JP6149330B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a game machine including a movable element used for production and a movable body including a plurality of driving units that operate in synchronization with each other so as not to break the balance of the movable elements.

  2. Description of the Related Art A gaming machine (a spinning machine, slot machine) having a plurality of spinning cylinders with symbols arranged on the outer peripheral surface is known. This type of gaming machine gives a certain game value to a game medium (medal) and performs a game for acquiring such a game medium. In addition, this type of gaming machine has an internal lottery triggered by the player's rotation start operation and starts rotation of a plurality of spinning cylinders, and a mode according to the result of the internal lottery as a player's stop operation trigger. In order to stop multiple cylinders. The game result is determined by the symbol combination displayed on the winning determination line in a state where the plurality of spinning cylinders are stopped, and medals are paid out according to the game result.

JP, 2011-212348, A A pair of motors are provided in the right and left, and it is indicated that these objects move up and down by rotating in the reverse direction.

  When raising and lowering the accessory of Patent Document 1, it is necessary for the pair of motors to operate completely in synchronization with each other. If one rotates slower or faster than the other, one side of the accessory will tilt and the balance will be lost. Increasing the actors not only causes a mechanical failure, but also can reduce the quality of the performance and lose the player's interest. Therefore, the plurality of motors that move the accessory up and down must operate simultaneously and at the same level, that is, in synchronization with each other.

  However, in a technical sense, it may be difficult to drive a plurality of motors “simultaneously”. A sub-board (processing unit) executes a process related to an effect, and a game machine that serially transmits data related to an effect obtained by this process (in this example, driving data of a plurality of motors) via a common signal line In this case (details will be described later), since data is transmitted at a constant interval (interrupt interval), there is a predetermined interval between data transmission to one motor and the next data transmission to the other motor. Time (interrupt interval). Therefore, a plurality of motors cannot be driven “simultaneously”. For this reason, a pair of motor does not operate | move synchronously, and the one side of an accessory may incline and a balance may be lost.

  The present invention includes a processing unit that executes a process related to an effect, a movable element that is used for the effect, and a movable body that includes a first drive unit and a second drive unit that move the movable elements, respectively. In the gaming machine that intermittently transmits the data related to the effect obtained by the above at a predetermined interval via a common signal line, the first drive unit and the second drive unit are operated in synchronization with each other, and the movable element It is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine that can keep the balance of the movable elements when moving the game machine.

The present invention relates to a processing unit that executes a process related to an effect, a movable element that is used for the effect, a movable body that includes a first drive unit and a second drive unit that move the movable element, and a process of the processing unit. A data transmission unit that transmits data related to the effect obtained in step 1; a first peripheral board that receives the data related to the effect and generates a control signal for the first drive unit; and the data related to the effect. In a gaming machine comprising a second peripheral board that receives and generates a control signal for the second drive unit,
The first driving unit and the second driving unit operate in synchronization with each other,
The data transmission unit, the first peripheral board and the second peripheral board are connected to a common signal line,
The data transmission unit transmits an address indicating a destination of the data together with the data related to the effect via the signal line,
The first peripheral substrate and the second peripheral substrate are respectively
An address storage unit storing the address in advance;
Monitoring the signal line, and when the address transmitted through the signal line matches the address of the address storage unit, a signal monitoring unit for acquiring the data transmitted together with the address;
A drive unit control unit that generates the control signal based on the data acquired by the signal monitoring unit, and
The address of the address storage unit of the first peripheral substrate and the address of the address storage unit of the second peripheral substrate are the same,
The first peripheral substrate and the second peripheral substrate operate the first driving unit and the second driving unit in synchronization with each other based on the data transmitted together with the address.

The driving direction of the first driving unit and the driving direction of the second driving unit with respect to the movable element are opposite,
The drive unit control unit of the second peripheral substrate includes a reverse processing unit that converts the control signal so that the drive direction of the second drive unit is opposite to the drive direction of the first drive unit. It may be.

  The present invention includes a processing unit that executes a process related to an effect, a movable element that is used for the effect, and a movable body that includes a first drive unit and a second drive unit that move the movable elements, respectively. In the gaming machine that intermittently transmits the data related to the effect obtained by the above at a predetermined interval via a common signal line, the address of the address storage unit of the first peripheral board and the address of the second peripheral board Since the addresses of the storage units are the same, the first peripheral board and the second peripheral board can simultaneously acquire the same data. As a result, the first driving unit and the second driving unit are operated in synchronization with each other, so that the balance of the movable element is not lost when the movable element is moved.

  The driving unit control unit of the second peripheral substrate includes a reverse processing unit that converts the control signal so that the driving direction of the second driving unit is opposite to the driving direction of the first driving unit. Therefore, even in a gaming machine in which the driving direction of the first driving unit and the driving direction of the second driving unit with respect to the movable element are reversed, the first driving unit and the second driving unit are operated in synchronization with each other, When moving the movable element, the balance of the movable element can be maintained.

It is a front view of the slot machine which shows the state which closed the front door. It is a front view of the slot machine which shows the state which opened the front door 180 degree | times. It is a block diagram of a slot machine. It is a flowchart of the gaming process of the slot machine. 5A is a perspective view of the jog dial, FIG. 5B is a block diagram of the jog dial, and FIG. 5C is a block diagram of the command transmission unit of the main board. It is explanatory drawing of the communication system of a sub board | substrate and a peripheral board | substrate. It is a block diagram of a data transmission part. It is explanatory drawing of a data transmission timing and transmission data. It is explanatory drawing of the process regarding a peripheral board | substrate. It is a functional block diagram of VDP (video display processor). It is explanatory drawing (timing chart) of each process of drawing data preservation | save in VDP, drawing execution, and a display. It is a block diagram of a sound controller. It is explanatory drawing of audio | voice data. It is explanatory drawing of the relationship between the main process and the interruption process in control of a periphery board | substrate. It is a perspective view of a movable body. It is a front view of a movable body (the position of a movable element is an upper end). It is a front view of a movable body (position of a movable element is intermediate). It is a front view of a movable body (the position of a movable element is a lower end). It is a schematic front view of a movable body. It is a block diagram of the drive system of a stepping motor. It is explanatory drawing of the drive procedure of a stepping motor (one-two phase excitation). It is explanatory drawing of the drive procedure of a stepping motor (two-phase excitation). 1 is a block diagram of a peripheral substrate according to an embodiment of the invention. It is explanatory drawing of the data transmission timing and transmission data which concern on embodiment of invention. It is a processing flowchart of peripheral board A1 concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a processing flowchart of peripheral board A2 concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a schematic front view of another movable body. It is a block diagram of the other peripheral board | substrate which concerns on embodiment of invention.

<Structure of gaming machine>
FIG. 1 is a front view of the slot machine with the front door closed, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the slot machine with the front door opened 180 degrees. In the following description, the upward, downward, left, or right directions refer to directions viewed from the player facing the slot machine unless otherwise specified.

  1 and 2, reference numeral 100 denotes a slot machine. As shown in FIG. 1, the slot machine 100 can be opened and closed by a hinge or the like on the slot machine main body 120 and one side of the front surface of the slot machine main body 120. And a front door 130 attached thereto. As shown in FIG. 1, a game display unit 131 is provided substantially in the center of the front door 130, and a medal insertion slot 132 for a player to insert medals is provided at the lower right corner of the game display unit 131. Provided below the medal insertion slot 132 is a reject button 133 for forcibly discharging a clogged medal inserted from the medal insertion slot 132 to the outside of the slot machine 100.

  A start switch 134 for starting a game is provided at the lower left of the game display unit 131, and three stop buttons 140 are provided corresponding to the three reels. A medal payout port 135 is provided at the center of the lower end of the front door. A liquid crystal display device LCD is provided above the game display unit 131.

