JP6970585B2 - Pachinko machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a gaming machine that determines by lottery whether or not to give a gaming benefit to a player.

In a slot machine as a gaming machine, a winning combination is drawn in response to a bet of a medal (game medium) and an operation of a start switch by the player, and a plurality of reels on which various symbols are written are rotated. Then, the reels are sequentially stopped according to the lottery result and the operation of the stop switch by the player, and when the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination is displayed on the effective line on the line to be paid out, the predetermined number of reels is displayed. A game profit (hereinafter, simply referred to as a game profit) will be given to the player, such as the medals being paid out.

In such a gaming machine, in order to give the player the expectation that the variable display on the special symbol display is a big hit, the effect of driving the accessory provided in the gaming machine according to the variable display. May be done. In order to realize such an effect, for example, a technique is known in which a control signal generated on a sub-board is once converted into serial data, serial-parallel conversion is performed on the slave board side, and then an accessory is operated (. For example, Patent Document 1). Further, a technique for realizing DMA transfer by a DMA controller in parallel with such serial data transfer is also disclosed (for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-131411 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-042427

In this way, by using serial communication for communication between the effect driver that executes the effect and the controller that provides information to the effect driver, not only the number of harnesses can be reduced, but also security can be improved and communication can be stabilized. Can be planned. Further, it is possible to improve the processing efficiency by setting the information in the communication controller that performs such serial communication by the DMA controller independent of the CPU.

However, in the CPU unit including the CPU, the number of DMA controllers (the number of channels) is fixed, and if the number of DMA controllers is matched with the number of communication controllers, further CPU units must be added. Then, it becomes necessary to control a plurality of communication controllers while maintaining mutual matching with a plurality of CPUs.

In view of such problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine capable of efficiently managing a DMA controller and collectively controlling a plurality of communication controllers.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the gaming machine of the present invention is a gaming machine in which a lottery is performed to give a player an advantageous gaming profit based on a predetermined opportunity, and the game is advanced according to the lottery result. Therefore, the effect control means that determines the effect pattern according to the progress of the game, the DMA controller that outputs the effect information based on the effect pattern independently of the processing of the effect control means, and the DMA controller that receives the effect information. The effect control means includes a plurality of communication controllers for outputting the effect information through serial communication, and the effect control means includes an effect pattern in which the time required to transmit all the effect information is short among the plurality of effect patterns. and the transmission to the DMA controller from previously performance pattern, before Symbol D MA controller transmits the effect information that is based on each of the plurality of presentation pattern, the communication controller corresponding to each of the plurality of performance pattern.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the other gaming machines of the present invention perform a lottery to give the player an advantageous gaming profit based on a predetermined opportunity, and the game proceeds according to the lottery result. An effect control means that determines an effect pattern according to the progress of the game, a DMA controller that outputs effect information based on the effect pattern independently of the processing of the effect control means, and the DMA controller. The effect control means includes a plurality of communication controllers that output the effect information received from the user through serial communication, and the effect control means uses the first effect pattern and the second effect pattern at different timings of the first DMA. Along with transmitting to the controller, the first effect pattern and the third effect pattern different from the second effect pattern are transmitted to the second DMA controller different from the first DMA controller, and the first DMA is transmitted. The controller transmits the effect information based on the first effect pattern to the communication controller corresponding to the first effect pattern, and the effect information based on the second effect pattern corresponds to the second effect pattern. The second DMA controller transmits the effect information based on the third effect pattern to the communication controller corresponding to the third effect pattern, and the third effect pattern is the third effect pattern. It takes longer time to transmit all the effect information than the effect pattern 1 and the second effect pattern .

According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently manage the DMA controller and collectively control a plurality of communication controllers.

It is an external view for demonstrating the schematic mechanical structure of a slot machine. It is an external view with the front door open for explaining the schematic mechanical structure of a slot machine. It is a figure explaining the symbol arrangement and effective lines of a reel. It is a block diagram which showed the schematic electric structure of a slot machine. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the winning combination. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating transition of a game state. It is a figure which shows the winning combination lottery table. It is a flowchart which showed the main processing of a main control board. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the control mode of a liquid crystal display part, a speaker, and a production apparatus in a sub-control board. It is a flowchart which shows the common control mode. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the control mode of an effect lamp. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the basic setting mode of a DMA program. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the setting mode of a DMA program. It is a timing chart for explaining the transfer time of a communication controller. It is explanatory drawing which shows the processing mode of the light emission information. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation of a communication controller.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, other specific numerical values, etc. shown in the embodiment are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are designated by the same reference numerals to omit duplicate explanations, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown. do.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the embodiment of the present invention, first, the mechanical configuration and the electrical configuration of the slot machine (game machine) in which the player can play are briefly described, and then the specifics in each substrate of the slot machine are described. Specific processing (transition of combination configuration and gaming state) and characteristic processing in the present embodiment will be described, and a flowchart for realizing these will be described in detail.

(Mechanical configuration of slot machine 100)
As shown in the external views of FIGS. 1 and 2, the slot machine 100 has a housing 102 which is a substantially rectangular box body, and a front upper door which is openably and closably attached to the front opening of the housing 102. 104, located below the front upper door 104, and like the front upper door 104, located below the front lower door 106 and the front lower door 106 that are openable and closable to the front opening of the housing 102. It is provided with a saucer portion 108 for storing the medals paid out from the medal discharge port 108a.

An operation unit installation table 122 is formed on the upper part of the front lower door 106, and a medal insertion unit 124, a bet switch 126, a start switch 128, a stop switch 130, and the like are arranged on the operation unit installation table 122.

The medal insertion unit 124 located on the right side of the operation unit installation table 122 accepts the insertion of medals as a game medium through the medal insertion slot (insertion opening) 124a, and the medal selector (shown) provided on the back surface of the front lower door 106. Send a medal to. The medal selector includes a blocker (not shown) that guides medals inserted outside the insertion period or non-standard medals to the medal outlet 108a, and medals within the standard inserted during the insertion period. The inserted medal detection unit 124b for detecting the passage of the above is provided. Here, the medal guided to the medal ejection port 108a is ejected to the saucer portion 108. When a player inserts a medal in excess of the maximum specified number (for example, 3) among a plurality of specified number of medals required to start one game, the maximum specified number is exceeded. The number of medals is electrically stored (hereinafter, simply referred to as credit) in the slot machine 100 (main RAM 200c) up to a predetermined upper limit (for example, 50). The above 1 game will be described in detail later.

Further, here, a plurality of "1" to "3" are set as the specified number of sheets. The player can arbitrarily select the specified number of sheets required to execute one game from a plurality of specified number of sheets, and the maximum number among the plurality of specified number of sheets is called the maximum specified number of sheets, and the minimum number is called the maximum specified number of sheets. It is called the minimum specified number of sheets. In this embodiment, the maximum specified number of sheets is "3" and the minimum specified number of sheets is "1".

The bet switch 126 is a push-type button switch for betting the maximum specified number of medals among the credited medals. When the bet switch 126 is pressed while the maximum number of medals is credited, the maximum number of medals is bet and the number of stored medals is reduced by the maximum number of medals. If the bet switch 126 is pressed while the number of medals less than the maximum specified number is credited, all the stored medals are bet and the stored number is reduced to 0.

The start switch 128 located on the left side of the operation unit installation table 122 is composed of a lever capable of detecting a tilting operation, and detects a start operation of one game by a player. Further, the start switch 128 can also be configured by a button switch capable of detecting a pressing operation.

A colorless and transparent design display window 136 made of a glass plate, a transparent resin plate, or the like is provided in the lower center of the front upper door 104, and a reel is provided at a position corresponding to the design display window 136 in the housing 102. A unit 134 is provided. As shown in the reel symbol arrangement of FIG. 3A, the reel unit 134 has three reels 134a, 134b, and 134c in which a plurality of types of symbols are arranged in each region equally divided into 21. Independently and rotatably provided, the player can visually recognize the reels 134a, 134b, and 134c through the symbol display window 136. The reel unit 134 starts the rotation of the reels 134a, 134b, 134c triggered by the operation of the start switch 128.

