JPH0534032B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Application Field] This invention is applicable to control devices for gaming machines, especially micro-
This invention relates to a device equipped with a control device that is controlled using a computer. [Prior Art] In the field of pachinko gaming machines, machines equipped with electric winning devices called so-called yakumono are used to improve services for players and expand the number of customers who can enjoy the games. being developed.
By adding these accessories, the content of the game becomes more diverse, thereby increasing the wholesome enjoyment of the players. By the way, in this pachinko game machine with an accessory, an electronic control means is indispensable in order to control various electric devices constituting the accessory and various display means related to the accessory. Conventionally, this control means has been constructed using a large number of discrete components, such as logic gates and counters, which are divided into functions. However, it is difficult to efficiently control the various and complicated operations of a pachinko game machine with accessories using a control means constructed from a combination of individual parts. Therefore, in order to efficiently control the various and complex operations of pachinko gaming machines, it has become necessary to control them using a programmable general-purpose control means, a so-called semiconductor integrated circuit microcomputer. It's here. If you can use this microcomputer, you can use fewer parts than conventional individual parts.
The control means of the pachinko game machine described above can be configured. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, there is an inherent danger that even the slightest force on the program-storable microcomputer will cause a serious malfunction, such as a runaway or a jump into an infinite loop. . Of course, most of these malfunctions peculiar to microcomputers can be prevented under normal use environments. However, the environment inside the pachinko machine and the place where the pachinko machine is installed is such that there are many noise sources in the immediate vicinity, such as motors and lighting equipment, and heat tends to accumulate behind the game board. Environmental conditions such as temperature are also bad. As described above, the environmental conditions inside and outside of pachinko gaming machines are extremely poor for microcomputers. Therefore, if the control means of the pachinko game machine is constructed using the above-mentioned microcomputer, there is a great possibility that malfunctions peculiar to microcomputers, such as runaway or jumping into an infinite loop, will occur. In addition, the operation of pachinko machines with accessories,
Many parts involve time elements. Therefore, the control means requires a large number of timer functions. This timer function can also be configured as a so-called soft timer by utilizing the functions of a microcomputer. However, in order to configure this soft timer using conventionally known means, a complex processing program using the microcomputer's interrupt function is required, which increases the size of the microcomputer program. As they grow, problems arise such as it becomes difficult to detect errors in programs called bugs. Furthermore, when the control means of a pachinko game machine is configured with a microcomputer, there is a problem in that it becomes easy to illicitly modify the machine by adding additional programs to the machine. As mentioned above, micro-
There are many difficulties associated with the adoption of computers. [Objective of the Invention] This invention is intended to overcome the above-mentioned difficulties, and one of its typical objectives is to provide a pachinko game machine controlled by a microcomputer with a simple software configuration, that is, to eliminate errors and errors. Even if the program is small in size and unauthorized modification is easy to detect, malfunctions specific to the microcomputer,
In other words, even if an abnormality such as a runaway or a jump into an infinite loop occurs, a so-called fail-safe system that automatically returns to a normal state or automatically avoids a safe state is ensured. To provide a highly reliable pachinko game machine that can withstand use under various operating environments. The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings. [Means for Solving the Problems] Representative inventions disclosed in this application will be summarized as follows. That is, as a means for achieving the above object, the present invention provides a pachinko game machine 03 controlled by a program storage type microcomputer 02, as shown in FIG. , the above microcomputer 02
A reset signal generating means 01 is provided for completely initializing the data by resetting it at regular intervals. The period of the reset pulse issued from the reset signal generating means 01 is set to be longer than the processing time required for the microcomputer 02 to execute a set of predetermined program instructions. [Effect] By using the above method, even with a simple software configuration, i.e., a small program in which errors and unauthorized modification are easily detected, malfunctions peculiar to microcomputers, such as runaways or jumping into infinite loops, can be prevented. Even if this occurs, the periodic reset ensures that the system automatically returns to a normal state or automatically avoids a safe state, that is, a so-called fail-safe. As a result, it is possible to obtain a highly reliable pachinko game machine that can withstand use under harsh operating environments. [Embodiments] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. 2 to 9 show the main body side portion of a pachinko game machine to which the present invention is applied. First, the outline and operation of the pachinko gaming machine according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 shows an example of the overall configuration of the pachinko game machine according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the gaming area 1a formed on the game board 1. In FIGS. 2 and 3, a ball hitting guide rail 3 is provided on the front surface of the game board 1. As shown in FIG. The ball guide rail 3 guides the game ball, that is, the ball shot by the ball launcher 2, to the upper part of the game area 1a. The ball launcher 2 is operated and driven by a lower operation dial knob 2a. The game area 1a is formed in a space surrounded by the ball guide rail 3 and the glass plate of the opening/closing panel 101. This gaming area 1a has various winning holes 6a, 6b, 6c, forming a winning area.
7, 8, 53a, winning devices 5, 9, etc. are provided. Along with this, a large number of obstacle nails 11
, various guiding members 12a, 12b, 12c, direction setting members 13a, 13b, etc., are arranged so that the ball hit into the game area 1a falls while changing its direction in various ways. It's getting old. At the lowest part of the game area 1a, an out port 10 is provided for collecting batted balls that do not win in any of the winning areas to the back of the game board. Further, in the center of the game area 1a, a variable display device 4, which serves as a type of game device, is installed. In this variable display device 4, segment type displays LEDA, LEDB,
Arabic numerals from 0 to 9 are displayed using LEDC and LEDD. When the variable display device 4 operates, the displayed numbers on each of the indicators LEDA to LEDD change respectively. This change is stopped when the player operates the stop switch SW2 or when a certain amount of time has elapsed. At this time, if the combination of numbers displayed at the time of the stop turns out to be a predetermined result, a specific mode described later will be generated. The above winning openings 6a, 6b, 6c, 7, 8, 53a
is a fixed winning slot that always has a winning area open. These winning holes 6a, 6b, 6c, 7, 8,
53a, depending on its function, can be used as general prize opening 6a,
6b, 6c, and 53a, and specific winning holes 7 and 8. The batted ball is the general winning hole 6a, 6b, 6c,
53a, a predetermined number (usually 10 to 15) of prize balls will be paid out. When the batted ball enters the special winning holes 7 and 8, a predetermined number of prize balls are paid out in the same way as when winning in the general winning hole, and as will be described later, the variable display device 4 is activated. This will give them the opportunity to earn special benefits. As the winning devices 5 and 9, a ticket type winning device 9 and a special variable winning device 5 are provided. Among them, the special variable winning device 5 normally does not have a winning area, but when a specific mode occurs as a result of the stoppage of the variable display operation in the variable display device 4, a wide area with a very high winning probability is created. Special variable prize opening 80 will be temporarily opened. Furthermore, the special variable winning hole 80 is divided into a normal winning hole 82 which only brings a predetermined number of prize balls, and a continuous winning hole 81 which gives the right to reopen the special variable winning hole 80 in addition to the prize balls. I know. On the other hand, an illuminated central display member 20 is disposed above the game board 1. This illuminated concentrated display member 20 includes a prize lamp 21 that is temporarily turned on when a batted ball enters any winning area;
A turbo lamp 22 that lights up or flashes when a specific mode occurs due to the stoppage of the variable display operation of the variable display device 4, and a special variable prize winning device 5 when a specific mode of "jackpot" described below occurs.
