EP0673005A1 - Gaming machine with regular mechanical counters and electronic introduction of credit - Google Patents

Abstract

The machine has the usual mechanical counters (101,106) and an electronic cash converter(121). The machine has control systems for cash out (122), cancel credit(123) cancel(124) and token input(106). The electronic cash converter controls the operation of the machines mechanical systems , so that when a valid credit card is inserted into the converter play can commence and a debit is taken from the credit card.

Description

The present invention relates to gaming machines which are provided with the statutory mechanical counters required by the legislation on this kind of device, and which also comprise an electronic coin mechanism making it possible to play with electronic means of payment such as a so-called card. "smart". Such machines make it possible to use modern means of payment, with the advantages of speed and security which are attached thereto, while remaining in conformity with the legislation on slot machines, which is particularly strict and controlled.

The present invention applies to coin operated token and / or electronic coin operated game machines.

Often used, in particular in casinos that have the authorization, so-called "slot machines", which possibly make it possible to obtain a gain, which can be significant, by betting coins and throwing the operation of the machine by action on a lever which triggers a selection mechanism operating at random.

The use of money is not very practical because it requires the manipulation of large volume of coins for a relatively small sum, it tends to develop the use of counterfeit money, it facilitates the theft of these coins, and especially it slows down the speed with which the players can bet their money and thus the volume of profits obtained by the owner of the machine.

To overcome these drawbacks, the applicant has described and claimed in a European patent application No. 93 402560.2 filed on October 18, 1993 under the title "Electronic coin operated game machine", a device for adapting to an ordinary slot machine, on the one hand, a coin mechanism operating with secure electronic tokens making it possible to replace coins, and above all, on the other hand, an electronic coin mechanism using a chip card of the type commonly used in telephone boxes or cash dispensers. The machines thus equipped have a mixed operation since they can operate either with tokens or with smart cards. Such a device works well but it has the disadvantage, if it is used as it is, of disturbing the operation of a certain number of mechanical counters contained by law in the machine, which makes it non-compliant with the French legislation in force. and in a few other countries.

Indeed, the possibilities of fraud, both to the detriment of the player and of the taxman, widely used in the past by the criminal organizations which had got their hands on this activity, led the legislator of most countries to impose the presence and the use in the machines of a certain number of mechanical counters, in principle impossible to defraud, which add up a large number of the parameters used during the operation of the machine. Any attempt to distort the operation of these meters is of course strictly prohibited.

• "TOTAL IN" (TI) : compteur total entrées, totalise les jetons physiquement entrés et sur certaines machines les crédits rejoués.
• "TOTAL OUT" (TO) : compteur total sorties, totalise les jetons physiquement sortis et sur certaines machines les crédits rejoués.
• "CASH BOX" (CB) : compteur recettes, totalise les jetons qui sont dirigés vers le seau de relevé de recettes.
• "JACKPOT" (JK) : compteur gains, totalise les gains dits "jack pot" (très importants) qui sont payés manuellement sous la forme de bons de paiement (BP)
• "CANCEL CREDIT" (CC ) : totalise les paiements sous forme de bons de paiement (BP) les cumuls de petits gains qui dépassent la limite de restitution de la machine à sous.
• "GAME PLAYED" (GP) : compteur parties, totalise le nombre de parties qui ont été jouées.

These counters bear the names of Anglo-Saxon origin:

• "TOTAL IN" (TI): total input counter, totalizes the physically entered tokens and on some machines the credits replayed.
• "TOTAL OUT" (TO): total out counter, totals the physically out tokens and on some machines the replayed credits.
• "CASH BOX" (CB): recipe counter, totals the tokens which are directed to the bucket of recipe statements.
• "JACKPOT" (JK): earnings counter, totals the so-called "jack pot" earnings (very important) which are paid manually in the form of payment vouchers (BP)
• "CANCEL CREDIT" (CC): totals the payments in the form of payment vouchers (BP) the accumulations of small winnings which exceed the restitution limit of the slot machine.
• "GAME PLAYED" (GP): game counter, totalizes the number of games that have been played.

It should be noted that in France the "CANCEL CREDIT" and "JACKPOT" counters are merged to form a single "JACKPOT" counter. This leads to some additional difficulties in using a card validation system, as will be shown later in this text.

