JP2008259624A - System and method for managing stored game medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce burden on compensation of stored game balls by a third-party administration center without obstructing customers captured by a game parlor when communication between a T/C (terminal controller) and the third-party administration center goes offline. <P>SOLUTION: In a stored ball management system 1, when a new member card is issued where communication with the third-party management center 200 is offline, an issue-restricting section 123 of the T/C 100 sets conditions of restricted use, which are stored in a restrictive condition table 133, to restrict the use of issued member card, and then allows an issue processing section 121 to issue the new member card or reissue a member card. When the member card is reissued where the communication with the third-party administration center 200 is offline, the issue-restricting section refers to conditions of restricted issue, which are stored in the restrictive condition table 133, and only when the conditions of restricted issue are satisfied, the issue processing section 121 is made to reissue the member card. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a management device for issuing a member recording medium in which the number of game media (number of pachinko balls or medals) deposited by a player is associated as stored game media data (save balls or medals), and the management device The present invention relates to a storage medium management system and a storage medium management method including a third-party management center that centrally manages storage medium data associated with a member recording medium issued by.

  Conventionally, gaming machines such as pachinko machines and slot machines that play games by inserting gaming media such as pachinko balls and medals into gaming machines are known. In game stores where these gaming machines are installed, various recording media such as prepaid cards and membership cards are often used.

  In such a game store, a membership card is issued to a player who has registered for a predetermined membership, and the game on a pachinko machine is terminated in association with identification information (for example, a member ID) of the membership card. A system for registering the quantity information (storage data) of pachinko balls acquired at that time, a so-called storage management system has been constructed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In such a storage management system, storage data (storage balance) stored in association with a member card owned by each member by a member management device called a terminal controller (hereinafter collectively referred to as “T / C”) is stored. In addition to managing, the T / C sends the stored data to a third party management center managed by a fair third party, and the third party management center supervises the stored data transmitted from the T / C of the amusement store. Management configuration.

  In addition, the third-party management center manages and manages the stored ball data transmitted from the T / C of the game store from the viewpoint of protecting the player, and if the game store goes bankrupt or the game store manages the stored ball data. In the event of a natural disaster that is difficult to achieve, on behalf of this amusement store, the balance of stored money owned by each member will be compensated as a valuable value.

  According to the conventional storage management system represented by Patent Document 1, members can borrow a pachinko ball and play a game again within the range of the storage balance of the stored deposit, or a normal prize in an amusement store. (For example, gifts such as sweets and cigarettes) and special gifts (that is, gifts premised on purchase at a gift shop) can be exchanged.

JP-A-11-276698

  However, in the conventional storage management system, when communication between the T / C and the third-party management center goes offline, there is room for intensive establishment of “fictional accounts” for depositing illegal storage However, there is a problem that the burden when the third party management center compensates for savings increases.

  Specifically, for example, when an administrator operating a game shop just before bankruptcy tries to commit fraud, intentionally communicates with a third-party management center that performs overall management including fraud monitoring for stored-ball data. After disconnection, a “fictional account” is opened by issuing a membership card to a non-existent player, and the stored data of that “fictitious account” is inflated by an illegal storage ball addition process such as “manually input storage ball” However, after the bankruptcy of the amusement store, the fraudulent act of accepting the savings compensation for the savings data of the “fictional account” through a third party is performed. Therefore, as the offline state between the T / C and the third-party management center continues for a long period of time, many "fictional accounts" will be overlooked, and the third-party management center will compensate for savings. The burden on the occasion is tremendous.

  For this reason, when communication between the T / C and the third party management center goes offline in order to prevent fraudulent activity using such a “fictitious account”, a membership card is issued, that is, Although it is possible to configure the T / C to prohibit “opening”, there are only a few fraudsters who conduct fraudulent activities using “fictional accounts”. For this reason, if “bank account opening” was uniformly prohibited, it would not allow unintentional disruption of communication between the two due to an accident, etc. May be unjustly disturbed. Note that these problems are not only caused by a savings management system that manages savings, but also occur in a wide game media management system that includes a savings management system that manages savings.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems (problems) caused by the prior art, and when the communication between the T / C and the third party management center is in an offline state, It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage medium management system and a storage medium management method capable of reducing the burden when a third party management center compensates for a storage medium without obstructing the entrapment of players by To do.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the storage medium management system according to the invention of claim 1 issues a member recording medium in which the number of game media deposited by a player is associated with the storage medium data. A storage medium management system comprising: a management device that performs processing; and a third-party management center that centrally manages storage medium data associated with a member recording medium issued by the management device, The management device cannot communicate with the third party management center by means of communication status determination means for determining whether communication with the third party management center is possible, and the communication status determination means. And issuing restriction means for restricting the issuing process of the member recording medium when it is determined that the member recording medium is issued.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the game media management system according to the second aspect, the issue restriction unit determines that communication with the third party management center is impossible by the communication status determination unit. In this case, the member recording medium issuance process is permitted after associating the use restriction condition imposed after the member recording medium is issued with the member recording medium.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the game media management system according to the first aspect, the management device is incapable of communicating between the management device and the third-party management center determined by the communication status determination means. Is stored as unsent history information of the stored game medium data, and the issuance restricting means is configured to record the member according to the unsent history information stored in the unsent history storage means. It is characterized by gradually increasing the degree of restriction of the medium issuing process step by step.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gaming media management system according to the above invention, wherein the management device transmits card data from a card management device of a gaming store provided with the management device to a card management center. Card data determination means for determining the card data, and when the card data determination means determines that the card data is transmitted from the card management device to the card management center, It further comprises a restriction releasing means for releasing the restriction of the recording medium issuing process.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium management method for issuing a member recording medium in which the number of game media deposited by a player is associated as stored game medium data, and the management apparatus A storage medium management method for use in a storage medium management system comprising a third party management center for centrally managing storage medium data associated with a member recording medium, the third party management A communication status determination step for determining whether communication with a center is possible, and when it is determined by the communication status determination step that communication with a third party management center is impossible, And an issue restriction step for restricting the issue processing of the recording medium for members.