  A movable body 50 is provided at the position of the liquid crystal display device LCD. As will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 15 and the like, the movable body 50 is provided horizontally, and is moved up and down in this state so that the balance of the movable element 51 and the movable element 51 is not lost. Two drive units (stepping motors) 56 that operate in synchronization with each other are provided. Keeping the movable element 51 horizontal is important in terms of production quality, and it is necessary to avoid the tilting of the movable element 51 and the delay of the operation at one end with respect to the operation at the other end (see FIG. 15 for signs). I want to be)

  A jog dial PAN as an operation unit is provided between the stop button 140 and the medal insertion slot 132, specifically, on the upper right side of the rightmost stop button 140 and on the left side of the medal insertion slot 132.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the jog dial PAN includes two parts, a dial JD that is a ring-shaped part that is provided to rotate left and right, and a push button switch PHSW that is provided at the center of rotation of the ring. Prepare. The player can turn the dial JD of the jog dial PAN left and right, and can press the push button switch PHSW at the center top. Although not shown, a light emitting element is provided inside the push button switch SWSW, and lights up when pressed, for example. The dial JD is rotated in a plurality of steps (for example, the number of steps = 30, the angle = 12 degrees). A predetermined effect is performed according to the rotation direction and / or the rotation amount (angle) of the dial JD and the on / off state of the push button switch.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the jog dial PAN includes a push button switch PHSW and two sensors [1] JS1 and [2] JS2 for detecting the rotation of the dial JD. The sensors [1] JS1 and [2] JS2 output two digital signals of H / L according to the rotation. This will be further explained later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the slot machine main body 120 is fixed to the inner bottom surface, stores a plurality of medals therein, and stores the stored medals at a payout port 135 provided on the front surface of the front door 130. A hopper device 121 for paying out the sheets one by one is installed. An upper portion of the hopper device 121 is provided with a hopper tank 122 that opens upward and stores a plurality of medals therein. Inside the slot machine main body 120, a reel unit 203 including three reels is installed at a position where the game display unit 131 comes when the front door 130 is closed. The reel unit 203 includes three reels (first reel to third reel) in which a plurality of types of symbols are arranged on the outer peripheral surface. The game display unit 131 is provided with an opening through which a player can see the symbols of each rotating reel of the reel unit 203. A power supply unit 205 is provided between the upper hopper unit 121 and the reel unit 203.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the medal (coin) selector 1 is attached to the back side of the front door 130 on the back side of the medal slot 132 provided on the front surface of the front door 130. This medal selector 1 rolls the medal toward the hopper device 121 while detecting the passage of the medal inserted from the medal insertion slot 132, and has a different diameter medal or iron or iron whose outer diameter is different from the predetermined dimension. This is an apparatus for selecting and removing illegal medals made of an alloy and selecting and eliminating a predetermined number or more of medals that can be inserted per game.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a lead-out path 136 that covers the lower side and communicates with the payout port 135 of the front door 130 is provided below the medal selector 1. The medals distributed by the medal selector 1 are returned to the player from the payout port 135 via the derivation path 136.

  FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of a slot machine 100 as an example of a gaming machine to which this embodiment can be applied.

  In this figure, the display about the power supply system is omitted. Although not shown, the slot machine includes a power supply unit (power supply unit 205 in FIG. 2) for generating a DC power supply (+5 V or the like) from a commercial power supply (AC100V).

  The slot machine 100 includes a main substrate (processing unit) 10 and a sub substrate 20 that operates in response to a command from the main substrate (processing unit) 10 as main processing devices. At least the main substrate 10 is accommodated inside the case so that it cannot be contacted from the outside, and is sealed so that traces remain when these substrates are removed. That is, the main board 10 and the sub board 20 are integrally attached by caulking, and are covered by an integral case that covers the entire main board 10 and the sub board 20.

  The main board 10 is used for performing an internal lottery in response to the player's operation, and for performing processing (game processing) such as rotation / stop of the spinning cylinder and payout of medals. The main board 10 includes a CPU that performs a control operation according to a preset program, a ROM that is a storage unit that stores the program, and a RAM that temporarily stores processing results and the like.

  The sub board 20 is for receiving a command signal from the main board 10 and notifying the result of the internal lottery and performing various effects. The sub-board 20 includes a CPU that performs a control operation in accordance with a preset program corresponding to the command signal, a ROM that is a storage unit that stores the program, and a RAM that temporarily stores processing results and the like. Only one command flows from the main board 10 to the sub board 20, and conversely, no command is issued from the sub board 20 to the main board 10.

<Main board>
The main board 10 has a bet switch BET, a start switch 134, a stop button 140, a reel (rotating cylinder) unit 203, a hopper driving unit 80, a hopper 81, and a medal detection for counting the number of medals paid out from the hopper 81. The part 82 (these constitute the hopper device 121 described above) is connected. A peripheral substrate (local substrate) such as a liquid crystal control substrate 200 for controlling the liquid crystal display device, a speaker substrate 201, and an LED substrate 202 is connected to the sub substrate 20. The peripheral board is controlled by the sub-board 20 and produces effects mainly by video, light, and sound.

  Note that the peripheral substrate may be provided integrally with the sub-substrate 20. For example, the liquid crystal control substrate 200 and / or the speaker substrate 201 can be provided inside the sub-substrate 20.

  Further, medal sensors S1 and S2 of the medal selector 1 are connected to the main board 10.

  The medal selector 1 is provided with medal sensors S1 and S2 for counting medals. The medal sensors S1 and S2 are provided on the downstream side (near the exit) of a medal passage (not shown) provided in the medal selector 1 (the upstream side of the medal passage communicates with the medal slot 132). The two medal sensors S1 and S2 are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval along the medal traveling direction. The medal sensors S1 and S2 are, for example, photointerrupters that have a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion that face each other, are formed in a U-shaped cross section, and are positioned so that the detection optical axis faces the medal passage from above. . Each photo interrupter detects the passage of a medal sent without being blocked on the way. The reason why two photo interrupters are adjacent is not only to detect the number of medals but also to monitor whether or not the passage of medals is normal. That is, by providing two photo interrupters adjacent to each other, it is possible to detect the passing speed and passing direction of medals, thereby detecting not only the number of medals but also an illegal act moving in the reverse direction.

  The reel unit 203 includes three spinning cylinders 40a to 40c, stepping motors 155a to 155c that respectively rotate these, and spinning cylinder position detectors (index sensors) 159a to 159c that detect their positions, respectively (note that The stepping motors 155a to 155c may be simply referred to as a motor 155 or a motor).

  Based on the reference position signal detected by the index sensor 159 every time each of the rotating cylinders 40a to 40c makes one rotation, the rotating cylinder control means 1300 starts from the reference position (a frame specified by an index (not shown)) of the rotating cylinder 40. Is obtained (by counting the number of rotation steps of the rotation shaft of the step motor), the current rotation state of the drum 40 can be monitored. That is, the main substrate 10 can obtain the position of the rotating drum 40 when the stop button 140 is operated by obtaining the rotation angle from the reference position of the rotating drum 40.

  In the following description, reference numeral 40 is used to indicate any one or a plurality of spinning cylinders, and reference numerals 40a to 40c are used to separately indicate three spinning cylinders.

  The hopper driving unit 80 rotates an unillustrated rotating disk of the hopper 81 and performs an operation of paying out medals of the payout number instructed by the main board 10. The gaming machine includes a medal detection unit 82 that operates every time a medal is paid out, and the main board 10 receives a medal actually paid out from the hopper 81 based on an input signal from the medal detection unit 82. You can manage the number.

  The insertion accepting unit (insertion accepting means) 1050 receives the outputs of the medal sensors S1 and S2 of the medal selector 1, accepts the insertion of medals for each game, and based on the insertion of medals corresponding to the prescribed number of insertions. Then, a process of permitting the start operation of the first to third cylinders for the start switch 134 is performed. Note that the pressing operation of the start switch 134 is an opportunity to start the rotation of the first cylinder to the third cylinder, and is an opportunity to execute the internal lottery. Also, a prescribed number of throws is set according to the gaming state, the prescribed number of throws is set to 3 in the normal state and the bonus established state, and the prescribed number of throws is set to 1 in the bonus state.

  When medals are inserted, the inserted medals are set to the inserted state up to a specified number of insertions according to the gaming state. Alternatively, when the bet switch BET is pressed in a state where medals have been credited to the gaming machine, the credited medals are set to the inserted state by limiting the prescribed number of insertions according to the gaming state. The main board 10 controls whether or not to accept a medal. From the time when the start switch 134 is pressed and the rotation of each cylinder starts (game start time), when the three stop buttons 140 are pressed and the rotation of each cylinder stops (when the medal payout is completed when winning) (game) When the medal is not accepted (when it is not permitted), the medal sensor S1, S2 does not count the medal and is returned as it is. . Similarly, the main board 10 controls the validity / invalidity of the bet switch BET according to whether or not the medal insertion is accepted. In addition, the bet switch BET is valid from the end of the game to the start of the game, but during other periods (when pressing of the BET switch is not permitted), the bet switch BET is pressed. Even it is ignored.