A segment type display LEDE numerically displays the number of times the open state continues, and a completion lamp 24 indicates the completion of the game by the special variable prize winning device 5 when the number of times the continuous open state reaches a predetermined control number (10 times). It is arranged. Further, the variable display device 4 is provided with lighting means 27 for jackpot display. This lighting means 2
7 is the segment type display device LEDA, LEDB,
Blinks and lights up while the display on LEDC and LEDD is changing. Furthermore, when a specific aspect of a "big win" occurs, the blinking speed is controlled to become faster. Thereby, the operation of the variable display device 4 and the occurrence of a "big win" are effectively produced and displayed. Furthermore, a continuation condition fulfillment display section 29 is provided within the special variable prize winning device 5. This continuation condition fulfillment display section 29 is driven to light up when a hit ball enters the continuation winning hole 81 when a specific aspect of a "jackpot" occurs. As a result, it is displayed that a special continuation right to re-open the special fluctuating prize opening 80 has been granted. A firing device drive lamp 26 is provided on the upper part of the holding frame 100 of the pachinko game machine that holds the game board 1 having the above configuration. This firing device drive lamp 26 is turned on when the operation dial knob 2a of the batted ball firing device is operated. In addition, the holding frame 100
The opening/closing panel 101 attached to the ball launcher has a supply tray 102 that holds the batted balls to be supplied to the batted ball launcher.
is installed. Furthermore, below it,
A saucer 103 is provided for storing prize balls overflowing from the supply tray 102. On the side (left side in the figure) of the holding frame 100,
A press-operated stop switch SW2 is provided. This stop switch SW2 is used when it is desired to manually stop the variable display operation of the variable display device 4 activated by the winning hole to the specific winning hole 7 or 8. Now, in the pachinko game machine configured as described above, when a ball hit into the game area 1a by the ball launcher 2 enters any winning area, a predetermined number of balls (usually 10 to 15 Individual)
Prize balls will be paid out. Furthermore, when the winning ball enters the specific winning hole 7 or 8, the variable display device 4 is activated. Then, the four numbers displayed by the segment type indicators LEDA to LEDD of the variable display device 4 can be changed individually. Here, when the player presses the stop switch SW2 or when a certain amount of time has elapsed, the operation of the variable display is thereby stopped. At this time, if the combination of displayed numbers after the stop results in a pre-contracted result, a specific pattern is generated. When a specific situation occurs, the special variable winning device 5 is converted from the closed state to the open state, and a winning area by the above-mentioned special variable winning opening 80 is temporarily opened and provided within the gaming area 1a. This changes the probability of winning there from zero to extremely high. As a result, the player is given a special opportunity to generate a large number of winning balls within a relatively short period of time and win many prize balls. In this case, the state caused by the above-mentioned specific aspect is a "jackpot" due to the combination of the above-mentioned displayed numbers.
There are two types: and "medium hit". A "jackpot" state occurs when a specific situation occurs in which all four displayed numbers match one of the predetermined specific numbers. The “medium hit” condition is
This occurs when a specific situation occurs in which any three of the three displayed numbers match one of the pre-contracted specific numbers. In other words, if you get four matches, you will get a "jackpot", and if you get three matches, you will get a "medium hit". If a specific form of “jackpot” occurs,
The special variable prize winning device 5 is set for a relatively long predetermined time (approximately 30
seconds). This dramatically increases the probability of winning a prize. Furthermore, while the special variable winning device 5 remains open, the continuous winning hole 81 set within the special variable winning hole 80
When a hit ball wins a prize, the special variable winning device 5 is once returned to the closed state and then set to the open state again. In other words, the time period during which the special variable winning device 5 remains open is substantially extended. As a result, players are now given many opportunities to win prizes. Further, when a specific mode of "medium winning" occurs, the special variable prize winning device 5 is set to the open state only for a relatively short predetermined time (about 6 seconds). As a result, players are given an opportunity to win significantly more prize balls than would normally be the case, although it falls short of a "jackpot." Here, the combination of numbers displayed on the variable display device 4 is designed to be randomly changed. Therefore, the special opportunities according to the above-mentioned specific aspect are given almost equally, regardless of individual differences in gaming proficiency or the like. As a result, even beginners can enjoy the fortuitous opportunity provided by the above-mentioned specific aspect. However, if the benefits given to the players by the above-mentioned special opportunities are too large, there is a risk that unnecessary gambling will be aroused. Therefore, in order to avoid stirring up the gambling spirit, the following control operations are also performed in the control operations related to the occurrence of the above-mentioned specific aspect. That is, when the above-mentioned "jackpot" state occurs, when the number of winning balls into the special variable winning device 5 reaches a certain limit number (10 balls), the special variable winning device 5 will hold the ball for a predetermined period of time (approximately 30 seconds), it can be forced to return to the closed state immediately. Furthermore, the number of times the continuous winning opening 81 is set to remain open due to winnings is set to a certain number of times (10
times) are now limited to the following: In this way, the healthy interest of the players is not spoiled, and unnecessary speculation is not aroused. On the other hand, although not shown in the drawings, when a specific mode such as a "big hit" or "medium hit" occurs, in addition to the above-mentioned control operation, depending on the type of the specific mode, for example, a sound effect such as Juan Juare, etc. Control of the performance display using sound is also performed. Note that the sound effects such as "fanfare", which will be described in detail later, are electronically generated and emitted from a speaker (not shown) built into the gaming machine. Such presentation displays allow players to experience fun things other than winning prize balls. Next, the configuration of the pachinko game machine described above will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 9. FIG. 2 shows the front of a pachinko game machine to which this invention is applied. As described above, the pachinko game machine whose outline is shown in the figure includes a game board 1, a ball launcher 2, a dial knob 2a for operating a ball, a ball guide rail 3, a holding frame 100, an opening/closing panel 101, a supply tray 102, It has an overflowing bead tray 103 and the like. The game board 1 is held inside a holding frame 100, and its front side is covered by an opening/closing panel 101. The opening/closing panel 101 is constructed using a transparent glass plate. The center of the game board 1 is largely surrounded by a ball-hitting guide rail 3. A gaming area 1a is formed within this surrounding area. Furthermore, an illuminated central display member 20 is disposed above the game board 1. This concentration display member 20 integrally includes a prize ball lamp 21, a specific mode occurrence display lamp 22, and a completion lamp 24. Further, a segment type display LEDE made of light emitting diodes is attached to the concentrated display member 20. The functions of these lamps and indicators are as described above. That is, the prize ball lamp 21 is temporarily turned on when a ball hits the winning area. The winning area is provided by, for example, a ticket-type winning device 9 or the like. The specific mode occurrence display lamp 22 is lit or blinks when a specific mode such as a "medium hit" or "big win" occurs. The segment type display LEDE numerically indicates the number of times the open state of the special variable winning device 5 is extended due to a hit ball winning in the continuous winning opening 81 when a predetermined form of “jackpot” occurs. indicate. The completion lamp 24 notifies the completion of the game by the special variable prize winning device 5 when the number of continuations and extensions reaches a predetermined limit (10 times). The ball firing device 2 is electrically driven and fires the game balls in the supply tray 102 one by one. This operation is performed by rotating the dial knob 2a. The dial knob 2a is rotated manually and is configured to automatically spring back to the non-operating position when the player releases the dial knob 2a. The ball guide rail 3 moves the game ball fired by the firing device 2, that is, the ball hit, into a game area 1, which will be described later.