  According to the present invention, if it is determined whether communication with the third party management center is possible, and it is determined that communication with the third party management center is impossible, Since the media issuance process is limited, for example, if the cumulative number of newly issued cards or the number of reissued cards issued within a certain period exceeds the specified number, new or reissued membership cards are prohibited. If the member card is only allowed to be issued or reissued only within a certain period of time, it is possible to stop the issuance of the member card without over-prohibiting the issuance of the member card. Account ”can be controlled, and when communication between the management device and the third-party management center goes offline, the third-party management without obstructing the player's containment by the game shop Center saves An effect that 貯遊 TECHNICAL media management system and 貯遊 technique medium managing method capable of reducing the burden of making the medium compensation can be obtained.

  Further, according to the present invention, when it is determined that communication with the third-party management center is impossible, the member restricts the usage restriction condition imposed after the member recording medium is issued to the member recording medium and associates it with the member recording medium. For example, if the member's card issuance is allowed but the use of the savings / medal service is prohibited, the membership card issuance (new issue and reissue) is unilateral. Can be used to prevent fraudulent misuse of the “fictional account”, and when the communication between the management device and the third party management center goes offline, the amusement store can enclose the player. There is an effect that it is possible to obtain a storage game medium management system capable of effectively reducing the burden when the third party management center performs the storage medium compensation without hindering as much as possible.

  Further, according to the present invention, the communication disabled state between the management device and the third party management center is stored as unsent history information of the game medium data, and the member recording medium is stored in accordance with the stored unsent history information. For members who are able to effectively reduce the risk associated with storage media compensation borne by the third-party management center and match the negligence level of the amusement store. There is an effect that it is possible to obtain a storage medium management system capable of restricting the recording medium issuing process.

  Further, according to the present invention, it is determined that the card data is transmitted from the card management device of the amusement shop provided with the management device to the card management center, and the card data is transmitted from the card management device to the card management center. Is determined, the restriction on the issuance process of the member recording medium is canceled, so the communication interruption between the management device and the third party management center is not the intentional communication interruption of the malicious amusement store, If it is determined that the communication device is out of order, the restriction on the member recording medium issuance process will be lifted. In addition, there is an effect that it is possible to obtain a stored game medium management system that can prevent the loss of the convenience of the player without giving a bonus.

  Exemplary embodiments of a game storage medium management system (game storage medium management method) according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, as an example of the storage medium management system according to the present invention, a storage management system for pachinko games is illustrated, and after this storage management system has been described as Example 1, other storage systems included in the present invention Examples will be described as Examples 2 and 3.

[System configuration of storage ball management system 1]
First, the system configuration of the storage management system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a storage management system according to the first embodiment. This storage ball management system is a system that provides a storage ball service to members registered in a game store such as a pachinko parlor. In the first embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a storage ball management system for managing stored balls will be described. However, a stored medal system for managing stored medals or a stored ball / stored medal system for managing stored balls and stored medals. The present invention can be similarly applied to.

  As shown in the figure, the storage management system 1 is a management device (hereinafter referred to as a terminal controller: T / C) in a game store that manages pachinko balls deposited by a player (member) as storage ball data (storage ball balance). 100) and a third-party management center 200 that centrally manages the stored data managed by the T / C 100 in the amusement store are connected to each other via a communication line (network) 300 so that they can communicate with each other. Become.

  T / C100 has the main function of managing the number of pachinko balls deposited by a player at the amusement store as stored-ball data (stored-ball balance), but issues a membership card through a predetermined registration procedure. It is based on providing a stored ball service (acquired ball deposit service) only to received players (hereinafter referred to as “members”), and is also responsible for issuing such membership cards. More specifically, when a member registration request (member card issuance request) including member attribute information (for example, name and address) is received at the T / C 100 or the member registration receiving terminal 10 described later, Member identification information (hereinafter referred to as “member ID”) is assigned to a player who requests member registration, and member attribute information is registered in the member management table 131 (to be described later) in association with the member ID, and then the member is registered. Permits issuance of membership cards with IDs recorded. In addition, when a reissue request for a member card is received from a member who has lost the member card due to loss or theft, various information of the member ID recorded on the lost card (for example, member attribute information, savings balance, etc.) Information) is transferred to the newly assigned member ID, and issuance (reissue) of the member card in which the new member ID is recorded is permitted.

  The third party management center 200 is a management mechanism that is managed by a fair third party. The third party management center 200 collects the accumulated ball data transmitted from the T / C 100 installed in the amusement store, and collects the collected accumulated ball data of the amusement store. Manage in an integrated manner.