  The main board 10 incorporates random number generating means 1100. The random number generation means 1100 is a means for generating a random number for lottery. The random value can be generated based on, for example, a count value of an increment counter (a counter that counts numerical values so as to circulate a predetermined count range). In this embodiment, the “random number value” is not only a value that is randomly generated in a mathematical sense, but even if the generation itself is regular, the acquisition timing and the like are irregular. Includes a value that can function as a random number.

  The internal lottery means 1200 performs an internal lottery in which the player determines whether or not the winning combination is based on a start signal from the start switch 134. That is, a lottery table selection process for selecting a lottery table (not shown) stored in a memory (not shown) of the main board 10, a random number determination process for determining the winning of a random number obtained from the random number generating means 1100, The lottery flag setting process for setting a flag to that effect when a big win or the like is won by the determination result is performed.

  In the lottery table selection process, a lottery table (not shown) stored in a storage unit (ROM) (not shown) is used to determine which lottery table is used for internal lottery. In the lottery table, for each of a plurality of random values (for example, 65536 random values from 0 to 65535), replay, small role (bell, cherry), regular bonus (RB: bonus), and big bonus (BB :), etc., are associated with each other. In addition, a normal state, a bonus establishment state, and a bonus state can be set as the gaming state, and a replay lottery state, a replay low probability state, and a replay high probability state can be set as replay lottery states.

  The lottery table selection process allows the contents of the lottery to be set within a predetermined range (the probability of winning can be increased or decreased), and the setting work is performed by the store in the hall where the gaming machine is installed. .

  A normal gaming machine includes a plurality of (for example, six) lottery tables having different lottery probabilities such as BB, RB, and small roles in advance. In the lottery of gaming machines, one of the plurality of lottery tables is set, and the winning / losing determination by lottery is made based on the set lottery table. Changing a setting relating to which of a plurality of lottery tables is used is referred to as a setting change (hereinafter referred to as “setting change”).

  Conventionally, for example, in a gaming machine such as a slot machine, when changing a setting value (usually 1 to 6), the door of the gaming machine is opened, and a setting change key is inserted into a setting change key switch provided in the power supply unit. Setting value displayed on a 7-segment display etc. each time the setting change button (push button) is pressed once by turning on the power of the gaming machine with the key switch turned on. Is incremented and the values from 1 to 6 are cyclically changed, and the desired setting value is determined by operating the start switch when the desired setting value is displayed on the display.

  In the random number determination process, on the basis of the start signal from the start switch 134, a random number value (lottery random number) is acquired for each game from random number generation means (not shown), and the lottery table is referred to for the acquired random number value. To determine whether or not they have won the role.

  In the lottery flag setting process, the lottery flag of the winning combination determined to be won based on the result of the random number determination process is changed from the non-winning state (first flag state, off state) to the winning state (second flag state, on Status). When two or more types of winning combinations are won, a lottery flag corresponding to each of the two or more types of winning winning combinations is set to the winning state. The lottery flag setting information is stored in storage means (RAM).

  A lottery flag (possible carryover flag) that can carry over the winning state for the next game until winning, and a lottery flag that is reset to the non-winning state without bringing the winning state to the next game regardless of winning Carry-over impossible flag) may be provided. In this case, there are a regular bonus (RB) and a big bonus (BB) as a combination to which the former carry-over possible flag is associated, and other combinations (for example, small role, replay) correspond to the latter carry-over impossible flag. It is attached. In other words, in the lottery flag setting process, if a regular bonus is won by internal lottery, the winning state of the regular bonus lottery flag is carried over until the regular bonus is won, and if the big bonus is won by internal lottery, the big bonus lottery A process of carrying over the winning state of the flag until the big bonus is won is performed. At this time, the main board 10 determines whether or not a role other than the regular bonus and the big bonus (small role and replay) is used even in a game in which the winning state of the regular bonus or big bonus lottery flag is carried over by the internal lottery function. An internal lottery is performed. In other words, in the lottery flag setting process, in a game in which the winning state of the regular bonus lottery flag is carried over, if a small role or replay is won in the internal lottery, the regular bonus lottery flag and the internal lottery already won In a game in which the lottery flags corresponding to two or more types of winning combinations or replay lottery flags won in the win state are set to the winning state and the winning state of the big bonus lottery flag is carried over, it is small in the internal lottery When a winning combination or replay is won, a lottery flag corresponding to two or more kinds of winning combinations including a big bonus lottery flag that has already been won and a small bonus or replay lottery flag that has been won in an internal lottery is set to a winning state. Set.

  The spinning cylinder control means 1300 rotates the first to third cylinders by a stepping motor based on a start signal generated by the player pressing the start switch 134 (rotation start operation), and the first cylinder -Depressing (stopping) the three stop buttons 140 corresponding to the rotating cylinders in a state where the rotation speed of the third cylinder reaches a predetermined speed (about 80 rpm: a rotational speed of about 80 rotations per minute). In addition to performing control to permit the operation), control is performed to stop the first to third cylinders driven to rotate by the stepping motor in accordance with the lottery flag setting state (internal lottery result).

  In addition, when the player presses the three stop buttons 140 in a state where the pressing operation (stop operation) with respect to the three stop buttons 140 is permitted (validated), Based on the signal, the supply of the drive pulse (motor drive signal) to the stepping motor of the reel unit 203 is stopped, thereby controlling each of the first to third drums.

  That is, each time the three stop buttons 140 are pressed, the spinning cylinder control means 1300 determines the stopping position of the spinning cylinder corresponding to the pressed button among the first to third cylinders. Thus, control is performed to stop the spinning cylinder at the determined stop position. Specifically, referring to a stop control table (not shown) stored in the storage means (ROM), the first time corresponding to the pressing timing, pressing order, etc. of the three stop buttons (mode of stop operation) A stop position of the cylinder to the third cylinder is determined, and control is performed to stop the first cylinder to the third cylinder at the determined stop position.

  Here, in the stop control table, the positions of the first cylinder to the third cylinder (pressing detection position) at the time when the stop button 140 is operated, and the actual stop positions (or pressing detection of the first cylinder to the third cylinder). Correspondence with the number of sliding frames from the position) is set. The number of sliding symbols is a symbol that passes through the reference position between the operation of the stop button 140 and the rotation stop of the corresponding rotating cylinder when a specific symbol that can be visually recognized from the game display unit at the time of stopping the rotating drum is used as the reference position. The number of Since the turning cylinder control means 1300 stops each turning cylinder within 190 ms from the operation of each stop button 140, the number of sliding frames is in the range of 0 to 4 (however, 80 revolutions / minute, (In the condition of the number of symbols = 21). Depending on the setting state of the lottery flag, a stop control table for determining the stop positions of the first cylinder to the third cylinder may be prepared.

  As described above, the spinning cylinder control unit 1300 is based on the reference position signal (the frame detected by the reel index) of the spinning cylinder based on the reference position signal detected by the index sensor 159 every time the rotating cylinder makes one rotation. By obtaining the rotation angle (the number of rotation steps of the rotation shaft of the step motor), the current rotation state of the rotating drum can be monitored. That is, the main board 10 can obtain the position of the rotating cylinder when the stop button 140 is operated by obtaining the rotation angle from the reference position of the rotating cylinder.

  The spinning cylinder control unit 1300 performs so-called pull-in processing and kicking processing as control for stopping the spinning cylinder. The pull-in process is a control for stopping the spinning cylinder so that the symbol corresponding to the combination whose lottery flag is set to the winning state is stopped on a valid winning determination line (so that the winning combination can be won). It is processing. On the other hand, the kicking process means that the symbol corresponding to the combination for which the lottery flag is set to the non-winning state does not stop on a valid winning determination line (so that a non-winning combination cannot be won) Is a control process for stopping the process. That is, in the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the lottery flag setting state, the stop button 140 pressing timing, the pressing order, and the stop position of the spinning cylinder that has already stopped (in the display pattern) in order to realize the pull-in processing and kicking processing. The stop control table is set so that the stop position of each cylinder changes according to the type). In this way, the main board 10 can stop the symbol of the combination for which the lottery flag is set to the winning state in a winning form, while the symbol of the combination for which the lottery flag is set to the non-winning state is in the winning form. Control is performed to stop the first to third cylinders so as not to stop.