These counters increment during the operation of the slot machine as described below. The circulation of coins in the slot machine is shown schematically in Figure 1:

When the slot machine is started, the operator fills the hopper 106 thereof with a sufficient quantity of tokens so that it can correctly return the winnings to the client during the day. At the entry level, these tokens are taken out of the accounts and their entry into the hopper is subject to a voucher (BA) 105.

• si la trémie est pleine, le jeton tombe dans le seau de recette et le compteur "CASH BOX" (CB) est incrémenté d'une unité.
• si la trémie n'est pas pleine, le jeton tombe dans celle-ci et vient augmenter la masse des jetons qui peut être redistribuée au client en cas de gain.

When a player operates the machine by putting a coin into the coin mechanism, the "TOTAL IN" (TI) 101 counter is incremented by one. The part thus introduced then passes through one of the following two paths, under the control of the deflector 102:

• if the hopper is full, the token falls into the recipe bucket and the "CASH BOX" (CB) counter is incremented by one.
• if the hopper is not full, the token falls into it and increases the mass of tokens which can be redistributed to the customer in the event of a gain.

The player has however the possibility of committing games from sums contained in a counter 103 called "CREDIT", when this is not zero. This counter, which is not included among the mechanical counters, allows total the gains so that these gains are not immediately distributed (for this we have previously configured the machine, this configuration is known to those skilled in the art).

On certain types of machines, when the player thus bets a token of "CREDIT", the counter "TOTAL IN" (TI) is incremented by one unit to count the entry of this virtual token, and the counter "TOTAL OUT "(TO) is also increased by one unit to restore the count of the actual tokens physically entered into the machine. In any event, the fact of adding credits does not affect the counters "TOTAL IN" and "TOTAL OUT". This is necessary to keep the exact count of tokens physically present in the hopper.

The entry into play having been thus carried out, when the client launches a game, the "GAME PLAYED" (GP) counter is incremented by one.

If the game is lost, nothing happens.

If the game is won, and brings more or less important gains to the player, the "CREDIT" counter is incremented by the number of units corresponding to the gain obtained in the case of course if the machine is configured in credit, otherwise the chips fall .

The player who has thus won may decide to continue playing. It then relaunches the game from the content of the "CREDIT" counter, which is decremented and so on ...

• si le cumul des gains ne dépasse pas la limite permise pour la redistribution automatique, qui dépend essentiellement de la capacité de la trémie et du paramètrage de la machine à sous, les jetons engagés tombent de cette trémie dans un réceptacle où le joueur peut les récupérer. Durant cette opération, le compteur "TOTAL OUT" (TO) est incrémenté du nombre de jetons restitués.
• si le cumul des gains dépasse la limite de distribution prévue, la machine se bloque et déclenche l'émission d'un signal à l'adresse du personnel de la salle de jeux. Un des membres de ce personnel se déplace alors pour rédiger un bon de paiement (BP), que le client pourra utiliser pour se faire payer ces gains à la caisse puis il remet à zéro le compteur "CREDIT" en utilisant une clé connue sous le nom anglo-saxon "CANCEL KEY". Cette opération entraîne l'incrémentation du compteur "CANCEL CREDIT" (CC) par le nombre de jetons payés.

When the player decides to recover his winnings, he presses a button known as "CASH OUT BUTTON" and the machine then returns the winnings according to two possibilities, which depend on the amount of these winnings:

• if the cumulative winnings do not exceed the limit allowed for automatic redistribution, which essentially depends on the capacity of the hopper and the setting of the slot machine, the chips entered fall from this hopper into a receptacle where the player can collect them . During this operation, the "TOTAL OUT" (TO) counter is incremented by the number of tokens returned.
• if the cumulative winnings exceed the distribution limit provided, the machine freezes and triggers the emission of a signal to the address of the staff of the game room. One of the members of this staff then moves to write a payment voucher (BP), which the customer can use to have these winnings paid at the cash desk and then resets the "CREDIT" counter using a key known as Anglo-Saxon name "CANCEL KEY". This operation increments the "CANCEL CREDIT" (CC) counter by the number of tokens paid.