Guide within a. As described above, the game area 1a is formed on the front side of the game board 1 surrounded by the ball hitting guide rail 3. In this game area 1a, there are a number of obstacle nails 11 that randomly change the direction of the ball, and a rolling guide member 12 that controls the falling speed and direction of the ball.
a, 12b, 12c, etc. are arranged. Along with this, in the gaming area 1a, there are various winning devices that provide a winning area, namely, a special variable winning device 5, a first predetermined winning hole 7, a second predetermined winning hole 8, a chulip type winning device 9, etc. is installed. As described above, the special variable winning device 5 is configured to operate and temporarily open a winning area when a specific aspect of the variable display device 4 occurs. An example of the configuration of this special variable prize winning device 5 will be explained in detail later. Moreover, the first and second specific winning holes 7 and 8 are adapted to provide a specific winning area for activating the variable display device 4, as described above. Further, within the gaming area 1a, a variable display device 4, an exit 10, a lighting means 25, etc. are arranged. Although the details will be described later, the variable display device 4 is configured to variably display a plurality of types of characters in each display window section at a plurality of display window sections (four locations). In this embodiment, Arabic numerals from 0 to 9 are variably displayed as characters. The results of the displayed numbers are changed randomly. The out port 10 collects batted balls that could not enter any of the winning areas in the game area 1a, that is, missed balls that could not win a prize. The illumination means 25 blinks or lights up when a specific mode occurs due to the stoppage of the variable display operation of the variable display device 4. On the other hand, the holding frame 100 forms the outer frame of the pachinko game machine. This holding frame 100 includes the above-mentioned stop switch SW2 and firing drive lamp 2.
6 etc. are arranged. Stop switch SW
Reference numeral 2 is for manually stopping the variable operation of the variable display device 4, and is constructed using a push-operated (button type) momentary type (synchronizing type) switch. The overflow ball receiving tray 103 is a place where balls overflowing from the supply tray 102 are stored. When a batted ball wins a prize, a predetermined number of prize balls are paid out, and these paid out prize balls are discharged into a supply tray 102. FIG. 3 shows details of the game board 1. In FIG. 3, above the variable display device 4, three general winning openings 6a, 6b, and 6c, so-called "heaven,""heaven'sleft," and "heaven's right" are integrally provided. In addition, these general prize openings 6a, 6b,
6c may be provided independently apart from the variable display device 4. In addition to the rolling guide members 12a, 12b, 12c, etc., first and second direction setting members 13a, 13b are arranged in the upper half of the game area 1a. These direction setting members 13a, 13b are formed by obstruction nails. Below these direction setting members 13a, 13b is the rolling guide member 1.
2a, 12b, and 12c are provided, respectively. Of those rolling guide members, the first
The rolling guide member 12a has its rotation axis slightly closer to the center from diagonally above the first specific winning opening 7, and further than the center line of the first direction setting guide member 13a located above it. It is pivoted outwardly by a distance A. The second rolling guide member 12b is located slightly below the inside of the first specific winning opening 7, and is located slightly below the center line of the distance between the second direction setting guide member 13b and the shoulder portion 4a of the variable display device 4. It is pivoted outwardly by a distance C. As a result, the direction of the hit ball that has flowed down toward the rolling guide members 12a, 12b is controlled so that it becomes easier to flow down toward the center of the game board. Here, winning balls entering the first and second specific winning openings 7 and 8 are guided on a different route behind the game board 1 from winning balls entering other winning areas. And the third
The start switch whose installation position is shown by the dotted line in the figure
After passing through SW1, the ball is made to join the same guiding route as other winning balls. The start switch SW1 is installed in the path of the hit ball that has won the specific winning hole 7 or 8, and thereby detects the specific winning ball. The variable display device 4 is activated by this detection signal. The variable display device 4 has a shoulder portion 4a with a second end.
The lower end of the direction setting guide member 13b is also set to be at a higher position by a distance B. As a result, the batted ball that has flowed down along the second direction setting member 13b and the shoulder 4a of the variable display device 4 passes through the AC surface (described later) of the variable display device 4 and reaches the second specific location below. It is designed to make it easier to jump into the prize opening 8 and the special variable prize winning device 5. As described above, the direction setting guiding member 13a,
13b and the mounting positions of the rolling guide members 12a and 12b, the flow path of the game ball is largely opened in the center, which eliminates wasted game balls and allows the game balls to move toward the center efficiently. There is. The special variable winning device 5 has two types of winning holes 8.
0 and 53a are provided. One is the special variable prize opening 80 that is opened instantaneously in the center, and the other is the general prize opening 53a that is always opened on both sides. These two types of winning holes 80 and 53a
Correspondingly, a distribution guide member 14 consisting of a plurality of obstruction nails is provided. This distribution guide member 14 is provided between the second specific winning hole 8 and the special variable winning device 5, and distributes the batted balls to the two types of winning holes, and also controls the speed of the winning ball to the special variable winning device 5. It acts to reduce. At the right end of the game area 1a, there is an arcuate ball guide member 1.
5 is fixed so as to form an arc continuous with the ball hitting guide rail 3. A riot prevention member 16 is attached to the upper end of this ball guide member 15.
This riot prevention member 16 acts to suppress the violence within the game area by suppressing the momentum of the ball hit at high speed. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show the above-mentioned variable display device 4.
A specific example of the configuration will be shown in detail. The variable display device 4 is fixed to the game board 1 with a mounting hole 44 shown in FIG. 4 and screws 43a or nails 45 shown in FIG. 5. At the top of the variable display device 4, as shown in FIG. 5, a guiding plane 40b is integrally formed with a decorative plate 40a that covers the front thereof. This guiding plane 4
0b is formed to protrude forward from the surface of the game board 1. As shown in FIG. 4, an arched shoulder 4a is provided at the upper end of the guiding plane 40b.
This shoulder portion 4a acts to slow down the speed of the hit ball flowing down from above the game board and to smoothly distribute the hit ball to either the left or right game area. On both sides of the lower end of the guiding plane 40b are downward guiding inclined surfaces 40c which are inclined downwardly toward the inside.
is formed. This guiding inclined surface 40c makes it easier for the batted ball to be guided inside the exchange surface 41. Furthermore, an AC surface 41 is formed below the guiding plane 40b. The AC surface 41 is substantially flush with the surface of the game board 1, as shown in FIG. This allows interaction of batted balls flowing down the left and right game areas through the interaction surface 41. As a result, the ball can easily fly into the second specific winning hole 8 or the special variable winning device 5 described above. As shown in FIG. 5, a recess forming wall 42 is fixed to the exchange surface 41. As shown in FIG. This recess forming wall 42 is fixed by a fastening part 41a and a screw 43, and constitutes a recess 42a that goes deep into the game board 1. A mounting surface 46 for mounting a variable display member 47, which will be described later, is provided at the back of this recess 42a. As shown in FIG. 4, the mounting surface 46 has three
The display windows 46b are formed in a horizontal row.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a support for fixing the variable display member 47 is provided protruding from the back thereof. As shown in FIG. 5, the variable display member 47 is attached and fixed behind the mounting surface 46 even when it is attached to the substrate 47a. As shown in FIG. 4, this variable display member 47 has three indicators arranged in a horizontal row. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
LEDB and LEDC are used. Each display
LEDA, LEDB, and LEDC are each positioned so as to face the display window 46b of the mounting surface 46. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the guiding surface 40b
A display window 40d is also formed in the center of the display window. Another variable display member 48 is attached behind this display window 40d. This variable display member 48 has one indicator LEDD. This indicator LEDD is also a segment type indicator using light emitting diodes. As shown in FIG. 5, this variable display member 48 is positioned and fixed together with its mounting board 48a by screws 43d. Here, the above segment type display LEDA,
LEDB, LEDC, and LEDD are each a type of character display element, and are configured so that a plurality of types of characters can be arbitrarily and variably displayed by combining segments that are driven to emit light. In this example, as the character,
Arabic numerals from 0 to 9 are used.
Therefore, the above segment type display LEDA,
LEDB, LEDC, and LEDD are configured such that each display can display any number from 0 to 9 depending on the combination of its segments. Note that the above-mentioned character may be characters other than numbers, a symbol mark, a picture, or the like. Furthermore, as shown in FIG.
