JP4021655B2 - Game software distribution system and game machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a game software distribution system utilizing a computer network and a game machine adapted to such a system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A ball game machine is generally composed of a plurality of circuit boards separated by function, and a plurality of circuit boards cooperate to realize a complex game operation as a whole. Such a gaming machine is generally composed of a main control board in charge of game control and a plurality of sub-control boards that individually operate based on control commands transmitted from the main control board. Is.
[0003]
Sub-control boards include, for example, a symbol control board that controls a liquid crystal display, a payout control board that controls the payout operation of a game ball, a lamp control board that flashes an LED lamp, etc., and a game operation that is voiced There is a voice control board and the like. These sub-control boards interpret the control commands transmitted from the main control board and perform the above-mentioned effects according to the control commands.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the gaming machine, each control board cooperates to perform the game effect as a whole, but the main control board sends the necessary control command at the optimal timing and should be executed by each sub-control board. The specific production operation is exclusively left to the control program of the sub-control board. Therefore, even if the game machine is the same even if the control program of the sub control board and the data (sound data, image data, etc.) referenced by the control program are changed without changing the control program of the main control board at all. Different performance operations are possible.
[0005]
In order to change the version of such a gaming machine, it may be possible to dispatch a service person to each gaming hall to replace the sub-control board, but only to change the program and its reference data, the sub-control Replacing the substrate itself is a waste of resources. In addition, if the version of the gaming machine can be changed by the work of the game hall staff instead of dispatching service personnel one by one, the cost can be reduced for the gaming hall. It is more preferable that the version of the main control board can be easily changed in addition to the sub control board.
[0006]
The present invention has been made based on such an idea, and an object thereof is to provide a game software distribution system that can easily change the version of a gaming machine. It is another object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine that enables version change without replacement of a circuit board.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, a gaming machine according to the present invention includes a main control unit that is responsible for overall game control and a sub-control unit that operates based on a control command transmitted from the main control unit. The sub-control unit and / or the main control unit are equipped with an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory and a CPU that realizes game control based on a game program stored in the nonvolatile memory. , by using a delivery system composed of a server device and a game hall computer and network line, a game program that the computer receives from the server device, the CPU to realize a game control is obtained from the computer Te, wherein a non-volatile memory gaming machine as written to, and in the computer, checks the integrity of the encrypted data received from the server device For each of the gaming halls that receive the encrypted data, the process for determining whether or not the consistency check has been successful, the process for notifying the server device that there is no abnormality, A process of decrypting the encrypted data based on a unique decryption key to obtain a group of codes uniquely identifying each gaming machine installed in the gaming hall and the gaming program in this order. are performed, in the nonvolatile memory includes a receiving software for receiving the game program and the set of codes from the computer, and rewriting software for erasing and writing of the nonvolatile memory, uniquely the gaming machine are stored and a code for specifying, when version change of the game program, Sakiritsu for writing the game program in the nonvolatile memory Te transfer, and the set of codes which the received software has received, collating the said code stored in said nonvolatile memory, only if a matching code is present, the contents stored in the nonvolatile memory to the RAM after erase and write process of the nonvolatile memory is executed.
[0008]
The distribution system according to the present invention includes a server device, a personal computer, and a network line, and the personal computer can transmit a game program and a group of codes received from the server device to the gaming machine. Has been. Moreover, this invention is a server apparatus used with this delivery system.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on examples. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a game software distribution system according to an embodiment. A user such as a game hall distributes a game machine control program and related data (hereinafter referred to as game software as a whole) through an Internet line NET. Can be received.
[0010]
As shown in the figure, this distribution system includes a server device SV that opens a homepage and accepts a distribution request for game software of a gaming machine, a user personal computer PC that can operate a browser, and an Internet line NET that connects the two devices. It is configured. The server device SV is equipped with a server program that reads and transmits a software distribution page from the WEB database DB in response to a request from the browser, and a CGI program that realizes user authentication, software distribution, and user management. Has been. Note that the user personal computer is a notebook personal computer, and the distributed programs Check.exe and Write.exe are also executed.