When a player wins the jackpot, the machine immediately hangs. The amount of this jackpot greatly exceeds the automatic redistribution limit of the hopper, and the signal to staff is also issued. A member of this staff then writes in the same manner as above a payment slip (BP) which he gives to the client, then he resets the "CREDIT" counter to zero using the "CANCEL KEY" key. The counter "JACKPOT" (JK) is then automatically incremented by the number of paid chips, divided by 10. This division corresponds to the fact that the jack pot is always a multiple of 10, which allows to have a smaller counter than necessary to record the exact sum corresponding to the jack pot.

French regulations provide for reconciling the content of the "JACKPOT" counter with the payments actually made from BP payment vouchers drawn up by staff. There is always a difference which corresponds to gains not claimed by customers for various reasons. This difference must be given to charity. This point poses a problem in France, as we will see below, to allow the use of card validation systems, due to the fusion of the "JACKPOT" and "CANCEL CREDIT" counters mentioned above.

In a slot machine, the main control relates to the number of tokens contained in the hopper. The variation Vt of this number is calculated using the following formula: $$\text{(1) Vt = TI - CB - TO + BA}$$

The machine's PG management product is itself calculated using the formula: $$\text{(2) PG = TI -TO - BP (JK, CC) = CB -BA -BP (JK, CC)}$$

As explained above, the variation of the content of the hopper is a key element in controlling the operation of the slot machine. The use of a card coin acceptor in a machine having a token coin acceptor and capable of operating in a mixed manner, must in no case disturb the operation of the TI and TO counters which are involved in the calculation of this variation. This therefore prohibits in principle to mix the virtual token inputs (electronic pulses) of the card changer and the real token inputs of the token changer, as well as to use the control signals of the hopper to restore the winnings in the card.

Coin tokens are also known by the Anglo-Saxon name "COMPARITOR".
To overcome these difficulties, the invention proposes a game machine with statutory mechanical counters and electronic coin mechanism in which a certain number of links of play-off bodies and control bodies for reimbursement of the machine by means of the machine are diverted. intermediary of the electronic coin mechanism to allow entry into play and reimbursement from the smart card, without receiving or issuing tokens and preferably without modifying the content of the "TOTAL IN" (101) and "TOTAL OUT" counters ( 116).
Another solution to these problems consists in modifying the content of these counters, and the balance of the hopper containing the coins is obtained by modifying the formula for calculating this balance.
The machine notably includes a counter of the "CANCEL CREDIT" type, a button of the "CASH OUT" type and a key of the type "CANCEL KEY". Thus, according to the invention, the electronic coin changer is interposed on the button and key connection paths and the connection between the game machine and said "CANCEL CREDIT" counter is connected to an input of the electronic coin changer in order to be able, when this coin changer electronic contains a valid smart card, divert the action of the button of the machine towards the electronic coin mechanism, simulate the action of the key, and count the control signals of the counter "CANCEL CREDIT" in order to allow the reimbursement of winnings on the card without issuing tokens.

According to another characteristic, this machine further comprises a counter of the "CREDIT" type and an input for a coin-operated counter connected to this "CREDIT" counter, and an output of the electronic coin mechanism is connected to an input of the coin-operated device to allow put into play from disbursements on the smart card.

According to another characteristic, this machine further comprises a counter of the "TOTAL IN" type, and an output of the electronic coin mechanism is connected to this counter "TOTAL IN" to allow entry into play from disbursement on the chip card.

According to another characteristic, this machine further comprises a counter of the "TOTAL OUT" type connected to a token exit hopper, the button and the key are directly connected to the machine, and the connection between the "TOTAL OUT" counter is diverted "and the hopper to the electronic coin mechanism to allow reimbursement of winnings on the card without issuing tokens.

• La figure 1, un schéma du flux des jetons dans une machine à sous ordinaire;
• la figure 2, un schéma de connexion selon l'invention d'un monnayeur à carte à puce à une machine à sous; et
• la figure 3, une variante du système de la figure 2;
• la figure 4 représente un détail de réalisation.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear clearly in the following description, presented by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the appended figures which represent:

• Figure 1, a diagram of the flow of tokens in an ordinary slot machine;
• Figure 2, a connection diagram according to the invention of a smart card coin acceptor to a slot machine; and
• Figure 3, a variant of the system of Figure 2;
• Figure 4 shows an embodiment detail.

