JP5679174B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention includes a main control board that mainly controls the operation of the device related to the progress of the game, and a sub control board that mainly controls the operation of the device related to the effect of the game, from the main control board to the sub control board. The present invention relates to a gaming machine provided with communication means for transmitting a command signal composed of a digital signal with an error detection bit by serial communication.

Conventionally, a gaming machine such as a slot machine is formed so as to execute various effects according to the game situation when the player advances the game.
Such a gaming machine generally includes a gaming device related to the progress of the game, a main control board that mainly controls the operation of the gaming device, an effect device related to the effect of the game, and an operation of the effect device. And a sub-control board for mainly controlling.

Here, the sub-control board receives a command from the main control board and controls the effect device based on the received command so that the effect device can be controlled in accordance with the game situation.
For this reason, a digital command signal is transmitted from the main control board to the sub-control board to the gaming machine, and when transmitting the command signal, the gaming machine also uses serial transmission to transmit the digital signal in series as a communication means. A method is used (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  If such a serial transmission method is adopted, the number of cores is about five in USB (Universal Serial Bus) and the like, unlike a cable of a parallel transmission method in which cores are required for the number of bits constituting one byte. A thin cable can be used, the cable can be easily routed, and there is no need to synchronize the bits that make up a single byte as in the parallel transmission method. It is easy to increase the transmission path or increase the communication speed.

JP 2007-222690 A

In the gaming machine as described above, the main control board does not receive the signal from the sub control board in order to prevent fraud, and even when adopting serial transmission system communication, It is preferable that only communication in one direction with the sub-control board is performed and communication in the reverse direction, that is, communication from the sub-control board to the main control board is not performed.
When such one-way serial transmission system communication is adopted, an error bit occurs in a part of the command signal due to a communication failure due to noise, and even if this error bit is detected, the retry signal is sub-controlled. Since it cannot be returned from the board to the main control board, communication cannot be performed again and the correct signal cannot be transmitted to the sub-control board. There is a problem that the sub-control board malfunctions. For this reason, there is a desire to be able to correct an error in the command signal transmitted to the sub-control board even if one-way serial transmission system communication is employed.

  Accordingly, each invention described in each claim has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and the object is to make a one-way from the main control board to the sub-control board. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine capable of correcting an error even if an error occurs in a command signal transmitted by serial communication system communication.

Each invention described in each claim is made to achieve the above-mentioned object. The features of each invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings.
In addition, a code | symbol shows the code | symbol used in embodiment of this invention, and does not limit the technical scope of this invention.

(Claim 1)
(Feature point)
The invention described in claim 1 is characterized by the following points.
That is, the invention according to claim 1 is a game provided with a main control board (2A) for mainly controlling the operation of the apparatus relating to the progress of the game and a sub-control board (2D) for mainly controlling the stage device. A communication means (30) for transmitting a command signal comprising a digital signal with an error detection bit from the main control board (2A) to the sub control board (2D) by serial communication, The communication means (30) includes a transmission means (40) for transmitting a command signal from the main control board (2A), and a reception means for receiving a command signal received from the transmission means (40). (50) is provided, and each time two command signals are continuously output from the main control board (2A), the transmission means (40) includes these two command signals as a calculation target. Correction signal calculation means (44) for calculating a correction signal by performing a predetermined calculation, and two commands successively from the main control board (2A) Each time a signal is output, a transmission control means (45) for sequentially transmitting the two command signals and the correction signal to the receiving means (50) is provided, and the receiving means (50) Error detection means (62B, 63B) for checking error detection bits for each of the two reception command signals received from the transmission means (40) and detecting whether or not there is an error in these two reception command signals; When the error detection means (62B, 63B) detects an error in one of the two reception command signals , the correction signal calculation means (44) includes the other of the two reception command signals and a correction signal as a calculation target. The signal correction means (62C, 62D, 63C, 63D) that corrects the error by calculating the correction signal by performing the reverse operation of the calculation performed by replacing one of the two reception command signals with the calculated correction signal It is provided.

(Claim 2)
(Feature point)
The invention described in claim 2 is the invention described in claim 1, and has the following characteristic points.
That is, the invention described in claim 2 is a command signal storage in which all the command signals transmitted from the main control board (2A) to the sub control board (2D) are stored in the receiving means (50). Each time two reception command signals are received from the means (72) and the transmission means (40), the command signal stored in the command signal storage means (72) is selected according to the game situation at that time. One or more command signals that can be received are selected, a reception candidate command signal group including one or more selected command signals is generated, and the signal correction means (62C, 62D) is included in the reception candidate command signal group. , 63C, 63D) is provided with communication state determination means (73, 74) for determining that communication is normally performed if there is a signal that matches the corrected signal.

(Claim 3)
(Feature point)
The invention described in claim 3 is the invention described in claim 2 described above, and has the following features.
That is, the invention described in claim 2 is configured such that the game situation changes sequentially from one game stage to the next game stage as the game progresses, and for each game stage that changes. A command signal that can be received by the sub-control board (2D) is set in advance, and the communication state determination means (73, 74) is changed every time the game stage changes from one game stage to the next game stage. A reception candidate command signal group including different combinations of command signals is sequentially generated.

(Effect of Claim 1)
The present invention configured as described above has the following effects.
That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, every time two command signals are continuously output from the main control board , a predetermined calculation including these two command signals as calculation targets is performed, and the correction signal is obtained. The transmission means includes a correction signal calculation means for calculating, and a transmission control means for sequentially transmitting the two command signals and the correction signal to the reception means each time two command signals are output from the main control board. On the other hand, the receiving means checks the error detection bit for each of the two reception command signals received from the transmission means, and detects whether there is an error in the two reception command signals; If the error detection means detects an error in one of the two reception command signals, the correction signal is obtained by performing the reverse operation of the calculation performed by the correction signal calculation means on the other of the two reception command signals and the correction signal. And a signal correction means for correcting an error by replacing one of the two reception command signals with the calculated correction signal, and the reception command signal that is a command signal received due to a communication failure due to noise or the like has an error bit. If included, calculate the correction signal by performing the reverse operation of the calculation performed by the correction signal calculation means , including the other of the two reception command signals and the correction signal as the calculation target, and calculate one of the two reception command signals. Since it is replaced with the calculated correction signal, if an error bit occurs in one of the two command signals while reaching from the main control board to the sub control board, a command signal in which no error bit has occurred An error bit can be corrected to a correct bit from the correction signal.
For this reason, if an error bit does not occur in two or more signals out of a total of three signals of two command signals and correction signals transmitted by serial transmission method communication, the error can be corrected, The probability that an error bit will occur in two or more of these three signals that are continuously transmitted is sufficiently low, so serial transmission system communication in one direction from the main control board to the sub control board is possible. Even if an error occurs in the transmitted command signal when the command signal is transmitted, it is possible to correct the error bit, thereby achieving the object.

(Effect of claim 2)
According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the following effect is obtained.
That is, according to the second aspect of the present invention, every time the command signal storage means storing all the command signals transmitted from the main control board to the sub control board and the two reception command signals are received from the transmission means. From the command signals stored in the command signal storage means, select one or more command signals that can be received according to the game situation at that time, and receive candidate commands including the selected one or more command signals A communication state determination unit that generates a signal group and determines that communication is normally performed if the reception candidate command signal group matches the correction signal corrected by the signal correction unit. Therefore, if the correction signal corrected by the signal correction means does not match any of the command signals included in the reception candidate command signal group, communication is not performed normally, in other words, serial transmission system communication Communicate with Of the total of three signals of the two command signals and correction signal, it can be determined that an error bit has occurred communication error that occurred more than one signal.
And when it is determined that the communication is abnormal by the communication state determination means, when an error bit occurs in one of the two command signals and the correction signal, the command signals included in the reception candidate command signal group The command signal closest to the correction signal is selected, and the selected command signal is used instead of the correction signal as a command from the main control board, and if the sub control board controls the device based on this command signal, The player does not feel uncomfortable about the operation of the device, and there is no suspicion that some kind of abnormal operation has occurred, thereby suppressing the influence on the game due to communication abnormality to the minimum can do.