  In addition, in the amusement store, with the T / C 100 as the center, the member registration receiving terminal 10, the island controller 20, the prize management machine 30, the card issuing machine 32, the card settlement machine 33, and the ball counter 40 The replay ball lending machine 50 and the member card terminal 60 are connected to be communicable. Further, a card processor 22 and a pachinko machine 21 are connected to the island controller 20 via the card processor 22, and a prize dispenser 31 that dispenses special prizes is provided to the prize management machine 30. It is connected.

  Among these, the member registration receiving terminal 10 is an information processing terminal for receiving member registration. Specifically, the member registration receiving terminal 10 receives input of member attribute information (for example, name and address) of a player who desires member registration. A request for member registration including member attribute information is made to the T / C 100, and a response result from the T / C 100 (details will be described later, “permit”, “non-permit” or “permission” with usage restrictions imposed after issuance) ). In addition, when the issuance of the membership card is permitted, a membership card in which the membership ID permitted from the T / C 100 is recorded may be automatically issued, or the membership ID is recorded in the attendant of the amusement store. The member ID after numbering may be recorded on a non-member card and the member card may be issued.

  The pachinko machine 21 is a device that allows a player to play a game by firing a pachinko ball into the game area. The card processing machine 22 is installed in a form sandwiched between a plurality of pachinko machines 21 installed in an amusement store, and the pachinko machine whose upper limit is the valuable value (frequency) valued for the membership card or prepaid card. The ball lending process and the addition process for each frequency associated with the membership card and the general card are performed.

  The card issuing machine 32 performs a prepaid card issuance process corresponding to the amount of money input by the player and an addition process for each frequency valued to the member card and the prepaid card. It has a function. The card settlement machine 33 has a function of settlement of a prepaid card inserted by a player (member) and a balance of valuable value added to the membership card.

  The prize management machine 30 has a large liquid crystal display section, a numeric keypad input section, and the like, and manages the exchange of acquired balls and prizes acquired by the player. In addition, the prize management machine 30 manages the types of prizes to be provided to the player and the purchased quantity (inventory management) of the prizes by collecting the types of prizes to be exchanged with the acquired balls as data for each kind of prize. It also has functions.

  Furthermore, the prize management machine 30 has a function of storing the counting results issued by the ball counter 40. Specifically, when accepting a membership card reading, PIN number input, number of balls (reading a count receipt or manual input of the number of balls) and depositing, the entered number of balls is deposited as accumulated ball data. At this time, the stored ball data stored and managed in the T / C 100 is updated (added). The prize management machine 30 also has a withdrawal function for savings. For example, when a withdrawal process is performed upon receiving a membership card reading and a password input, the T / C 100 stores and manages the prize. The number of balls for withdrawal is updated (subtracted) from the stored ball data.

  The ball counting machine 40 counts the number of balls acquired by the player, and has a function of issuing a counting receipt that records the counting result of the acquired balls. The ball counting machine 40, when counting the number of balls acquired by a player (member) or a staff member, when the deposit processing is performed by reading the membership card and storing it as a stored ball, the number of balls corresponding to the counted value is stored as stored ball data. At this time, the storage ball data stored and managed in the T / C 100 is updated (added).

  The replay ball lending machine 50 has a function of lending a pachinko ball based on a stored ball owned by a member. When the replay ball lending machine 50 accepts the reading of the membership card and the input of the personal identification number and performs the replay processing, the stored ball data stored and managed in the T / C 100 is updated (subtracted) and the subtraction amount Pachinko balls are paid out.

  The membership card terminal 60 deposits the entered number of balls as stored ball data when the membership card is inserted and the PIN number is input by the member and the number of balls desired as the stored ball is received and the deposit processing is performed. It has a function. Further, it has a function of exchanging premiums by withdrawal using the membership card terminal 60.

[Configuration of T / C 100 and Third Party Management Center 200]
Next, the configuration of the terminal controller (T / C) 100 and the third party management center 200 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of the T / C according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the T / C 100 includes a display unit 110, a display control unit 111, a control unit 120, a storage unit 130, an input unit 140, an output unit 150, and a communication control IF unit 160. Have

  The display unit 110 is a display device such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display. The display unit 110 displays a menu screen, various management data such as a member management table 131 (FIG. 3) and a storage management table 132 (FIG. 4). Can be displayed as a list. The display unit 110 may also realize a function of the input unit 140 described later as a touch panel. The display control unit 111 is a processing unit that controls display by the display unit 110.

  The control unit 120 includes a control program such as an OS (Operating System), a program that defines various processing procedures, and an internal memory for storing necessary data, and a process that executes various processes of the entire T / C 100. As a section, it has a function to control the exchange of various data between the function sections. This control unit 120 also performs storage data update processing (addition processing or subtraction processing) other than “member card issuance processing”, but since it is the same as the existing one, description thereof will be omitted. The explanation will focus on the functions related to “member card issuance processing”.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the control unit 120 includes an issue processing unit 121, a communication status determination unit 122, and an issue restriction unit 123 as processing units related to the present invention. In practice, programs corresponding to the issue processing unit 121, the communication status determination unit 121, and the issue restriction unit 123 are loaded on the CPU and executed.