  In the gaming machine of the present embodiment, the first to third drums are controlled to stop the rotating drum corresponding to the pressed stop button within 190 ms from the time when the stop button 140 is pressed. Is set to That is, in the stop control table for determining the stop position of each rotating cylinder, the number of frames required from when the stop button 140 is pressed until each cylinder stops is in the range of 0 to 4 frames (predetermined pull-in range). Is set in

  The winning determination means 1400 performs a process of determining whether or not a winning combination has been won based on the stopping modes of the first to third cylinders. Specifically, referring to the winning determination table stored in the storage means (ROM), the symbol combination displayed on the winning determination line when all of the first to third cylinders are stopped. It is determined whether or not this is a predetermined winning combination form.

  The winning determination means 1400 executes a winning process based on the determination result. As a process at the time of winning a prize, for example, when a small role wins, the hopper 81 is driven to perform a medal payout control process, or a credit is increased (a predetermined maximum number is increased to 50, for example, When the replay is won, a replay process is performed. When a big bonus or a regular bonus is won, a game state transition control process for shifting the game state is performed.

  The payout control means 1500 performs payout control processing relating to the payout of medals according to the game result. Specifically, when a small combination wins, the number of medals to be paid out in the game is determined based on a payout predetermined for each combination, and the medals corresponding to the determined number of payouts are determined by the hopper driving unit 80. Then, the hopper 81 is driven to pay out. At this time, a current flows through a motor (not shown) built in the hopper 81.

  When medal credits (internal storage) are permitted, instead of actually paying out medals by the hopper 81, the number of credits stored in a credit storage area (not shown) of the storage means (RAM) (not shown) A credit addition process for adding the number of payouts to the number of credited medals is performed to virtually pay out medals.

  When the replay is won, the replay processing means 1600 performs a replay process (regame process) for setting the same preparatory state as the previous game without requiring insertion of medals owned by the player for the next game. When a replay wins, an automatic insertion process is performed in which the same number of medals as the previous game is automatically set to the insertion state without using the player's own medals (including credit medals). The game machine is set in a state of waiting for a rotation start operation (pressing operation of the start switch 134 by the player) in the next game in a state where the same winning determination line as the previous game is validated.

  The replay processing unit 1600 may perform control to change the winning probability of replay in the internal lottery under a predetermined condition. For example, when a predetermined turn is displayed when the spinning cylinder is stopped by operating the stop button 140, the winning probability of replay varies. The replay lottery states include a replay no lottery state in which replay is excluded from the internal lottery, a replay low probability state in which the replay winning probability is set to about 1 / 7.3, and a replay winning probability of about 1 / A plurality of lottery states such as a high replay probability state set to 6 can be set.

  The error processing unit 1700 determines an error of the gaming machine based on the outputs of a door opening / closing detection sensor (not shown), the medal sensors S1 and S2, and the medal detection unit 82, and notifies that when it determines that there is an error. To a predetermined state (for example, a state in which no operation is accepted).

  A door open / close detection sensor (not shown) is a sensor that detects that the door 130 is closed, and is, for example, an electrical switch such as a micro switch or a contact. When the door 130 is closed, the switch is turned on (or off) when the switch action part contacts the back side of the door 130, and when the door 130 is opened, the action part is separated and turned off (or on). ). The door opening / closing detection sensor may be an optical sensor such as a photo interrupter. The medal sensors S1 and S2 and the medal detection unit 82 have been described above.

Specifically, the error processing unit 1700 performs the following operation.
When an opening of the door 130 is detected based on an output from a door opening / closing detection sensor (not shown), error processing is performed.
-Based on the outputs of the medal sensors S1 and S2, the reverse flow of the medals (the detection order of the sensors S1 and S2 is reversed), the medal retention (the detection times of the sensors S1 and S2 are longer than a predetermined threshold) When error is detected, error processing is performed.
Based on the output of the medal detection unit 82, the medal clogging (the detection time of the medal detection unit 82 is longer than a predetermined threshold), hopper empty (the medal detection unit despite operating the hopper driving unit 80) When 82 detects no medal), error processing is performed.

  When the error processing unit 1700 determines that an error has occurred as described above, the error processing unit 1700 notifies the fact and sets the gaming machine to a predetermined state (error state). This state is canceled by a reset switch (not shown). The reset switch is provided on the panel of the power supply unit 205, for example.

  There are also errors that occur in the sub-board 20. Although this error does not result in an inoperable state, the liquid crystal display device or the like can notify that an error has occurred due to the processing of the sub-board 20 itself. The error occurs, for example, when an invalid command is received (including when the encrypted command cannot be correctly decrypted), and the error is canceled by the reset switch (from the main board 10 to the sub board 20). Reset command).

  Further, the main board 10 may perform control to shift the gaming state between the normal state, the bonus establishment state, and the bonus state (gaming state transition control function). As the game condition transition condition, one condition may be defined, or a plurality of conditions may be defined. When a plurality of conditions are established, transitioning the gaming state to another gaming state based on the fact that one of the plurality of conditions is satisfied or all of the plurality of conditions are satisfied Can do.

  The normal state is a game state corresponding to the initial state among a plurality of types of game states, and a transition from the normal state to the bonus establishment state is possible. The bonus establishment state is a gaming state that shifts when a big bonus or a regular bonus is won in the internal lottery. In the bonus establishment state, when the big bonus is won in the internal lottery in the normal state, the lottery flag corresponding to the big bonus is maintained in the winning state until the big bonus is won, and the regular bonus is won in the internal lottery in the normal state Until the regular bonus is won, the lottery flag corresponding to the regular bonus is maintained in the winning state. In the bonus state, it is determined whether or not the end condition is satisfied based on the total number of medals paid out by the bonus game, and medals exceeding a predetermined payout limit number are paid out according to the type of bonus won. The bonus state is terminated and the gaming state is returned to the normal state.

  The reel unit 203 includes three spinning cylinders 40a to 40c, and one stepping motor 155a to 155c is attached to each of the three spinning cylinders 40a to 40c. The stepping motor 155 includes a gear-shaped iron core or permanent magnet as a rotor (rotor), a plurality of windings (coils) as a stator (stator), and is rotated by switching windings through which current flows. It is. That is, a current is passed through the windings of the stator to generate a magnetic force, and the rotor is rotated by attracting the rotor. Since the rotation axis can be stopped at a specified angle, it is used to drive the rotation of the slot machine. A plurality of windings constitute one phase. As the number of phases, for example, there are two (two phases), four (four phases), and five (five phases).

  The stepping motor can change its characteristics (excitation mode changes) by changing the way of applying current to the windings of each phase. The two-phase type is as follows.

• Single-phase excitation Always allow current to flow through only one phase of the winding. Positioning accuracy is good.

・ Two-phase excitation
Current flows in two phases. An output torque approximately twice that of single-phase excitation can be obtained. The positioning accuracy is good and the stationary torque is large when stopped, so that the stop position can be held reliably.

・ One-two-phase excitation
A current is passed by alternately switching between one phase and two phases. Since the step angle can be halved in the case of one-phase excitation and two-phase excitation, smooth rotation can be obtained.

  Note that “driving” a stepping motor includes rotating the motor by the above-described excitation and exciting each phase in order to stop at a desired position and hold the position.

  Regarding driving of the spinning cylinders 40a to 40c of the slot machine, for example, a four-phase stepping motor having a basic step angle of 1.43 degrees is used, and one-two-phase excitation is adopted as a pulse output method.

  10CG is a command transmitter that transmits a command to be sent to the sub-board 20. This command includes a command related to winning combination information, a command related to information on the number of inserted medals and the number of credits (stored number). Specifically, the command transmission unit 10CG is realized by the CPU executing a program written in advance in a ROM mounted on the main board 10. The command transmission will be described later.

Next, the game processing in the main board 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
Generally, in a gaming machine, one game is started from the insertion of medals (insertion of credits) until the end of payout (or until the increase in the number of credits is completed). There is a rule that it is not possible to proceed to the next game until one game is finished.

  First, when a prescribed number of medals are inserted, the start switch 134 is activated, and the processing of FIG. 4 is started.

  In step S1, the start switch 134 is turned on by operating the start switch 134. Then, the process proceeds to the next step S2.

  In step S2, a lottery process is performed by the main board 10. Then, the process proceeds to the next step S3.

  In step S3, the rotation of the first reel to the third reel starts. Then, the process proceeds to next Step S4.

  In step S4, when the stop button 140 is operated, the stop button 140 is turned ON. Then, the process proceeds to next Step S5.

  In step S5, rotation stop processing is performed on the reel corresponding to the pressed stop button 140 among the first to third reels. Then, the process proceeds to next Step S6.