The stop switch 130 located at the center of the operation unit installation table 122 is a button switch provided corresponding to each of the reels 134a, 134b, 134c and capable of detecting the pressing operation of the player, and is a button switch capable of detecting the pressing operation of the player, and the reels 134a, 134b, 134c. The stop operation of the player who tries to stop each is detected. The three button switches related to the stop switch 130 are the stop switches 130a, 130b, and 130c in order from the left according to their positions.

In this way, the reels 134a, 134b, and 134c are stopped by the stop operation through the stop switches 130a, 130b, and 130c, respectively. Here, an effective line is provided as shown in FIG. 3B so that the player can grasp the stopping mode. There is only one effective line, and specifically, it corresponds to the symbol that stops at the middle of the reels 134a, 134b, and 134c out of the nine symbols (3 reels x 3 stages of upper, middle, and lower) facing the symbol display window 136. The line connecting the positions is set as the effective line A for determining the winning combination. In addition, the invalid line displays other symbol combinations that make it easier to grasp the winning combination when it is difficult to grasp the winning combination only by the symbol combination displayed on the valid line A. It is a line other than the valid line A that is not used, and in this embodiment, four invalid lines B1, B2, C1, and C2 shown in FIG. 3B are assumed.

A liquid crystal display unit (image display unit) 138 for displaying various images accompanying the effect is provided at substantially the center of the upper part of the front upper door 104. Further, on the upper part and the left and right of the front upper door 104, the effect device 142 used for the effect is provided. The effect device 142 is provided, for example, on the left and right sides of the effect lamp 160 composed of a high-brightness light emitting diode (LED) and the liquid crystal display unit 138, and by moving the front surface of the liquid crystal display unit 138 in the left-right direction. A diode-like effect device 162 that covers a part of the liquid crystal display unit 138 and an effect operation device 164 that accepts a player's operation are arranged.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a speaker that performs an auditory effect by sound effects, musical sounds, etc. at the left and right positions of the liquid crystal display unit 138 on the back surface of the front upper door 104 and the inner surface left and right positions on the back surface of the front lower door 106. 140 is provided. Further, below the reel unit 134 in the housing 102, a medal payout device (medal hopper) 264 for paying out medals from the medal discharge port 108a is provided. The medal payout device 264 includes a medal storage unit 264a for storing medals, a payout control unit 264b for discharging medals stored in the medal storage unit 264a from the medal discharge port 108a, and medals discharged from the medal discharge port 108a. It is provided with a payout medal detection unit 264c for detecting the above.

Further, although not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inside of each of the reels 134a, 134b, and 134c corresponds to the symbol display window 136 among the symbols applied to the reels 134a, 134b, and 134c (valid line A and invalid line B1). , B2, C1, C2) Reel backlight 144 (see FIG. 4) is provided to illuminate the upper, middle, and lower symbols of each reel 134a, 134b, 134c independently from the back surface. .. Further, a reel upper light 146 that directly illuminates the front of all the reels 134a, 134b, and 134c is also provided on the upper part of the back surface of the symbol display window 136.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, in the operation unit installation table 122, the main credit display unit 152 and the main payout display unit are on the substantially horizontal plane of the step portion 122a provided between the symbol display window 136 and the stop switch 130. 154 is provided. Further, a sub-credit display unit 156 and a sub-payout display unit 158 are provided between the symbol display window 136 and the operation unit installation table 122. The number of stored medals stored internally is displayed on the main credit display unit 152 and the sub credit display unit 156, and the number of medals paid out is displayed on the main payout display unit 154 and the sub payout display unit 158. The sub-credit display unit 156 and the sub-payout display unit 158 can also display various numerical values associated with the effect.

Further, a power switch 148 is provided at an arbitrary position in the housing 102. The power switch 148 is composed of a switch such as a rocker switch that can detect a pressing operation, and is operated by an administrator who manages the slot machine 100 to switch between two states, a power off state and a power on state. Used.

In this embodiment, in the above one game, a medal is inserted through the medal insertion unit 124, a credited medal is inserted through the operation of the bet switch 126, or a replay combination is displayed on the effective line A. After any of the automatic medals are inserted based on the above, the rotation of the plurality of reels 134a, 134b, 134c is controlled and the winning combination lottery is executed according to the operation of the start switch 128 by the player, and the winning combination is won. In response to the lottery result of the winning combination lottery and the operation of the plurality of stop switches 130a, 130b, 130c by the player, the reels 134a, 134b, 134c corresponding to the operated stop switches 130a, 130b, 130c are stopped and controlled, respectively, and medals are awarded. If you win a prize in a winning combination that can receive the payout, it means the game until the medal is paid out. In addition, if the winning combination that can receive the payout of medals is not won, or if the winning combination is not won, one game ends when all the reels 134a, 134b, and 134c are stopped. However, the start of one game may be read as the operation of the start switch 128 by the player instead of inserting the above medal or winning the replay combination. Further, the number of times such one game is repeated is defined as the number of games.

(Electrical configuration of slot machine 100)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic electrical configuration of the slot machine 100. As shown in FIG. 4, the slot machine 100 is mainly controlled by a control board. Here, as an example of the control board, the main control board 200 and the sub control board 202, which share the functions of the control board, will be described. For example, among the programs related to the progress of the game, particularly important processing such as lottery of the winning combination to be used for the game and its winning is executed on the main control board 200, and other processing related to the production, for example, is performed on the sub control board 202. Is running on. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the transmission of electrical signals between the main control board 200 and the sub control board 202 is one from the main control board 200 to the sub control board 202 from the viewpoint of fraud prevention and the like. Limited to direction only. However, if there is no such limitation, bidirectional communication is technically possible.

(Main control board 200)
The main control board 200 has various semiconductor integrated circuits including a main CPU 200a which is a central processing unit, a main ROM 200b in which programs and the like are stored, and a main RAM 200c which functions as a work area, and controls the entire slot machine 100 in an integrated manner. do. However, a backup power supply (not shown) is connected to the main RAM 200c, and even if the power is turned off, the data will not be erased unless the settings are changed and the initialization process of the main RAM 200c is executed. Be retained.

Further, the main control board 200 functions by the main CPU 200a cooperating with the main RAM 200c based on the program stored in the main ROM 200b, the initialization means 300, the betting means 302, the winning combination lottery means 304, and the reel control means. It has functional units such as 306, determination means 308, payout control means 310, state transition means 312, command determination means 314, and command transmission means 316.

The initialization means 300 executes the initialization process on the main control board 200. The betting means 302 bets medals for use in the game. Here, the bet is based on the case where the credited medal is inserted through the operation of the bet switch 126, the case where the medal is inserted through the medal insertion unit 124, and the case where the replay combination is displayed on the valid line A. This includes all cases where medals are automatically inserted. The winning combination lottery means 304 selects one of a plurality of types of winning combinations including a small winning combination, a replay winning combination, and a bonus winning combination, and an unwinning winning combination by lottery based on the bet of the medal and the operation of the start switch 128. decide.

The reel control means 306 controls the rotation of the plurality of reels 134a, 134b, 134c according to the operation of the start switch 128, and the plurality of stop switches 130a, 130b corresponding to the rotating reels 134a, 134b, 134c, respectively. In response to the operation of 130c, the reels 134a, 134b, 134c corresponding to the operated stop switches 130a, 130b, 130c are stopped and controlled, respectively. Further, the reel control means 306 activates the operation of the stop switch 130 in the previous game in response to the operation of the start switch 128, and then displays the lottery result of the winning combination lottery of the stop switch 130 by the player. The time until the operation is enabled (disabled by the completion of the operation of the stop switch 130 in the previous game) is extended from the specified time (wait time, for example, 4.1 seconds), during which the reel 134a, In some cases, a reel effect (freeze effect) is performed in which the rotation of 134b and 134c is controlled in various modes. In the reel effect, any switch that should be originally enabled is not enabled for a predetermined time, the processing that should be originally executed is suspended for a predetermined time, and the signal of any switch that should be originally transmitted / received is transmitted or received for a predetermined time. It can be realized even if there is no such thing.