  Among these, the issuance processing unit 121 is a processing unit that performs issuance processing of a member recording medium, a so-called “member card”. Specifically, when the communication between the T / C and the third party management center is “online state”, that is, when the communication status determination unit 122 confirms the transmission of the accumulated data to the third party management center 200. Performs the new issuance processing and reissue processing of the membership card without being subject to the issuance restriction of the membership card by the issuance restriction section 123 described later. On the other hand, the communication between the T / C and the third party management center is “offline , I.e., when the communication status determination unit 122 has not confirmed the transmission of the stored ball data to the third party management center 200, a new member card issuing process according to the member card issuing restriction by the issuing restricting part 123, and Perform reissue process.

  For example, when communication between the T / C and the third party management center is “online state”, when a new member card issuance request is received from the member registration receiving terminal 10, a member ID is requested to a player who requests member registration. Is registered and the member attribute information is registered in the member management table 131 (FIG. 3) in association with the member ID, and then the member registration acceptance terminal 10 is permitted to issue a member card in which the member ID is recorded. Notify In addition, when a reissue request for a member card is accepted, various member ID information recorded on the lost card (for example, information such as member attribute information and accumulated balance) is transferred to a newly assigned member ID. Then, the member registration acceptance terminal 10 is notified that the issuance (reissue) of the membership card in which the new membership ID is recorded is permitted.

  As described above, when the communication between the T / C and the third party management center is “online”, a new membership card issue process and a membership card reissue process are performed as in the conventional storage management system. Will be done. Note that, when the communication between the T / C and the third party management center is in the “offline state”, processing unique to the present invention is performed in conjunction with the issue restriction unit 123, and details will be described later.

  The communication status determination unit 122 stores the T / C 100 from the T / C 100 to the third party management center 200 due to the interruption (offline state) of the communication line (network) 300 that connects the T / C 100 and the third party management center 200. It is a processing unit that determines that data transmission has not been performed yet. When it is determined by the communication status determination unit 122 that transmission of stored ball data from the T / C 100 to the third party management center 200 is not possible (untransmitted), the untransmitted history information is stored as an untransmitted count C. 134.

  Here, the timing for transmitting the accumulated ball data from the T / C 100 of the game store to the third party management center 200 includes a case of sequentially transmitting in real time, a case of transmitting at regular intervals (for example, every hour), a game In some cases, after the store closes (for example, at 23:00), the accumulated data of the day is transmitted together. In this case, the stored ball data transmitted to the third party management center 200 is the stored ball data stored in the stored ball management table 132 (FIG. 4) of the storage unit 130.

  The issue restriction unit 123 is a processing unit that restricts membership card issuance processing when the communication status determination unit 122 determines that communication with the third party management center 200 is impossible. Specifically, when a new membership card is issued, a usage restriction condition stored in the restriction condition table 133 is added to impose restrictions on the use after the membership card issuance. 121. When the member card is allowed to be issued or reissued, and the member card is reissued, the issue restriction condition stored in the restriction condition table 133 is referred to and this issue restriction condition is satisfied. Only the issue processing unit 121 performs the membership card reissue process (data migration process from the old member ID to the new member ID).

  The storage unit 130 is a storage unit (storage unit) that stores data and programs necessary for various processes performed by the control unit 120, and includes a secondary storage medium such as a hard disk. As shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 130 includes a member management table 131, a storage management table 132, a restriction condition table 133, and an untransmitted number storage unit 134.

[Configuration of Member Management Table 131]
FIG. 3 shows an example of the member management table 131. As shown in the figure, the member management table 131 is a table for managing member (individual) attribute information such as the name and address of each member. That is, the member management table 131 stores the name and address of the member in association with member identification information (member ID) for uniquely identifying a player who is a member. More specifically, in the member management table 131 shown in FIG. 3, the name “member A” and the address “Tokyo XX ward ΔΔ town” are associated with the member ID “1234” and the member ID “5678”. In correspondence with each other, the name “Member B” and the address “Kanagawa □□ City ×× Town” are stored in association with each other. In the first embodiment, the name and address are managed as member attribute information in the member management table 131, but other personal attribute information such as mobile phone number and date of birth is further managed. It may be.

[Configuration of the storage management table 132]
FIG. 4 shows an example of the storage management table 132. As shown in the figure, the storage ball management table 132 is a table for managing the value that can be used in the game store, such as stored ball data and game store points of each member. That is, the stored ball management table 132 stores stored ball data (stored ball balance), points, and use restriction flags owned by the member in association with the member ID.

  More specifically, in the storage management table 132 shown in FIG. 4, the storage data “8000 (ball)”, the point “45 (P)”, and the use restriction flag “OFF (×) are associated with the member ID“ 1234 ”. ) ”Is associated with the member ID“ 5678 ”, and the stored ball data“ 0 (ball) ”, the point“ 2 (P) ”, and the use restriction flag“ ON (◯) ”are stored in association with each other. The stored ball data stored in the stored ball management table 132 stores updated (added) stored ball data each time each member counts (stores a ball) with the ball counter 40. Further, each time a member performs a storing operation using the prize management machine 30 or the member card terminal 60, the storing data stored in association with the member ID of the member is updated (added), and the updated storing data is stored. The

  The “usage restriction flag” permits the issuance of the membership card when the issuance of the membership card is performed when the communication with the third party management center 200 is in an offline state. In order to suppress fraudulent acts using “”, it is provided for the purpose of imposing a usage restriction after issuance of “Do not use only the savings service after issuance of a membership card”. Specifically, ON / OFF is switched by the issue restriction unit 123, and when this flag is set, the player cannot perform a savings service (acquired ball deposit service) and can use a membership card. Services are limited to other services such as point services and information browsing services.