  In step S6, it is determined whether or not the operation of the stop button 140 corresponding to the three reels has been performed. If it is determined that all three stop buttons 140 corresponding to the three reels have been operated, the process proceeds to the next step S7.

  In step S7, it is determined whether or not the winning symbols corresponding to the lottery flag are aligned on the effective winning line while the lottery flag is established, that is, whether or not the winning is confirmed. If it is determined that the winning is confirmed, the process proceeds to the next step S8. If the winning is not confirmed, no medals are paid out even if the lottery flag is established.

  In step S8, medals corresponding to winning symbols are paid out.

  The process from the insertion of the medal to the completion of the execution of step S8 is one game. When the standby process in step S8 ends, the process returns to the beginning of the flowchart. In other words, the next game is possible (transition to the next game).

<Command transmission from main board to sub board>
The sub-board 20 receives a command from the main board 10 and performs processing such as rendering according to the command. The flow of commands is only one from the main board 10 to the sub board 20, and conversely, no command or the like is issued from the sub board 20 to the main board 10.

  The sub-board 20 generates a command (liquid crystal display device command, drawing command) for displaying a predetermined screen on the liquid crystal display device LCD, for example, in accordance with a command from the main substrate 10. For example, when performing an effect by animation or the like, a large number of commands are continuously transmitted one after another.

  In FIG. 3, 20 CR is a command receiving unit that receives a command received from the main board 10. Specifically, the command receiving unit 20CR is realized by the CPU executing a program written in advance in a ROM mounted on the sub-board 20.

  As the above-mentioned command, there is a command for performing an effect suggesting the winning contents by the software on the sub-board 20 side. For example, as shown in the following AT, a suggestion for obtaining a ball is displayed on a liquid crystal display device so as to provide (assist) the player with the convenience of operation. The suggestion is not always issued, but in specific cases.

  The gaming machine includes an effect display device including a liquid crystal display device, a speaker, a display lamp, and the like. This effect display device is controlled by the sub-board 20 to notify the player of a prize or the like, or in a so-called assist time (AT), the base itself teaches the user with some action during a certain game with some action. It is for doing. (Assist time (AT): Even if a specific small role is established, the player will not be refunded if the reels are not aligned. After the big bonus ends (or at the time of establishment) to ensure payout by the small role) Alternatively, a lottery of assist time is drawn at any other opportunity, and if this is won, the player is instructed to perform an operation with some action for aligning specific small roles during a certain game)

  FIG. 5C is a block diagram of the command transmission unit 10CG according to the present embodiment.

  Reference numeral 101 denotes a command register that accepts the command to be transmitted. The command register 101 sends the command to the transmission data register 102 immediately after receiving the command. The command register 101 temporarily stores one command.

  The command is a set of data of a predetermined bit, for example, a set of data in units of 8 bits, and is created based on a predetermined command system.

  Reference numeral 102 denotes a transmission data register (transmission FIFO) that stores a plurality of commands in the accepted order and outputs them in accordance with the accepted order.

  Reference numeral 103 denotes a transmission shift register that receives a command output from the transmission data register 102 and transmits it to the sub-board 20.

  The main board 10 transmits the generated command to the sub board 20 by setting it in the command register 101.

  The command receiving unit 20CR receives a command received from the main board 10. For example, a command received as serial data is input to a serial-parallel converter (shift register), and is output every certain data (for example, 8 bits). The output data is transferred to the CPU of the sub-board 20 as a command, and is interpreted and executed.

<Sub-board>
A peripheral substrate (local substrate) such as a liquid crystal control substrate 200 for controlling the liquid crystal display device, a speaker substrate 201, and an LED substrate 202 is connected to the sub substrate 20. Further, a movable body control unit (peripheral substrate) 60 for controlling the movable body 50 is connected.

  Moreover, the output of the operation part PAN operated by the player is connected. The operation unit PAN is, for example, a jog dial. A signal from the operation unit PAN is input to the CPU of the sub-board 20 through an I / O (not shown).

  Note that peripheral substrates such as the liquid crystal control substrate 200, the speaker substrate 201, the LED substrate 202, and the movable body control unit 60 may be provided on the sub substrate 20 (FIG. 3 shows that the peripheral substrate is provided separately from the sub substrate 20). A block diagram provided is shown, but not limited thereto).

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the connection between the sub-board 20 and its peripheral board. As shown in FIG. 3, a liquid crystal control board 200, a speaker board 201, an LED board 202, and a movable body control unit 60 are connected to the sub board 20. These should be called peripheral substrates of the sub-substrate 20.

  The plurality of peripheral boards are connected as shown in FIG. 6 (the display of the LED board 202 and the movable body controller 60 is omitted). That is, a plurality of peripheral boards are connected to a common bus (communication line, communication path), and communicate with the sub-board 20 through the bus. The signal flowing through the bus is a signal on two lines, a data line and a clock line, such as a parallel signal (for example, a signal transmitted by an 8-bit line) or a serial signal (for example, I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit)). ). In the following description, serial communication is taken as an example. In the example of FIG. 5C, the signal output from the sub-board 20 returns to the sub-board 20, but this is an example, and the end opposite to the connection end is opened as in a general bus structure. May be.

  The liquid crystal control board 200 has a built-in VDP (Video Display Processor), and the speaker board 201 has a built-in sound controller. The VDP and sound controller will be described later.

  FIG. 8A is a timing chart of data transmission in the apparatus of FIG. FIG. 8B shows a data structure transmitted in the apparatus of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, data transmission is performed at predetermined intervals (time t1, t2, t3, t4,...). The data transmission interval is, for example, an interrupt cycle (for example, 512 μs) when data transmission is performed by an interrupt process. When data transmission to a different address is performed a predetermined number of times (for example, 16 times), it returns to the first address and data transmission is repeated in the same manner (refer to FIG. 14 and its description for the interrupt processing).

  Data is transmitted from the sub board 20 to the peripheral board by designating an address. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8B, a combination of data and address is transmitted. When data is transmitted to the peripheral board A1, a combination of the data A for the peripheral board A1 and the address A1 of the peripheral board A1 is transmitted, and when data is transmitted to the peripheral board A2, the peripheral board A1 is transmitted. A combination of the data A for the peripheral board A2 is transmitted to the address A2 of A2 (in FIG. 8, the same data A is sent twice at t1 and t2, but the data destinations are the peripheral boards A1 and A2. Because there are two places).

  For example, when data is sent to the liquid crystal control board 200 as the peripheral board B, the address B previously associated with the liquid crystal control board 200 is designated and the data B is sent to the bus (BUS, signal line). When the liquid crystal control board 200 recognizes that the data is addressed to itself by the address, the liquid crystal control board 200 takes in the data subsequent to the address into the latch. A predetermined operation is performed according to the fetched data. If the fetched data is a command for transmitting data acquired or obtainable by the liquid crystal control board 200 to the sub-board 20, the data is sent to the sub-board 20 (after receiving predetermined data, it is determined in advance. Data can always be transmitted to the sub-board 20).

  The speaker substrate 201 operates in the same manner as the liquid crystal control substrate 200.

  In the following description, the term “peripheral board” is mainly used when the operation is applied to an arbitrary transmission destination such as the liquid crystal control board 200 and the speaker board 201 without specifying the transmission destination. When it is necessary to specify to which peripheral substrate the data transmission is to be made, it is specifically specified as “liquid crystal control substrate 200”.

  When transmitting data to the peripheral board, the sub-board 20 performs processing in units of data (for example, 8-bit data) in which a plurality of 0 or 1 data is collected. The sub-board 20 transmits a command (command) for causing the sub-board 20 to perform a predetermined operation. In this specification, the data includes the command. Note that the command is a set of predetermined bits of data, for example, a set of data in units of 8 bits, and is created based on a predetermined command system.

  In the following description, the term “data” is mainly used, but the term “command” may be used to clarify that the instruction is a command to the peripheral device.

  In order to send data to peripheral devices such as the liquid crystal control board 200 and the speaker board 201, the sub board 20 includes a data transmission unit 20TX.

  FIG. 7 shows an internal block diagram of the data transmitter 20TX. Specifically, the data transmission unit 20TX is realized by the CPU executing a program written in advance in a ROM mounted on the sub-board 20.

  Reference numeral 2101 denotes a data register (command register) that receives data to be transmitted to the peripheral board. The data register 2101 sends the data to the transmission data register 2102 immediately after receiving the data. The data register 2101 temporarily stores one unit of data. In addition, since the content of data is well-known, description about what kind of data is transmitted is abbreviate | omitted.