The determination means 308 determines whether or not the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination determined in the winning combination lottery is displayed on the valid line A. Here, the display of the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination determined in the winning combination lottery on the valid line A may be simply referred to as winning. The payout control means 310 pays out as many medals as the number corresponding to the winning combination based on the fact that the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination determined in the winning combination lottery is displayed on the valid line A (winning). .. The state transition means 312 transitions the gaming state based on the winning or winning of the bonus combination.

The command determining means 314 sequentially determines commands related to the game associated with the operations of the betting means 302, the winning combination lottery means 304, the reel control means 306, the determination means 308, the payout control means 310, the state transition means 312, and the like. The command transmitting means 316 sequentially transmits the commands determined by the command determining means 314 to the sub-control board 202.

The main control board 200 receives various detection signals from the input medal detection unit 124b, the bet switch 126, the start switch 128, and the stop switch 130, and based on the received detection signals, the bet means 302 and the winning combination lottery means. The 304, the reel control means 306, and the determination means 308 perform the various processes described above. Further, the main credit display unit 152 and the main payout display unit 154 are connected to the main control board 200, and the payout control means 310 displays the number of stored medals and the number of payouts on both display units 152 and 154. Control.

Further, a reel drive control unit 258 is connected to the main control board 200. The reel drive control unit 258 drives the stepping motor 262 and stops switch based on the rotation start signals of the reels 134a, 134b, and 134c transmitted from the reel control means 306 in response to the operation signal of the start switch 128. The drive of the stepping motor 262 is stopped based on the stop signals of the reels 134a, 134b, and 134c and the detection signals of the rotation position detection circuit 260 transmitted from the reel control means 306 in response to the operation signal of the 130.

Further, a medal payout device 264 is connected to the main control board 200. A detection signal of the payout medal detection unit 264c is input to the main control board 200, and the payout control means 310 from the payout control unit 264b counts the number of medals to be paid out according to the detection signal. Control the ejection of medals.

Further, the main control board 200 is provided with a random number generator 200d. The random number generator 200d sequentially increments the count value, loops it within a predetermined total number (for example, 65536) (0 to 65535), and generates (acquires) a random number by extracting the count value at a predetermined time point. The random numbers generated by the random number generator 200d of the main control board 200 (hereinafter referred to as the winning combination lottery random numbers) are given to the player a game profit advantageous to the player, for example, the winning combination lottery means 304 wins the winning combination. Used to determine.

(Sub-control board 202)
Further, the sub control board 202 has various semiconductor integrated circuits including a sub CPU 202a which is a central processing device, a sub ROM 202b in which a program or the like is stored, a sub RAM 202c which functions as a work area, and the like, like the main control board 200. , In particular, the effect is controlled based on the command from the main control board 200. Further, a backup power supply (not shown) is connected to the sub RAM 202c as well as the main RAM 200c, and even when the power is turned off, the data is retained without being erased. Similar to the main control board 200, the sub control board 202 is also provided with a random number generator 202d, and the random numbers generated by the random number generator 202d (hereinafter referred to as “directed lottery random numbers”) mainly represent the mode of the effect. Used to determine.

Further, the sub control board 202 is such that the initialization determination means 330, the command receiving means 332, the effect control means 334, etc., in which the sub CPU 202a functions by cooperating with the sub RAM 202c based on the program stored in the sub ROM 202b. It has a functional part.

The initialization determining means 330 executes the initialization process on the sub-control board 202. The command receiving means 332 receives a command from another control board such as the main control board 200, and processes the command. The effect control means 334 determines the effect of the game performed by each device of the liquid crystal display unit 138, the speaker 140, and the effect device 142 based on the winning combination command. Specifically, the effect control means 334 includes image data displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 138, an effect lamp 160, a reel backlight 144, a reel upper light 146, a sub credit display unit 156, a sub payout display unit 158, and the like (hereinafter,). , Production lamp 160, reel backlight 144, reel upper light 146, sub-credit display unit 156, sub-payout display unit 158 may be collectively referred to as "production lamp 160") for production through lighting equipment. The light emission pattern and the drive pattern of the effect device 162 are determined, and the audio data constituting the audio to be output from the speaker 140 is determined. Then, the effect control means 334 executes the effect of the determined game.

The effect includes an effect executed by the main control board 200 such as the reel effect described above, and an effect executed by the sub control board 202. The effect executed by the sub-control board 202 is a visual and auditory expression means provided through the liquid crystal display unit 138, the speaker 140, the effect lamp 160, etc. as the game progresses, and gives the game a story. It can be given or the result of the winning combination lottery can be suggested with a more dynamic image. In such an effect, for example, an effect suggesting winning of a bonus game can be performed over a plurality of games to raise the player's expectation. In addition, even if you have not won any of the winning roles, you can give the player a sense of expectation of a high payout through the production as if you were also winning, so that the player will not get bored. It will be possible. By interlocking the main control board 200 and the sub control board 202, various playability can be constructed. Hereinafter, the main game modes will be described in detail.

(Table used in the main control board 200)
In the slot machine 100, a plurality of gaming states are provided, and the gaming states change according to the progress of the game. Then, in the main control board 200, a plurality of winning combination lottery tables and the like corresponding to the gaming states managed by the state transition means 312 are stored in the main ROM 200b. The winning combination lottery means 304 extracts and extracts the corresponding winning combination lottery table from the main ROM 200b according to the current gaming state stored in the main RAM 200c (game state based on whether or not a bonus combination is established, which will be described later). Based on the winning combination lottery table and the current set value, it is determined which winning combination or non-winning combination in the winning combination lottery table is the winning combination lottery random number acquired according to the operation signal of the start switch 128. Here, the set value indicates the ease of obtaining the game profit step by step, and the higher the numerical value of the set value, the easier it is to obtain the game profit. The set value is generally determined by the hall-side manager at least at the start of the game, and the player cannot acquire or change the set value during the game.

Here, the winning combination extracted in the winning combination lottery table includes a replay role, a small role, and a bonus role. The state in which the symbol combinations corresponding to such winning combinations are aligned on the valid line A is called display or winning, and the state until the winning combination is won and the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination is displayed is internally. Win a prize. The replay role among the winning combinations is a role in which one game can be executed again without making a new bet of the medal by the player when the symbol combination corresponding to the replay combination is displayed on the valid line A. The small winning combination is a combination in which a predetermined number of medals can be paid out according to the symbol combination by displaying the symbol combination corresponding to the small winning combination on the effective line A. Further, the bonus combination is a winning combination that can shift the gaming state managed by the state transition means 312 to the bonus gaming state by displaying the symbol combination corresponding to the bonus combination on the effective line A. .. The game profits given to the winning combination and the player will be described below.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the winning combination, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the transition of the gaming state.

Further, in the present embodiment, as the winning combination, as shown in FIG. 5, the winning combination "replay", "bell", "cherry", "watermelon", and "big bonus (hereinafter referred to as" BB ")" are provided. Has been done. Of these, the winning combination "replay" corresponds to the above replay role, the winning combination "bell", "cherry", and "watermelon" correspond to the above small role, and the winning combination "BB" corresponds to the above bonus role.

(Replay role)
As a result of the winning combination lottery, when the winning combination "replay" is won, the symbol "replay" written on each reel 134a, 134b, 134c, which is a combination of symbols corresponding to the winning combination "replay" shown in FIG. 5, is displayed. When it becomes possible to display on the valid line A and the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "replay" is displayed on the valid line A, as described above, one game (replay) is performed again without betting by the player. ) Can be executed.