[0011]
FIG. 2 outlines a series of processing executed between the server device SV and the user personal computer PC. When the browser of the user personal computer PC requests an HTML file for distribution request, in response to the request, the server device SV returns a top page provided with a text box for requesting a user ID and password (step a). . Next, when the user ID and password are transmitted from the user, after authenticating the validity of the combination, the server device SV returns a distribution screen (HTML file) in which the user ID of the user is written ( Step b).
[0012]
This distribution screen is configured to be able to request the distribution of game software by specifying the model of the gaming machine. When the distribution software is specified on this distribution screen and a predetermined operation is performed, the request is passed to the transmission program (Trans.cgi) together with the user ID written in the HTML file (step c). In the transmission program (Trans.cgi), after the encryption processing for each user is performed for the requested game software, the execution file (Check.exe) to be executed on the user side is connected and transmitted to the user (step c). ).
[0013]
When the executable file (Check.exe) is executed on the user side that has received the transmission, after the CRC check of the received file is performed, if reception is successful, reception completion data is transmitted to the server side (step) d). Then, in the CGI program (History.cgi) that has received the reception completion data, after registering the information to that effect in the database, the decryption key for decrypting the previously transmitted game software is transmitted and the processing ends ( Step d).
[0014]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the specific contents of the process of the CGI program (Trans.cgi) that realizes the process of step c described above. If there is a game software distribution request from the user, the transmission history table TBL1 (FIG. 4 (a)) of the game hall is checked to confirm whether it has already been transmitted (ST1). If it has already been transmitted, a screen indicating that is transmitted and the process is terminated (ST3). In this case, since it is not usually considered that there are duplicate transmission requests from the same user, the duplicate request is assumed to be an illegal transmission request and distribution is rejected.
[0015]
In addition, due to leakage of the user ID and password, an illegal person may have completed distribution first, and a legitimate user may subsequently request distribution. However, such a case can be dealt with by individual negotiation by telephone or e-mail, and has the advantage that the leaked user ID and password can be changed quickly.
[0016]
Since the determination in step ST2 is normally NO, Trans.cgi next reads the requested game software from the WEB database (ST4), and adds the device serial number read from the device management table TBL2 to this. Into one file (ST5). As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the device management table TBL2 includes the device serial numbers of all the gaming machines that can be rewritten by the present system among the gaming machines installed in the gaming hall. Is registered. The device serial number is a code (number and / or symbol) that can uniquely identify the gaming machine.
[0017]
After the process of step ST5 is completed, the file in which the game software and the device serial number are concatenated is encrypted with the user-specific encryption key (ST6). Then, a program (Check.exe) to be executed on the user side is concatenated with this encrypted data (ST7), and the concatenated data is packetized and transmitted to the client side as an execution file (ST8). FIG. 3B schematically shows data to be transmitted.
[0018]
The browser that received the execution file saves the execution file in an appropriate location according to the user's operation. When the user executes the executable file, the check process shown in FIG. 5A is started. In the check process, first, a CRC check is performed on all the transmitted data as a consistency check of received data (ST20). The CRC value is stored in the received file.
[0019]
Here, the case where the CRC check is not OK is a case where the game software cannot be normally received due to a poor communication environment or the like. Therefore, in such a case, all files are deleted and the process is terminated (ST22). However, since the CRC check is OK in normal cases, in this case, reception completion data is transmitted to the server side (ST23).
[0020]
This reception completion data is transferred to History.cgi shown in FIG. In History.cgi, the contents of the table are updated by filling in the transmission history table TBL1 with the software ID specifying the distributed game software, the distribution date, and the like (ST10). Thereafter, the process proceeds to a charging process (not shown), but thereafter, the distribution request for the same game software from the same user is rejected. Next, History.cgi sends the decryption key corresponding to the encryption unique to each user to the user and finishes the process (ST11). In this embodiment, since the decryption key is transmitted every time the game software is distributed, there is an advantage that the encryption key can be changed every time. Instead of this configuration, a configuration may be adopted in which an encryption key and a decryption key for each user are determined and notified to the user in advance. However, such a configuration is not within the scope of the present invention.