  Reference numeral 2102 denotes a transmission data register that stores a plurality of data in the accepted order and outputs them in accordance with the accepted order.

  Reference numeral 2103 denotes a transmission shift register which receives data output from the transmission data register 2102 and transmits it to the peripheral board. The transmission shift register 103 converts data to be transmitted from parallel to serial.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic explanatory diagram of data (command) transmission and operations of the liquid crystal control board 200 and the speaker board 201 that have received the data (command) transmission.

  The sub board 20 sends image data and audio data to the liquid crystal control board 200 and the speaker board 201, respectively (reference characters P and R). In response to the image data, the liquid crystal control board 200 displays a predetermined screen (symbol Q), and in response to the audio data, the speaker board 201 generates a predetermined sound (symbol S). Other sounds such as BGM and sound effects are generated in addition to the sound, but these are also included in the sound for convenience. Voice / voice data can be said to be acoustic / acoustic data. Unless otherwise specified, in this specification, “sound” includes other sounds such as BGM and sound effects as well as sound of normal meaning.

  Further, the sub-board 20 sends control data of the movable body 50 to the movable body control unit 60 (reference numerals T and U).

  As can be seen from FIG. 9, there is a flow of command transmission by the sub-board 20-> command execution / screen display by the peripheral board, presentation of voice generation, and the like. The sub-board 20 can control what command is sent to which peripheral board at which timing, and it cannot be specified at what timing the presentation of screen display or voice generation can be performed. For this reason, it is necessary to appropriately manage the command transmission timing for each peripheral board.

<Configuration related to screen display and sound generation>
The configuration related to screen display and sound generation in the gaming machine will be described. In the following description, for the sake of convenience, what is drawn on the memory is displayed as an image, and what is to be read out and displayed on the liquid crystal display device LCD is referred to as a screen. In general, an object such as a character represented by a bitmap is an image, and a screen in which an object is arranged on a background and becomes a single picture is a screen.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the VDP. The VDP is an LSI provided on the liquid crystal control board, an interface I / F with the CPU, a drawing engine E1 that draws an image according to a command from the CPU, a video memory VRAM that stores the drawn image, and a video memory VRAM Is provided with a display engine E2 for reading out the image stored in the memory and sending it to the liquid crystal display device LCD. Each of these elements is connected to an internal bus BUS so that data can be read from and written to each other. The interface I / F can receive data such as commands from the CPU and can also output an interrupt signal from the display engine E2 or the like to the CPU. This VDP can draw and display 60 frames per second at an XGA size resolution (1024 × 768 pixel resolution), for example.

  When drawing and displaying at 60 frames per second (= 60 fps), the time for one frame is 16.67 ms. This is referred to as frame time. Two consecutive frames are referred to as V frames. Frame × 2 = V frame × 1. The time of the V frame is 33.33 ms, and the screen update rate (update frequency) is 30 fps. The frame and the V frame are a display unit and a processing unit. In the following description, the data in the frame and the V frame, the processing result (drawn image), and the image displayed on the liquid crystal display device LCD are displayed. It may mean. For example, when a number (symbol) is added, such as V frame 1, it indicates a specific V frame and may mean drawing data, image data, and display data corresponding to the specific V frame.

  The liquid crystal display device LCD is controlled in three stages: drawing data (including commands for the liquid crystal display device, moving image decoding information, etc.), drawing execution based on the drawing data, and display execution of the drawn image. That is, the CPU sends drawing data to the VDP, the drawing engine E1 of the VDP executes drawing, and the display engine E2 displays an image on the liquid crystal display device LDC. These three stages of processing are executed in parallel (independently). Since three stages are required until the image is displayed, at the timing when a certain image is displayed (V frame), the drawing execution draws an image to be displayed in the next V frame, and the storage of the drawing data is performed next. The image to be displayed in the V frame is saved. This is shown in FIG.

  Whether to save drawing data, execute drawing, and execute display is determined in one cycle for one V frame. In other words, drawing data storage (first processing), drawing execution (second processing), and display execution (third processing) are each performed in units of V frames (more precisely, frames included in the V frames). Processing is performed in units. For example, when there is data input during V frame update, drawing data related to data input in one of the two frames of V frame is saved, drawn, and displayed) . Therefore, the update frequency of the liquid crystal display device LCD of this gaming machine is 30 fps. This is a principle, and fps can change depending on the processing status.

  It takes a time corresponding to two V frames from saving the drawing data to executing the display. For example, in FIG. 11, the drawing data written with the code T1 is displayed with the code T3 delayed by two V frames. However, since storage of drawing data, execution of drawing, and execution of display are executed in parallel, the image on the liquid crystal display device LCD is updated in units of V frames. In the example of FIG. 11, the display is updated like V frame 1, V frame 2,.

  FIG. 12 shows an internal block diagram of the sound controller SC. This figure is a conceptual diagram, and shows only the parts necessary for explaining the operation.

  SC1 is a phrase data storage unit that stores in advance phrase data including a plurality of sound data to be reproduced in a predetermined order of reproduction.

  SC2 is a decoder that reproduces sound by decoding phrase data. The decoder returns predetermined sound data (for example, WAV) to sound, and since this process is well known, the description thereof is omitted.

  SC3 is a volume adjusting unit that adjusts the volume of the sound reproduced by the decoder SC2. The volume adjustment unit SC3 is configured by a digital or analog circuit. When the input is a digital signal, it is constituted by a digital circuit, for example, a multiplier, and the volume is adjusted by multiplying the value of the volume by the acoustic digital data. When the input is an analog signal, it is constituted by an analog circuit, for example, an amplifier, and the volume is adjusted by changing the amplification factor (variable resistor) of the amplifier. The output of the volume adjuster SC3 is sent to the speaker SP.

  FIG. 13A shows an outline of the contents stored in the phrase data storage unit SC1. When there are a plurality of effects such as effects A, B, C, D,..., A sound phrase (audio data) is stored corresponding to each. There is an upper limit on the number of sound phrases, and for example, 255 sound phrases can be stored.

  FIG. 13B shows the structure of the audio data (eg, WAV) of effect A. The production A is composed of three sounds, that is, a first sound (cut-in sound), a second sound (character voice), and a third sound (developed sound).

  The cut-in sound is a sound associated with a cut-in that inserts another shot into a certain shot (scene). The character voice is the sound of the dialogue of the character displayed on the screen. The development sound is a sound that is added when the production develops to another production at the end of the production.

  The sub board 20 transmits, for example, data for reproducing the cut-in sound of the effect A in FIG. 13B, data for reproducing the character voice, and data for reproducing the developed sound to the speaker board 201, respectively. In response to these three data (commands), the sound controller SC generates a predetermined sound.

<Relationship between main processing and interrupt processing in peripheral board control>
When controlling the movable body control unit 60 in which the sub board is a peripheral board, the movable body control unit is controlled from the sub board 20 via the communication system of FIG. Send command to 60.

Specifically, the following processing is performed on the peripheral substrate.
-Set the pointer of the operation table (control data) of the control details you want to operate.
• Executes from the set pointer to the end of the table. Further, an operation status table (for example, a motor table) that changes according to the operation status is updated. If the pointer is reset during the table processing, execution is switched to the reset pointer.
-Check the table update status and reset the data table pointer.

  In performing the above processing, the role is assigned to each of the main routine (main processing) of the program and the interrupt processing. This concept is illustrated in FIG. This figure shows the control of the movable body. The same applies to other peripheral boards (there may be no feedback from the peripheral board to the sub-board). Solid lines indicate processing, and dotted lines indicate parameters. All of the processes in FIG. 14 are performed on the sub-substrate 20, and some of them are performed on the peripheral substrate.

  In many cases, the first cycle that is the processing interval of the main processing is different from the second cycle that is the processing interval of the interrupt processing. For example, the first cycle is greater than the second cycle. For example, the first cycle is 33.3 ms (30 fps), and the second cycle is 2.08 ms (480 fps).

  PP1 is a parameter from the main process to the interrupt process, and is a table setting pointer for designating the address of the operation table to be analyzed. The interrupt process analyzes the operation table according to the pointer, and continues the operation until the end of the operation table is reached or the next operation table is designated.

  MP1 is a main process for designating the table setting pointer PP1.

  IP1 is an interrupt process performed in response to the table setting pointer PP1.