Here, in the present embodiment, when the stop switch 130 is pressed by the player, if the symbol constituting the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination is on the effective line A, the reel control means 306 is used. , Stop control is performed so that the symbol stops on the effective line A. Further, when the stop switch 130 is pressed, the symbols constituting the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination are not on the effective line A, but in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the reels 134a, 134b, 134c. When it exists in the range (retraction range) corresponding to 4 symbols, the number of separated symbols becomes the number of sliding frames by the reel control means 306, and the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination is configured. Stop control is performed so that the symbol is pulled onto the effective line A and the rotation is maintained for the number of sliding frames and then stopped. Further, when there are a plurality of symbols corresponding to the winning combination in each reel 134a, 134b, 134c and all of them are within the pull-in range of each reel 134a, 134b, 134c, according to a predetermined priority. It is determined which symbol is to be drawn onto the effective line A, and stop control is performed so as to keep the rotation for the number of sliding frames so that the prioritized symbol is drawn onto the effective line A and then stop. When the stop switch 130 is pressed, if there is a symbol on the effective line A that constitutes a symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination other than the winning combination, the reel control means 306 transfers the symbol. The so-called kicking process, which prevents the player from stopping on the effective line A, is also executed in parallel.

Then, in each reel 134a, 134b, 134c, the symbols constituting the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "replay" are arranged so as to be always displayed on the effective line A by the above stop control (the above-mentioned stop control). See FIGS. 3 and 5). Specifically, the symbols constituting the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "replay" are separated from each other by a maximum of 4 frames in each reel 134a, 134b, 134c, so that they are always on the effective line A by the stop control. Can be displayed in. In this way, when the winning combination "replay" is won, the symbol combination corresponding to these winning combination "replay" is always displayed on the valid line A. In this way, when the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "replay" is displayed on the effective line A, it is possible to start the next one game without inserting a medal.

(Small role)
In addition, when the winning combination "bell" is won as a result of the winning combination lottery, the symbol "bell" written on each reel 134a, 134b, 134c, which is a combination of symbols corresponding to the winning combination "bell", is displayed. When it becomes possible to display on the valid line A and the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "bell" is displayed on the valid line A, the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination (here, 9) is given to the player. It will be paid out. Here, since the symbols "bells" constituting the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "bell" are separated from each other by a maximum of four symbols in each reel 134a, 134b, 134c (see FIGS. 3 and 5). ), As with the winning combination "replay", it can always be displayed on the effective line A by the above stop control.

In addition, if the winning combination "cherry" is won as a result of the winning combination lottery, the symbol "cherry" written on the reel 134a, which is a combination of symbols corresponding to the winning combination "cherry", can be displayed on the effective line A. When the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "cherry" is displayed on the valid line A, the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination (here, 3) is paid out to the player. In addition, "ANY" shown in the winning combination "cherry" indicates that any symbol may be stopped on the corresponding effective line A. However, in the reel 134a, the symbol "cherry" constituting the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "cherry" is arranged so that it may not be displayed on the effective line A even by the above stop control (). See FIGS. 3 and 5). Therefore, even if the winning combination "cherry" is won, so-called omission may occur, and the player is not always able to display the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "cherry" on the effective line A.

In addition, if the winning combination "watermelon" is won as a result of the winning combination lottery, the symbol "watermelon" written on each reel 134a, 134b, 134c, which is a combination of symbols corresponding to the winning combination "watermelon", is effective line A. When the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "watermelon" is displayed on the valid line A, the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination (15 in this case) is paid out to the player. However, in each reel 134a, 134b, 134c, the symbol "watermelon" constituting the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "watermelon" may not be displayed on the effective line A even by the above stop control. They are arranged (see FIGS. 3 and 5). Therefore, even if the winning combination "watermelon" is won, so-called omission may occur, and the player is not always able to display the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "watermelon" on the effective line A.

(Bonus role)
Further, when the winning combination "BB" is won as a result of the winning combination lottery, the symbol "red" written on each reel 134a, 134b, 134c, which is a combination of symbols corresponding to the winning combination "BB" shown in FIG. 7 ”can be displayed on the valid line A, and when the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination“ BB ”is displayed on the valid line A, the game state is set to the bonus game state, and the next one game (hereinafter, After that (simply referred to as the next game), the game can be executed in the bonus game state until a predetermined number (for example, 297) of medals are paid out. In each reel 134a, 134b, 134c, the symbol "red 7" is arranged so that it may not be displayed on the effective line A even by the above stop control (see FIGS. 3 and 5). ). Therefore, even if the winning combination "BB" is won, the player is not always able to display the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "BB" on the effective line A.

When any of the above-mentioned winning combinations is won, the internal winning flag corresponding to each winning combination is established (ON), and the reels 134a, 134b, and 134c are each set according to the establishment status of the internal winning combination. Stop control will be performed. At this time, if the small winning combination is won, but the symbol combination corresponding to the small winning combination cannot be displayed on the valid line A in the one game, the internal winning flag is set after the end of the one game. Is turned off. That is, the right to win a small role is limited to one game in which the small role is won, and the right cannot be carried over to the next game. In addition, when the internal winning flag corresponding to the winning combination "replay", which is the replay combination, is established, the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "replay" is always displayed on the valid line A, and the next one without requiring a medal. After the processing required for playing the game is performed, the internal winning flag is turned off. On the other hand, when the winning combination "BB" is won, the BB internal winning flag is established (ON) and the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "BB" is displayed on the valid line A until it is displayed. The BB internal winning flag is carried over across the game.

(Transition of game state)
Here, the BB internal winning flag will be specifically described together with the transition of the gaming state. When the BB internal winning flag is established, the gaming state managed by the main control board 200 is the winning combination, which is a bonus combination, as shown in FIG. 6 (1), depending on the establishment status of the BB internal winning flag. From the non-bonus game state that has not been won in "BB" to the bonus-established game state corresponding to the preparation state of the bonus game state, the reels 134a, 134b, and 134c are stopped and controlled based on the bonus-established game state. At this time, if the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "BB" cannot be displayed on the valid line A, the BB internal winning flag is carried over to the next game as it is (the bonus-established game state is maintained). In the next and subsequent games, the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "BB" can be displayed on the effective line A. Then, when the player displays the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "BB" on the effective line A, the game state shifts from the bonus-established game state to the bonus game state as shown in (2) of FIG. do. Further, in the bonus gaming state, when a predetermined number (for example, 297) of medals is paid out, the gaming state shifts from the bonus gaming state to the bonus non-established gaming state as shown in (3) of FIG. .. However, as shown by the broken line arrow in (4) of FIG. 6, in the game in which the winning combination "BB" is established in the game state in which the bonus is not established, the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "BB" is placed on the effective line A. When displayed, the game directly shifts to the bonus game state without going through the bonus game state.

(Winner lottery table)
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a winning combination lottery table used when determining a winning combination lottery random number. In the winning combination lottery table, a plurality of winning areas are divided, and the winning combination to be the target of the lottery may differ depending on each game state. In FIG. 7, the winning area (winning combination) assigned to each game state (bonus non-established game state, bonus established game state, bonus game state) is represented by “◯”. Therefore, the winning area not marked with "○" indicates that it is not assigned to the gaming state. Each partitioned winning area is associated with a predetermined number (winning range value), which is a numerical value indicating the winning range, and a winning combination, and the number of all winning areas assigned to each gaming state. Is summed up to be the total number of winning combination lottery random numbers (65536). Therefore, the probability that each winning combination is determined is a value obtained by dividing the number of places associated with the winning area by the total number of winning combination lottery random numbers. The winning combination lottery means 304 sequentially acquires the number of winning combinations from the one with the highest number among the plurality of winning areas in the winning combination lottery table based on the gaming state at that time, and the winning combination lottery random number is used as the winning combination lottery random number. When the subtraction value is less than 0, the winning combination associated with the winning area at that time is taken as the lottery result. The lottery procedure can be applied to other lottery.