[Configuration of Restriction Condition Table 133]
FIG. 5 shows an example of the restriction condition table 133. As shown in the figure, when the communication with the third party management center 200 is in an offline state, the restriction condition table 133 includes a use restriction condition for imposing a use restriction after a new membership card issuance, and a member It manages issuance restriction conditions to impose restrictions on card reissues.

  The restriction condition table 131 stores a use restriction condition at the time of new issuance and a reissue issuance restriction condition for each offline period. Specifically, in the restriction condition table 133 shown in FIG. 5, the use restriction condition “-(none)” for the offline period A, the use restriction condition “offline for storage service” available for the offline period B, and the issuance of the offline period A The restriction condition “transition upper limit 5000 (ball)” and the offline period B issuance restriction condition “transition upper limit 0 (ball)” are stored in association with each other. The “offline period A” referred to here corresponds to a period in which the number of non-transmissions (C) stored in the non-transmission number storage unit 134 is 1 or more and less than 11 times, and the “offline period B” is This corresponds to a period in which the non-transmission count (C) stored in the non-transmission count storage section 134 is 11 or more.

  Here, we decided to impose usage restrictions, not issuance restrictions on new issuance of membership cards in the offline state, in order not to hinder the lock-in of fixed customers that the amusement store is trying to practice. If the continuation period is short (offline period A), it is highly likely that the amusement store side does not recognize that communication with the third-party management center 200 is interrupted, and communication interruption is intentional. Since there is a low possibility that it is a thing, there is no usage restriction after issuance, and if the duration of the offline state is long (offline period B), communication with the third-party management center 200 is intentionally interrupted. While the possibility of being misused to open a “fictional account” increases, it cannot always be determined that fraud has been made. To limit the use of other than.

  On the other hand, the restriction on the issuance of membership card reissuance in the offline state is linked to the restriction of the update process for the stored ball data performed in the same way as the existing stored ball management system. This is to reduce the burden of compensation. That is, in the case of reissuance of a membership card, a process for shifting various information (for example, membership attribute information and storage data) of the old membership ID recorded on the lost membership card to a newly assigned new membership ID However, for example, if a storage upper limit value is provided, it is contrary to the intention to transfer (add) a value exceeding the storage upper limit value to the new member ID. In the case of a short period (offline period A), a transition upper limit value (in this example, “5000 (balls)”) that allows the transition to the same number as the storage ball upper limit value is provided, and the duration of the offline state is In the case of a long period of time (offline period B), the possibility of intentional interruption of communication with the third-party management center 200 increases. Therefore, the reissuance itself is performed by setting the transition upper limit value to zero. It is sealed.

  In this way, the issuance restriction (restriction of issuance itself) and the use restriction (restriction on use after issuance) according to the present invention include the prohibition of issuance and the prohibition of use in the sense that they are completely restricted when performing these restrictions. It is in that category. For example, reissuance itself can be prohibited by setting the transition upper limit value to zero as a reissue limit at the time of reissue, and service items that can be used using a membership card as a use restriction after a new issue By setting it to zero, it is possible to completely prohibit use after issuance.

[Configuration of Untransmitted Number Storage Unit 134]
The non-transmission count storage unit 134 transmits the non-transmission history information when the communication status determination unit 122 determines that transmission of the stored ball data from the T / C 100 to the third party management center 200 is impossible (untransmitted). It is a storage unit that stores the number of times C (1 day, 2 consecutive days, 3 consecutive days or more).

  The unsent count storage unit 134 cannot transmit the stored ball data from the T / C 100 of the amusement store to the third party management center 200 at the preset transmission start time of the stored ball data to the third party management center 200 (for example, 23:00). In each case, the untransmitted count C is updated (accumulated) and stored. Here, in the first embodiment, the unsent history information is set as the number of times the stored ball data has not been transmitted, but the period during which the stored ball data has not been transmitted (for example, September ○ day to September × day) is stored. You may do it.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the input unit 140 is an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a trackball for inputting various types of information. The input unit 140 is mainly used by an administrator of a game store. , A member registration request can be received, and change inputs such as various setting values can be received.

  The output unit 150 is a printing device such as a printer. The menu screen displayed on the display unit 110 by the output unit 150, various management data, and collected data (for example, the member management table 131 and the storage management table 132). Can be printed as a list.

  The communication control IF unit 160 is an interface unit for controlling various data communications between the third party management center 200 and the communication line 300. In response to this, the stored ball data can be transmitted.

  The third party management center 200 is an institution equipped with a device for comprehensively managing the stored data managed by the T / C 100 provided in the amusement store. For this reason, as shown in the figure, the third party management center 200 includes a control unit 210 that functions as a processing unit that performs overall control of the third party management center 200, and a storage ball transmitted from the T / C 100 of the amusement store. A storage unit 220 that stores data, and a communication control IF unit 230 that controls various types of communication between the T / C 100 and the communication line 300 are included.