(Effect of claim 3)
According to invention of Claim 3, in addition to the effect of invention of Claim 2 mentioned above, there exist the following effects.
That is, according to the third aspect of the invention, the game situation is formed to change step by step as the game progresses, and the command signal that can be received by the sub-control board is preset for each changing game step. Since the communication state determination means is formed so as to sequentially generate a reception candidate command signal group composed of different combinations of command signals each time the game progresses to change from one game stage to the next game stage, Until the next game stage, the same reception candidate command signal group can be used to select a command signal, and the number of times that the communication state determination means generates the reception candidate command signal group is reduced. Thereby, even if the communication abnormality in the serial transmission system communication is determined on the sub control board side, and further the process of suppressing the influence of the communication abnormality is performed, the increase in the load on the sub control board side can be minimized, Maintenance of the transmission speed of serial transmission system communication is easily achieved, and there is no trouble in communication between the main control board and the sub control board.

It is a front view showing a slot machine which is a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the inside of the slot machine according to the embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the main control board and sub control board which concern on the said embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the transmission circuit which is a transmission means concerning the said embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the receiving circuit which is a receiving means concerning the said embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the error signal detection correction part which is the principal part of the said embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the communication abnormality repair part which is the principal part of the said embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the main control board which concerns on the said embodiment. It is a table which shows the command in each step of the main control board concerning the embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the command signal transmission process in the said embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the command signal reception process in the said embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the reception command signal hold process of the said embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the error signal detection correction process which concerns on the said embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the communication abnormality repair process which concerns on the said embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment that is the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Schematic configuration of slot machine 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, the slot machine 1 as a gaming machine according to the present embodiment rotates so that a plurality of types of symbols written on each of the three rotating reels 11 form a predetermined combination. A game for stopping the rotating reel 11 is performed. The slot machine 1 employs a metal medal as a game medium, and is configured to start a game when the medal is inserted.
As shown in FIG. 1, such a slot machine 1 includes a housing 2 that houses various devices of the slot machine 1 and has a rectangular front shape.
The housing | casing 2 is a box-shaped member by which the whole front surface was opened. And the front opening of the housing | casing 2 is block | closed with the front door 3 attached to the said housing | casing 2 so that rotation was possible. The front door 3 is automatically locked when it is closed.

The front door 3 includes an upper panel portion 4 and a lower panel portion 5 that substantially bisect the front surface. Below the lower panel portion 5, there is provided a tray unit 6 integrally formed with a tray portion 6A for storing medals to be paid out at the time of winning a prize. Further, an operation console 7 for performing an operation relating to the game is formed between the upper panel portion 4 and the lower panel portion 5 so as to protrude toward the player side.
Here, the upper panel portion 4 and the lower panel portion 5 have a decorative plate made of synthetic resin attached to the surface in order to ensure an excellent appearance in terms of design.

(Upper panel part 4)
The upper panel portion 4 is provided with a display window 4A formed in a rectangular shape above the console 7 and in the center in the width direction in FIG.
Here, each of the three rotating reels 11 provided inside the housing 2 is marked with a plurality of types of symbols on its outer peripheral surface. The symbols of each rotary reel 11 are visible from the outside of the housing 2 through the display window 4A. A reel illumination unit (not shown) that irradiates the rotary reel 11 from the inside is provided inside the rotary reel 11.

At the upper edge portion of the upper panel portion 4, there is provided an effect lighting device 4 </ b> B whose front shape is formed in an inverted trapezoidal shape that is elongated to the left and right. This lighting device for production 4B is arranged at substantially the center of the upper edge portion of the upper panel portion 4, and its both end portions are cut off at a position in front of them without reaching the corners of the lighting device for production 4B. It has become.
In addition, in the vicinity of both corners on the upper side of the upper panel portion 4, a pair of effect lighting devices 4 </ b> C for drawing a Chinese numeral “eight” is provided while the front shape is formed in a curved belt shape. Each of these effect lighting devices 4C has an upper end portion disposed in the vicinity of the end portion of the effect lighting device 4B, and a lower end portion thereof extends obliquely downward toward the side edge of the upper panel portion 4. It has become.
Furthermore, a pair of effect lighting devices 4D are provided on both side edges of the upper panel portion 4 so as to sandwich the display window 4A therebetween.
Each of these lighting devices for production 4B to 4D includes a light source such as a high-intensity light emitting diode disposed inside a red lens, and the visual in the game is turned on or blinking according to the progress of the game. This enhances the production effect.

A liquid crystal display device 4E for displaying a game effect image is provided between the display window 4A and the effect lighting device 4B. The liquid crystal display device 4E displays various images including moving images as the game progresses.
In the vicinity of both corners on the lower side of the liquid crystal display device 4E, audio output units 4F each having a speaker that generates sound effects relating to the game are provided.

(Operating console 7)
The console 7 is provided with various switches necessary for operations in the game.
That is, a key hole 7A into which a key for unlocking the front door 3 is inserted is provided at the right end portion in FIG. A medal insertion portion 7C having a medal insertion slot 7B for inserting medals is provided obliquely above and to the left of the keyhole 7A.
Three stop switches 7D that are operated when stopping each of the three rotary reels 11 are provided obliquely to the left of the medal slot 7B. Among these three stop switches 7D, a max bet switch 7E, which will be described later, is provided obliquely above and to the left of the stop switch 7D arranged at the left end.
In addition, a start switch 7F that is operated when rotating the three rotary reels 11 at the same time is provided on the left side of the leftmost stop switch 7D and obliquely below the left of the max bet switch 7E. Yes.

Here, a single bet switch 7G and a settlement switch 7H are provided in the vicinity of the left side of the max bet switch 7E in FIG.
The max bet switch 7E generally sends a max bet signal which is an insertion command signal for instructing betting of three medals when a player or the like performs a single pressing operation.
In other words, the max bet switch 7E is an insertion switch for betting the maximum number of medals (generally three) that can be bet by a single pressing operation.

The single bet switch 7G sends out a single bet signal which is an insertion command signal for instructing to bet one medal when a player or the like performs a single pressing operation.
In other words, the single bet switch 7G is an insertion switch for betting one medal with one pressing operation.
The remaining settlement switch 7H, when a player or the like performs a pressing operation, sends a settlement command signal instructing to perform the settlement operation of the stored medals or to return the bet medals. .

(Lower panel part 5 and saucer unit 6)
The lower panel portion 5 is provided with a panel 5A on which a character or the like representing a model type of the slot machine 1 is drawn.
The saucer unit 6 is provided with a medal payout port 6B for discharging medals paid out toward the saucer unit 6A when winning a prize, and a speaker for generating sound effects related to the game, in addition to the above-described saucer unit 6A for storing medals. And an audio output unit 6C.

(Game device with built-in case 2)
Next, a device such as a gaming device provided in the housing 2 will be briefly described.
As shown in FIG. 2, three rotary reels 11 are rotatably supported in the housing 2, and stepping motors 11 </ b> A (not shown in FIG. 2) that drive the rotary reels 11 are not shown. A reel unit 10 including a container unit 21 for storing a large number of medals therein, a hopper unit 20 for discharging medals toward the tray 6A, and controlling the gaming operation of the gaming apparatus and the operation of the hopper unit 20 A main control board 2A having a CPU composed of a microcomputer, a power supply device 9 for supplying power to these devices, and the like are provided.
The main control board 2A mainly controls the operation of the device related to the progress of the game.
That is, when the main control board 2A receives the insertion command signal from the max bet switch 7E, the insertion command signal from the single bed switch 7G, and the adjustment command signal from the adjustment switch 7H, according to the respective signals, This is a control device that performs a predetermined control operation on devices relating to the progress of the game, such as the reel unit 10 and the hopper unit 20.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the rear side of the front door 3 is arranged at a corresponding position of the front side liquid crystal display device 4E. A sub-control board 2D that controls the display device such as the display device 4E, and a medal that is arranged below the left edge of the display window 4A in FIG. 2 and that selects medals inserted into the medal slot 7B. A selector 8 and the like are provided.
The sub-control board 2D mainly controls operations of devices that are not directly involved in the progress of the game, for example, the lighting devices for effect 4B to 4D and the liquid crystal display device 4E.