In addition, the winning combination to be the target of the lottery differs depending on each game state. For example, in FIG. 7, when the bonus non-established gaming state and the bonus established gaming state are compared, the former draws the winning combination "BB", while the latter draws the winning combination "BB". Not. This is because in the latter case, since the winning combination "BB" has already been won, the winning combination "BB" cannot be won again. Further, in the latter, the winning probability of the winning combination "replay" is set higher than that in the former. Further, according to the bonus game state of FIG. 7, the winning combination "BB" is not drawn again, and the winning combination "replay" and the winning combination "watermelon" are not drawn. In addition, since the winning combination "Bell" is set to win with a high probability, the expected number of winnings, which indicates the average value of the number of cards that can be obtained in one game, is higher than that of the non-bonus-established game state or the bonus-established game state. It's getting higher. In addition, "unwinning" is associated with the winning area 0 of the winning combination lottery table, and when "unwinning" is determined by the winning combination lottery, the symbol combination corresponding to any of the winning combinations shown in FIG. Is not displayed on the valid line A, and medals are not paid out. However, if "unwinning" is determined by the winning combination lottery in the bonus-established gaming state (BB internal winning flag is ON), the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "BB" can be displayed on the valid line A.

Hereinafter, specific processing in the main control board 200 will be described based on a flowchart.

(Main processing of main control board 200)
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the main processing of the main control board 200. Here, first, the outline of one game after initialization will be described along with the main processing of the main control board 200. Further, although detailed description is omitted, when each process is executed, the switches (bet switch 126, start switch 128, stop switches 130a, 130b, 130c) used in each process are enabled at the start of the process. , Will be invalidated at the end of the process.

(Step S100)
When the power of the slot machine 100 is turned on via the power switch 148 and the power is turned on, the initialization means 300 executes the initialization process in preparation for the start of the game. The initialization means 300 generates backup data at any time while the power is turned on, and holds the backup data in the main RAM 200c. Therefore, even if an unexpected power failure occurs, it is possible to restore the state before the power failure by using the retained backup data in this initialization process. For example, even if an unexpected power failure occurs during the rotation of the reels 134a, 134b, 134c, the reels 134a, 134b, 134c are started from the state of being rotated again after the return operation. Therefore, in the initialization process, the main RAM 200c is basically not initialized (RAM clear).

(Step S200)
Further, the command determining means 314 generates an input command indicating the changed number of bets and the number of stored sheets when the number of bets is changed, and the command transmitting means 316 uses the generated input command as the sub-control board 202. Send to. The bet processing S200 will be described in detail later.

(Step S300)
Next, the winning combination lottery means 304 activates the game start operation for the start switch 128, and shifts to the operation waiting state of the start switch 128. Here, the winning combination lottery means 304 is at the time when the start switch 128 is operated from the winning combination lottery random numbers updated by the random number generator 200d of the main control board 200 in response to the operation of the start switch 128 by the player. Acquire the winning combination lottery random number of 1. Then, the winning combination lottery means 304 determines which winning area the acquired winning combination lottery random number corresponds to based on the winning combination lottery table shown in FIG. 7 and the currently set gaming state. , The winning combination or the unwinning of the determined winning area is determined as the lottery result. Further, after the lottery result is determined according to the operation of the start switch 128, the command determination means 314 generates a winning combination command including information on the lottery result (winning combination or unwinning combination) of the winning combination lottery, the game state, and the like. Then, the command transmission means 316 transmits the generated winning combination command to the sub-control board 202. Further, the state transition means 312 shifts the gaming state from the bonus non-established gaming state to the bonus established gaming state based on the winning combination "BB" being won in the bonus non-established gaming state.

(Step S400)
When the start switch 128 is operated, the reel control means 306 drives the stepping motor 262 to rotate the reels 134a, 134b, 134c. In this reel rotation process, when a predetermined time (for example, 4.1 seconds) has elapsed from the start of rotation of the reels 134a, 134b, 134c in the previous game (wait), the reels 134a, 134b, 134c in the game The rotation is started, and when all of the reels 134a, 134b, and 134c have reached constant speed rotation, the process is transferred to step S500. Further, the reel control means 306 may execute a reel effect.

(Step S500)
Subsequently, the reel control means 306 activates the stop switches 130a, 130b, 130c, and when the player accepts the operation of the stop switches 130a, 130b, 130c, any one of the reels 134a, 134b, 134c corresponding to the operation is received. Stop control. Further, when any one of the stop switches 130a, 130b, and 130c is operated, the command determining means 314 is a stop command (first stop command, second stop command, second) indicating information on the stopped switches 130a, 130b, 130c that have been operated. The stop command (third stop command) is generated every time the operation is performed, and the command transmission means 316 sequentially transmits the generated stop commands to the sub-control board 202.

(Step S600)
Next, the determination means 308 determines which combination of symbols displayed on the effective line A shown in FIG. 3B corresponds to a predetermined combination, and is in a gaming state according to the combination of symbols. Performs various processes required for changes and replays. Further, the command determining means 314 generates a winning command including a symbol combination displayed on the valid line A and a winning command including the number of medals to be paid out when the symbol combination corresponding to the small winning combination is displayed on the valid line A. , The command transmission means 316 transmits the generated winning command to the sub-control board 202. Further, the state transition means 312 shifts the gaming state from the bonus-established gaming state to the bonus gaming state based on the fact that the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination "BB" is displayed on the valid line A in the bonus-established gaming state. ..

(Step S700)
Subsequently, the payout control means 310 executes a medal payout process corresponding to the small winning combination when, for example, a symbol combination corresponding to the small winning combination is displayed on the effective line A based on the determination result in step S600. , When the symbol combination corresponding to the replay combination is displayed on the valid line A, the process for betting the next game is automatically executed. Further, the state transition means 312 shifts the gaming state from the bonus gaming state to the bonus non-established gaming state when a predetermined number of medals are paid out in the bonus gaming state. In this way, the payout control means 310 performs various processes corresponding to the symbol combinations displayed on the effective line A, and ends the one game. Further, when the medal payout process is performed, the command determination means 314 generates a payout command indicating that the payout process has been performed, and the command transmission means 316 transmits the generated payout command to the sub-control board 202. ..

One game is executed through a series of processes from step S200 to step S700. After that, steps S200 to S700 are repeated.

As described above, in the sub-control board 202, the effect control means 334 is a game performed by the liquid crystal display unit 138, the speaker 140, and the effect device 142 (effect lamp 160, effect accessory device 162, effect operation device 164). Determine the production.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram for explaining a control mode of the liquid crystal display unit 138, the speaker 140, and the effect device 142 in the sub control board 202, and FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control mode common to them. .. The sub CPU (CPU) 202a provided on the sub control board 202 functions as the effect control means 334 in cooperation with the program and the sub RAM 202c stored in the sub ROM 202b. The effect control means 334 decodes a command transmitted from the main control board 200, and determines an effect pattern (content indicating a series of effects) corresponding to the command. Then, the effect control means 334 sends a command to each device such as the image IC 360a, the music IC 362a, and the communication controller 364 based on the determined effect pattern to execute the effect.

Such an effect is always performed as an interrupt process while the power is turned on, and is completed within a predetermined interrupt cycle (for example, 33 msec). For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the effect control means 334 waits for the arrival of a predetermined interrupt cycle (for example, 33 msec) (NO in S10), and when the predetermined interrupt cycle arrives (YES in S10), the effect pattern. Image data (data corresponding to the image displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 138 among the effects shown by the effect pattern) based on the above is determined (S11). Then, the effect control means 334 transmits an image command capable of specifying image data to the image IC 360a (S12), and repeats the process from step S10. The image IC 360a, also called VDP (Video Display Processor), reads the image data specified by the image command from the image ROM 360b to the image RAM (VRAM) 360c, and sequentially outputs the image data to the liquid crystal display unit 138. In addition, some kind of image is always displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 138. Therefore, the effect control means 334 always determines the image data for each interrupt cycle. The image RAM 360c has a plurality of different layers, and each layer can hold different image data. Then, the image IC 360a superimposes the image data held on the plurality of layers, and outputs the superposed image data to the liquid crystal display unit 138.