[Membership card new issue processing]
Next, a membership card new issue process according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the membership card new issue process according to the first embodiment. This process is performed when a member registration request (member card issuance request) including member attribute information (for example, name and address) is directly received through the input unit 140 of the T / C 100, or when the member registration receiving terminal 10 is This process is performed when this member registration request is received.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the issuance processing unit 121 of the T / C 100 accepts a new member card issuance request, it assigns a member ID to a player who requests membership registration (step S601), and corresponds to this member ID. In addition, the member attribute information is registered in the member management table 131 (FIG. 3) (step S602). At this time, a member ID record numbered in the storage management table 132 (FIG. 4) is generated.

  Here, the issue restriction unit 123 refers to the non-transmission count (C) stored in the non-transmission count storage unit 134, and the non-transmission count corresponds to the offline period B (11 or more in this example). If it falls under the offline period B (Yes at Step S603), the usage restriction condition after the new issue stored in the restriction condition table 133 is referred to, “except for the savings service”, and the savings management The use restriction flag of the corresponding member ID in the table 132 is set to “ON” (step S604). Thereafter, the issuance processing unit 121 responds to the requesting device (T / C 100 or the member registration reception terminal 10) that the issuance of the membership card in which the member ID is recorded is permitted (step S605), and ends the processing. To do.

  On the other hand, when it does not correspond to the offline period B, that is, when it corresponds to the online period or the offline period A (No in Step S603), the issue restriction unit 123 does not set the use restriction flag to “ON” and issues the issue processing unit 121. Responds to the requesting device (T / C 100 or the member registration receiving terminal 10) that the issuance of the member card in which the member ID is recorded is permitted (step S605), and ends the process.

[Membership card reissue process]
Next, the membership card reissue process according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the membership card reissue process according to the first embodiment. This process is performed by checking the identity of the member who has lost the membership card by an attendant at an amusement store or the like with the member attribute information (for example, address or name) stored in the member management table 131, and requests reissuance. This is performed when a request for reissuing a member card including the member ID of the lost member card is received at the T / C 100 or the member registration receiving terminal 100 after it is confirmed that the player is the member himself / herself.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when receiving the membership card reissue request, the communication status determination unit 122 of the T / C 100 refers to the non-transmission count (C) stored in the non-transmission count storage section 134 and is online. It is determined whether or not (the untransmitted count C is zero) (step S701).

  At this time, if it is determined that the user is online (Yes at Step S701), the issuance processing unit 121 assigns a new member ID to the player (member) who requests reissuance (Step S702). The member attribute information associated with the old member ID in the management table 131 is transferred to the newly assigned new member ID, and the stored ball data associated with the old member ID in the storage ball management table 132 is included. Information on various in-store value and usage restriction flags is transferred to the new member ID (steps S703 and S704).

  Thereafter, the issuance processing unit 121 responds to the requesting device (T / C 100 or the member registration receiving terminal 10) that permission (reissue) of the membership card in which the new member ID is recorded is permitted (step S705). The process is terminated.

  In addition, when it is determined that it is offline (No in step S701), the issuance limiting unit 123 of the T / C 100 corresponds to the untransmitted number of times in the offline period A (1 to less than 11 in this example). (Step S706), and when it corresponds to the offline period A (Yes in step S706), refer to the restriction condition table 133 and the storage management table 132, the source of transfer (member ID of the lost card) It is further determined whether or not the stored ball balance is within a transition upper limit (for example, 5000 (balls)) of the offline period A (step S707).

  At this time, if it falls under the offline period B or exceeds the transition upper limit (5000 (balls)) (No at Step S706 or No at Step S707), the issue restriction unit 123 indicates that re-issuance of the membership card is not permitted. In response to the requesting device (T / C 100 or member registration receiving terminal 10) (step S708), the process ends.

  On the other hand, when it corresponds to the offline period A and is within the upper limit of transition (5000 (balls)) (Yes in Step S706 and Yes in Step S707), the issuance processing unit 121 makes a player (member) requesting reissuance. A new member ID is numbered (step S702), the member attribute information associated with the old member ID in the member management table 131 is shifted to the newly numbered new member ID, and the storage management table 132 The information on the various in-store value and use restriction flag including the stored ball data associated with the old member ID is transferred to the new member ID (steps S703 and S704).

  Thereafter, the issuance processing unit 121 responds to the requesting device (T / C 100 or the member registration receiving terminal 10) that permission (reissue) of the membership card in which the new member ID is recorded is permitted (step S705). The process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the storage management system 1 according to the first embodiment, the T / C 100 determines whether communication with the third-party management center 200 is possible, and third-party management. When it is determined that communication with the center 200 is impossible, since the member card issuance process is restricted and the use after the membership card is issued, the member card issuance is permitted. By prohibiting the use of the savings service, it is possible to prevent fraudulent misuse of “fictional accounts” without restricting the issuance of new membership cards (new issuance and reissue) unilaterally. When communication between the third party management center 200 is in an offline state, the burden of the third party management center performing the compensation for the savings can be effectively prevented without obstructing the enclosure of the player by the game shop as much as possible. In It is possible to Gensa.

  In addition, according to the stored ball management system 1 according to the first embodiment, the communication impossible status between the T / C 100 and the third party management center 200 is stored as untransmitted history information of stored ball data, and the stored untransmitted history information is stored. Accordingly, since the restriction degree of the member card issuance process and the restriction degree of the use after the member card issuance are gradually increased, the communication interruption state between the T / C 100 and the third party management center 200 ( Even when the off-line state is prolonged, it is possible to effectively reduce the risk related to the compensation of the storage balls borne by the third party management center.