(Communication means 30)
As described above, the slot machine 1 is provided with communication means 30 for transmitting a command signal including a digital signal with an error detection bit from the main control board 2A to the sub-control board 2D by serial communication.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the communication unit 30 is provided across both the main control board 2A and the sub control board 2D. As shown in FIG. 3, the communication means 30 includes a transmission circuit 40 which is a transmission means for transmitting a command signal from the main control board 2A, and a reception for receiving the command signal received from the transmission circuit 40. A receiving circuit 50 as means is provided.
The command signal is a digital signal with a parity check bit.

The main control board 2A includes a main control circuit 2E that is a main circuit of the main control board 2A that controls the operation of the reel unit 10 and the like, and a transmission circuit 40 that is a part of the communication means 30. .
On the other hand, the sub-control board 2D includes a sub-control circuit 2F that is a main circuit of the sub-control board 2D that controls the operation of the liquid crystal display device 4E and the like, and a receiving circuit 50 that is a part of the communication means 30. is there.

(Transmission circuit 40)
The transmission circuit 40 converts a parallel command signal sent from the main control circuit 2E into a serial command signal, and calculates a correction signal, which will be described later, by calculation based on the command signal from the main control circuit 2E. It is.
That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the transmission circuit 40 has an input buffer unit 41 that temporarily holds a command signal from the main control circuit 2E so that signal processing can be smoothly performed in the subsequent stage. First and second command signal holding units 42 and 43 for holding two command signals, a correction signal calculating unit 44 for calculating a correction signal, and a transmission for transmitting serially converted command signals to the outside sequentially. A control unit 45 is provided.

The input buffer unit 41 distributes the two command signals to the first and second command signal holding units 42 and 43 each time two command signals are continuously output from the main control board 2A.
More specifically, when the input buffer unit 41 continuously receives two command signals from the main control board 2A, the first command signal holding unit receives the first command signal received first among these two command signals. The second command signal sent to 42 and received second is sent to the second command signal hold unit 43.

When receiving the first command signal from the input buffer unit 41, the first command signal holding unit 42 holds the first command signal and receives the next first command signal until the next first command signal is received. Then, the old first command signal is replaced with the new first command signal.
The first command signal hold unit 42 is configured to send the held first command signal to both the correction signal calculation unit 44 and the transmission control unit 45.

When receiving the second command signal from the input buffer unit 41, the second command signal holding unit 43 holds the second command signal and receives the next second command signal until the next second command signal is received. Then, the old second command signal is replaced with a new second command signal.
The second command signal hold unit 43 is configured to send the held second command signal to both the correction signal calculation unit 44 and the transmission control unit 45.

The correction signal calculation unit 44 is a correction signal calculation unit that calculates a correction signal by performing a predetermined calculation on the two command signals every time two command signals are continuously output from the main control board 2A.
That is, every time two command signals are continuously output from the main control board 2A, the correction signal calculation unit 44 passes through the first and second command signal hold units 42 and 43, and the two command signals described above. Is received as the first and second command signals.
Then, the correction signal calculation unit 44 is configured to add the received first command signal and the second command signal to obtain a correction signal as a calculation result, and to send the calculated correction signal to the transmission control unit 45. Yes.

The transmission control unit 45 sequentially transmits the two command signals and the correction signal to the receiving circuit 50 on the sub-control board 2D side every time two command signals are output from the main control board 2A. is there.
That is, when the transmission control unit 45 receives the first and second command signals from the first and second command signal hold units 42 and 43 and receives the correction signal from the correction signal calculation unit 44, the transmission control unit 45 promptly The first command signal, the second command signal, and the correction signal are sequentially transmitted to the receiving circuit 50.

(Receiving circuit 50)
The receiving circuit 50 restores the serial-format command signal sent from the main control board 2A to a parallel-format command signal, and performs processing for detecting and correcting an error in the sent signal. .
As shown in FIG. 5, the receiving circuit 50 includes an error signal detection / correction unit 60 that detects and corrects an error in the received command signal that is the received command signal from the main control board 2A, a transmission circuit 40, and a reception circuit. A communication abnormality repair unit 70 that repairs an abnormality in communication performed between the circuits 50 is provided.

Each time the error signal detection / correction unit 60 receives the two command signals and the correction signal received from the transmission circuit 40, the error signal detection / correction unit 60 performs error detection on each of the first and second reception command signals that are the two received command signals. When an error is detected, the correction is performed.
As shown in FIG. 6, the error signal detection and correction unit 60 includes an input buffer unit 61 that temporarily holds a command signal from the transmission circuit 40 so that signal processing can be smoothly performed in the subsequent stage, and a first buffer A first signal processing unit 62 that performs error detection and correction on the reception command signal, a second signal processing unit 63 that performs error detection and correction on the second reception command signal, and correction that holds the received correction signal A signal hold unit 64 and an output buffer unit 65 that temporarily holds the signal are provided so that the signal of the communication abnormality repair unit 70 connected to the subsequent stage can be received smoothly.

Each time the input buffer unit 61 receives the first reception command signal, the second reception command signal, and the correction signal continuously from the transmission circuit 40, the input buffer unit 61 respectively receives the first reception command signal, the second reception command signal, and the correction signal. Are distributed to the first signal processing unit 62, the second signal processing unit 63, and the correction signal holding unit 64, respectively.
More specifically, when the input buffer unit 61 continuously receives three signals from the transmission circuit 40, the first reception command signal received first among these three reception signals is sent to the first signal processing unit 62. The second reception command signal received secondly is sent to the second signal processing unit 63, and the third received correction signal is sent to the correction signal holding unit 64.

Further, as described above, the first signal processing unit 62 detects an error in the first reception command signal, and corrects the error when there is an error in the first reception command signal.
As shown in FIG. 6, the first signal processing unit 62 includes a first signal holding unit 62A for holding the received first reception command signal, and an error for detecting whether or not there is an error in the first reception command signal. A signal for replacing the first reception command signal with a correction signal, a first error detection unit 62B as detection means, a first inverse operation unit 62C for performing an inverse operation of the operation performed by the correction signal calculation unit 44 on the transmission circuit 40 side A selection switch unit 62D as correction means is provided.

Further, the second signal processing unit 63 has the same configuration as that of the first signal processing unit 62. As described above, the second signal processing unit 63 detects an error in the second reception command signal, and detects an error in the second reception command signal. If there is, correct it.
As shown in FIG. 6, the second signal processing unit 62 includes a second signal holding unit 63A for holding the received second reception command signal, and an error for detecting whether or not there is an error in the second reception command signal. A signal for replacing the second reception command signal with a correction signal; a second error detection unit 63B as detection means; a second inverse operation unit 63C that performs an inverse operation of the operation performed by the correction signal calculation unit 44 on the transmission circuit 40 side; A selection switch unit 63D as correction means is provided.

  The correction signal hold unit 64 is configured to send the held correction signal to both the first inverse operation unit 62C of the first signal processing unit 62 and the second inverse operation unit 63C of the second signal processing unit 63. It has been made.

Hereinafter, the first signal processing unit 62 will be described in more detail.
The first signal holding unit 62A of the first signal processing unit 62 sends the held first reception command signal to the first error detection unit 62B, the selection switch unit 62D, and the second signal processing unit 63 side second signal. It is to be sent to three places of the inverse operation unit 63C.

The first error detection unit 62B detects whether or not there is an error in the first reception command signal by performing a parity check on the first reception command signal.
The first error detection unit 62B is configured to send an error detection signal to the first inverse operation unit 62C and the communication abnormality repair unit 70 if there is an error as a result of the detection.

The first inverse operation unit 62C receives the correction signal sent from the correction signal hold unit 64 and the second reception command sent from the second signal hold unit 63A on the second signal processing unit 63 side, as will be described later. The correction signal is calculated based on the signal.
Specifically, the first inverse operation unit 62C performs subtraction to subtract the second reception command signal held by the second signal hold unit 63A from the correction signal held by the correction signal hold unit 64, and The difference resulting from the subtraction is sent as a correction signal to the communication abnormality repairing unit 70.

Upon receiving an error detection signal from the first error detection unit 62B, the selection switch unit 62D performs an operation of replacing the second reception command signal with a correction signal.
More specifically, when receiving an error detection signal from the first error detection unit 62B, the selection switch unit 62D connects the first inverse operation unit 62C to the output buffer unit 65, and the first inverse operation unit 62C The calculated correction signal is received by the output buffer unit 65 and transmitted to the communication abnormality repair unit 70.
On the other hand, when the selection switch unit 62D does not receive the error detection signal from the first error detection unit 62B, it connects the first signal hold unit 62A to the output buffer unit 65, and the first signal hold unit 62A holds it. The first reception command signal is received by the output buffer unit 65 and transmitted to the communication abnormality repair unit 70.