At the bottom of the game, four memory display lamps LED1 to LED4 are arranged in a row horizontally to display the number of batted balls that have won in the aforementioned specific winning openings 7 and 8 (FIGS. 2 and 3). These memory indicator lamps
As shown in FIG. 5, the LEDs 1 to 4 are exposed through a through window 42d formed at the bottom of the recessed wall 42. As described above, the variable display member 47 and the memory display lamps LED1 to LED4 are all arranged at a position set back from the game board 1 surface. This is because the display member on which the variable display member 47 and the memory display lamps LED1 to LED4 appear is an alternating current surface, and the exchange of balls occurs frequently, so this is to protect them from being hit by the ball and prevent them from being damaged. It's for a reason. In addition, in order to widen the visual range in which the variable display member 47 can be seen from the front, the recess forming wall 4
The variable display member 47 is tilted in a widening shape from the back toward the front side, and its inner wall surface is plated so that the display contents of the variable display member 47 can be clearly displayed.
Furthermore, the inner surface of the recess 42a formed by the recess forming wall 42 allows the external incident light to reflect on the surface and enter the player's field of view, so that the variable display member 4
In order to prevent the number 7 from becoming difficult to see, it is tilted slightly upward (approximately 8 to 10 degrees) with respect to the vertical plane. On the other hand, on both sides of the guiding plane 40b, a fourth
As shown in the figure, a pair of jackpot display illumination means 27 made of semi-transparent colored members are provided. A lamp (not shown) which is a light source of this jackpot display illumination means 27 is mounted inside the illumination means 27 using a mounting board 27a and screws 43c, as shown in FIG. Although not shown, the mounting board 27a is attached to a post protruding from the back side of the board of the variable display device 4 via a cushion material so as to improve ventilation. This makes it possible to absorb vibrations caused by the light source lamp and to efficiently dissipate heat generated from the lamp. The variable display device 4 configured as described above is activated (triggered) by the start switch SW1 (FIG. 3) which detects winning balls entering the specific winning holes 7 and 8. When the variable display device 4 is activated, the four indicators LEDA, LEDB, and the variable display members 47 and 48 disposed therein are activated.
The display contents of LEDC and LEDD can be changed from a static state to a fluctuating state. And each indicator LEDA,
For each LEDB, LEDC, and LEDD, the displayed numbers will change (update) regularly like 0, 1, 2, 3, . . . 9, 0, 1, 2, . . . In this state of fluctuation display, the stop switch SW2
When a stop signal is received from (Figure 2) or after a certain amount of time has passed after the state of fluctuation has passed, the changes in the displayed numbers for each display LEDA, LEDB, LEDC, and LEDD will stop in sequence at regular intervals. I'm going to be done. Then, the state returns from the fluctuating state to the stationary state. If the four numbers that appear on each display LEDA, LEDB, LEDC, and LEDD when this display stops changing are in a specific combination (roll), this will give you a special benefit. is generated. In this embodiment, for example, all the numbers on the variable display member 47 are "1", "3", "5",
If you get ``7'' or ``9'', that is, if you get the same number (zorome), you win the jackpot.
The first specific aspect is called. In addition, when any three of the four numbers on the variable display members 47, 48 become "1", "3", "5", "7" or "9", " The second specific mode is called "mid hit". For other rolls, the specific aspect will not occur. On the other hand, the jackpot display lighting means 27 on both sides of the variable display device 4 are connected to the variable display members 47 and 48.
While the display is changing, it is driven to blink. Furthermore, if a "big hit" or "medium hit" state occurs at the time when the display members 47, 48 stop changing, the blinking speed is controlled to become faster. In addition, a memory display lamp at the bottom of the variable display device 4
LED1 to LED4 are controlled to light up as many times as the number of reservations on the variable display section. 6 to 9 show detailed configuration examples of the special variable prize winning device 5 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The special variable prize winning device 5 shown in the figure first has a mounting board 50 for mounting on the game board 1.
This mounting board 50 can be mounted to the game board 1 by using mounting holes 54 provided on its periphery. As shown in FIG. 7, a horizontally elongated opening 50a is formed in the center of the mounting board 50. As shown in FIG. Immediately below this opening 50a is a window 50b.
is formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, this opening 50a accommodates a fan-shaped special variable winning slot 51 that can be opened and closed. Further, a back plate 52 is attached behind the mounting board 50, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8. This back plate 52 is attached so as to cover the opening 50a from the back side. This back plate 52 has
As shown in FIG. 8, an opening window 52b corresponding to the center of the opening 50a is punched out. Further, on the back side of the mounting board 50, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, a surrounding frame 54 is integrally formed. As shown in FIG. 8, the surrounding frame 54 extends from the upper edge of the opening 50a to the window 50.
It is formed along both left and right edges of b. The back plate 52 is fixed to the rear end of the surrounding frame 54 with screws 55. Further, on both sides of the enclosing frame 54, eighth
As shown in the figure, a winning ball guiding gutter 54a is formed. This winning ball guide gutter 54a is connected to the mounting board 5
0 at positions corresponding to the pair of winning devices 53 on the front side. Then, the winning hole 53a acts to guide the winning batted ball to the back of the game board. Furthermore, winning devices 53 are separably mounted on the left and right sides of the mounting board 50, respectively. Each winning device 53 includes a rotating member 70 and an illumination means 53, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, respectively.
b is provided. The winning device 53 also has a winning opening 53a that opens upward at the upper end of the winning device 53.
are provided for each. This winning hole 53a constitutes a general winning hole as described above. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, through holes 50e are formed in the mounting board 50 at positions corresponding to the pair of winning devices 53. An illumination lamp 28 serving as a light source for the illumination means 53b is inserted into the through hole 50e. The verification lamp 28 is mounted and fixed to the boss portion 50f on the back surface of the mounting board 50 while being mounted and fixed to the board 28a via the socket. Its installation/
Fixing is performed using the mounting hole 28b of the board 28a and the screw 28c. Here, the special variable winning slot 51 is opened and closed in response to a specific aspect of the variable display device 4, and as shown in FIG. It is attached so that it can be opened and closed in the front and rear directions. This special variable winning slot 51
When the opening, as shown in FIG. 7, a special variable winning opening 80, which is much wider than the general winning opening, is temporarily opened. In this special variable prize opening 80, there is a through prize opening 82 which brings only a normal winning profit in which a predetermined number of prize balls are paid out, and a continuous prize which brings the right to continuation and extension of the above-mentioned specific aspect. A mouth 81 is formed. In addition, one side of the special variable winning slot 51 (the seventh
An actuating piece 51a is formed on the right side in the figure. The end of the actuating piece 51a projects from a long hole 52a formed in the back plate 52 to the back side of the back plate 52. Then, it is adapted to be engaged with an electromagnetic solenoid, which will be described later, via a transmission member 65. As a result, the special variable prize receiving slot 51 is driven to open and close via its operating piece 51a. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the special variable winning hole 51 is raised rearward, thereby closing the special variable winning hole. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the fan-shaped special variable winning hole 51 is tilted forward to open the special variable winning hole. Below, on the back side of the mounting board 50, there is a window 50.
A pair of winning ball guiding members 56a and 56b having a substantially L shape are formed along the lower edge of the ball. Each tip of the pair of winning ball guiding members 56a, 56b is
They are placed facing each other at a distance of approximately one sphere. Furthermore, one of the winning ball guiding members 56a
An engagement recess 57a is formed at the tip. Along with this, an engaging portion 57b is formed below the base end side of the other winning ball guiding member 56b. A detector SW4 for detecting and counting the number of winning balls into the special variable winning hole 80 is mounted and held by the engaging portion 57b and the engaging recess 57a. This detector SW4 is a so-called 10-count detector, and here a non-contact type proximity switch is used. This 10
The count detector SW4 has a detection section 31 at its tip.