Further, when the predetermined interruption cycle arrives, the effect control means 334 corresponds to the music data based on the effect pattern (corresponding to the music output to the speaker 140 among the effects indicated by the effect pattern) following the control for the image IC 360a described above. Data to be used) is determined. Then, the effect control means 334 transmits a music command capable of specifying the music data to the music IC 362a. The music IC 362a reads the music data specified by the music command from the music ROM 362b to the music IC 362a, and sequentially outputs the music data to the speaker 140. It should be noted that some kind of music is always output to the speaker 140. Therefore, the effect control means 334 always determines the music data for each interrupt cycle. The music IC 362a has a plurality of music buffers (buffers), and each music buffer can hold different music data. Then, the music IC 362a superimposes the music data held in the plurality of music buffers, and outputs the superposed music data to the speaker 140.

Further, when the predetermined interruption cycle arrives, the effect control means 334 follows the control for the image IC 360a and the music IC 362a, and continues with the light emission pattern based on the effect pattern (a series of the effect lamps 160 among the effects indicated by the effect patterns). (Contents indicating a lighting mode) and a drive pattern (contents indicating a series of drive modes of the effect accessory device 162 among the effects indicated by the effect pattern) are determined. Then, the effect control means 334 transmits a command to the communication controller 364 based on the light emission pattern and the drive pattern. In accordance with such a command, the communication controller 364 independently provides information on light emission (light emission information) to the plurality of effect lamps 160 and the effect accessory device 162, and drives, for example, the rotation direction (travel direction) of the motor. Information (driving information) such as rotation amount (progress amount) and rotation speed (progress speed) is generated, and the generated light emission information and drive information are transmitted through serial communication. Such light emission information and driving information are treated as production information responsible for the production. The reason why serial communication is used here is to reduce the number of harnesses and to simplify the handling. In this way, each of the plurality of effect lamps 160 is independently lit and controlled, and each of the plurality of effect accessory devices 162 is independently driven and controlled. The effect lamp 160 is constantly turned on and off. Therefore, the effect control means 334 always determines the light emission pattern for each interrupt cycle. Further, the effect accessory device 162 operates only when the drive pattern is determined. Therefore, the drive pattern is less frequently determined in comparison with the image data, the light emission pattern, and the music data.

Further, the communication controller 364 transmits light emission information and drive information through serial communication, and acquires input information (operation presence / absence, operation timing, number of operations, operation time length, etc.) of the effect operation device 164 and the like through serial communication. .. The effect control means 334 determines various effects such as displaying a predetermined image on the liquid crystal display unit 138 according to the input information.

Here, a series of functional units such as a sub CPU 202a, a sub RAM 202c, an image IC 360a, an image ROM 360b, an image RAM 360c, a music IC 362a, a music ROM 362b, and a communication controller 364 are integrated circuits of one as a SoC (System-on-a-Chip). It is accumulated in. However, which functional unit is integrated in the SoC can be arbitrarily set.

(Control of production lamp 160)
FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining a control mode of the effect lamp 160. In particular, FIG. 11 describes a control mode of the effect lamp 160 through serial communication. Here, only the elements and signals related to the present embodiment will be described, and the description of the elements and signals not related to the present embodiment will be omitted.

As described above, the effect control means 334 determines the effect pattern according to the progress of the game. The effect pattern also includes a light emission pattern related to the effect lamp 160. Then, the effect control means 334 transmits a command to the communication controller 364 through the bus 366 based on the light emission pattern among the effect patterns.

However, the effect control means 334 can not only directly control the communication controller 364 through the bus 366, but also indirectly control the communication controller 364 through the DMA controller 368. Among the effect patterns, in particular, the light emission pattern includes luminance information for a large number of LEDs 370, and it takes a long time to transfer the luminance information. Here, the transfer efficiency is improved by controlling the effect lamp 160 via the DMA controller 368.

The DMA controller 368 (368a, 368b) receives the light emission pattern from the effect control means 334, and then performs the process based on the light emission pattern independently of the process of the effect control means 334. Specifically, the DMA controller 368 sequentially transfers (outputs) the light emission information (effect information) used in the effect driver 372, which will be described later, to the communication controller 364 based on the light emission pattern.

The communication controller 364 (364a, 364b, 364c) receives light emission information from the DMA controller 368, temporarily stores it in an internal buffer, and sequentially transfers (outputs) it to the effect driver 372 through serial communication.

The effect driver 372 (372a, 372b, 372c) executes the effect based on the light emission information received from the DMA controller 368. Specifically, the effect driver 372 outputs a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal indicating the brightness of each LED 370 connected to the effect driver 372 based on the light emission information. The effect driver 372 and the LED 370 function as an effect lamp 160.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a basic setting mode of the DMA program. As shown in FIG. 12A, the DMA program describes at least (1) the address of the transfer source, (2) the number of repetitions, (3) the address of the transfer destination, and (4) the increment information. Here, (1) the transfer source address describes the start address (start address) of the light emitting information to be transferred in the sub RAM 202c, and (2) the number of repetitions is the number of times the transfer of the light emitting information is repeated, for example. If there are 100 LEDs, 100 is described, (3) the transfer destination address is described as the transfer destination address, for example, the physical address of the communication controller 364a, and (4) the increment information is described. It is described whether or not the transfer source and transfer destination addresses are incremented for each transfer, for example, the transfer source address is incremented and the transfer destination address is not incremented (fixed).

Then, as shown in FIG. 12B, when the predetermined interrupt cycle arrives and the light emission pattern is determined (YES in S20), the effect control means 334 calls the DMA program based on the light emission pattern and calls the DMA of 1. A controller 368, for example, a DMA controller 368a is specified, and the called DMA program is set in the DMA controller 368a (S21). Once the DMA program is set, the DMA controller 368a operates independently of the effect control means 334, so that the effect control means 334 can perform other processing during that time. The DMA controller 368a reads out the light emission information from the sub RAM 202c based on the DMA program, and transfers the light emission information for the number of times described in (2) the number of repetitions, so that the effect control means 334 generates a transfer completion interrupt. .. When the transfer completion interrupt occurs (YES in S22), the effect control means 334 executes the transfer end process based on the transfer completion interrupt (S23), and waits for the arrival of the next interruption cycle.

By the way, the effect lamp 160 is divided and managed into three effect drivers 372a, 372b, and 372c shown in FIG. 11 according to their rough positions. For example, the effect lamp 160 provided on the front upper door 104 including the reel backlight 144 and the reel upper light 146 is managed by the effect driver 372a, and the symbol display window 136 including the sub credit display unit 156 and the sub payout display unit 158. The effect lamp 160 provided below is managed by the effect driver 372b, and the effect lamp 160 provided on the front lower door 106 is managed by the effect driver 372c. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, communication controllers 364a, 364b, and 364c are associated with the three effect drivers 372a, 372b, and 372c, respectively. Then, the processing efficiency can be improved by setting the light emission information to the communication controllers 364a, 364b, and 364c by the DMA controller 368 independent of the effect control means 334.

However, in the SoC of the present embodiment, the number of DMA controllers 368 (number of channels) is only two, which is less than the number of communication controllers 364a, 364b, and 364c. Therefore, if the DMA controller 368 is simply associated with each of the communication controllers 364, one of the communication controllers 364 cannot be associated with the DMA controller 368. Then, the effect control means 334 itself must undertake the transfer load that can be left to the DMA controller 368, which does not lead to the reduction of the processing load of the effect control means 334. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the DMA controller 368 is efficiently managed, and the plurality of communication controllers 364 are collectively controlled.

Here, the processing load of the three effect drivers 372a, 372b, 372c, that is, the time required to transfer all the light emission information for one interrupt cycle in the corresponding communication controllers 364a, 364b, 364c (hereinafter). , "Transfer time"), the communication controller 364a <communication controller 364b <communication controller 364c due to the difference in the number of LEDs. In other words, the transfer time of the communication controller 364a is the shortest, the transfer time of the communication controller 364b is the longest, and the transfer time of the communication controller 364c is the longest. Therefore, the communication controller 364a and the communication controller 364b having a relatively short transfer time are controlled by one DMA controller 368a (first DMA controller) at different timings, and the communication controller 364c having the longest transfer time is another. It is controlled by one DMA controller 368b (second DMA controller).