Next, the second signal processing unit 63 will be described in more detail.
The second signal holding unit 63A of the second signal processing unit 63 outputs the held second reception command signal to the first error detection unit 63B, the selection switch unit 63D, and the first signal processing unit 62 side first. It is to be sent to three places of the inverse operation unit 62C.

The second error detection unit 63B detects whether or not there is an error in the second reception command signal by performing a parity check on the second reception command signal.
The second error detection unit 63B is configured to send an error detection signal to the second inverse operation unit 63C and the communication abnormality repair unit 70 if there is an error as a result of the detection.

The second inverse operation unit 63C is based on the correction signal sent from the correction signal hold unit 64 and the first reception command signal sent from the first signal hold unit 62A on the first signal processing unit 62 side. A correction signal is calculated.
Specifically, the second inverse operation unit 63C performs subtraction to subtract the first reception command signal held by the first signal hold unit 62A from the correction signal held by the correction signal hold unit 64, and The difference resulting from the subtraction is sent as a correction signal to the communication abnormality repairing unit 70.

Upon receiving an error detection signal from the second error detection unit 63B, the selection switch unit 63D performs an operation of replacing the second reception command signal with a correction signal.
More specifically, when receiving an error detection signal from the second error detection unit 63B, the selection switch unit 63D connects the second inverse operation unit 63C to the output buffer unit 65, and the second inverse operation unit 63C The calculated correction signal is received by the output buffer unit 65 and transmitted to the communication abnormality repair unit 70.
On the other hand, the selection switch unit 63D connects the second signal hold unit 63A to the output buffer unit 65 when the error detection signal is not received from the second error detection unit 63B, and the second signal hold unit 63A holds it. The second reception command signal is received by the output buffer unit 65 and transmitted to the communication abnormality repair unit 70.

  When the output buffer unit 65 receives a signal from each of the first signal processing unit 62 and the second signal processing unit 63, the output buffer unit 65 promptly receives the signal from the first signal processing unit 62 and the signal from the second signal processing unit 63. In order, the received signal is transmitted to the communication abnormality repair unit 70.

  The communication abnormality repairing unit 70 determines whether or not the reception command signal received by the receiving circuit 50 can be received according to the gaming situation at that time, and when determining that it can be received It is determined that communication is normally performed.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the communication abnormality repair unit 70 includes an input buffer unit 71 that temporarily holds an input signal, a command signal storage unit 72 that stores all the command signals that can be received, A candidate signal group generation unit 73 that generates a reception candidate command signal group including one or more command signals that can be received according to the gaming situation of the game, and the signal received by the communication abnormality repair unit 70 is the above-described reception candidate command signal A communication state determination unit 74 that determines whether or not it matches one of the groups, and a closest approximation that extracts a signal that is closest to the signal received by the communication abnormality repair unit 70 from the reception candidate command signal group described above A signal extraction unit 75, a signal selection unit 76 that selects a signal by switching an internal signal path, and an output buffer unit 77 that can temporarily hold a signal to be output are provided.

The input buffer unit 71 temporarily holds the reception command signal or the correction signal from the erroneous signal detection / correction unit 60 so that the signal processing can be smoothly performed in the subsequent stage.
The input buffer unit 71 is configured to transmit the reception command signal or the correction signal received from the erroneous signal detection / correction unit 60 to three locations of the candidate signal group generation unit 73, the communication state determination unit 74, and the signal selection unit 76. ing.

The command signal storage unit 72 is command signal storage means in which all command signals transmitted from the main control board 2A to the sub control board 2D are stored.
The candidate signal group generation unit 73 selects one or more command signals that can be received from the command signals stored in the command signal storage unit 72 according to the game situation at the time, and selects one or more selected signals. The reception candidate command signal group including the command signal is generated.

At this time, the game situation of the slot machine 1 is gradually changed from one game stage to the next game stage as the game progresses.
Command signals transmitted from the main control board 2A and received by the sub control board 2D are set in advance for each changing game stage. Each of these command signals is provided with a command data portion indicating a command and a header portion including an attribute code indicating a game stage to which the command signal belongs.

The candidate signal group generation unit 73 described above, from the attribute code included in the reception command signal or correction signal received from the error signal detection correction unit 60 via the input buffer unit 71, the game situation at that time, in other words, The game stage at the time is determined.
Further, the candidate signal group generation unit 73 receives two signals (specifically, a reception command signal or a correction signal corresponding to the reception command signal) received from the transmission circuit 40 via the error signal detection correction unit 60. Each time, from the command signal stored in the command signal storage unit 72, by selecting and extracting the game status at that time, in other words, the command signal having an attribute code indicating the game stage at that time, A reception candidate command signal group is generated.
Thus, each time the candidate signal group generation unit 73 changes from one game stage to the next game stage as the game progresses, the candidate signal group generation unit 73 sequentially generates reception candidate command signal groups including different combinations of command signals. Is formed.
The candidate signal group generation unit 73 does not generate a reception candidate command signal group when the game stages to which the two signals received from the transmission circuit 40 via the erroneous signal detection correction unit 60 belong are different. Yes.

The communication state determination unit 74 determines that communication is performed normally if there is a reception candidate command signal group that matches the correction signal corrected by the selection switch units 62D and 63D.
That is, the communication state determination unit 74 includes a subtraction unit 74A that performs subtraction to subtract one signal sent from the input buffer unit 71 from all command signals included in the reception candidate command signal group, and a subtraction unit 74A A coincidence determination unit 74B is provided for determining whether there is a coincidence in the reception candidate command signal group from the subtraction result.

Each time the subtraction unit 74A receives one signal from the input buffer unit 71, the subtraction unit 74A receives all the command signals included in the reception candidate command signal group one by one, and receives all the command signals from the input buffer unit 71. A difference signal indicating the obtained difference is calculated, and a difference signal indicating the obtained difference is transmitted to the coincidence determination unit 74B and the closest approximation signal extraction unit 75.
The coincidence determination unit 74B receives the difference signal received from the input buffer unit 71 in the reception candidate command signal group when any one of the difference signals received from the subtraction unit 74A has a value of “0”. When it is determined that there is a signal that matches one signal, it is determined that the communication is normally performed, and it is determined that the communication is normally performed, the communication normal signal is transmitted to the signal selection unit. Send to 76.
Here, when the signal selection unit 76 connected to the subsequent stage of the communication state determination unit 74 does not receive a communication normal signal from the match determination unit 74B on the communication state determination unit 74 side, the communication state determination unit 74 performs communication. It is assumed that there is an abnormality.

Based on the difference calculated by the subtraction unit 74A, the nearest-similar signal extraction unit 75 is the closest approximation having a value closest to one signal received from the input buffer unit 71 among the command signals included in the reception candidate command signal group. Find the signal.
That is, in the closest approximation signal extraction unit 75, the absolute value calculation unit 75A that calculates the absolute value of the value indicated by the difference signal received from the subtraction unit 74A and the absolute value calculated by the absolute value calculation unit 75A are calculated so far. A minimum value determination unit 75B for determining whether or not the signal is the smallest of the received signals, and a most approximate signal hold unit 75C for holding the signal that is the most approximate signal among the command signals included in the reception candidate command signal group. And are provided.

  The absolute value calculation unit 75A receives difference signals for all command signals included in the reception candidate command signal group, calculates absolute values of the received difference signals, and successively outputs absolute value signals indicating the calculated absolute values. To the minimum value determination unit 75B.

When the absolute value signal is successively received from the absolute value calculation unit 75A, the minimum value determination unit 75B holds the first received absolute value signal, and the absolute value signal received for the second time and thereafter is absolute from the subtraction unit 74A. Every time a value signal is received, the value is compared with the absolute value signal that is being held, and if the absolute value signal received this time is smaller than the absolute value signal that is being held, the absolute value that is being held The signal is updated to the absolute value signal received this time and held.
When the absolute value signal being held is updated to a new absolute value signal, such a minimum value determination unit 75B transmits an update signal to the closest approximation signal hold unit 75C.