[0021]
Next, returning to the processing on the user personal computer side, when the user inputs a decryption key in response to the request of Check.exe (ST24), the encrypted distribution data is decrypted, and the serial number string and The game software is restored (ST25). Therefore, after the data transfer processing program (Write.exe) to be executed later, the decrypted serial number string and the game software are saved in the file, Check.exe is deleted and the process is terminated (ST26). As described above, the execution program Check.exe distributed to the user is executed only once, so that the reception completion data is not transmitted redundantly. FIG. 5C schematically shows a data transfer processing program (Write.exe), a serial number string, and game software stored in the user personal computer.
[0022]
This data transfer processing program (Write.exe) is a program for changing the version of the game software of the gaming machine. Prior to the description thereof, the configuration of the gaming machine that is the version change target will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a pachinko machine whose version is changed in the system of the embodiment.
[0023]
The illustrated pachinko machine includes a main control board 1 for centrally controlling the game operation, a symbol control board 2 for controlling the operation of the liquid crystal display 8, a voice control board 3 for accelerating the game operation, and lamps. In response to the lamp control board 4 that makes the flashing operation and the game operation is excited, the payout control board 5 that pays out the game ball, the launch control board 7 that is controlled by the payout control board 5 and launches the game ball, and AC24V The power supply board 6 supplies a DC voltage to each part of the apparatus. The sub control boards 2 to 5 realize individual control operations based on the control command from the main control board 1.
[0024]
The main control board 1, the symbol control board 2, the voice control board 3, the lamp control board 4, and the payout control board 5 are each composed of a computer circuit having a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM. Here, a flash ROM is mounted on each of the sub-control boards 2 to 5, and a dedicated input / output port (see FIG. 7) for rewriting the flash ROM is provided in accordance with this. The flash ROM means a flash EEPROM that can be collectively erased and written in an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory).
[0025]
Thus, in the gaming machine according to the present embodiment, the ROMs of the symbol control board 2, the voice control board 3, the lamp control board 4, and the payout control board 5 are all composed of flash ROMs. Data can be updated in an on-board state without removing the IC from the board when the version is changed. That is, the game software shown in FIG. 5C includes those for the payout control board, the lamp control board, the voice control board, and the symbol control board. A game control program executed by the CPU of the sub control board, and voice data and image data required for the voice control board and the symbol control board are included.
[0026]
A user personal computer (notebook personal computer shown in FIG. 1) is used to update data in the on-board state, and this personal computer is provided with an input / output port for flash ROM rewriting. As shown in FIG. 7, the 8-bit data Di and the strobe signal STB are output from the output port of the user personal computer PCi, and the response signal ACK returned from the sub-control board is input to the input port. It has become.
[0027]
Next, the flash ROM rewriting process (version change) will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 8 shows the processing contents of the transfer processing program (Write.exe) executed on the user personal computer PC, and FIGS. 9 and 10 show the contents of the interrupt processing program executed on the sub-board of the gaming machine.
[0028]
As shown in FIG. 8, when the transfer processing program (Write.exe) is executed, a transfer destination sub-control board is first specified, and transfer data is specified accordingly. Then, confirmation test data is output to the identified sub control board (ST30). In the following description, “data is output” means that data is output to the output port of the user personal computer and then the strobe signal STB is output. The strobe signal STB is supplied to the interrupt terminal of the CPU of the sub control board, and output data from the user personal computer is acquired in the reception interrupt processing program. The sub control board that has acquired data from the user personal computer returns a reception response signal ACK at an appropriate timing.
[0029]
Therefore, the transfer processing program (Write.exe) waits for reception of the response signal ACK after outputting the confirmation test data, and moves to the next processing when receiving the response signal ACK (ST31). Note that the confirmation test data is first transmitted from the user personal computer because a reception interrupt may occur in the sub control board due to noise or the like.