  Further, in this connection, it is highly likely that the amusement store side does not recognize that communication with the third party management center 200 is interrupted, and the possibility that the communication interruption is intentional is low. In the offline period (offline period A), no usage restrictions are imposed after issuance, but communication with the third-party management center 200 is intentionally disrupted and may be misused to open a “fictional account”. On the other hand, in the long offline period (offline period B) that cannot always be determined if fraud has been performed, the degree of restriction is limited in stages by restricting use other than the savings service while allowing the issuance of membership cards themselves In addition to effectively reducing the risk related to savings compensation borne by the third-party management center by restricting usage, the associations are adapted to the negligence level of the amusement store. It is possible to perform the restriction of the limitations of the process of issuing the card and use after issuance of membership card.

  Next, a storage management system according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the features of the storage management system according to the second embodiment. Here, in the configuration diagram of FIG. 8, a card T / C 101 that manages card data transmitted from the card processing machine 22 of the amusement store, and a card management company 400 that is communicably connected to the card T / C 101 via the communication line 500. This shows a storage management system including a card system composed of

  That is, in the above-described first embodiment, the T / C 100 cannot transmit the stored ball data from the T / C 100 to the third party management center 200 (the T / C 100 and the third party management center 200 are in an offline state). If it is determined that the membership card issuance is restricted and the usage is restricted after the membership card issuance, such disconnection of the communication line is not intentional on the amusement store side, but communication due to a network failure, etc. It may be caused by a failure or a failure of the communication device.

  For this reason, when the restriction on the issuance of membership cards and the restriction on use after membership card issuance are made based on the judgment condition that the stored ball data cannot be sent to the third party management center 200 or the number of times of sending cannot be judged. There is a risk that non-performing amusement stores will suffer from such sanctions. In addition, for players, if membership card issuance restrictions and usage restrictions after membership card is issued, membership card issuance (new issuance and reissuance) may not be received during this offline, or membership card issuance Even if it is received, there are cases where the restriction is imposed on the subsequent use, which impairs convenience. For this reason, in the second embodiment, when the card data is transmitted from the card T / C 101 that manages the card data provided in the game store to the card management company 400, the game store (T / C 100) It is determined that the disruption of communication with the three-party management center is not intentional. In this case, the feature is that the restriction on the issuance of membership cards and the restriction on use after the membership card is issued are removed. .

  Hereinafter, the features of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the game store is provided with a card T / C 101 in addition to the T / C 100 that manages the stored ball data, and the card T / C 101 has a plurality of cards installed in the game store. The card data (remaining frequency for each card ID) transmitted from the card processor 22 is collected to manage sales based on the card data (remaining card frequency) of the player. Further, the card data managed by the card T / C 101 as described above is periodically transmitted from the card T / C 101 to the card management company 400 through the communication line 500. For this reason, the amusement shop that performs fraud regarding the stored ball data by disconnecting the communication line 300 between the T / C 100 and the third party management center 200 performs fraud regarding the card data in addition to the fraud of the stored ball data. Presumed to be.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, the T / C 100 that manages the stored ball data and the card T / C 101 that manages the card data are communicatively connected, and the card management company 400 is connected by the communication status determination unit 122 of the T / C 100. Whether or not card data is transmitted from the card T / C 101 is determined. When it is confirmed that the card data is transmitted from the card T / C 101 to the card management company 400, even if the communication between the T / C 100 and the third party management center 200 is offline, the member card Issuance restrictions and usage restrictions after the membership card is issued.

  That is, in the second embodiment, the T / C 100 confirms whether or not the card data is transmitted from the card T / C 101 of the amusement shop to the card management company 400, and normally sends the amusement shop to the card management company 400. In this case, it is determined that the communication interruption between the T / C 100 that manages the stored ball data and the third-party management center 200 is not intentional on the condition that the card data is transmitted from the card T / C 101. In this configuration, the member card issuance restriction and the use restriction after the membership card issuance are canceled.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the T / C 100 is communicatively connected to the card T / C 101 that manages card data, and the card management from the card T / C 101 of the amusement shop is performed by the T / C 100. When it is determined that the card data is transmitted to the company 400 and it is determined that the card data is transmitted from the card T / C 101 to the card management company 400, the member card issuance restriction and the use restriction after the membership card issuance are determined. Therefore, when it is determined that the communication interruption between the T / C 100 and the third-party management center 200 is not an intentional communication interruption of a malicious amusement store but a failure of a communication device or the like. Cancels membership card issuance restrictions and usage restrictions after issuance of membership cards. Without giving a disadvantage by the use restriction after issuance of member card, also, it is possible to prevent compromising the convenience of the game customers.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, the present invention may be implemented in various different forms other than the embodiments described above. Therefore, another embodiment included in the present invention will be described below.

  For example, in Embodiment 1 described above, “use restriction” is performed for new issuance of a member card in an offline state, and “issue restriction” is performed for reissue of a member card in an offline state. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the T / C 100 may be configured so as to perform “issuance restriction” for new issuance of a membership card in an offline state, or for reissuing a membership card in an offline state. The T / C 100 may be configured to restrict usage.

  Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the example in which the membership card issuance is limited by whether or not the transition upper limit value is exceeded when the membership card is reissued. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other issuance is performed. It does not matter if there is a restriction.

  For example, issue restrictions are applied depending on whether the cumulative number of newly issued items or the number of reissued issues exceeds a predetermined number per predetermined period (for example, an arbitrary period such as one day, ten days, or one month). Depending on the situation, it may be possible to suppress the issuance of a membership card, and there is a possibility of accepting a membership registration for a certain period of time (for example, from 10:00 to 12:00 or from 18:00 to 20:00). By issuing a new membership card or reissuing it only during a period when the “fictitious account” is high, issuance of the membership card may be restricted only when it is difficult to open a “fictional account”. Thus, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent the issuance of member cards from being overwhelmed and to prevent the establishment of a “fictional account” without excessively prohibiting the issuance of member cards. Furthermore, by increasing the degree of restriction on the issuance of such membership cards (cumulative issuance limit and time limit) as the off-line period becomes longer, the risk related to the compensation for storage balls borne by the third-party management center is effectively reduced. At the same time, it becomes possible to restrict the issuance of membership cards that match the negligence level of the amusement store.

  In the first embodiment described above, the offline period A (the number of times of unsent (C) is 1 or more and less than 11) and the offline period B are used as the period for switching the restriction degree of the member card issue restriction and the member card use restriction. Although the example of setting (the number of times of unsent (C) is 11 times or more) has been described, the length of the offline period A and the offline period B may be set to other arbitrary lengths, or the limit Three or more periods for switching the degree may be provided, and the restriction degree may be switched in multiple stages.

  In addition, among the processes described in this embodiment, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or the processes described as being performed manually can be performed. All or a part can be automatically performed by a known method. In addition, the processing procedure, control procedure, specific name, and information including various data and parameters shown in the above-described document and drawings can be arbitrarily changed unless otherwise specified.

  Further, each component of each illustrated apparatus is functionally conceptual, and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the specific form of distribution / integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or a part thereof may be functionally or physically distributed or arbitrarily distributed in arbitrary units according to various loads or usage conditions. Can be integrated and configured. Further, all or any part of each processing function performed in each device may be realized by a CPU and a program analyzed and executed by the CPU, or may be realized as hardware by wired logic.

As described above, the game storage medium management system and the game storage medium management system according to the present invention are:
If the communication between the T / C and the third party management center goes offline, the third party management center does not obstruct the player's enclosure by the game store, and does not impose a burden on the storage medium compensation. It is suitable for a storage medium management system and a storage medium management method that can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the storage management system which concerns on Example 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a T / C (terminal controller) according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in a member management table. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in a storage management table. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in a restriction condition table. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the member card new issue process which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the membership card reissue process which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the characteristic of the storage management system which concerns on Example 2. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage management system 10 Member registration reception terminal 20 Island controller 21 Pachinko machine 22 Card processing machine 30 Prize management machine 31 Prize giving machine 32 Card issuing machine 33 Card settlement machine 40 Ball counter 50 Replay ball lending machine 60 Member card terminal machine 100 Terminal controller (T / C)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 110 Display part 111 Display control part 120 Control part 121 Issuance process part 122 Communication status determination part 123 Issuance restriction part 130 Storage part 131 Member management table 132 Savings management table 133 Restriction condition table 134 Unsent count number storage part 140 Input part 150 Output part 160 Communication control IF unit 200 Third party management center 210 Control unit 220 Storage unit 300, 500 Communication line 400 Card management company

Claims (5)

Management device for issuing member recording media in which the number of game media deposited by a player is associated as stored game media data, and stored game media data associated with member recording media issued by the management device A game storage medium management system comprising a third party management center for managing
The management device
Communication status determination means for determining whether communication with the third party management center is possible;
An issuance restricting means for restricting the issuance processing of the recording medium for members when the communication status judging means determines that communication with the third party management center is impossible. To store game media management system. The issuance restriction means is
When it is determined by the communication status determination means that communication with a third party management center is impossible, after associating the usage restriction condition imposed after the issuance of the member recording medium with the member recording medium 2. The storage medium management system according to claim 1, wherein the member recording medium issuance process is permitted. The management device
A non-transmission history storage means for storing, as the non-transmission history information of the game medium data, a communication impossible situation between the management device and the third party management center determined by the communication status determination means;
The issuance restriction means is
3. The storage according to claim 1, wherein the degree of restriction of the issuance processing of the member recording medium is gradually increased step by step according to untransmitted history information stored in the untransmitted history storage unit. Game media management system. The management device
Card data determination means for determining that card data has been transmitted to the card management center from the card management device of the gaming store provided with the management device;
When it is determined by the card data determination means that the card data is transmitted from the card management device to the card management center, the restriction on the issue processing of the member recording medium by the issue restriction means is released. The game storage medium management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a restriction release unit configured to perform the following. Management device for issuing member recording media in which the number of game media deposited by a player is associated as stored game media data, and stored game media data associated with member recording media issued by the management device A game storage medium management method for use in a game storage medium management system comprising a third party management center for managing
A communication status determination step for determining whether communication with the third-party management center is possible;
An issuance restriction step of restricting the issuance processing of the recording medium for members when it is determined by the communication state determination step that communication with a third party management center is impossible. To store game media.

Images