The similar signal hold unit 75C receives command signals included in the reception candidate command signal group from the candidate signal group generation unit 73 one after another in synchronization with reception of the command signal from the candidate signal group generation unit 73 to the subtraction unit 74A. It is supposed to receive.
Further, the closest approximation signal holding unit 75C receives an update signal transmitted from the minimum value determination unit 75B when the absolute value signal held by the minimum value determination unit 75B is updated to a new absolute value signal. It has become.

When the command signal is successively received from the candidate signal group generation unit 73, the most approximate signal holding unit 75C holds the command signal received first, and the command signal received for the second time and thereafter is the minimum value determination unit. Each time an update signal is received from 75B, the command signal being held is updated to the command signal received this time and held.
As a result, the most approximate signal hold unit 75C holds the command signal closest to the one signal sent from the input buffer unit 71 to the subtraction unit 74A among the command signals received so far. In addition, the most approximate signal holding unit 75C selects the most approximate signal from the command signals included in the reception candidate command signal group and transmits the selected signal to the signal selection unit 76.

The signal selection unit 76 selects one of the one signal received from the erroneous signal detection and correction unit 60 via the input buffer unit 71 and the most approximate signal transmitted from the most approximate signal hold unit 75C. The selected signal is transmitted to the output buffer unit 77.
The signal selector 76 includes an OR circuit 76A that calculates the logical sum of the two signals, an inverter circuit 76B that inverts the logical value of the signal, an AND circuit 76C that calculates the logical product of the two signals, and an input buffer. A selection switch unit 76D for selecting one of the signal from the unit 71 and the signal from the erroneous signal detection and correction unit 60 is provided.

  The OR circuit 76A includes an error detection signal from the first error detection unit 62B on the error signal detection and correction unit 60 side, and an error detection signal from the second error detection unit 63B on the error signal detection and correction unit 60 side. The signals are received, the sum of these signals is calculated, and a sum signal indicating the sum is transmitted to the AND circuit 76C.

The inverter circuit 76B receives the communication normal signal from the coincidence determination unit 74B, and transmits a communication abnormal signal indicating that there is a communication abnormality to the AND circuit 76C, which is a signal obtained by inverting the logical value of the communication normal signal. It is supposed to be.
The AND circuit 76C receives the two signals of the sum signal from the OR circuit 76A and the communication abnormality signal from the inverter circuit 76B, calculates the product of these signals, and selects the product signal indicating the product. This is sent to the part 76D.

  The selection switch unit 76D receives the product signal from the AND circuit 76C. When the value of the product signal is “0”, the selection switch unit 76D sends the signal from the error signal detection / correction unit 60 to the output buffer unit 77, and the value of the product signal is “ In the case of “1”, the most approximate signal output from the most approximate signal hold unit 75C is sent to the output buffer unit 77.

More specifically, the selection switch unit 76D determines whether or not both the first error detection unit 62B and the second error detection unit 63B on the error signal detection / correction unit 60 side transmit a detection signal, The signal from the erroneous signal detection and correction unit 60 is sent to the output buffer unit 77 in any case where the unit 74B is transmitting a communication normal signal.
In other words, the selection switch unit 76D has determined that there is no error in both the first reception command signal and the second reception command signal by the error signal detection correction unit 60, and that the communication state determination unit 74 has normal communication. The signal from the error signal detection / correction unit 60 is sent to the output buffer unit 77 on the condition that one of the determinations is made.

On the other hand, in the selection switch unit 76D, at least one of the first error detection unit 62B and the second error detection unit 63B on the error signal detection / correction unit 60 side transmits an error detection signal, and the coincidence determination unit 74B has a communication normal signal. Is not transmitted, the most approximate signal output from the most approximate signal hold unit 75C is sent to the output buffer unit 77.
In other words, the selection switch unit 76D determines that there is an error in at least one of the first reception command signal and the second reception command signal by the error signal detection / correction unit 60, and the communication state determination unit 74 has an abnormality in communication. On the condition that it is determined that there is, the most approximate signal output from the most approximate signal hold unit 75C is sent to the output buffer unit 77.

When receiving a signal from the selection switch unit 76D, the output buffer unit 77 promptly transmits the signal from the selection switch unit 76D to the sub-control circuit 2F.
The receiving circuit 50 as described above is a command signal transmitted by the transmitting circuit 40 or an internally corrected correction signal when there is no error in both of the two received command signals or when communication is performed normally. Is transmitted to the sub-control circuit 2F.
On the other hand, the receiving circuit 50 has a command that most closely approximates the received command signal or the correction signal received by the communication error repair unit 70 when there is an error in at least one of the received two received command signals and there is a communication error. A signal is selected from the reception candidate command signal group, and the selected command signal is transmitted to the sub-control circuit 2F as the closest approximation signal.

Next, main control processing by the main control board 2A according to this embodiment according to the present embodiment, command signal transmission processing by the transmission circuit 40 of the main control board 2A, and command signal reception by the reception circuit 50 of the sub-control board 2D The processing will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
Here, the main control processing and command signal transmission processing on the main control board 2A side and the command signal reception processing on the sub control board 2D side are parallel processes independent of each other, and the main control processing of the main control board 2A In other words, each time a transition is made from one game stage to the next game stage, a command signal is sent from the main control board 2A to the sub control board 2D. Each control process is synchronized with the control process of the main control board 2A.

(Main control processing by main control board 2A)
First, main control processing by the main control board 2A according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8, and then transmitted from the main control board 2A at each step of the game, in other words, at each game stage of the game. The command signal will be described with reference to FIG.
When the power of the slot machine 1 is turned on, main control processing by the main control board 2A is started, and thereby the gaming operation of the slot machine 1 is started. At this time, the main control process starts from step MS1000 as shown in FIG.

That is, when the power of the slot machine 1 is turned on, as shown in FIG. 8, in step MS1000, the player waits without proceeding until a medal is inserted by the player, and the liquid crystal display device 4E The medal insertion standby process for displaying a demonstration video for attracting a person is started.
This medal insertion standby process continues until a player inserts a medal or performs a medal betting operation, and ends with the medal insertion or medal betting operation. When the medal insertion standby process ends, the process proceeds to the next step MS2000.

In step MS2000, a betting process that is performed when a player inserts a medal is performed. More specifically, in step MS2000, a medal insertion sound for notifying that a player has inserted a medal into the medal insertion slot 7B, or a bet for notifying that the player has operated the bet switches 7E and 7G. A process for generating sound is performed.
When the betting operation for medals is completed, the betting process ends, and the process proceeds to the next step MS3000.

Step MS3000 is a stage before the start operation before the start switch 7F is operated by the player. In this step MS3000, when a big bonus (hereinafter referred to as “BB”) or a replay time (hereinafter referred to as “RT”) is won, it is an effect peculiar to the winning of BB or RT. Start operation standby processing for performing an effect that suggests winning is started.
This start operation waiting process continues until the start switch 7F is operated by the player, and is ended by operating the start switch 7F. When the start operation standby process ends, the process proceeds to the next step MS3100.

In step MS3100, a start operation process that is performed when the start switch 7F is operated by the player is performed. More specifically, in step MS3100, a start operation process as an effect process for producing the start of rotation of the rotary reel 11 is performed slightly after the operation of the start switch 7F. It is preferable that a plurality of types of effects to be executed are prepared in advance, and one of them is selected by lottery or the like so that the selected one effect is executed.
Since the start operation process ends at the moment when the start switch 7F is operated, the process proceeds to the next step MS3200.

In step MS3200, a hit / lotter process for determining attrition / losing in the game within the main control board 2A and determining the winning combination when atari is selected is performed.
In this step MS3200, when the lottery result is finished and the lottery result is obtained, a signal indicating the contents of the lottery result, for example, a signal indicating the type of the role in the case of winning is sent as a command signal from the main control board 2A to the sub-control board 2D. Sent to.
Here, the signal indicating the type of winning combination when winning is also an effect command signal for instructing execution of the predetermined effect indicated by the signal for the sub-control board 2D.
When the transmission of the command signal indicating the contents of the lottery result is completed, the success / failure lottery process ends, and the process proceeds to next step MS4000.

  In step MS4000, a reel rotation start process for starting rotation of the three rotating reels 11 all at once and generating a rotation start sound for notifying the rotation start of the rotating reels 11 is performed. When the three rotation reels 11 start to rotate all at once by this reel rotation start processing, the process proceeds to the next step MS4100.