The guide members 56a and 56b are mounted so that the guide members 56a and 56b are provided with the guide members 56a and 56b facing within the space between their ends. As a result, this detector SW4 has the above-mentioned guiding members 56a and 56b.
The winning balls guided by the ball can be detected one by one. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a sorting room 58 is formed within the special variable prize opening 80. This sorting room 58 is surrounded by the surrounding frame 54 (FIG. 8) on its top, bottom, right and left, and by winning ball guide members 56a and 56b (FIG. 8) on its lower side. The winning balls that have entered the sorting room 58 are transferred to the winning ball guiding member 56
A and 56b align and guide the particles and allow them to flow down one by one through the detection section 31a of the 10-count detector SW4. After passing through the detector 31a, the winning ball is guided to one side (to the right in FIG. 8) by an arcuate direction regulating portion 50d shown in FIG. The arc-shaped direction regulating portion 50d is integrally formed at the lower part of the back surface of the mounting board 50, as shown in FIG. Here, on the front surface of the back plate 52, as shown in FIG. 7, a pair of guide plates 52c are formed on both side edges of a window 52b formed in the center thereof. By this guide plate 52c, the upper part of the sorting room 58 is divided and separated into the above-mentioned continuous winning opening 81 and normal winning opening 82. Further, on the back surface of the back plate 52, as shown in FIG. 8, a support protrusion 52d is formed along the upper end of the opening window 52b on the back surface. A sensing piece 60 is swingably suspended from the support protrusion 52d via a pin 59. This sensing piece 6
0, the opening window 5 is swingably hung down.
It is urged to go in and out of the continuation prize opening 81 shown in FIG. 7 from inside 2b. As a result, the batted ball that enters the continuation winning slot 81 (Fig. 7) is guided by a pair of guide plates 52c, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and forwards from the rear opening window 52b. After rotating the sensing piece 60 protruding backward, the sensing piece 60 flows downward toward the detection part 31a of the 10-count detector SW4, where it is detected one by one along with the batted balls that have won in the normal winning hole 82. It is starting to be counted. As shown in FIG. 8, the sensing piece 60 is a continuation condition detection switch SW consisting of a micro switch.
Due to the elasticity of the actuator 32a of No. 3, the actuator 32a is weakly elastically biased so as to protrude forward from the opening window 52b. This continuation condition detection switch SW3 is for detecting a hit ball that has won in the continuation winning slot 81, and is attached to the back plate 52 via an L-shaped attachment member 61. The continuation condition detection switch SW3 is positioned such that its actuator 32a comes into contact with a pressing portion 60a bulged on the back surface of the sensing piece 60. The upper end of the sensing piece 60 is formed with a pin hole 60b into which the pin 59 is inserted, and a stopper portion 60c that projects rearward to restrict the range of rotation of the sensing piece 60. Further, the support pin 59 of the sensing piece 60 that is engaged with the support projection 52d is prevented from coming off by fixing a rotation regulating portion 62a integrally formed on the pressing member 62 to the support projection 52d. Further, the continuation condition fulfillment display section 29 is inserted into the slit section 62d on one side of the holding member 62. This continuation condition fulfillment display portion 29 is held and protected by a protection member 63 fixed to the boss portion 62c of the presser member 62. The batted ball that enters the continuation winning slot is placed in the opening window 52.
d, it passes while pushing away the sensing piece 60. During this passage, the continuation condition detection switch SW
3 is activated and a detection signal is emitted for each ball. After this, along with the batted ball that won the normal winning hole 82, the detection unit 3 of the count detector SW4
They are guided to 1a and detected one by one. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a continuation condition fulfillment display section 29 is attached to the back plate 52. This continuation condition fulfillment display section 29 is arranged so as to face into the opening window 52b. This continuation condition fulfillment display section 29 is driven to light up in response to a detection signal from the continuation condition detection switch SW3. This allows the player to know the establishment of the special conditions under which the right to continue or extend the specific aspect described above is granted. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a pair of boss portions 52f are formed on both sides of the elongated hole 52a on the rear surface of the back plate 52. This boss 52
As shown in FIG. 9, at f, a support shaft 65a of the transmission member 65 is supported by a mounting piece 64 so as to be movable up and down. The transmission member 65 has a "h" shape. Its tip portion projects forward from the elongated hole 52a. Furthermore, the transmission member 65
The tip of the actuating piece 51c is adapted to come into contact with the upper surface of the rear end of the actuating piece 51c. This operating piece 51c is formed in the special variable prize receiving hole 51 (FIG. 7). Further, the upper end of the transmission member 65 is in contact with the operating end of a plunger 66a of an electromagnetic solenoid SOL. This electromagnetic solenoid SOL serves as a driving source for the special variable prize winning device 5. In FIG. 9, when the electromagnetic solenoid SOL is in a non-driven state, the plunger 66a is pushed down by its return spring 66b, thereby pushing the transmission member 65 downward. Then, as imagined by the dotted line in Fig. 9, the actuating piece 5
The rear end side of 1c is pushed down to close the special variable winning slot 51. As a result, the opening 50a is closed, and therefore the special variable prize opening 80 is also closed. On the other hand, when the electromagnetic solenoid SOL is energized and driven by the occurrence of a specific mode in the variable display device 4 or the right to continue, the plunger 66
a is driven upward. As a result, the pressing force of the transmission member 65 is released, and the special variable winning slot 51 falls forward under its own weight. As a result, the opening 50a is opened wide and the special variable prize opening 8
0 will be created temporarily. As described above, the special variable prize winning device 5 is electrically opened and closed depending on the occurrence of a specific mode in the variable display device 4 and the above-mentioned right to continue. Next, an embodiment of a control portion of a pachinko game machine to which the present invention is applied will be shown. FIG. 10 shows the overall hardware configuration of a control device 100 for a pachinko game machine according to the present invention. FIG. 11 shows the waveform of the reset pulse φt and the operating state of the CPU 210 using a timing chart. FIG. 12 shows means for generating the reset pulse φt. FIG. 13 shows details around the I/O unit 240 of the control device 200. FIG. 14 shows the configuration of the scale generating means 257 within the I/O unit 240. First, in FIG. 10, the control device 200 of the pachinko game machine 300 described above is constructed using a program-storable CPU (central processing unit: microcomputer) 210 implemented as a semiconductor integrated circuit device. That is, the control device 200 shown in FIG.
CPU 210, ROM (read-only storage device) 22
0, RAM (Random Access Memory) 23
0, address decoder 240, I/O (input/output)
unit 250, clock signal generating means 280,
Reset signal generating means 290, address bus LA,
It consists of a data bus LD, logic gate GI, etc. The CPU 210 is an 8-bit type (model number: Z80). This CPU210
are address terminals (A ₀ to A ₁₅ ), data terminals (D ₀
~ _D7 ), a read control terminal RD, a write control terminal WR, a clock terminal CK, and a reset terminal R. Other important functional terminals include an interrupt input terminal (not shown). However, the interrupt terminal is not used here.