[0030]
After confirming the response signal ACK, the transfer processing program outputs serial numbers in order (ST32 to ST34). That is, if the first serial number is output, a response signal ACK from the gaming machine is awaited, and after receiving the response signal ACK, the next serial number is output. Here, the serial number is a device serial number of the gaming machine installed in the gaming hall, and is data attached to the gaming software transmitted from the server. There are a plurality (n) of serial numbers corresponding to the number of gaming machines installed in the gaming hall, and 00H is described after the final serial number. FIG. 8B illustrates the state of the transmission buffer of the user personal computer, in which n serial numbers, final data 00H, and subsequent programs for each sub-control board are described.
[0031]
If the processes of steps ST32 and ST33 are repeated, the user personal computer will eventually output the final data (00H), and after outputting this final data, the block variable i indicating the block number is initialized (ST35). ) Shift to game software transfer processing.
[0032]
In this embodiment, the game software to be transferred is divided into a plurality of blocks each having a predetermined byte length, and the CRC value for the block is transmitted at the end of each block. Each time one byte of data of each block is transmitted, the control waits for reception of a response signal ACK from the sub control board (ST36, ST37), and receives a response signal ACK for the CRC value transmitted at the end of the data for one block. To finish processing for one block.
[0033]
As will be described later, the sub-control board that has received the data for one block determines whether or not the data has been correctly received by the CRC check. If the data has been correctly received, the flash ROM rewrite process is performed. A response signal ACK is returned. On the other hand, if an abnormality occurs due to the CRC check, a response signal ACK is immediately returned to wait for retransmission of data in the same block.
[0034]
Since the sub-control board performs such processing, on the user PC side, depending on the time required to receive the response signal ACK, whether to retransmit the same block data or the next block data Is judged. Specifically, first, the timer variable t is initialized to zero (ST39), and the reception of the response signal ACK is waited while the timer variable t is incremented (ST41). Then, the processing content on the sub-board side is determined according to whether the time required until reception is longer or shorter than the reference value Ts (ST42).
[0035]
Specifically, if t <Ts, the process proceeds to retransmission of data in the same block. If t ≧ Ts, the block variable i is incremented (ST43), and whether EOF (end of file) has already been recognized. Is determined (ST44). If the EOF is recognized in the block data that has been transmitted this time, all the processes are finished. If not, the process returns to step ST36 to repeat the next block transfer process.
[0036]
Next, the reception interrupt process in the sub control board will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. In the sub-control board, the process after the AAAA address, which is the flash ROM area, is executed at the first reception interrupt, but after that, necessary programs and data are transferred to the RAM area and the process after the aaaa address is executed. (See FIG. 9B). That is, in the reception interrupt by the first strobe signal STB, the processing at the AAAA address is started.
[0037]
More specifically, if there is a reception interrupt corresponding to the transmission of the confirmation test data from the user personal computer (ST30), the program after address AAAA confirms that the interruption is not accompanied by noise. It grasps | ascertains from a value (ST50, ST51). If the confirmation test data determined in advance cannot be received, error processing is executed. On the other hand, if the confirmation test data is correctly received, the data receiving software after the AAAA address (ST50 to ST52), the software for the flash ROM (ST53 to ST55, ST60 to ST79), and the device serial of the gaming machine The management data including the number is transferred to the RAM area (ST52).
[0038]
Thereafter, the processing is jumped to the aaa address in the RAM area. The RAM area stores a program transferred in the process of step ST52, and specifically stores a process program after step ST53. Then, all the contents of the flash ROM are first erased by the program in the RAM area (ST53). Next, the status flag FG for distinguishing the processing contents thereafter is set to zero, and the pointer variable P is initialized to nnnn. The address nnnn is the head address of the reception buffer BUF (see FIG. 9B), and the capacity of the reception buffer BUF is set to a size corresponding to the data length of one block to be transmitted. Next, after changing the processing start address in the subsequent reception interrupt to the address bbbb, a response signal ACK is returned to the user personal computer (ST55).