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the setting mode of the DMA program in the present embodiment, and FIG. 14 is a timing chart for explaining the transfer time of the communication controller 364. As shown in FIG. 13A, when the predetermined interrupt cycle arrives and the light emission pattern is determined (YES in S30), the effect control means 334 calls the DMA program based on the light emission pattern. However, here, the DMA program corresponding to the communication controller 364a is called based on the light emission pattern (first effect pattern) corresponding to the communication controller 364a. Then, the effect control means 334 sets a DMA program corresponding to the communication controller 364a called to the DMA controller 368a (first DMA controller) (S31). Therefore, the address of the communication controller 364a is described in the address of the transfer destination (3) of the DMA program (see FIG. 12A). The effect control means 334 can perform other processing after setting the DMA program. During this time, the DMA controller 368a sequentially transfers the light emission information to the communication controller 364a. Then, when the transfer completion interrupt occurs (YES in S32), the effect control means 334 executes the transfer end process based on the transfer completion interrupt (S33).

Further, when the transfer end process based on the transfer completion interrupt is completed, the effect control means 334 calls the DMA program again based on the light emission pattern. However, here, the DMA program corresponding to the communication controller 364b is called based on the light emission pattern (second effect pattern) corresponding to the communication controller 364b. Then, the effect control means 334 sets a DMA program corresponding to the communication controller 364b called to the DMA controller 368a (S34). Therefore, the address of the communication controller 364b is described in the address of the transfer destination (3) of the DMA program (see FIG. 12A). The effect control means 334 can perform other processing again after setting the DMA program. During this time, the DMA controller 368a sequentially transfers the light emission information to the communication controller 364b. Then, when the transfer completion interrupt occurs (YES in S35), the effect control means 334 executes the transfer end process based on the transfer completion interrupt (S36), and waits for the arrival of the next interrupt cycle.

In this way, the effect control means 334 sets the DMA program based on the light emission patterns of the communication controller 364a and the communication controller 364b to the DMA controller 368a of 1 at different timings, whereby the communication controller 364 and the DMA controller 368 are set. It is possible to absorb the difference in numbers softly and improve the efficiency of processing.

On the other hand, when the effect control means 334 determines the light emission pattern when a predetermined interrupt cycle arrives in parallel with the process of FIG. 13 (a) (YES in S40), the light emission thereof. The DMA program is called based on the pattern, and the called DMA program is set in the DMA controller 368b (second DMA controller) (S41). However, here, the DMA program corresponding to the communication controller 364c is called based on the light emission pattern (third effect pattern) corresponding to the communication controller 364c, and the DMA program's (3) transfer destination address is communicated. The address of the controller 364c is described (see FIG. 12A). The effect control means 334 can perform other processing after setting the DMA program. During this time, the DMA controller 368b sequentially transfers the light emission information to the communication controller 364c. Then, when the transfer completion interrupt occurs (YES in S42), the effect control means 334 executes the transfer end process based on the transfer completion interrupt (S43), and waits for the arrival of the next interrupt cycle.

Here, the transfer time of the light emission information based on the light emission pattern (third effect pattern) corresponding to the communication controller 364c is the transfer time of the light emission information based on the light emission pattern (first effect pattern) corresponding to the communication controller 364a. , The transfer time of the light emission information based on the light emission pattern (second effect pattern) corresponding to the communication controller 364b is longer. Therefore, when an attempt is made to process the light emission pattern corresponding to the two communication controllers 364 with the DMA controller 368, the two communication controllers 364, that is, the communication controller 364a and the communication controller 364b are selected from the one with the shortest transfer time. You should do it. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 14, even if there are only two DMA controllers 368, the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the communication controller 364a, the communication controller 364b, during the interrupt cycle of 33 msec. It is possible to complete the transfer of all the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the above and the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the communication controller 364c.

When the effect control means 334 transfers light emission information based on a plurality of light emission patterns in one DMA controller 368, the effect control means 334 is based on the light emission information based on the light emission pattern having a shorter transfer time and the light emission information based on the light emission pattern having a longer transfer time. It is transferred to the DMA controller 368 before the light emission information. For example, in the example of FIG. 14, the transfer time of the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the communication controller 364a is shorter than the transfer time of the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the communication controller 364b. Therefore, the effect control means 334 first transfers the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the communication controller 364a to the DMA controller 368a, and then transfers the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the communication controller 364b.

Further, as described above, the effect control means 334 determines the light emission pattern when the interrupt cycle of 33 msec arrives. However, even if 33 ms arrives, the next light emission information is transferred while the communication controller 364 set at the time of the previous interrupt is transferring the light emission information (the transfer is started and the transfer is continued). Do not start. Therefore, the communication controller 364 can complete the transfer of the light emission information as long as it starts the transfer of the light emission information. Here, since the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the communication controller 364a and the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the communication controller 364b are continuously transferred at different timings, the transfer time is short first. By transferring the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the communication controller 364a, it is possible that the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the next communication controller 364b has started to be transferred when the interrupt cycle has arrived. Will be higher. As described above, the effect control means 334 first transfers the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the communication controller 364a to the DMA controller 368a, and then transfers the light emission information based on the light emission pattern corresponding to the communication controller 364b. By transferring, it is possible to increase the probability that any light emission information is surely completed.

Here, an example is given in which the effect control means 334 transfers two light emission patterns to one DMA controller 368a at different timings and transfers one light emission pattern to another DMA controller 368b. As described above, transfer by another DMA controller 368 is not essential, and it is sufficient if two light emission patterns can be transferred to one DMA controller 368a at different timings.

Further, here, an example in which the effect control means 334 transfers two light emission patterns to one DMA controller 368a at different timings has been described, but not limited to such a case, three or more light emission patterns are described. May be transferred to the DMA controller 368a of 1 at different timings.

(Light emission information)
The effect driver 372 executes the effect based on the light emission information received from the DMA controller 368 through serial communication. In recent years, the performance of the effect driver 372 has also improved, the amount of information that can be handled has increased, and the length of the information to be managed has been expanded in bit units. For example, in the effect driver 372 of the present embodiment, the light emission information having an 8-bit length used in the effect control means 334 can be processed with the same amount of information (8 bits). However, additional information (1 bit) indicating a communication ACK (affirmative response or acknowledgment) required by the effect driver 372 is always added to the data received by the effect driver 372 on the lower side of the light emission information. Then, the information (light emission information + additional information) actually received by the effect driver 372 becomes 9 bits (bit unit).

On the other hand, in the effect control means 334, the light emission pattern, light emission information, and the like are handled in byte units, that is, 1 byte (8 bits) or 2 bytes (16 bits). Then, the bit lengths of the information handled by the effect control means 334 and the information handled by the effect driver 372 do not match, and if the emission information is simply generated based on the emission pattern, some bits may be missing. , The effect driver 372 cannot be controlled properly. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the discrepancy in the length of the information is absorbed by the bit operation, and the effect driver 372 is appropriately controlled.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a processing mode of light emission information. In the effect control means 334 and its higher-level device, the light emission information (effect information) is represented by 1 byte (8 bits) in byte units. Such byte-based light emission information (effect information) may be simply referred to as non-expanded byte unit light emission information (non-expanded byte unit effect information, first effect information).

Then, as shown in FIG. 15A, the effect control means 334 acquires the light emission information in byte units (here, 1 byte) based on the light emission pattern, and on the lower side thereof, the bit unit required by the effect driver 372. Additional information (here, 1 bit) is added, and predetermined preliminary information is added to the upper side thereof to generate extended byte unit (here, 2 bytes) light emission information, which is temporarily stored in the sub RAM 202c. Store in the target. Such expanded byte-based light emission information (effect information) may be simply referred to as extended byte unit light emission information (extended byte unit effect information, second light emission information). Specifically, the effect control means 334 overwrites the extended byte unit (here, 2 bytes) memory area with byte unit light emission information from the lower side, and shifts the byte unit light emission information by 1 bit to the left. Here, the additional information is indicated by a numerical value of 1 to 8 bits indicating communication ACK, and is fixed to "0d" here. The operation of securing the memory area in the expanded byte unit (here, 2 bytes) is the operation of adding predetermined preliminary information. Here, "0000000d" is used as the content of the preliminary information, but any numerical value can be adopted, and it may be undefined (the value is not manipulated at all). This is because such preliminary information acts only as a dummy and is eventually deleted.

