JP2001137526A - Sales control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system utilizing a cash type ball dispenser directly accepting cash as a device for feeding game balls to a CR pachinko machine, allowing the healthy management of a pachinko parlor without using a prepaid card, and making malicious modifications difficult. SOLUTION: When the communication paths between many cash type ball dispensers provided in the parlor and a sales control machine provided in the parlor and controlled by a control center are cut off, or when the operation of the sales control machine is stopped, the cash accepting actions of the cash type ball dispensers are automatically prohibited.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for soundly managing sales of pachinko parlors. The present invention relates to an apparatus for managing cash lending balls.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Although CR pachinko machines are widely used,
The CR pachinko machine operates at a high speed, and the amount of money per game player pays per hour increases, thereby increasing the resiliency and increasing the sales amount per game machine at a pachinko parlor. For this reason, a management center is set up under the supervision of the government, and a center device managed by a computer is placed here,
A system is adopted in which the status of lending balls at each store is automatically and almost in real time collected and recorded via a communication line.

[0003] Such an active system basically uses a prepaid card. Then, a lending machine called a CR sand is installed one-on-one on the CR pachinko machine, and the use state of the lending machine is connected to a sales management machine arranged in the store by one (or a small number) by an in-store communication path. The management device is configured to be connected to the center device of the management center via an outdoor communication line. And the current C
Rental ball machines called R sanders accept only prepaid cards, and do not accept cash. Issuance of prepaid cards is under the control of the management center.

[0004] Therefore, when a game player comes to a pachinko parlor, he or she puts cash into a vending machine for a prepaid card, purchases a prepaid card, goes to an amusement stand with the prepaid card, and inserts the prepaid card into a CR sandbox. And play.

[0005] By mandating the use of prepaid cards in this way, there was an aim to enable the government to grasp the sales of pachinko parlors. However, as is well known, a large number of counterfeit cards are used in prepaid cards. Was to happen. Currently, the digital code recorded on the magnetic stripe of the prepaid card is complicated, so that it cannot be easily forged, the prepaid card common throughout the country is abolished, and the type of prepaid card is limited to one store or a small number of By limiting the validity to each store group, care is taken to prevent large-scale forgery.

[0006]

The system in which the management center tallies and records sales for the sound management of pachinko parlors is an excellent system. However, the playing method that requires the purchase of a prepaid card is troublesome for a gamer and has a poor reputation. The pachinko industry is also concerned about the high cost of issuing prepaid cards for each store and the problem of forged prepaid cards, so it is desirable to be able to borrow balls directly from cash. ing.

[0007] The present invention has been made in such a background, and it is possible to pay out the ball-sending machine of the CR pachinko machine by cash, and correctly collect the sales amount of the ball-sending machine in the management center. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device capable of performing the above. The present invention aims at soundening the management of pachinko parlors. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a management device that eliminates the trouble of a gamer purchasing a prepaid card and does not use a prepaid card that may be counterfeited.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an apparatus to be applied to a CR pachinko machine and its lending machine. The present invention accepts cash directly instead of a prepaid card
A pachinko parlor is provided with a cash sand for supplying a lending ball to the R pachinko machine and a sales management machine connected to the cash sand through a (in-store) communication channel and counting the sales amount of the cash sand. Then, a center device connected to this sales management machine via an (outdoor) communication line is provided in the management center.

[0009] From the center device, it is possible to acquire and record the information of the sales amount counted by the sales management machine via the communication line. The features of the present invention are as follows: 1) When the sales management machine stops operating, for all of the cash sands connected to the sales management machine, 2) The communication path between the cash sand and the sales management machine is disconnected. Means for automatically stopping the operation of the cash sand connected to at least the disconnected communication path when the cash sand is disconnected.

That is, the apparatus of the present invention deliberately shuts down the power of the sales management machine or avoids communication paths with the sales management machine for some or all cash sands in order to avoid monitoring and aggregation by the management center. If you perform operations such as disconnecting, the operation of cash sand will automatically stop,
In effect, the store cannot be operated in a state of being missed from the management center.

There are various concrete methods for realizing this. For example, a connection detection terminal may be provided in a connector on the in-store communication path or the like, and when the connector is disconnected, the power of the cash sand is stopped because there is no signal passing through the connection detection terminal. Can be. However, in such a method, it is possible to operate the cash sand by evading the monitoring of the sales management machine by a simple modification based on malice.

[0012] The sales management machine of the present invention is provided with a means for autonomously accessing the subordinate cash sand through the communication path in accordance with a preset procedure, and automatically operates the cash sand. It is preferable that the means for stopping at a time include a means for prohibiting the acceptance of cash in the cash sand when there is no access by the access means for more than a predetermined time.

[0013] The sales management machine is provided with means for automatically recording the history of the operation status of the own device in a memory, and the history of the operation status recorded in the recording means is transmitted to the center via the communication line. It is desirable that the apparatus be configured to be obtainable.

