined according to the communication standard or the like.

  Next, the encrypted processing data is decrypted and divided into a group of processing data (S212). Then, for each processing data, an error is checked based on the added error correction data (S213). Thereafter, the error is corrected for the processing data in which the error exists (S214).

  Then, the parity bit data is added to each of the processed data whose error has been corrected, thereby changing the data length of the processed data (S215). The processing data to which the parity bit data is added is arranged at a predetermined position in the storage unit (S216). The arrangement position of the processing data to which the parity bit data is added may be the same as the position where the processing data before decoding is stored, or may be a different position. Thereafter, the processing data to which the parity bit data is added is transmitted to the sub-control circuit 72 by UART communication (see FIG. 20) (S217), and this routine is terminated. The processing data received by the sub control circuit 72 is subjected to a reception check (S306) by the sub CPU 7211 (see FIG. 16).

(Operation of Communication LSI in Game Machine 1: Configuration 2)
Next, the operation of each communication LSI T1 in the sub-side board 12 and the I2C device T42 in the communication system having the configuration 2 applied to the gaming machine 1 will be described.

(Communication LSIT43: Sub-side board-side communication LSI transmission processing routine)
For communication from reception of processing data from the sub-control circuit 72 of the sub-side board 12 which is one control board to transmission of processing data to the communication LSIs 44 and T45 on the I2C device T42 side which is the other control board The behavior as the LSIT 43 will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the sub-side substrate 12 includes the communication LSIT 34 and the communication LSIT 43. However, a single communication LSI may have both functions.

  First, the communication LSIT 43 determines whether or not processing data has been received from the sub-control circuit 72 through SPI communication (see FIG. 21) (S220). The processing data received here includes animation data and sound transmitted by registering the contents of the effects executed in steps S315, S316, and S317 of the effect registration task (FIG. 17) performed by the sub CPU. Data, data indicating the rendering mode of the lamp data, and the like. When it is determined that the processing data has not been received (S220: NO), step S220 is repeatedly executed. That is, the communication LSIT 43 enters a process data reception standby state.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the processing data has been received (S220: YES), the processing data is arranged at a predetermined position (predetermined start address) in the storage unit of the SRAM T18 or SRAM 20 (S221). Note that either the SRAMT 18 or the SRAM 20 may be used as the storage unit, and the arrangement location is predetermined according to the communication standard or the like. Then, it is determined whether or not the processing data arranged in the storage unit has reached a predetermined amount (S222). Note that the determination of whether or not the predetermined amount has been reached may be made before arrangement of the processing data. When it is determined that the processing data has not reached the predetermined amount (S222: NO), the process returns to step S220 again.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the processing data has reached the predetermined amount (S222: YES), the data length of the processing data is changed by adding error correction data to each processing data (S223). . Then, encryption is performed on a group of processing data to which error correction data is added (S224). The encryption may be performed on each processing data. Thereafter, the encrypted processing data is arranged at a predetermined position in the storage unit (S225). The arrangement position of the encrypted processing data may be the same as the position where the processing data before encryption is stored, or may be a different position. Thereafter, the encrypted processing data is transmitted to the communication LSIs 44 and T45 on the I2C device T42 side by SPI communication (see FIG. 22) (S226), and this routine is terminated.

(Communication LSIT44 / T45: I2C device side communication LSI reception processing routine)
Next, the communication LSIs T44 and T45 from when the processing data is received from the communication LSIT 43 of the sub-side board 12 which is one control board to when the processing data is transmitted to the I2C device T42 which is the other control board The behavior will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the I2C device T42 (the first accessory 201 and the second accessory 202) connected to each of the communication LSIs 44 and T45 may operate in synchronization or according to the received processing data. You may operate at different timings.

  First, it is determined whether or not the encryption processing data is received from the communication LSIT 34 on the sub-side board 12 side by SPI communication (see FIG. 21) (S230). The processing data received here is processing data to which error correction data transmitted from step S226 of the sub-side board side communication LSI transmission processing routine (FIG. 28) is added and encrypted. When it is determined that the processing data has not been received (S230: NO), step S230 is repeatedly executed. In other words, the communication LSIs T44 and T45 are in a process data reception standby state.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the processing data has been received (S230: YES), the encrypted processing data is arranged at a predetermined position (predetermined start address) in the storage unit of the SRAM T18 or SRAM 20 (S231). Note that either the SRAMT 18 or the SRAM 20 may be used as the storage unit, and the arrangement location is predetermined according to the communication standard or the like.