  In step MS4100, a reel rotation process as an effect process for producing the rotation of the rotary reel 11 is executed until the rotary reel 11 is stopped. For example, in step MS4100, an effect of changing the rotation speed of the rotary reel 11 before the rotation speed of the rotary reel 11 reaches a predetermined rotation speed can be performed. When the reel rotation process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step MS5000.

In step MS5000, a stop operation time process that is performed when one stop switch 7D is operated by the player is performed.
More specifically, in step MS5000, a stop operation process for generating a rotation stop sound for notifying the stop of the rotating reel 11 and stopping the corresponding rotating reel 11 is triggered by the operation of one stop switch 7D. Done.
When the corresponding rotating reel 11 is stopped by this stop operation process, the process proceeds to the next step MS5100.

In step MS5100, it is determined whether or not all three rotating reels 11 have stopped.
If it is not determined in step MS5100 that all three rotating reels 11 are stopped, the process proceeds to step MS5200. If it is determined that all three rotating reels 11 are stopped, the process proceeds to step MS6000. .

In step MS5200, a reel individual stop process performed when one rotating reel 11 stops is performed. More specifically, in step MS5200, an individual reel stop process is performed as an effect process for displaying an image that is expected to win a prize on the liquid crystal display device 4E slightly after the operation of the stop switch 7D. It is preferable that a plurality of types of effects to be executed are prepared in advance, and one of them is selected by lottery or the like so that the selected one effect is executed.
When the next stop switch 7D is operated, the process returns to step MS5000, and at the same time, the reel individual stop process ends.

  In step MS6000, when all the reels 11 are stopped, the all-reel stop process, which is an effect process for displaying on the liquid crystal display device 4E the symbol (actuated symbol) corresponding to the winning combination in the winning lottery, is executed. The When this operation pattern is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 4E, the process proceeds to the next step MS6100.

In step MS6100, it is determined whether or not the symbol indicated by the stopped three rotating reels 11 corresponds to a winning combination in the winning lottery with a medal payout. In summary, in step MS6100, it is determined whether or not the stop symbol corresponds to a winning combination.
If it is determined in step MS6100 that the stopped symbol corresponds to a winning combination, the process proceeds to step MS6200.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the stop symbol corresponds to the winning combination, the main control process started from the MS 1000 is completed.

  In step MS6200, a medal payout process for paying out to the player the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination is performed. When the medal payout is completed in step MS6200, the main control process started from MS1000 is completed.

Subsequently, an example of a command signal transmitted from the main control board 2A to the sub control board 2D in each game stage in which each step shown in FIG. 8 is executed will be simply described with reference to FIG. To do.
First, in the stage before medal insertion, which is the execution stage of step MS1000, as shown in FIG. 9, a display command for displaying a demonstration video for attracting a player on the liquid crystal display device 4E is sent from the main control board 2A to the sub-control board. Sent to 2D.

In the betting stage, which is the execution stage of step MS2000, a generation command for generating a medal insertion sound for informing medal insertion or a bet switch operation sound for informing the operation of the bet switch is transmitted.
In the stage before the start operation, which is the execution stage of step MS3000, when there is a possibility of shifting to BB or RT, a notification effect command for executing a specific notification effect is generated, such as generating a special sound to notify that effect. Sent.

In the betting stage, which is the execution stage of step MS3100, a generation command for generating a medal insertion sound or a bet switch operation sound is transmitted.
In the success / failure lottery stage, which is the execution stage of step MS3200, an effect command for executing an effect corresponding to the success / failure lottery is transmitted.

In the reel rotation start stage, which is the execution stage of step MS4000, a generation command for generating a rotation start sound for notifying that the rotation of the rotating reel 11 is started is transmitted.
In the reel rotation stage, which is the execution stage of step MS4100, an execution command for executing an effect using the rotary reel is transmitted.

In the stop operation stage, which is the execution stage of step MS5000, a generation command for generating a rotation stop sound for notifying that the rotary reel 11 is stopped is transmitted.
In the reel stop stage, which is the execution stage of step MS5200, an execution command for executing an effect of displaying an image that is expected to win on the liquid crystal display device 4E is transmitted.

In the stop operation stage, which is the execution stage of step MS5000, a generation command for generating a rotation stop sound for notifying that the rotary reel 11 is stopped is transmitted.
In the reel stop stage, which is the execution stage of step MS5200, an execution command for executing an effect of displaying an image that is expected to win on the liquid crystal display device 4E is transmitted.

In the all-reel stop stage, which is the execution stage of step MS6000, an execution command for executing an effect of displaying on the liquid crystal display device 4E a combination of symbols corresponding to the winning combination won in the winning lottery is transmitted.
In the medal payout stage, which is the execution stage of step MS6200, a display command for causing the liquid crystal display device 4E to display information relating to medal payout such as the number of medals to be paid out is transmitted.

In the normal game, the command signal as described above is transmitted in each progressing game stage, while in the BB and RT, in addition to the command command signals in the normal game, the BB game and the RT game A unique command signal at is transmitted.
Hereinafter, command signals added in the BB game and the RT game will be described.

In the BB stage in which the BB game is being executed, the liquid crystal display device 4E and the like display the net increase number that is the difference between the number of medals paid out so far and the number of medals spent in the game after the transition to the BB game. An ideographic command to be displayed is sent.
In addition, at the BB end stage where the BB game ends, a generation command for generating a BB end sound that notifies the end of the BB game is transmitted.

At the RT start stage when the RT game is started, a generation command for generating an RT start sound for notifying that the RT game is started is transmitted.
Conversely, at the RT end stage when the RT game ends, a generation command for generating an RT end sound for notifying the end of the RT game is transmitted.

Further, when the player presses the settlement switch 7H while the game is over, the game stage shifts to the settlement stage.
In this checkout stage, first, a generation command for generating a checkout start sound to notify that the checkout is started at the start of checkout is transmitted, and thereafter, the number of medals credited for checkout are paid out to the player. It is. At this time, a display command for causing the liquid crystal display device 4E to display the number of unsettled medals, that is, the remaining number of medals, is transmitted.
Then, at the settlement end stage where the settlement ends, a generation command for generating a settlement end sound for notifying that the settlement is terminated is transmitted.

(Command signal transmission processing by main control board 2A)
Next, the command signal transmission process will be described with reference to FIG.
When the power of the slot machine 1 is turned on, the command signal transmission process is started by the transmission circuit 40 of the main control board 2A. This command signal transmission process is started from step TS1000 as shown in FIG.
First, as shown in FIG. 10, in step TS1000, an initial value setting process for setting an initial value of the control variable n is performed. Specifically, the process of setting the value of the control variable n to “1” is performed. When this initial value setting process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step TS2000.

In step TS2000, it is determined whether or not the transmission circuit 40 has received a command signal from the main control circuit 2E.
If it is not determined in step TS2000 that a command signal has been received from the main control circuit 2E, standby processing is performed in which step TS2000 is repeated until a command signal is received from the main control circuit 2E.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step TS2000 that a command signal has been received from the main control circuit 2E, the process proceeds to the next step TS2100.

  In step TS2100, a command signal hold process is performed. This command signal hold processing uses the command signal received from the main control circuit 2E as the nth command signal corresponding to the control variable n, and this nth command signal is used as the first command signal hold unit 42 and the second command signal hold unit. Of the 43, the processing is to be stored in the appropriate person. When this command signal hold process ends, the process proceeds to the next step TS2200.

  In step TS2200, the control variable n is incremented. Specifically, a process of adding “1” to the value of the control variable n is performed. When this increment process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step TS2300.

In Step TS2300, it is determined whether or not the value of the control variable n has reached “3”.
If it is not determined in step TS2300 that the value of the control variable n has reached “3”, the process returns to step TS2000, while it is determined in step TS2300 that the value of the control variable n has reached “3”. If so, the process proceeds to the next step TS3000.

  In step TS3000, a correction signal calculation process for calculating a correction signal by the correction signal calculation unit 44 is performed. That is, processing for calculating the correction signal by adding the second command signal to the first command signal is performed. When this correction signal calculation process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step TS4000.