In this way, it is possible to generate extended byte unit (here, 2 bytes) light emission information including bit unit (here, 9 bits) light emission information that can be used by the effect driver 372 on the lower side. Then, as shown in FIG. 15B, the DMA controller 368 sequentially transfers the extended byte unit (here, 2 bytes) light emission information to the communication controller 364.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 15C, the communication controller 364 acquires the extended byte unit (here, 2 bytes) of light emission information from the DMA controller 368 and stores it in the buffer. However, in the communication controller 364, of the expanded byte unit (here, 2 bytes) light emission information, the bit unit (here, 9 bits) light emission information used by the effect driver 372 is transmitted to the effect driver 372 from the lower side. Output. This is realized by the following functions in the communication controller 364. Such bit-wise light emission information (effect information) may be simply referred to as bit-unit light emission information (bit-unit effect information, third light emission information).

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the communication controller 364. Each square in FIG. 16 indicates each bit of the receive buffer or the transmit buffer, and the cross-hatched portion indicates that light emission information exists in the buffer.

When the communication controller 364 acquires the extended byte unit (here, 2 bytes) light emission information from the DMA controller 368, it first stores it in the receive buffer (1). The receive buffer is composed of a 16-bit shift register, and functions as a so-called FIFO that stores light emission information from the lower bits and carries it out from the lower bits to the transmission buffer. Further, the transmission buffer is provided with 16-bit shift registers in parallel in 16 stages, and functions as a FIFO that carries out light emission information in the order in which it is stored. Therefore, the receive buffer carries out the light emission information to the shift register for one stage of the transmission buffer in which the light emission information is not stored (2), and the transmission buffer is independent of the reception buffer at the timing when the light emission information is stored. Exports the light emission information of the old stage sequentially from the lower bit.

However, the transmission buffer does not carry out all the stored 16-bit light emission information, but carries out only the light emission information of a preset predetermined number of bits (arbitrarily selectable between 8 and 16 bits) from the lower level (the transmission buffer does not carry out). 3). Here, the predetermined number of bits is set to 9 bits. Therefore, the communication controller 364 receives the light emission information in the extended byte unit (here, 2 bytes), and does not output the preliminary information (7 bits) on the upper side, but the next extended byte unit light emission information. The operation to output is repeated. In this way, only the lower 9 bits of the extended byte unit (here, 2 bytes) light emission information can be output to the effect driver 372. Here, the remaining preliminary information (7 bits) that has not been transmitted remains in the transmission buffer and is not output thereafter.

In this way, the communication controller 364 outputs only the light emission information (byte unit light emission information + additional information) in bit units (here, 9 bits) while receiving the extended byte unit (here, 2 bytes) light emission information. can do. In this way, it is possible to absorb the discrepancy in the length of the information by bit operation and appropriately control the effect driver 372.

In addition, although the example of transmitting the light emission information by the communication controller 364 has been described here, not only the light emission information but also the information related to the effect is sufficient, for example, the image data and the music data based on the above-mentioned effect pattern. , Drive information, etc. can also be applied.

Further, here, an example of generating extended byte-based light emission information by adding additional information and preliminary information to byte-based light emission information by the effect control means 334 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this case, for example. , The subsequent stage DMA controller 368 may update the bit length of the light emission information.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modifications or modifications within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Will be done.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the main control board 200 and the sub control board 202 are arranged so as to share the functional part for advancing the game, but the functional part of the main control board 200 is assigned to the sub control board 202. Alternatively, the functional parts of the sub-control board 202 may be arranged on the main control board 200, or all the functional parts may be arranged together on one control board.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the bonus game is described as the game profit, but the present invention is not limited to this case, and the selected winning combination having a large game profit and another winning combination are overlapping selection winning types, and the stop. The operation mode of the switches 130a, 130b, 130c is a predetermined operation mode (correct answer operation mode) among a plurality of operation modes, that is, in a predetermined operation order (batting order), a predetermined operation timing, or a combination thereof. When the selected winning type set as the winning condition of the selected winning combination is determined by the winning combination lottery, the effect control means 334 provides an auxiliary effect of notifying the correct answer operation mode which is the winning condition of the selected winning combination. By doing so, the player can easily display the symbol combination corresponding to the selected winning combination on the effective line A, that is, the AT effect state in which the so-called AT (assist time) is executed, or the winning of the replay combination. By setting the probability to be higher than the normal game and suppressing the consumption of medals, the RT (replay time) game that increases the lottery chance of the winning combination for the consumption of the medal and the above AT and RT games are promoted at the same time. ART games may be provided.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the slot machine 100 has been described by giving an example of changing the bit length of the effect information responsible for the effect such as light emission information and transmitting a plurality of effect patterns to the DMA controller 368. Depending on the method, the bit length of the effect information may be changed, or a plurality of effect patterns may be transmitted to the DMA controller 368. Here, the pachinko machine has a symbol determination means for determining one of a plurality of types of symbols including a jackpot symbol, and displays the symbol on the symbol display unit when a predetermined fluctuation time elapses after the symbol is determined. When the jackpot symbol is displayed on the symbol display means and the symbol display unit, the major role game execution means for executing the major role game composed of a plurality of round games, and the predetermined specific round of the round games in the major role game. Even if it is provided with a game profit giving means for giving a predetermined game profit when a game ball entered into a large winning opening enters a specific area during a game, and a production executing means for executing a production during a big role game. good.

Further, each process performed by the main control board 200 and the sub control board 202 described above does not necessarily have to be processed in chronological order in the order described in the flowchart, and may include parallel or subroutine processing.

100 slot machine (game machine)
142 Production device 160 Production lamp 202c Sub RAM
334 Direction control means 364 Communication controller 368 DMA controller 372 Direction driver

Claims (2)

A gaming machine that draws a lottery to give a player an advantageous gaming profit based on a predetermined opportunity and proceeds with the game according to the lottery result.
An effect control means for determining an effect pattern according to the progress of the game,
A DMA controller that outputs effect information based on the effect pattern independently of the processing of the effect control means.
A plurality of communication controllers that output the effect information received from the DMA controller through serial communication, and
Equipped with
The effect control means transmits, among the plurality of effect patterns, an effect pattern in which the time required to transmit all the effect information is short is transmitted to the DMA controller before the other effect patterns.
Before Symbol D MA controller, the gaming machine to transmit the effect information that is based on each of the plurality of presentation pattern, the communication controller corresponding to each of the plurality of performance pattern. A gaming machine that draws a lottery to give a player an advantageous gaming profit based on a predetermined opportunity and proceeds with the game according to the lottery result.
An effect control means for determining an effect pattern according to the progress of the game,
A DMA controller that outputs effect information based on the effect pattern independently of the processing of the effect control means.
A plurality of communication controllers that output the effect information received from the DMA controller through serial communication, and
Equipped with
The effect control means transmits the first effect pattern and the second effect pattern to the first DMA controller at different timings, and is different from the first effect pattern and the second effect pattern. The third effect pattern is transmitted to a second DMA controller different from the first DMA controller, and the third effect pattern is transmitted to the second DMA controller.
The first DMA controller transmits the effect information based on the first effect pattern to the communication controller corresponding to the first effect pattern, and transmits the effect information based on the second effect pattern to the second effect pattern. Send to the communication controller corresponding to the production pattern,
The second DMA controller transmits the effect information based on the third effect pattern to the communication controller corresponding to the third effect pattern.
The third effect pattern is a gaming machine that takes longer time to transmit all the effect information than the first effect pattern and the second effect pattern.

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