[0039]
The user personal computer that has received the response signal ACK sequentially transmits the device serial numbers of the gaming machines installed in the gaming hall (ST32 to ST34). Then, when a reception interrupt accompanying transmission of the device serial number occurs, the sub-control board executes the interrupt processing program after the address bbbb shown in FIG.
[0040]
When a reception interrupt occurs, the status flag FG is first checked (ST60). At this stage, since the status flag FG is zero, the process proceeds to step ST61, and does it match the device serial number of the gaming machine registered in the management data area of the RAM (see FIG. 9B)? It is determined whether or not. If they match, the determination variable CHECK is set to 1. If not, it is next determined whether or not the received data Di is zero (ST63). The reception data Di at the first stage is a serial number, and since Di ≠ 0, the process proceeds to step ST66, where the reception response signal ACK is returned, and the interrupt process is completed. In response to this, the user personal computer transmits the next serial number.
[0041]
In this way, the sub-control board receives serial numbers transmitted from the user personal computer one after another and performs a collation process with the device serial number of the gaming machine. On the other hand, the user personal computer transmits the final data 00H after transmitting all the serial numbers. Therefore, on the sub-board side, when the reception data Di is 00H, the status flag FG is changed to 1 (ST64), and then the determination variable CHECK is checked (ST65).
[0042]
At the stage of receiving the reception data Di = 0, the reception of the serial numbers of all the gaming machines in which the game hall is installed is completed. Therefore, although CHECK = 1 is originally supposed, if CHECK ≠ 1, it is shifted to error processing. The case of CHECK ≠ 1 is, for example, a case where the distributed game software is to be installed in a gaming machine other than the gaming hall, but such an action is surely excluded by checking this serial number. Is done.
[0043]
When the delivered game software is properly installed, the response signal ACK is returned in the state of the state flag FG = 1 (ST66), and the interrupt process can be completed. Accordingly, in the next reception interrupt, after the determination in step ST60, the process proceeds to step ST67, where the reception data is stored in the storage area designated by the pointer P, and the pointer P is incremented (ST68). The pointer P points to the address of the buffer area BUF.
[0044]
It is determined whether or not the incremented pointer P exceeds the maximum value MAX (= the final address of the reception buffer + 1) (ST69). If P <MAX, the response signal ACK is returned and the interrupt process is completed. In this way, every time a reception interrupt occurs, reception data is stored in the reception buffer area BUF. At the end of one block of transmission data, the CRC value of the previous block data is transmitted.
[0045]
Therefore, the sub-control board performs a CRC check based on the received CRC value (ST71). If a CRC error occurs, a response signal ACK for CRC reception is returned (ST72), and then the pointer P is set. It returns to the initial value nnnn and returns a response signal ACK again (ST74). On the user personal computer side, since the response signal ACK is returned earlier than the original timing, a transmission / reception error can be recognized (ST42), so the data of the same block is retransmitted.
[0046]
In a normal case, the determination in step ST71 is OK, so the flash ROM writing process is subsequently performed (ST75). Specifically, all data except the CRC value stored in the buffer area BUF is written to the corresponding address in the flash ROM area. Next, it is determined whether or not all the write processing of the transfer data has been completed (ST76). If there is still data to be received, the pointer P is initialized and a response signal ACK is returned to perform interrupt processing. Is finished (ST78).
[0047]
In this way, when storing the received data in the buffer area BUF (ST67 to ST70), CRC check after storing one block of data (ST71), writing one block of data to the flash ROM (ST75) is repeated. Eventually, the writing process of all the transfer data is completed. Therefore, in this case, management data including data reception software (ST50 to ST52), flash ROM software (ST53 to ST55, ST60 to ST79), and device serial data transferred to the RAM area in the process of step ST52 Are written in the flash ROM starting with the AAAA address (ST79).