  In step TS4000, the two command signals continuously received by the transmission circuit 40 from the main control circuit 2E, that is, the first command signal and the second command signal, and the correction signal calculated by the correction signal calculation unit 44 are serialized. The first command signal, the second command signal, and the correction signal converted into the serial format are sequentially transmitted to the receiving circuit 50 on the sub control board 2D side. When this serial transmission process is completed, one command signal transmission process is completed.

(Command signal reception processing by sub-control board 2D)
Next, the command signal reception process will be described with reference to FIGS.
When the power of the slot machine 1 is turned on, the command signal receiving process is started by the receiving circuit 50 of the sub control board 2D. As shown in FIG. 11, the command signal reception process includes three processes started from each of step RS1000, step RS2000, and step RS6000.

  The command signal reception process will be described briefly. In the command signal reception process, first, in step RS1000, a reception command signal hold process for holding a received command signal, which is a received command signal, is started. Next, in step RS2000, an error signal detection and correction process for detecting an error and correcting an error with respect to the reception command signal is started. Subsequently, in step RS6000, a communication abnormality repair process for determining whether there is an abnormality in communication with the transmission circuit 40 on the main control board 2A side and repairing the abnormality is started.

Hereinafter, the command signal reception process will be described in detail.
Among the command signal reception processes, the reception command signal hold process that is executed first, as shown in FIG. 12, performs an initial value setting process for setting the initial value of the control variable m in step RS1100. Specifically, the process of setting the value of the control variable m to “1” is performed. When this initial value setting process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step RS1200.

In step RS1200, it is determined whether or not the receiving circuit 50 has received a command signal from the main control board 2A.
If it is not determined in step RS1200 that a command signal has been received from the main control board 2A, standby processing is performed in which step RS1200 is repeated until a command signal is received from the main control board 2A.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step RS1200 that the command signal has been received from the main control board 2A, the process proceeds to the next step RS1300.

In step RS1300, it is determined whether or not the value of the control variable m has reached “3”.
If it is determined in step RS1300 that the value of the control variable m has reached “3”, the process proceeds to step RS1600. On the other hand, if it is not determined in step RS1300 that the value of the control variable m has reached “3”, the process proceeds to the next step RS1400.

  In step RS1400, reception command signal hold processing is performed. In this reception command signal hold processing, a reception command signal, which is a command signal received from the main control board 2A, is used as an mth reception command signal corresponding to the control variable m, and this mth reception command signal is used as the first signal hold unit 62A. And it is the processing to be stored in the corresponding one of the second signal hold unit 63A. When this reception command signal hold process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step RS1500.

In step RS1500, the control variable m is incremented. Specifically, a process of adding “1” to the value of the control variable m is performed. When this increment process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step RS1600.
When the process proceeds from step RS1300 to step RS1600, in step RS1600, a correction signal hold process for storing the correction signal from the main control board 2A in the correction signal hold unit 64 is performed. When this correction signal hold process is completed, the reception command signal hold process is completed, and the next error signal detection and correction process is started.

Next, the error signal detection and correction process will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 13, the error signal detection and correction process started from step RS2000 is a parity check process for performing error detection by parity check for each of the first reception command signal and the second reception command signal in step RS2100. Do. When this parity check process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step RS2200.

In step RS2200, it is determined whether or not there is an error in at least one of the first reception command signal and the second reception command signal in the parity check process.
If it is determined in step RS2200 that there is an error in at least one of the first reception command signal and the second reception command signal, the process proceeds to step RS3000.
On the other hand, if it is not determined in step RS2200 that there is an error in at least one of the first reception command signal and the second reception command signal, in other words, there is an error in both the first reception command signal and the second reception command signal. If it is determined that there is not, the process proceeds to the next step RS2300.

In step RS2300, a performance command setting process is performed in which the first reception command signal and the second reception command signal are set as genuine command signals to be performed by the sub-control circuit 2F. When this execution command setting process is completed, the error signal detection and correction process is completed through step RS2300, and the process proceeds to step RS8000 in the next communication abnormality repair process.
In step RS8000, the first command signal and the second command signal set as genuine command signals are sent to the sub control circuit 2F, and the first reception command signal and the second reception command signal are received by the sub control circuit 2F. Sub-control circuit reception processing is performed, and when this sub-control circuit reception processing is completed, one command signal reception processing is completed.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds from step RS2200 to step RS3000, it is determined in step RS3000 whether or not there is an error in the first reception command signal in the parity check process.
If it is not determined in step RS3000 that the first reception command signal has an error, the process jumps to step RS4000.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step RS3000 that there is an error in the first reception command signal, the process proceeds to next step RS3100.

In step RS3100, a correction signal calculation process is performed to calculate a correction signal to be the first reception command signal by subtracting the second reception command signal from the received correction signal. When this correction signal calculation process ends, the process proceeds to the next step RS3200.
In step RS3200, a process of using the correction signal calculated in step RS3100 as the first reception command signal, in other words, a first signal replacement process of replacing the first reception command signal with the correction signal is performed. When the first signal replacement process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step RS4000.

In step RS4000, it is determined whether or not there is an error in the second reception command signal in the parity check process.
If it is not determined in step RS4000 that the second reception command signal has an error, the process jumps to step RS5000.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step RS4000 that the second reception command signal has an error, the process proceeds to next step RS4100.

In step RS4100, a correction signal calculation process is performed to calculate a correction signal to be the second reception command signal by subtracting the first reception command signal from the received correction signal. When this correction signal calculation process ends, the process proceeds to the next step RS4200.
In step RS4200, a process of converting the correction signal calculated in step RS4100 into the second reception command signal, in other words, a second signal replacement process of replacing the second reception command signal with the correction signal is performed. When the second signal replacement process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step RS5000.

  In step RS5000, an intermediate signal transmission process is performed in which the first reception command signal and the second reception command signal at that time are transmitted to the communication abnormality repair unit 70, and the first reception command signal and the second reception command signal are transmitted. When the signal transmission process is completed, the erroneous signal detection and correction process is completed, and the process proceeds to step RS6000 to start the next communication abnormality repair process.

Next, the communication abnormality repair process will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 14, the communication abnormality repair process started from step RS6000 performs an initial value setting process for setting an initial value of the control variable k in step RS6100. Specifically, the process of setting the value of the control variable k to “1” is performed. When this initial value setting process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step RS7000.

In step RS7000, it is determined whether or not the k-th reception command signal has been corrected in step RS3200 described above. In other words, in step RS7000, it is determined whether or not an error is detected in the first reception command signal in step RS3000.
If it is not determined in step RS7000 that the k-th reception command signal has been corrected, the process jumps to step RS7500.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step RS7000 that the k-th reception command signal is corrected, the process proceeds to next step RS7100.

  In step RS7100, the candidate signal group generation unit 73 performs reception candidate command signal group generation processing for generating a reception candidate command signal group including one or more command signals that can be received at the game stage at that time. When this reception candidate command signal group generation process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step RS7200.

In step RS7200, it is determined whether or not there is a match with the kth reception command signal in the reception candidate command signal group generated in step RS7100. In summary, in step RS7200, it is determined whether or not the kth reception command signal is present in the generated reception candidate command signal group.
If it is determined in step RS7200 that the kth reception command signal is present in the reception candidate command signal group, the process jumps to step RS7500.
On the other hand, if it is not determined in step RS7200 that the kth reception command signal is present in the reception candidate command signal group, the process proceeds to next step RS7300.

In Step RS7300, the most approximate signal selection process for selecting the command signal (the most approximate signal) that is the closest to the kth reception command signal from the candidate signal group generation unit 73 is performed. When this closest approximation signal selection process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step RS7400.
In step RS7400, a process of using the most approximate signal selected in step RS7300 as the kth reception command signal, in other words, a kth signal replacement process of replacing the kth reception command signal with the most approximate signal is performed. When the k-th signal replacement process is completed, the process proceeds to next Step RS7500.

  In step RS7500, a performance command setting process is performed in which the kth reception command signal set at that time is set as the kth command signal to be performed by the sub-control circuit 2F. When this execution command setting process ends, the process proceeds to the next step RS7600.

  In step RS7600, the control variable k is incremented. Specifically, a process of adding “1” to the value of the control variable k is performed. When this increment process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step RS7700.

In Step RS7700, it is determined whether or not the value of the control variable k has reached “3”.
If it is not determined in step RS7700 that the value of the control variable k has reached “3”, the process returns to step RS7000. On the other hand, if it is determined in step RS7700 that the value of the control variable k has reached “3”, the process proceeds to the next step RS8000.