Instead, a reset terminal R is used. How to use the reset terminal R will be described later. In addition, CPU2 used here
10 (Z80) has 16 address terminals (A ₀ to _{A 15} )
It has an address space of 64k bytes. However, only about 2k bytes of that data is used here. The ROM 220 stores programs executed by the CPU 210 and fixed data. this
The ROM 220 used has a storage capacity of 2 kbytes. This 2k byte capacity is CPU2
Compared to the address space of 10 (Z80), which is 64k bytes, the capacity is extremely small. The RAM 230 provides a work area for the CPU 210 and a variable data storage area. A static type RAM 230 is used. Its storage capacity is kept very small, only 128 bytes. In this case, since 128 bytes of RAM is difficult to obtain, 1k bytes of RAM is actually used. By fixing the upper address terminal of this 1k byte RAM to the power supply potential side, the actual usable storage capacity is kept to 128 bytes. As mentioned above, ROM220 and RAM23
The storage capacity of each 0 is kept very small. This makes it possible to reliably eliminate the possibility of soft errors known as bugs, and also to reduce the possibility of malfunctions such as CPU runaway or jumping into an infinite loop. This can be significantly reduced. This makes it possible to obtain extremely high reliability even under electrically and physically harsh operating environments. Furthermore, by minimizing the storage capacity of the ROM 220 and RAM 230, it becomes difficult to modify the system by adding additional programs. Even if a modification were made, it would be easy to discover and check because the storage capacity is small. This also provides the effect of preventing the Pachinko game machine from being misused due to unauthorized modification. The address decoder 240 decodes address data (A ₀ -A ₁₁ ) issued from the CPU 210 to generate a plurality of alternative selection signals S1 - S9. The decoding operation is performed by activating either the read control signal (RD) or the write control signal (WD). These two control signals (RD/WD) are issued from the CPU 210. Both signals (RD/WD) are logic gates
Each other's logic is taken by G1. This logical sum becomes a control signal for the address decoder 240. A portion (S8, S9) of the selection signals S1 to S9 output from the address decoder 240 are
It is used as a chip select signal for ROM 220 and RAM 230. In addition, another selection signal S
1 to S7 are used to control input/output circuits within the I/O unit 250, which will be described later. In other words,
Here, a so-called memory mapped I/O method is adopted in which input/output channels are arranged in an address space. By adopting this memory mapped I/O method, arbitrary input/output can be performed by simply accessing a specific address without having to perform complex procedures such as opening and closing input/output channels. It is designed to perform input/output operations from the circuit. Note that the memory mapped I/O method had problems such as a part of the address space being occupied by the I/O area and becoming narrow, making it difficult to adopt it in general microcomputer systems. . However, in the control device 200 of this actual example, as described above, the ROM 220 and the RAM
Since the storage capacity of each of the 230 is very small, the above problem does not have to be considered at all. The I/O unit 250 forms an interface (I/F) between the control device 200 and the pachinko gaming machine main body 300. This I/O unit 25
0 is provided with a large number of input/output circuits, as will be described later. The operation of each input/output circuit is individually controlled by the selection signals S1 to S7. The individual configurations of the input/output circuits will be described later, but for example, decoders, latch circuits, drivers, buffer gates, amplifiers, etc. are used. The clock generating means 280 generates a high precision clock pulse φk of, for example, 2 MHz by using a crystal resonator Xtal (4 MHz) as a frequency reference.
This clock pulse φk is applied to the clock terminal CK of the CPU 210. The reset signal generating means 290 generates a reset pulse φt of a constant period from the clock pulse φk. This reset pulse φt is applied to the CPU 21 mentioned above.
0 reset terminal R. This reset signal generation signal means 290 is constructed simply and on a small scale by a counter or the like. In this case, the reset pulse φt has a duty width, that is, a pulse width of the CPU 21.
It has a length that can reliably reset 0. Further, the pulse generation interval, that is, the period, is set to be reliably longer than the processing time for the CPU 210 to execute a set of program instructions stored in the ROM. FIG. 11 shows the waveform of the reset pulse φt and the operating state of the CPU 210 in time correspondence with each other. The reset pulse φt shown in FIG. 11 has a pulse width of 15 μs and a period of 3 ms. This 15μs
The pulse width is sufficient to ensure that the CPU 210 is reset. Further, the period of 3 ms is sufficient time for the CPU 210 to execute all the instructions stored in the ROM 220. Further, as shown in FIG. 11 in time correspondence with the reset pulse φt, the CPU 210
Each time a series of program instructions written in the ROM 220 is completed, it is forcibly reset to a complete initial state.
As a result, even if the CPU 210 were to malfunction, such as running out of control or entering an infinite loop, the CPU 210 would be automatically restored to normal operating condition by being reset every 3 ms. As a result, the worst situations that were feared in CPU-based control systems, such as runaway or entering an infinite loop, can be reliably avoided. In other words, a kind of failsafe works here, ensuring that at least the normal operating state of the CPU 210 is maintained. In this way, the reliability necessary for a pachinko gaming machine is ensured. Furthermore, since the reset interval of the CPU 210 is a constant cycle, the number of resets can be
By storing the information in the RAM 230, a so-called soft timer function can be easily configured. Furthermore, since the reset interval is relatively long, for example 3 ms, the relatively long timer time, for example several seconds to tens of seconds, can be adjusted by allocating a small storage area of 1 or 2 bytes. Therefore, it can be configured very easily and concisely. For example, if the above reset interval is 3ms,
By allocating 1 byte of the RAM area to the timer area, the timer time from 3ms to 0.768 seconds can be obtained (3ms x 2 ⁸ = 768m
s=0.768 seconds). Allocating 2 more bytes,
You can get the timer time from 3ms to 196.608 seconds (3ms× ²⁸ × ²⁸ =196608ms=
196.608 seconds). As a result, even if the RAM area is only 128 bytes, it is now possible to easily configure a large number of timer functions necessary to individually control various functions within the pachinko gaming machine main body 300. . Incidentally, the relatively long timer time of several seconds to several tens of seconds required to control the operation of the above-mentioned special variable prize winning device 5 (Figures 2 and 6 to 9) can be obtained with just 2 bytes of RAM area. be able to. In FIG. 11, the halt state (standby state) is maintained from the time the program commands are executed until the next reset. This halt state is set by executing a halt instruction at the end of the program. In other words, the above program ends with a halt instruction. FIG. 12 shows an example of the configuration of the reset pulse generating means 290 (FIG. 10) that generates the reset pulse φt. As shown in the figure, the reset pulse generating means 290 includes a preliminary frequency dividing circuit 291, a counter 292, and a logic gate (AND gate) G2.
It can be easily configured by In the figure, Cin indicates a count input, and Cout indicates a count-up output. With the configuration described above, reliability as a pachinko game machine can be ensured, and various functions necessary for controlling the operations of the pachinko game machine can be configured. Next, the configuration near the I/O unit 250 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 13, the I/O unit 250 includes a buffer gate 25 as an input/output circuit.
1. Latch circuits 252-256 are provided. The operations of these input/output circuits (251-256) are controlled by the selection signals S1-S6 mentioned above. In addition, each input/output circuit (251 to 256) is connected to the CPU 210 (10th
(Fig.) is connected. Pachinko machine body 30
Data exchanged between the 0 side and the control device 200 side is carried on the data bus LD. Furthermore, the above input/output circuit (251
256), a scale generating means 257 is provided. The operation of this scale generating means 257 is also controlled by the selection signal S7 mentioned above. Among the input/output circuits (251 to 256), the buffer gate 251 constitutes an input circuit. This buffer gate 251 is connected to the pachinko game machine main body 300.
The control device 200 receives detection signals from various detection means (SW1 to SW4, etc.) provided on the side.
It is placed on the internal data bus LD. In this case, the detection means include the aforementioned start switch SW1,
Stop switch SW2, continuation condition detection switch
There is SW3, 10 count detector SW4 (3rd,
Figure 7). Furthermore, among the input/output circuits (251 to 256), latch circuits 252 to 256 form output circuits. Furthermore, latch circuits 252 and 254 therein
each has a decoder. These decoders decode each display data of the light emitting diode type segment type displays LEDA to LEDE on the pachinko game machine main body 300 side. The display data is given from CPU 210 via data bus LD. The functions of each output circuit (252-256) are as follows. That is, the latch circuits 252 and 253 dynamically drive the segment type displays LEDA to LEDD of the variable display device 4 (FIGS. 2 to 5) described above. The display data is the data bus
Given from the CPU via LD. Note that each latch circuit 252, 253 is attached with a driver 262, 263, respectively, for increasing the driving force of its output. The latch circuit 254 is a segment type indicator LEDE.