[0048]
When the above processing is completed, the processing start address of the reception interrupt is changed from the bbbb address to the AAAA address, and then the process jumps to the corresponding address in the flash ROM. With this process, the sub-control board starts an initial process after the power is turned on. Then, the user personal computer is connected to the next sub-control board, and the process of FIG. 8 is executed again.
[0049]
Although omitted in the above description, the CPU automatically enters an interrupt disabled state due to a reception interrupt, and returns to the interrupt enabled state in software when the interrupt processing program ends. Further, the data in the registers is saved at the start of the interrupt process, and the saved data is restored to the registers at the end of the interrupt.
[0050]
In addition, the above-described contents specifically described do not particularly limit the present invention, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the embodiment, the flash ROM is erased in a lump, but the flash ROM may be erased for each block when writing data for one block. In this case, since the process of step ST53 is shifted to the position of step ST75, the contents of the flash ROM are all erased by an illegal installation action, and the penalty that the gaming machine becomes inoperable is exempted.
[0051]
In the embodiment, the verification process (ST61) with the serial number is performed on each sub-control board. However, instead of this configuration, the verification process may be performed on the user personal computer side. In this case, the data transfer processing program Write.exe first reads the serial number by communication with the gaming machine, and determines whether to start the data transfer processing based on the result of the subsequent verification processing. .
[0052]
Next, a gaming machine that is a target of the above-described software distribution system will be described. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a pachinko machine 21 that is a target of the software distribution system, and FIG. 12 is a side view of the pachinko machine 21. A plurality of pachinko machines 21 are arranged in the length direction of the island structure of the pachinko hall while being electrically connected to the card-type ball lending machine 22.
[0053]
The illustrated pachinko machine 21 includes a rectangular frame-shaped wooden outer frame 23 that is detachably mounted on an island structure, and a front frame 24 that is pivotably mounted via a hinge H fixed to the outer frame 23. It consists of A game board 25 is detachably attached to the front frame 24 from the back side, and a glass door 26 and a front plate 27 are pivotally attached to the front side so as to be freely opened and closed.
[0054]
The front plate 27 is provided with an upper plate 28 for storing game balls for launch. A lower plate 29 for storing game balls overflowing from or extracted from the upper plate 28 and a launch handle 30 are disposed below the front frame 24. And are provided. The launch handle 30 is interlocked with the launch motor, and a game ball is launched by a striking rod 31 (see FIG. 14) that operates according to the rotation angle of the launch handle.
[0055]
On the right side of the upper plate 28, an operation panel 32 for lending the ball to the card-type ball lending machine 22 is provided, and on this operation panel 32, a card remaining amount display unit 32a for displaying the remaining amount of the card with a 3-digit number. A ball lending switch 32b for instructing lending of game balls for a predetermined amount, and a return switch 32c for instructing to return the card at the end of the game.
[0056]
On the upper part of the glass door 26, a big hit LED lamp P1 indicating a big hit state is arranged. In addition, in the vicinity of the big hit LED lamp P1, abnormality notification LED lamps P2 and P3 are provided to indicate a replenishment state or a full state of the lower plate.
[0057]
As shown in FIG. 13, the game board 25 is provided with a guide rail 33 formed of a metal outer rail and an inner rail in an annular shape, and the liquid crystal color display 8 is provided at the approximate center of the game area 25 a inside thereof. Has been placed. In addition, at a suitable place in the game area 25a, there are a symbol start opening 35, an open / close-type large winning opening 36, a plurality of ordinary winning openings 37 (six on the left and right of the large winning opening 36 in addition to the top), and two passage openings. A gate 38 is provided. Each of these winning openings 35 to 38 has a detection switch inside, and can detect the passage of a game ball.
[0058]
The liquid crystal display 8 is a device that variably displays a specific symbol related to the big hit state, and displays a background image, various characters, and the like in an animated manner. The liquid crystal display 8 has three symbol display portions Da to Dc arranged in the left-right direction. When a game ball wins a symbol start opening 35, the display symbols of the symbol display portions Da to Dc change for a predetermined time. Then, it stops at a stop symbol pattern determined based on the lottery result corresponding to the winning timing of the game ball to the symbol start opening 35.