  Next, the encrypted processing data is decrypted and divided into a group of processing data to which error correction data is added (S232). Then, for each processing data, an error is checked based on the added error correction data (S233). Thereafter, the error is corrected for the processing data in which the error exists (S234). In this routine, no parity bit is added to the processing data. In other words, the data length of the data is changed by removing the error correction data from the processing data. Further, the present invention is not limited to this, and a parity bit may be added.

  Then, the processed data in which the error is corrected is arranged at a predetermined position in the storage unit (S235). The arrangement position of the processing data in which the error is corrected may be the same as the position where the processing data before decoding is stored, or may be a different position. Thereafter, the processing data is transmitted to the I2C device T42 by I2C communication (see FIG. 25) (S236), and this routine is terminated. When there are a plurality of I2C devices T42 to which one communication LSI is a transmission destination, the communication LSI may determine which processing data is transmitted to which I2C device T42. In this case, identification information indicating which I2C device T42 is the processing data to be transmitted may be included in the processing data itself.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but only specific examples are illustrated, and the present invention is not particularly limited, and the specific configuration and the like can be appropriately changed in design. Further, the actions and effects described in the embodiments of the present invention only list the most preferable actions and effects resulting from the present invention, and the actions and effects according to the present invention are described in the present embodiments. It is not limited to things.

  The above detailed description includes processing executed by a computer. The above explanations and expressions are given for the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to understand the most efficiently. In this specification, each step used to derive one result should be understood as a self-consistent process. In each step, transmission / reception, recording, and the like of electrical or magnetic signals are performed. In the processing in each step, such a signal is expressed by bits, values, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, etc., but these are used only for convenience of explanation. There is a need. In addition, the processing in each step may be described in an expression common to human behavior, but the processing described in this specification is executed by various devices in principle. Further, other configurations required for performing each step will be apparent from the above description.

1 gaming machine 3 hall computer 11 main board 12 sub-side board 14 external concentrated terminal board T1 communication LSI
T2 Reception unit T3 Encryption unit T4 Transmission unit T5 Decoding unit T6 Storage unit T7 Data length change unit T11 UART unit T12 SPI1 unit T13 SPI2 unit T14 Reload timer unit T15 Clock / reset control unit T16 I2C unit T17 DMAC unit T18 SRAM unit T19 Bus T20 SRAM unit T21 AES unit T22 Non-volatile memory unit

Claims (2)

A communication system for communicating processing data between control boards each having a control circuit and a communication LSI,
The communication LSI on one of the control boards is
A first receiver for receiving first processing data from the control circuit of the one control board;
A first storage unit for storing a common key used for encryption;
A first data length changing unit to the second processing data by changing the data length of the first processing data received by said first receiver,
An encryption unit that encrypts the second processing data using the common key of the first storage unit;
A first transmission unit that transmits the second processing data encrypted by the encryption unit to the communication LSI of the other control board;
The communication LSI of the other control board is:
A second receiving unit that receives the encrypted second processing data from the communication LSI of the one control board;
A second storage unit for storing a common key used for decryption;
A decoding unit for decoding by using the common key of the second processing data the encrypted received by the second receiving unit and the second storage unit,
A second data length changing unit to the third processing data by changing the data length of the second processing data decoded by said decoding unit,
A second transmitter that transmits the third processing data to the control circuit of the other control board ;
The previous SL first data length changing unit and the second data length changing section, of the first processing data received by said transmitted first receiving unit from the control circuit of the control board of the one A data length, a data length of the second processing data transmitted from the first transmitter and received by the second receiver, and a data length of the second processed data transmitted from the second transmitter A communication system, wherein a data length of the third processing data received by the control circuit of the control board is different. Game machine characterized by comprising the claims 1 Symbol placement communication system.

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