  In step RS8000, the first control signal and the second command signal set as the command signal are sent to the sub control circuit 2F, and the first control signal and the second command signal are received by the sub control circuit 2F. When this sub-control circuit reception process is completed, one command signal reception process is completed.

According to this embodiment as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, each time two command signals are continuously output from the main control board 2A, the correction signal calculation means 44 for calculating a correction signal by performing a predetermined calculation on these two command signals, and the main control board 2A Each time two command signals are output in succession, the transmission circuit 45 is provided with a transmission control unit 45 that sequentially transmits the two command signals and the correction signal to the receiving means. First and second error detection units 62B and 63B that check error detection bits for each of the two reception command signals received from the circuit 40 and detect whether or not these two reception command signals have errors. When the first and second error detectors 62B and 63B detect an error in one of the two reception command signals, the inverse operation of the calculation performed by the correction signal calculation means for the other of the two reception command signals and the correction signal To correct the correction signal Select switch units 62D and 63D that correct errors by replacing one of the two reception command signals with the calculated correction signal, and the reception command signal that is the command signal received due to communication failure due to noise is an error bit. Is included, the correction signal is calculated by performing the reverse operation of the calculation performed by the correction signal calculation unit 44 on the other of the two reception command signals and the correction signal, and one of the two reception command signals is calculated. Since an error bit occurs in one of the two command signals while arriving from the main control board 2A to the sub-control board 2D, the command signal is corrected with no error bit. The error bit can be corrected to the correct bit from the signal.

  For this reason, if an error bit does not occur in two or more signals out of a total of three signals of two command signals and correction signals transmitted by serial transmission method communication, the error can be corrected, The probability that an error bit will occur in two or more of these three signals that are transmitted continuously is sufficiently low, so a serial transmission system in one direction from the main control board 2A to the sub-control board 2D Even when an error occurs in the transmitted command signal when the command signal is transmitted by communication, the error bit can be corrected.

  Further, every time a command signal storage unit 72 that stores all command signals transmitted from the main control board 2A to the sub control board 2D and two reception command signals from the transmission circuit 40 are received, the command signal storage unit 72 One or more command signals that can be received according to the game situation at that time are selected from the command signals stored in, and a reception candidate command signal group including one or more selected command signals is generated. If the candidate signal group generation unit 73 and the reception candidate command signal group generated by the candidate signal group generation unit 73 coincide with the correction signal corrected by the signal correction means, communication is performed normally. Since the communication state determination unit 74 that determines that the correction signal corrected by the selection switch units 62D and 63D does not match any of the command signals included in the reception candidate command signal group, Communication is not working properly, in other words Of the total of three signals of the two command signals and correction signal transmitted by the serial transmission scheme communication, it can be determined that an error bit has occurred communication error that occurred more than one signal.

  When the communication state determination unit 74 determines that the communication is abnormal, if an error bit occurs in one of the two command signals and the correction signal, the command signal included in the reception candidate command signal group Of these, the command signal closest to the correction signal is selected, and the selected command signal is used in place of the correction signal as a command from the main control board 2A, and the sub control board 2D controls the device based on this command signal. If this is done, the player will not feel uncomfortable about the operation of the device, and there will be no suspicion that some sort of abnormal operation has occurred. Can be suppressed to the limit.

  Further, the slot machine 1 is formed so that the game situation changes step by step as the game progresses, and a command signal that can be received by the sub-control board is set in advance for each changing game step. Each time the game stage changes from one game stage to the next game stage, a candidate signal group generation unit 73 that sequentially generates reception candidate command signal groups composed of different combinations of command signals is provided. Since the communication state determination unit 74 that determines whether there is an abnormality in communication based on whether there is a signal that matches the correction signal in the reception candidate command signal group to be Until the game stage is shifted to, the command signal can be selected using the same reception candidate command signal group, and the number of times the candidate signal group generation unit 73 generates the reception candidate command signal group is reduced. As a result, it is possible to minimize the increase in the load on the sub-control board 2D even if the sub-control board 2D side determines the communication abnormality in the serial transmission system communication and performs the processing to suppress the influence of the communication abnormality. Thus, the transmission speed of the serial transmission system communication can be easily maintained, and there is no trouble in communication between the main control board 2A and the sub control board 2D.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, The deformation | transformation in the range which can achieve the objective of this invention, improvement, etc. are included.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the correction signal calculation unit 44 that performs addition by adding the second command signal to the first command signal is employed in calculating the correction signal. Without limitation, any of subtraction, multiplication and division may be used.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, when an error is detected in the reception command signal, the parity check that sets the numerical value of the error detection bit is used so that the sum of the numerical values of the constituent bits is an even number. An odd check for setting the numerical value of the error detection bit may be used so that the sum of the numerical values of the constituent bits becomes an odd number.

  Further, in the embodiment, the command signal stored in the command signal storage unit 72 is selected / extracted from the command status having the attribute code indicating the game situation at that time, in other words, the game stage at that time. The candidate signal group generation unit 73 for generating the reception candidate command signal group is adopted, but not limited to this, all the command signals transmitted from the main control board to the sub control board at every game stage in the game In this case, a signal group table storage unit storing the reception candidate command signal group table in which is arranged is used so that a reception candidate command signal group necessary for each game stage is extracted from the reception candidate command signal group table. Good.

The gaming machine is not limited to a slot machine, and may be a pachinko machine that uses a game ball as a game medium.
When adopting a pachinko machine as a gaming machine, as the main control board, as in the case of the slot machine, a control board that controls the operation of the device related to the progress of the game must be adopted. In addition to an effect operation control board that controls an effect device such as a liquid crystal display device, a payout control board that controls payout of game balls can also be employed.

1 Slot machines as gaming machines
2A main control board
2D sub control board
30 Communication means
40 Transmitter circuit as transmitter
44 Correction signal calculation unit as correction signal calculation means
45 Transmission control unit as transmission control means
50 Receiver circuit as receiver
62B, 63B Error detection unit as error detection means
62C, 63C Inverse operation unit forming signal correction means
62D, 63D Select switch part forming signal correction means
72 Command signal storage unit as command signal storage means
73 Candidate signal group generation unit as communication state determination means
74 Communication state determination unit as communication state determination means

Claims (3)

A gaming machine comprising a main control board that mainly controls the operation of the device relating to the progress of the game, and a sub-control board that mainly controls the stage device ,
Communication means for transmitting a command signal consisting of a digital signal with an error detection bit from the main control board to the sub control board by serial communication is provided,
The communication means includes a transmission means for transmitting a command signal from the main control board, and a reception means for receiving a command signal received from the transmission means,
In the transmission means,
Correction signal calculation means for calculating a correction signal by performing a predetermined calculation including these two command signals as calculation targets each time two command signals are continuously output from the main control board;
Each time two command signals are continuously output from the main control board, the two command signals and the correction signal are sequentially transmitted to the receiving unit, and a transmission control unit is provided.
The receiving means includes
Error detection means for checking error detection bits for each of the two reception command signals received from the transmission means, and detecting whether or not there is an error in these two reception command signals;
When the error detection means detects an error in one of the two reception command signals, the reverse operation of the calculation performed by the correction signal calculation means is performed , including the other of the two reception command signals and the correction signal as objects of calculation. And a signal correction means for correcting an error by calculating a correction signal and replacing one of the two reception command signals with the calculated correction signal. The receiving means includes
Command signal storage means in which all command signals transmitted from the main control board to the sub control board are stored;
Each time two reception command signals are received from the transmission means, one or more command signals that can be received are selected from the command signals stored in the command signal storage means according to the game situation at that time. If a reception candidate command signal group including one or more selected command signals is generated, and if there is a signal that matches the correction signal corrected by the signal correction means in the reception candidate command signal group, the communication is normal. The gaming machine according to claim 1, further comprising a communication state determination unit that determines that the game is being performed. As the game progresses, the game situation is formed so as to sequentially change from one game stage to the next game stage, and a command signal that can be received by the sub-control board for each game stage that changes. Preset,
The communication state determination means is configured to sequentially generate reception candidate command signal groups composed of different combinations of command signals each time the game progresses to change from one game stage to the next game stage. The gaming machine according to claim 2.

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