According to this configuration, even when the operation of the sales management machine is intentionally stopped and the cash sand is operated by performing some kind of electric circuit setting, the business hours of the store based on information different from this device can be obtained. And support for such.

Further, the sales management machine is sealed and operated by the management center in order to prevent the setting of the sales management machine from being changed without permission. In order to prevent this seal from being broken and sanctions for breaking this seal, the management contract or management rules have been stipulated in advance, but when the sales management machine is opened, this is immediately sent to the management center. It is desirable to be able to know. That is, according to the present invention, it is desirable that the information on the opening of the own device be automatically recorded in the memory as the history as the operating state of the own device.

Further, it is considered that only some CR pachinko machines in the store are placed under the control of the management center, and the rest may escape from the management.
A configuration in which one or a small number of the sales management machines are provided in one store, and the information of the sales amount totalized in the sales management machine includes the information corresponding to the cash sandpaper. It is desirable that

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in more detail by way of examples. This description is merely an example for helping the understanding of the invention, and is not for limiting the scope of the claims.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the pachinko parlor of the system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a communication line (outdoor) according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electric circuit of the sales management machine. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an electric circuit of the center device. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an electric circuit of the cash sand.

In FIG. 1, a number of CR pachinko machines 1 are installed in one store, and a cash sand 2 is provided for each CR pachinko machine 1. The cash sand 2 is a device that accepts cash (banknotes or coins) from a gamer, prepares a lending ball according to the amount, and supplies it to the upper plate of the CR pachinko machine 1. This can be realized by modifying a currently used prepaid card CR sand into a cash accepting type.

Each of the cash sands 2 is connected to one communication path 4. This communication path 4 is connected to the in-store LAN (Local Ar
ea Network), and is connected to the sales management machine 5 provided only in this store. This sales management machine 5 is connected to a management center via a communication line 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the communication line 6 connected to the sales management machine 5 is a public communication network.
ISDN (Integrated) operated by TT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone)
Service Digital Network). This communication line 6 is connected to a center device 7 installed in a management center.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sales management machine 5 is connected to the communication path 4. That is, the communication path 4 is a LAN control circuit 5
Connected to 1. The LAN control circuit 51 is connected to a CPU (central control circuit) 52 (via one input / output interface). The CPU 52 is a computer device for counting the sales information of each cash sand 2 collected via the communication path 4, and the counted information is recorded in the memory 53. A clock 54 is connected to the CPU 52, and is configured to synchronize with a clock of the center device 7 described later. Furthermore, this CPU5
An open box detector 55 is connected to 2, and when the outer box of the sales management machine 5 is opened, this is automatically recorded in the memory 53 in association with time information.
The information in the memory 53 is transmitted from the center device 7 to the center device 7 by accessing the information via the communication line 6. The communication control circuit 56 and the ISD
A communication interface 57 for connecting to N is provided.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the center device 7 provided in the management center. The communication line 6 is connected to a communication control circuit 72 via a communication interface 71. The center device 7 is provided with a CPU (central control circuit) 73. As described with reference to FIG. 2, the CPU 73 transmits an inquiry signal to a number of subordinate sales managers 5 and collects and records information on the sales amount received in response to the inquiry signal. The totaled information is recorded in the memory 74.
A clock 75 is connected to the CPU 73, and a clock signal transmitted from the clock 75 to the communication line 6 is a standard time signal of the entire system. A clock 54 provided inside each sales management machine 5 operates in synchronization with this clock signal. That is, the clock 54 of each sales management machine 5 operates in synchronization with the clock 75 of the center device 7. A display device, a keyboard, a printer, an alarm device, and the like are connected to the center device 7 via an input / output interface 76 in order to read information recorded in the memory 74 and to control the operation of the CPU 73. Have been.

The center device 7 can be realized by slightly modifying a center device for monitoring the operation status of the CR sand using a currently used prepaid card.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of the cash sand 2.
1 connected. The communication path 4 is connected to the sales management machine 5
Is a LAN to be controlled, and a communication control circuit 22 on the cash sand 2 side is provided corresponding to the control. This device is provided with a CPU (central control circuit) 23. Further, a cash identification machine 24 for accepting cash paid by the game player is provided. The information on the amount of cash received is recorded in the memory 25 by the CPU 23.

Here, the features of the present invention are as follows: 1) When one of the sales management machines 5 stops operating, the operation of the cash sand 2 connected to the sales management machine 5 is automatically performed. 2) When the communication line 6 between the cash sand 2 and the sales management machine 5 is disconnected, the operation of the cash sand 2 connected to the disconnected communication path 6 is automatically performed. To stop.

To illustrate this specific configuration, a LAN control signal is periodically transmitted from the sales management machine 5 to each cash sand 2 via the communication path 4. When the control signal does not arrive on the side of the cash sand for a time exceeding this cycle, it is automatically determined that the cash sand has been disconnected from the communication path 4 or the sales management machine 5 is not operating. The cash sand 2 is realized by stopping the power supply of the circuit for receiving cash. Actually, when the operation of the device that accepts cash is stopped, an alarm display such as "Please wait" is preferably displayed on the surface of the cash sand.