Display drive. As mentioned above, this indicator LEDE displays the continuation circuit of the special right when a specific form of "jackpot" occurs. The display data is given from the CPU via the data bus LD. The latch circuit 255 individually drives the memory display lamps LED1 to LED4 made of light emitting diodes to turn on. Control data for the lighting is given from the CPU via the data bus LD. The memory display lamps LED1 to LED4 are used, as described above, to display the number of reserved batted balls that have won the specific prize openings 7 and 8 (FIGS. 2 and 3). The latch circuit 256 individually drives the drive source and display means on the pachinko gaming machine main body 300 side via the driver 266. The driving source in this case is the electromagnetic solenoid 66 (FIG. 9) that drives the special variable winning device 5 mentioned above to open. In this case, the display means is the continuation condition fulfillment display section 29 (the third,
Figure 9). Further, the scale generating means 257 generates a sound source having a predetermined scale. The generated sound source is the amplifier 26
7, and is applied to the speaker SP for generating sound effects on the pachinko gaming machine main body 300 side. The scale of this sound source is set by data given from the CPU via the data bus LD. FIG. 14 shows the configuration of the scale generating means 257. As shown in the figure, the scale generating means 257
is a latch circuit 257 that holds scale setting data.
a and a presettable counter 257b. The latch circuit 257a holds scale setting data given from the CPU via the data bus LD. This latch circuit 257a is connected to the selection signal S
The data on the data bus LD when 7 becomes valid is read and held. The held data is preset to the count contents of the presettable counter 257b. The presettable counter 257b is a type of down counter, and is decremented by one by the clock pulse φk. The initial count contents are preset by the latch circuit 257a. Each time the preset count is decremented to "0", the data held in the latch circuit 257a is newly preset. Here, the presettable counter 257b
The output state of the carry terminal (count output terminal) Crry changes from H (high level) to L (low level) or L (low level) every time the count content is decremented by "0". to H (high level) alternately. As a result, a signal that alternately transitions between H (high level) and L (low level) is obtained from the carry terminal Crry. This signal is now used as the above-mentioned sound source. This sound source is amplified by an amplifier 267 and given to a speaker SP for generating sound effects on the pachinko gaming machine main body 300 side. At this time, the scale of the sound source is determined by the preset value. Furthermore, if the preset value is small, the period of the above-mentioned transition becomes longer and the pitch becomes lower. Also,
When the preset value is small, the period of the above-mentioned transition becomes short and the pitch becomes high. The preset value is then set to the CPU 21 above.
It can be arbitrarily set variably by 0 (FIG. 10). Thereby, the control device 200 can arbitrarily generate a sound effect such as a fanfare sound in the pachinko game machine main body 300. Note that the presettable counter 257b may be an up counter. Next, the software configuration of the above-mentioned control device 200 will be explained together with its operation. FIG. 15 shows the control device 200 (10th,
Fig. 11) shows the entire processing flowchart. FIG. 16 shows an enlarged part of the processing flowchart. First, the following Table 1 shows the CPU 2 of the control device 200.
10 (FIG. 10) shows the allocation contents of the address space accessed by the memory map. Note that the address is expressed in hexadecimal numbers from O to F. In Table 1 below, the range of addresses accessed by the CPU 210 is the range of addresses that the CPU (Z80) 210 has.
64k byte address space (addresses 0000 to FFFF)
The address is between 0000 and 4000. Of these, 2k bytes from addresses 0000 to 07FF are
Allocated to ROM area. Also, from 0800
128 bytes up to address 087F are allocated to the RAM area. And 1000, 18000, 2000,
An I/O area of 1 byte is allocated to 2800, 3000, 3800, and 4000, respectively. In this case, the gaps between each I/O area are not used. Therefore,
The size of the address space that the CPU 210 actually accesses is only about 2 kbytes.

【table】

[Table] Also, the following Table 2 shows the RAM 220 (10th
The variable storage contents of Figure 1) are shown by a memory map.

[Table] Next, the operation of the control device 200 described above will be explained with reference to FIG. 15 and Tables 1 and 2 above. In FIG. 15, the CPU 2 of the control device 200
10 is the reset pulse φt (10th, 1st
1 and 12), the device is forcibly reset by hardware. This reset causes the CPU to start up from a completely initial state. When the CPU is started from the initial state by resetting, it first loads ROM2.
Access is started from 20, and the program instructions stored there are sequentially read and executed. As a result, a series of processes shown in FIG. 15 are started. When execution of a program instruction begins, the stack pointer is first set (R1). Next, it is checked whether start data indicating the beginning of the backup area (addresses 0838 to 0843) and end data indicating the end thereof have been set (R2-R3-R14-R15). Here, in the first operation after the control device 200 is cold started (started by turning on the power), initial settings of the program are performed (R17).
In this initial setting, all variable data such as output data and count data stored in the I/O area are initialized. After this, the above start data and end data are set (written) (R11).
This start data and end data are stored in RAM
A value such as A5 (10100101 in binary) that can reliably reflect the storage error of 230 is used. Furthermore, after transferring the initialized data to the backup area, the CPU executes a halt instruction to stop the processing itself (R12-R13). Then, it is reset by the next reset pulse φt. The operating state of the control device 200 is initialized as described above. After this initialization of the control device 200 is performed,
Each time the reset pulse φt is issued, the CPU
Main routines R1 to R13 are executed sequentially.
In this main routine, as shown in FIG. 15, the following processing is executed. R1: Set stack pointer. R2, R3: Check the end data of the backup area. R4: Start switch SW1, stop switch
Input processing is performed to detect the rise of SW2, continuation condition detection switch SW3, and 10 count detector SW4, respectively. This is done by referring to the previous detection signal and each current state. The state of the previous detection signal is stored in the buffer area. This memory state is constantly updated. R5: Memory processing of the number of activations of the start switch SW1. The variable display device 4 (FIGS. 2 to 7) described above is
It is activated by the specific winning ball detection operation of the start switch SW1. In this processing routine,
The number of winning balls, that is, the number of times the start switch SW1 is operated, is stored until the variable display operation of the activated variable display device 4 is stopped. If the number of operations is stored, that is, if the stored value is 1 or more, the variable display device 4 is activated again after the variable display operation is completed. When the variable display device 4 is restarted, the stored value is decremented by one. That is, in this processing routine, processing is performed to preserve the right to start the game resulting from winning in the specific winning openings 7 and 8 (FIGS. 2 and 3). R6: Performs illegality check processing of 10 count detector SW4. It is logically determined whether the function of the 10-count detector SW4 is impaired due to a disconnection or short circuit of its connection or wiring, based on the input state from the detector SW4. R7: Update the timer values of various timers stored in the RAM area. R8: Set the operating parameters (scale data) of the scale generation means 257. In this processing routine, processing is performed to output scale setting data for generating sound effects such as fanfare. R9: Controls various display means and electromagnetic solenoids. In this processing routine, the above-mentioned jackpot display lighting means 27 and continuation condition fulfillment display section 29
(Figures 3 and 8) and the electromagnetic solenoid in the special variable winning device 5 mentioned above.