[0059]
In the case of this embodiment, around the liquid crystal display 8, a large number of LED lamps P4 that are utilized for a big hit state notice effect or the like are arranged in series. This LED lamp P4 is arranged so as to surround the liquid crystal display in a U-shape, and is not only a flashing operation, but also increases or decreases the amount of light emitted from the U-shaped lower base point toward the open upper portion, and the subsequent game Implies progress to the player.
[0060]
A normal symbol display unit 39 is provided immediately above the liquid crystal display 8. The normal symbol display unit 39 displays one normal symbol. When a game ball that has passed through the gate 38 is detected, the displayed normal symbol fluctuates for a predetermined time, and the game ball passes through the gate 38. The stop symbol determined by the random number for lottery selected at the time is displayed and stopped.
[0061]
In the vicinity of the normal symbol display unit 39, a hold display LED lamp P5 indicating the number of winning balls to be held in the symbol start opening 35 and the normal winning opening 37 is provided. Further, side LED lamps P6 are also provided at the left and right positions of the game area 25a, and the windmill LED lamp P7 is also incorporated in the windmill as a game component.
[0062]
The symbol start opening 35 is opened and closed by an electric tulip having a pair of left and right opening and closing claws 35a, and when the stop symbol after the fluctuation of the normal symbol display unit 39 hits and the symbol is displayed, the opening and closing claw 35a is kept at a predetermined time. Only to be released.
[0063]
The open / close-type big winning opening 36 is controlled to open and close by an openable opening / closing plate 36a. When the stop symbol after fluctuation of the liquid crystal display 8 is a winning symbol such as “777”, a special game called “big hit” Is started, and the opening / closing plate 36a is opened. There is a specific area 36b inside the openable large winning opening 36, and when the winning ball passes through the specific area 36b, a special game advantageous to the player is continued.
[0064]
After the opening / closing plate 36a of the openable winning opening 36 is opened, the opening / closing plate 36a is closed when a predetermined time elapses or a predetermined number (for example, 10) of game balls wins. At this time, if the game ball does not pass through the specific area 36b, the special game ends, but if it passes through the specific area 36b, the special game is continued up to, for example, 16 times, which is advantageous to the player. To be controlled. A flashing flashing lamp is attached to the left and right positions of the opening / closing plate 36a.
[0065]
As shown in FIG. 14, a back mechanism plate 40 that presses the game board 25 from the back side is detachably attached to the back side of the front frame 24. An opening 40a is formed in the back mechanism plate 40, and a prize ball tank 41 and a tank rail 42 extending therefrom are provided on the upper side thereof. A payout device 43 connected to the tank rail 42 is provided on the side of the back mechanism plate 40, and a passage unit 44 connected to the payout device 43 is provided below the back mechanism plate 40. The game balls paid out from the payout device 43 are paid out to the upper plate 28 from the upper plate discharge port 28a (FIG. 11) via the passage unit 44.
[0066]
The opening 40a of the back mechanism plate 40 is fitted with a back cover 45 mounted on the back side of the game board 25 and a winning ball discharge basket (not shown) for discharging the game balls won in the winning holes 35 to 37. Has been. The main control board 1 is disposed inside the case CA1 attached to the back cover 45, and the symbol control board 2 is disposed on the front side thereof (see FIG. 12). Below the main control board 1, the lamp control board 4 is provided in the case CA2 attached to the back cover 45, and the sound control board 3 is provided in the adjacent case CA3.
[0067]
Below these cases CA2 and CA3, a power supply board 6 and a payout control board 5 are provided in a case CA4 mounted on the back mechanism plate 40. A power switch 53 and an initialization switch 54 are disposed on the power board 6. The parts corresponding to both the switches 53 and 54 are notched, and both switches can be operated simultaneously with a finger.