PP2 is a parameter from the interrupt process to the main process, and is a motor table update state indicating the operation state on the peripheral board. This is status information for transmitting the operation state of the movable body 50 to the main process in the interrupt process. The main process confirms the status, and instructs the re-designation of the operation table and the stop of the operation as necessary. A part of the update state (related to the operation flag) can be operated on the main processing side by a control command of the operation table.
IP2 is an interrupt process for updating the motor table update state.
MP2 is a main process performed in response to the motor table update state PP2.

<Movable body 50>
The movable body 50 included in the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the invention will be described.

  FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the movable body 50.

  FIG. 16 shows a front view of the movable body 50 with the movable element 51 in the raised position (upward limit), and FIG. 17 shows a front view of the movable body 50 with the movable element 51 slightly lowered from the raised position. 18 shows a front view of the movable body 50 in which the movable element 51 is in the lowered position (lower limit).

  The movable body 50 is provided on the front surface of the liquid crystal display device LCD.

  The movable body 50 includes a movable element 51 that moves up and down, and a holding means 61 that holds the movable element 51 at a predetermined position.

  The movable element 51 includes a horizontal bar portion 52 extending in the horizontal direction, and slide members 53 and 53 provided at both ends of the horizontal bar portion 52, respectively.

  The movable body 50 includes a pair of left and right slide rails 54 extending in the vertical direction. The slide rails 54, 54 are provided to be separated in parallel to the left and right, and the slide members 53, 53 can move up and down along the slide rails 54, 54. Thereby, the movable element 51 is provided so as to be movable up and down.

  In the state shown in FIG. 15, the movable element 51 is located at the raised position.

  On the back side of the movable element 51, vertical movement drive means 105 for moving the movable element 51 up and down between a lowered position and a raised position, which are lower movable limit positions, are provided on the left and right sides of the movable body 50. .

  The vertical drive means 105 includes a stepping motor 56 attached to the base metal plate 55, a pulley 57 rotated by a gear (not shown) by the stepping motor 56, and a pulley provided near the lower end of the slide rail 54. 58, a pulley 57 and a belt 59 wound around the pulley 58, and a predetermined portion of the belt 59 is fixed to the slide member 53. Accordingly, by rotating the stepping motor 56 in the forward and reverse directions, the movable element 51 moves up and down between the raised position and the lowered position.

  The movable element 51 is lowered by rotating the belt 59 in the forward direction by the stepping motor 56 (the position of the movable element 51 changes from FIG. 16 to FIG. 17 and FIG. 18). When the rotation direction of the stepping motor 56 is reversed, the movable element 51 rises.

  Fig.19 (a) is the front view which simplified and showed the movable body 50 of FIGS. Since the stepping motor 56 and the belt 59 are respectively provided on both the left and right sides, the left one is denoted by the symbol L, and the right one is denoted by the symbol R, so that both are distinguished.

  As shown by the arrows in FIGS. 19A and 19B, the movable element 51 is lowered by rotating the belts 59L and 59R in the forward direction. At this time, the rotation directions of the stepping motors 56L and 56R are different. As shown in FIG. 19B, the stepping motor 56L rotates to the left when viewed from the front on the paper surface, and as shown in FIG. 19C, the stepping motor 56R rotates to the right when viewed from the front on the paper.

  Thus, since the rotation directions are different, a reverse rotation process is required for the control (the reverse rotation process will be described later).

<Stepping motor (driving unit) 56 of movable body 50 and its driving system>
FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a drive system for the stepping motors 56L and 56R. The drive circuit 60-1A and the excitation circuit 60-1B are circuits for the stepping motor 56L. The drive circuit 60-2A and the excitation circuit 60-2B are circuits for the stepping motor 56R. The drive circuits 60-1A and 2A and the excitation circuits 60-1B and 2B are provided in the movable body control unit 60, for example. Since the drive systems of the stepping motors 56L and 56R have the same configuration, FIG. 20 shows one drive system.

  In the figure, reference numerals 60-1A and 2A denote coils (phase A coils) 56L-A and 56R-A and coils (phase B coils) 56L-B of stepping motors 56L and 56R based on signals from the sub-board 20. , 56R-B is a drive circuit that switches on / off (whether or not current flows). Reference numerals 60-1B and 2B denote excitation circuits that allow current to flow to the coils 56L-A and 54R-A and 56L-B and 56R-B according to the outputs of the drive circuits 60-1A and 2A.

  Coils 56L-A and 56R-A are A-phase coils, and are unipolar types including two types of coils A and / A. Each phase includes a common terminal COM in addition to the A terminal and the / A terminal, but the illustration thereof is omitted. A bipolar type can also be used. In the case of the bipolar type, current is supplied in the direction opposite to A at / A. The same applies to / B.

  Coils 56L-B and 56R-B are B-phase coils, and include two types of coils, B and / B.

  The A-phase coil and the B-phase coil are alternately arranged, for example, A, B, / A, / B,. When excited in the order of A → B →..., The motor rotates forward, and when excited in the order of B → A →. If the interval for switching the excitation of each phase is shortened (if the switching frequency pps is increased), the stepping motor rotates faster, and if the interval is lengthened, it rotates slower. The rotation speed and torque of the stepping motor are contradictory, and the torque decreases as the rotation speed increases, and increases as the rotation speed decreases. If the load increases when the rotational speed is high, a step-out phenomenon tends to occur.

  If a current is continuously supplied to the same stator without switching the phase to be excited, the rotor is fixed at the same stator position, and the stepping motor keeps the current position.

  FIG. 21A is an explanatory diagram of a method for driving the stepping motor of the movable body 50. The figure shows an example of one-two-phase excitation. A circle in the table indicates that a current is flowing through the coil. When a current is passed through the coil in the order of steps 1, 2,..., 8 in the table of FIG. FIG. 21 (b) shows an example of reverse rotation from FIG. 21 (a).

  When the switching interval of steps 1, 2,..., 8 is shortened (in other words, when the excitation time for one coil is shortened), the rotational speed increases and the torque decreases. The longer it is the opposite.

  FIG. 22A is an explanatory diagram of a stepping motor driving method using two-phase excitation. A circle in the table indicates that a current is flowing through the coil. The motor rotates when a current is passed through the coil in the order of steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the table of FIG. FIG. 22B shows an example of reverse rotation from FIG.

  The command signal in FIG. 20 is a signal for instructing, for example, sequentially exciting the coils as shown in FIG. 21 or FIG. If the command signals for the stepping motors 56L and 56R are the same, the stepping motors 56L and 56R perform the same operation. However, since data transmission is performed intermittently as shown in FIG. 8A, a completely synchronized operation cannot be performed. For example, in FIG. 8, if the peripheral board A1 is a control unit for the stepping motor 56L and the peripheral board A2 is a control unit for the stepping motor 56R, the operation timing of the stepping motors 56L and 56R is interrupted (t2-t1). Only shift will occur. Control that can eliminate such a shift will be described with reference to FIG.

<Moving body control unit 60>
FIG. 23 shows a control system of the movable body 50 according to the embodiment of the invention. This figure corresponds to FIG. The movable body control units (first peripheral substrate, second peripheral substrate) 60-1 and 60-2, which are peripheral substrates, are devices for controlling the stepping motors 56L and 56R, respectively.

  FIG. 24A is an explanatory diagram of transmission timing, and FIG. 24B is an explanatory diagram of transmission data. FIG. 24 corresponds to FIG. 8 showing conventional data transmission.

  The data transmission unit 20TX and the movable body control units 60-1 and 60-2 are connected to a common signal line. The data transmission unit 20TX transmits an address indicating the destination of the data together with data (data related to the production) for driving the stepping motors 56L and 56R of the movable body 50 via the signal line (FIG. 24B). )reference).

  FIG. 24 is different from FIG. 8 in that the data for the peripheral substrates A1 and A2 are collected together (data A) and sent to one address (address A). In FIG. 24, the number of times of data transmission to the peripheral substrates A1, A2, B, and C is 3 times (t5, t6, and t7), whereas in FIG. 8, it is 4 times (t1 to t4). In FIG. 24, the data transmission timings for the peripheral boards A1 and A2 are the same, and there is no deviation. In FIG. 24, if the control unit of the stepping motor 56L is assigned to the peripheral board A1, and the control part of the stepping motor 56R is assigned to the peripheral board A2, they can be operated in synchronization with each other.

  The movable body control unit (first peripheral substrate) 60-1 monitors the signal line and the address storage unit 60-11 that stores addresses in advance, and the address transmitted via the signal line is the address storage unit 60. When the address coincides with the address -11, the signal monitoring unit 60-12 that acquires data transmitted together with the address, and the drive unit that generates a control signal for the stepping motor 56L based on the data acquired by the signal monitoring unit 60-12 And a control unit 60-13.