Drive control of SOL (Figure 9) is performed. R10: Performs various determination and control processes related to winning. Here, operation control of the variable display device 4,
And a series of processes related to the occurrence of specific aspects such as "big hit" and "medium hit" are performed. The detailed contents of this routine R10 are shown in FIG. R11: Performs setting (writing) processing of start data and end data indicating the beginning and end of the backup area described above. R12: Performs processing to transfer variable data such as output data to the backup area. After the main routines R1 to R12 described above have been executed, a halt instruction is executed in the final processing routine R13. This causes it to enter a standby state in which it stops continuing the process. Furthermore, if an error occurs in the end data due to some abnormality during the execution of the main routines R1 to R12 described above, the routines R14 to R15, which check the start routine from the routines R2 to R3 that check the end data, are executed. Branching is taking place. If an error occurs in the start data in the branched routine R14-R15, the routine R14 for initializing the program is re-executed, and the control device 200
The state will be returned to the state immediately after the cold start. In this way, fail-safe operation is performed to guide the control state of the control device 200 in a safe direction even if an abnormality occurs. On the other hand, if the error occurs only in the end data and there is no abnormality in the start data, routine R16 is executed and the backed up data is retransferred to the main work area 0800 to 080A of the CPU. Become. As a result, if the degree of error is minor, it is possible to automatically return to normal operation while preserving the intermediate state of control. FIG. 16 shows a detailed flowchart of the above entry prize processing routine R10. As shown in the figure, this winning processing routine R10
consists of subroutines R101 to R122, and includes processing related to a specific winning, that is, the variable display device 4.
A series of controls related to the operation control and the occurrence of the specific mode are executed using process numbers 1 to 8. In other words, the above-mentioned start switch SW1 and stop switch
A process number is set based on the detection states of SW2, continuation condition detection switch SW3, and 10 count detector SW4. Then, by selectively executing a subroutine prepared in accordance with the set processing number, it is possible to cause the above-mentioned pachinko gaming machine to perform a specific winning-related processing operation. . Here, the processing number is set to any one from No. 0 to No. 8. In this case, in processing No. 0, No. 1
Only a check is made as to whether or not the operation start condition No. 8 is satisfied, and no processing related to a specific winning is performed. Processing related to specific winnings starts from No.1
This is performed when any processing number up to No. 8 is set. The following subroutines R111 to R118 are prepared corresponding to each process number from No. 1 to No. 8. That is, when the process number is set to No. 1, routine R111 is executed. this routine
In R111, processing for starting the variable display device 4 is performed based on the detection of the start switch SW1. After executing this process, the next process number No. 2
is set. If the processing number is set to No.2, the routine
R112 is executed. In this routine R112, processing is performed to stop the operation of the variable display device 4 in stages based on the detection of the stop switch SW2. At this time, a process is performed in which a randomly set time is partially inserted into the time until the display operation stops. This randomizes the display contents after the operation is stopped. After executing this process, the next process number is No. 3.
is set. If the processing number is set to No.3, the routine
R113 is executed. In this routine R113, processing is performed to determine whether or not a specific mode has occurred based on the result of stopping the variable display device 4. The determination is made based on the stopped display content. If a specific form of “jackpot” is determined, the processing number
No.5 is set. Further, if a specific mode of "mid-hit" is determined, processing number No. 6 is set. In other cases of loss, processing number No. 8 is set. If the processing number is set to No. 4, the routine
R114 is executed. In this routine R114,
Control processing when a specific aspect of "jackpot" occurs, for example, control to open the special variable prize winning device 5 is performed. In addition, timer processing is also performed, thereby limiting the opening driving time to a relatively long predetermined time (about 30 seconds). Furthermore, blinking driving processing for the related display means is also performed. After execution of this routine R114, process number No. 7 is set in order to determine whether or not to continue. If the processing number is set to No.5, the routine
R115 is set. In this routine R115, the operating parameters of the scale generating means 257 are set to perform a process of generating a fanfare sound accompanying the occurrence of a specific form of a "jackpot". After execution of this routine R115, process number No. 4 is set. If the processing number is set to No. 6, the routine
R116 is executed. In this routine R116,
Control processing when a specific mode of "medium hit" occurs, for example, control to open the special variable prize winning device 5 is performed. In addition, timer processing is also performed, thereby limiting the opening drive time to within a relatively long predetermined time (about 6 seconds). Furthermore, blinking driving processing for the related display means is also performed. Processing number No. 8 is set after the predetermined time has elapsed. If the processing number is set to No.7, the routine
R117 is executed. In this routine R117, the special variable prize winning device 5 is re-driven based on the detection of the continuation condition detection switch SW3. This process is executed when a specific form of "jackpot" occurs. After execution of this routine R117, the next processing number No. 8 is set. If the processing number is set to No.8, the routine
R118 is executed. In this routine R118,
Processing is performed after the “big hit” or “medium hit” state ends. When the "medium hit" operation is completed, the processing number is set to No. 0 after a delay time of about 1 second. Furthermore, when the "jackpot" operation is completed, a delay time of about 3 seconds is set, and if it is confirmed that the conditions for continuing the "jackpot" state are satisfied during that time, the processing number is set to No. 4. If the continuation condition is not satisfied, process number No. 0 is set. Here, the series of winning-related processes described above are started by setting process number No. 1. This No. 1 processing number is set when there is a memory of the number of times the start switch SW1 has been turned ON (routine
R109, R120). As above, while updating the process number,
A winning-related process involving operation control of the variable display device 4 and occurrence of a specific mode is performed. In this embodiment, the game machine is described as a pachinko game machine, but it is not limited to a pachinko game machine as long as it is controlled using a microcomputer, and may be a slot game machine or an arrangement ball machine. A gaming machine using a control device such as the above may also be used. [Effects] As clarified below in the description of the embodiments, the pachinko game machine according to the present invention is provided with a reset signal generating means for completely initializing the microcomputer by resetting it at regular intervals. Even if a program with a simple software configuration, i.e. a small program in which errors or unauthorized modifications are easily detected, malfunctions peculiar to microcomputers, i.e. abnormalities such as runaway or jumping into an infinite loop, occur. The effect is that automatic return to a normal state or automatic avoidance to a safe state is carried out reliably, so-called fail-safe, which ensures high reliability that can withstand use under harsh operating environments. is obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the main structure of the invention in accordance with the claims, and Fig. 2 shows the entire pachinko game machine main body according to an embodiment of the invention as viewed from the front. 3 is a diagram showing the game board taken out, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the front side of the variable display device disposed on the game board, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the variable display device of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the closed state of the special variable winning device disposed on the game board as seen from the front, and FIG. 7 is a side view showing the special variable winning device in the open state. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the back side of the special variable winning device, FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of the special variable winning device, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the state seen from the front. A block diagram showing an embodiment of the control device portion of the pachinko gaming machine shown in FIGS. 2 to 9, FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing the operating state of the control device, and FIG. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the reset pulse generating means provided, FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram showing details around the I/O unit of the control device, and FIG.
The figure is a circuit diagram showing an example of the configuration of the scale generating means provided in the I/O unit, FIG. 15 is a processing flowchart for explaining the configuration of the control device, and FIG. 16 is the flowchart of FIG. 15. This is a flowchart showing a part of the process in detail. 1...Game board, 4...Variable display device, 5...Special variable winning device, 200...Control device, 300...
...Pachinko machine main body, 210...Micro computer, 220...ROM, 230...
RAM, 240...Address decoder, 250...
...I/O unit, 257...scale generation means, 2
90...Reset signal generating means, φk...Basic clock pulse, φt...Reset pulse.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A control device for a gaming machine constituted by a microcomputer and its peripheral devices, comprising a reset signal generating means for generating a signal to reset the microcomputer at regular intervals. and a period of the reset signal emitted from the reset signal generating means is set to be longer than the processing time required for the microcomputer to execute the program in its entirety. Device. 2. The control device for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the microcomputer is further provided with a timer means for performing timer processing by counting the number of times the microcomputer is reset. 3. It is characterized by comprising means for determining the occurrence of an abnormal state based on the storage state of a specific area set in RAM (Random Access Memory) at the initial stage of the processing restarted each time the above-mentioned reset is performed. A control device for a gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2.