[0068]
Inside the case CA5 attached to the rear side of the launch handle 30, a launch control board 7 is provided. And these circuit boards 1-7 are each comprised independently, The computer circuit provided with the one-chip microcomputer is mounted in the control boards 2-6 except the power supply board 6 and the launch control board 7. FIG. Further, the main control board 1 and the other control boards 2 to 6 are electrically connected through a connector with a plurality of signal lines.
[0069]
As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described concretely, the concrete description content is not specifically limited by this invention. For example, in the description of the embodiment, it has been described that only the sub control board is changed in version, but the main control board may be changed online by adopting the same configuration as that of the sub control board.
In the above embodiment, the main control board and a plurality of sub-control boards constitute a gaming machine, and control commands are transmitted by one-way communication from the main control board. However, bidirectional communication is appropriately adopted. Thus, the control operation may be realized. Further, the connection relation of the control board is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment, and may be appropriately changed including the one illustrated in FIG. The arrows in FIG. 15 indicate the transmission direction of the control command, but bidirectional communication is not limited to the illustrated one.
[0070]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a game software distribution system that can easily change the version of a gaming machine. In addition, it is possible to realize a gaming machine that allows version change without replacement of the circuit board.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a distribution system according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an outline of the operation of the distribution system according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation content of the CGI program of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 illustrates a part of a database on the server side.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the contents of a check process executed by a user personal computer.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a gaming machine adapted to the distribution system of the present embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a connection relationship between a user personal computer and a gaming machine.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing transmission processing of a user personal computer that is performed when the flash ROM is rewritten.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing of the sub-control board of the gaming machine performed when the flash ROM is rewritten.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing of the sub-control board of the gaming machine performed when the flash ROM is rewritten.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a pachinko machine according to an embodiment.
12 is a side view of the pachinko machine shown in FIG.
13 is a front view of the pachinko machine shown in FIG.
14 is a rear view of the pachinko machine shown in FIG. 11. FIG.
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a modified example of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
NET network line Trans. cgi transmission means

Claims (5)

A main control unit that is in charge of game control and a sub control unit that operates based on a control command transmitted from the main control unit are provided, and the sub control unit and / or the main control unit include: An electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory and a CPU that realizes game control based on a game program stored in the nonvolatile memory are mounted,
Using a distribution system composed of a server device, a game hall personal computer, and a network line , the personal computer receives a game program received from the server device by the personal computer , and the CPU for realizing game control acquires the game program from the personal computer. , A gaming machine configured to write to the non-volatile memory,
The personal computer checks the consistency of the encrypted data received from the server device and determines whether the encrypted data is normally received. Each of the gaming machines installed in the gaming hall is uniquely decrypted based on the processing for notifying the server device and the decryption key unique to each gaming hall received thereafter. A process of obtaining a group of codes to be identified and the game program is executed in this order,
In the nonvolatile memory includes a receiving software for receiving the game program and the set of codes from the computer, and rewriting software for erasing and writing of the nonvolatile memory, and a code uniquely identifying the game machine Remembered,
When the version of the game program is changed, the group of codes received by the reception software and the code stored in the nonvolatile memory are collated prior to writing the game program to the nonvolatile memory. only if a matching code is present, the after the storage contents of the nonvolatile memory is transferred to RAM, game machine, characterized in that the erasing and writing processing of the nonvolatile memory is executed. The sub-control unit is provided with a dedicated port circuit for receiving the game program and a group of codes, and when receiving data from the personal computer through the dedicated port circuit, a response signal is returned to the personal computer . the gaming machine according to claim 1 which is configured. The gaming machine according to claim 2 , wherein adjustment is made with the personal computer so that the next data is not transmitted until the response signal is returned. It consists of server equipment, gaming hall computers and network lines,
The personal computer, according to claim 1 to any of the gaming machine 3, delivery system is configured to be transmitted a game program and a group of code received from the server device. The server apparatus used with the delivery system of Claim 4 .

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