  The drive control unit 60-13 includes a command signal generation unit 60-1C that generates a command signal based on data acquired by the signal monitoring unit 60-12, the drive circuit 60-1A, and the excitation circuit 60-1B. Including.

  The movable body control unit (second peripheral substrate) 60-2 monitors an address storage unit 60-21 that stores addresses in advance and the signal line, and the address transmitted via the signal line is the address storage unit 60. When the address coincides with the address -21, the signal monitoring unit 60-22 that acquires the data transmitted together with the address, and the drive unit that generates the control signal of the stepping motor 56R based on the data acquired by the signal monitoring unit 60-22 And a control unit 60-23.

  The drive control unit 60-23 generates a command signal generation unit 60-2C that generates a command signal based on the data acquired by the signal monitoring unit 60-22, and the command signal generated by the command signal generation unit 60-2C. A reverse rotation processing unit 60-2D that converts the command signal so as to reversely rotate, that is, the stepping motor 56R rotates reversely to the stepping motor 56L, the drive circuit 60-1A, and the excitation circuit 60-1B are included.

  “Reverse” means that the excitation procedures 1, 2, 3,..., 8 in FIG. Is to switch the table used in generating the table from FIG. 21 (a) to FIG. 21 (b). The same applies to the two-phase excitation of FIG.

  In the embodiment of the invention, the address of the address storage unit 60-11 and the address of the address storage unit 60-21 are the same (address A). For this reason, the data A transmitted at t5 in FIG. 24A is simultaneously taken in both the movable body control unit 60-1 and the movable body control unit 60-2.

  As shown in FIG. 19, the stepping motors 56L and 56R have different rotation directions. However, since only the movable body control unit 60-2 includes the reverse rotation processing unit 60-2D, the movable body control unit 60-1 and the movable body control are provided. Even if the unit 60-2 captures the same data A, the stepping motor 56R rotates in the opposite direction of the stepping motor 56R. Since both the movable body control unit 60-1 and the movable body control unit 60-2 generate a command signal based on the same data A, the excitation procedure is the same, and the stepping motors 56L and 56R have the same amount and the same speed (however, rotation). It rotates in the opposite direction.

  Therefore, according to the embodiment of the invention, the stepping motors 56L (first driving unit) and 56R (second driving unit) can be operated in synchronization with each other. Here, the synchronization means that the rotation directions are opposite to each other but rotate at the same speed and at the same angle.

  FIG. 25 is a process flowchart of the movable body control unit 60-1.

ST50: The signal monitoring unit 60-12 monitors the signal on the signal line and acquires an address.
Since this specific procedure is known, its description is omitted.

ST51: The signal monitoring unit 60-12 determines whether the address is addressed to itself, for example, address = address A. If YES, the process from ST52 is executed because it is addressed to the user.

ST52: The signal monitoring unit 60-12 monitors the signal on the signal line, and acquires data A following the address A.

ST53: The command signal generator 60-1C analyzes the acquired data A, and generates a command signal for driving the stepping motor 56L.

ST54: Output the command signal generated by the command signal generator 60-1C. Based on this command signal, the drive circuit 60-1A and the excitation circuit 60-1B operate.

  FIG. 26 is a process flowchart of the movable body control unit 60-2. FIG. 26 differs from FIG. 25 only in the reversal of the command signal. Therefore, only this process will be described below.

ST55: The reverse rotation processing unit 60-2D reverses the command signal generated by the command signal generation unit 60-1C and gives the reverse command to the drive circuit 60-1A and the excitation circuit 60-1B. “Reverse rotation” means that the rotation of the stepping motor 56R is opposite to that of the stepping motor 56L. For example, the excitation procedures 1, 2, 3,... .., 3, 2, and 1 are reversed, or the table used when generating the command signal is switched from FIG. 21 (a) to FIG. 21 (b).

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, even in the case where data transmission is intermittently performed in a gaming machine that transmits data through a common signal line as shown in FIGS. Can be driven “simultaneously”. For the movable body 50 that moves the movable element 51 up and down as shown in FIGS. Therefore, one side of the movable element 51 does not tilt or lose its balance.

  For other peripheral boards such as the liquid crystal control board 200 and the speaker board 201 that do not need to be synchronized, different addresses are set as in the prior art, and data is transmitted at different timings. In the example of FIG. 24, if the peripheral substrate B is the liquid crystal control substrate 200 and the peripheral substrate C is the speaker substrate 201, data is transmitted to the liquid crystal control substrate 200 at t6, and data is transmitted to the speaker substrate 201 at t7.

  By the way, whether or not the stepping motors 56L and 56R rotate in opposite directions when moving the movable element 51 in a predetermined direction depends on the structure of the drive system of the movable body 50. For example, as shown in FIG. 27A, if the stepping motors 56L and 56R are attached in the same direction, the stepping motors 56L and 56R rotate in the same direction when the movable element 51 is moved.

  Alternatively, the same applies to the case where one of the stepping motors 56L and 56R is provided with one (or odd number) gear between the drive shaft and the pulley.

  In the case of the movable body 50 in FIG. 27, the reverse rotation processing unit 60-2D and ST55 in FIG. 26 are unnecessary, and the movable body control units 60-1 and 60-2 may have the same structure as shown in FIG. it can. The embodiment of the present invention also includes the apparatus shown in FIGS.

  In addition, a pinion is attached to the tip ends of the stepping motors 56L and 56R for the movable body 50 to operate the movable element 51, and this pinion gear meshes with a belt 59 as a rack. When the structure is provided, the pinion gear meshes with the front side of the belt 59 (front side of the pulley) with the stepping motor 56L facing the right side (or left side if provided below the horizontal bar portion 52). At the same time, the stepping motor 56R may be engaged with the rear side of the belt 59 (the rear side of the pulley) with the shaft tip facing the left side (or the right side if provided below the horizontal bar portion 52). Good. Also in this case, the reverse process is not required as in the above example.

  In the above description, the movable body 50 is such that the movable element 51 moves up and down, so that the movable element 51 does not tilt. The embodiment of the invention can be applied to other forms, for example, a movable element that moves left and right. Moreover, not only when a plurality of drive units move one movable element, but also when a plurality of drive units are separate movable elements, and the movable elements cooperate to provide one production. Can be applied.

  Moving the movable element while maintaining the balance includes the fact that the movable element does not tilt, but in addition, the movement timing is the same and the movement (speed, angle, amount of movement) is the same. Also included.

  Embodiments of the invention can also be applied to gaming machines other than slot machines, such as pachinko machines.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

20 Sub-board (processing section)
20TX data transmission unit 50 movable body 51 movable element 56, 56L, 56R stepping motor (drive unit)
60, 60-1, 60-2 Movable body controller (peripheral board)
60-11, 60-21 Address storage unit 60-12, 60-22 Signal monitoring unit 60-13, 60-23 Drive unit control unit

Claims (1)

Obtained by the processing of the processing unit that executes processing related to the presentation, the movable element used for the presentation, the movable body including the first driving unit and the second driving unit that move the movable element, and the processing of the processing unit A data transmission unit that transmits data related to the effect, a first peripheral board that receives the data related to the effect and generates a control signal for the first drive unit, and receives the data related to the effect and the first In a gaming machine comprising a second peripheral board that generates control signals for two drive units,
The first driving unit and the second driving unit operate in synchronization with each other,
The data transmission unit, the first peripheral board and the second peripheral board are connected to a common signal line,
The data transmission unit transmits an address indicating a destination of the data together with the data related to the effect via the signal line,
The first peripheral substrate and the second peripheral substrate are respectively
An address storage unit storing the address in advance;
Monitoring the signal line, and when the address transmitted through the signal line matches the address of the address storage unit, a signal monitoring unit for acquiring the data transmitted together with the address;
A drive unit control unit that generates the control signal based on the data acquired by the signal monitoring unit, and
The address of the address storage unit of the first peripheral substrate and the address of the address storage unit of the second peripheral substrate are the same,
The first peripheral substrate and the second peripheral substrate operate the first driving unit and the second driving unit in synchronization with each other based on the data transmitted together with the address ,
The driving direction of the first driving unit and the driving direction of the second driving unit with respect to the movable element are opposite,
The driving unit control unit of the second peripheral substrate includes a reverse processing unit that converts the control signal so that the driving direction of the second driving unit is opposite to the driving direction of the first driving unit. the gaming machine said.

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