As another configuration example, instead of stopping the power supply of the circuit that accepts cash, the cash storage signal of the cash identification device 24 may be invalidated. That is, when the control signal does not arrive from the sales management machine 5, the cash storage signal of the cash identification machine 24 is invalidated, and the cash is pushed back in the same manner as when the cash inserted into the machine is fake. Can be. Also in this case, it is desirable to display an alarm.

The sales management machine 5 is placed under the control of the management center, and the periodic control signal transmitted from the sales management machine 5 to each cash sand 2 can easily generate a false signal by malicious intent. It is better to encrypt it so that it cannot be performed. That is, in practice, the communication path 4 is separated from the sales management machine 5, and instead, another device that artificially generates this periodic control signal is connected to the communication path 4, and the cash sand 2 is stored. This is to prevent this, since it may be operated.

The configuration for stopping the operation of the cash sand 2 can be variously realized by software set in the CPU 23. FIG. 6 shows an example of the software. This operation will be described below.
Is activated, the LAN control signal arriving at the communication path 4 is received and identified. When the identification is performed, the cash identification machine is activated to display an operation to the customer. During operation, every time cash is stored, the information is acquired and recorded in the memory. When the arrival time of the LAN control signal arrives, it is determined whether or not the LAN control signal arrives. When the identification of the LAN control signal is not performed, the operation of the cash identification machine is stopped, and the operation display is switched to the alarm display. Wait a set short time (for example, 5 seconds) in that state, and
The control signal of the AN is identified.

As a modification of the system due to malicious intent, it is conceivable that the management center of the sales management machine can be prevented from being managed by intentionally disconnecting the communication line connecting the sales management machine and the center device. To cope with this, technical measures such as automatically stopping the operation of the communication path (LAN) when there is no access from the center device for a predetermined time can be considered. Then
It will be treated as a subject different from the subject of the present invention. It should be noted that this problem is the same as the case where the management center manages the CR sand by the current prepaid card. This is because there is no response even when the sales management machine is accessed from the center device via the communication line.
It is possible to monitor that the operation of the sales management machine has stopped. At present, this is managed separately by associating the management center with another information on whether or not the store is open.

[0032]

According to the present invention, it is possible to operate a CR pachinko machine in a state managed by a management center without using a prepaid card which is not popular with both a gamer and a shop. According to the apparatus of the present invention, the sales amount of the lending machine can be correctly counted to the management center to a considerable extent. According to the present invention, the management of a pachinko parlor can be sounded without using a prepaid card. The invention also solves the problem of forged prepaid cards accordingly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a pachinko parlor of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication line (outdoor) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electric circuit of the sales management machine.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an electric circuit of the center device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an electric circuit of the cash sand.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a main part of software according to the present invention set in a CPU provided in a cash sandwich.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CR pachinko machine 2 Cash sand 4 Communication path (in store) 5 Sales management machine 6 Communication line 7 Center device 21, 57, 71 Communication interface 22, 56, 72 Communication control circuit 23, 52, 73 CPU 24 Cash identification machine 25, 53, 74 memory 51 LAN control circuit 54, 75 clock 55 open box detector 76 input / output interface

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C088 BA88 BC68 CA02 CA07 CA14 CA31 3E044 AA05 AA06 BA01 BA02 DB11 DB12 DC01 DC06 DD01 DD06 DE01 EB09 3E048 AA03 BA01

Claims (5)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A store is provided with a cash sand which receives cash and supplies lending balls to a CR pachinko machine, and a sales management machine which is connected to the cash sand through a (in-store) communication channel and tallies up the sales amount of the cash sand. This sales management machine and (outdoor)
A center device connected via a communication line is provided in the management center, and the center device includes means for acquiring and recording information on the sales amount counted by the sales management machine via the communication line, 1) When the sales management machine stops operating, for all of the cash sands connected to the sales management machine, 2) When the communication path between the cash sand and the sales management machine is disconnected, at least the cash sand is disconnected. A means for automatically stopping the operation of the cash sands connected to the communication path. 2. The sales management machine includes means for autonomously accessing a subordinate cash sand through the communication path according to a preset procedure, and automatically stops the operation of the cash sand. 2. The sales management system according to claim 1, wherein the means for causing includes means for prohibiting cash acceptance of the cash sand when there is no access by the access means for more than a predetermined time. 3. The sales management machine further comprises means for automatically recording a history of the operation status of the own apparatus, and the history of the operation status recorded in the recording means is transmitted to the center via the communication line. 2. The sales management system according to claim 1, wherein the device is set to be obtainable. 4. The sales management system according to claim 1, wherein the operating state of the own device includes information on opening of the own device. 5. The cash sand is arranged one-to-one with respect to a CR pachinko machine, one or a small number of the sales management machines are provided in one store, and information of the sales amount counted by the sales management machine is: The sales management system according to claim 1, wherein the sales management system includes information corresponding to the cash sand.