The simplest and most elegant solution to be able to use the slot machine from a system based on a smart card reader, for example with a reader of the type described in the patent application cited above at which one can refer to for more details, certainly consists in connecting this reader to the electronic circuit for managing the slot machine, for example using a serial link of the RS232 type. Indeed, electronic control systems for slot machines are now all built around a computer solution based on microprocessors. We generally use a PC-like computer. The mechanical counters described above remain of course mechanical so as not to be able to be reset to zero by a simple software intervention, but their content is nevertheless recovered by sensors and memorized in the memories of the computer control system. Under these conditions, it is relatively easy to simulate the arrival and departure of coins by the two-way transmission of credits taken or entered in the smart card, while keeping intact the operating rules of the machine, in particular incrementing the counters and the various blockages according to the gains made.

The disadvantage of this method lies in the fact that it is necessary to have manufacturers modify the operating software of existing machines, and of those that will be manufactured in the future, when we want to add a card reader to them. puce (which by way of example could be the reader described in the patent application cited in the preamble and which the applicant markets under the reference GCV200)

Such a modification is of course costly, especially given the validation procedures for these programs, which must be particularly strict. This solution is therefore entirely at the discretion of the slot machine manufacturers, and even if some of them agree to join it, as long as one or more manufacturers representing a significant part of the market do not consent, it will be advisable to find an essentially material solution.

A first solution, shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2, consists in connecting the chip card coin changer 121 (GCV200) to the note coin changer 113, generally present on machines and which makes it possible to play from banknotes in addition to tokens. credit. This coin mechanism increments the "CREDIT" counter 103 via an electrical connection to which it is easy to connect the coin mechanism 121 (GCV200), which is programmed to send signals compatible with those corresponding to the banknotes introduced in the coin mechanism 113.

Regarding the return of winnings we will use for example the solution using the button "CASH OUT" 122 and the key "CANCEL KEY" 124. These will then be connected to the slot machine 120 not directly, but through the GCV200. When no card is inserted into the GCV200, or when the card does not recognize the card inserted, the signals from this button and this key are transmitted directly to the slot machine and the latter then functions normally.

When, on the other hand, the GCV200 recognizes a valid card, the action on the "CASH OUT" button 122 is diverted to the GCV200 and does not reach the slot machine. This can be done for example using an optocoupler which receives information from the button 122, and a relay which cuts the link to the slot machine.

Under this action, the GCV200 simulates the action of the "CANCEL KEY" 124 key, for example using a relay which comes to close. The same effect is thus obtained as in the case of a return of small cumulative gains exceeding the limit of automatic redistribution, even if this total is less than this limit. The advantage is that the "TOTAL OUT" counter 116 is no longer activated, which does not distort the results of the calculation of the content of the hopper 106.

The slot machine then resets the "CREDIT" counter 103 to zero and increments the "CANCEL CREDIT" counter 123 by the number of tokens won. The link between the slot machine and this counter 123 is also connected to the GCV200, which allows the latter to count the pulses arriving on the counter 123, and from these indications to reload the smart card contained in the GCV200 with a credit corresponding to the winnings obtained.

The fact that the "CANCEL CREDIT" 123 counter is incremented by winnings lower than the restitution limit for small accumulated winnings, and that the player can also recover these winnings directly in his card, completely corresponds to the desired goal of being able allow the player to play faster and longer without interruption, since there is no longer any need to call on service personnel.

However, we see here appear the drawbacks mentioned above concerning French legislation according to which the "JACKPOT" and "CANCEL CREDIT" counters are merged into a single "JACKPOT" counter.

Indeed, if we can always plan to block the automatic return procedure in the smart card when the player has won the jackpot and then have it reimbursed by issuing a payment voucher by an operator, the content of the single counter " JACKPOT "will correspond to the sum of jackpots subject to a payment voucher on the one hand, and small winnings reimbursed directly in the card on the other hand. So when we have to reconcile the content of the "JACKPOT" counter with the amounts actually reimbursed on presentation of payment vouchers, the difference will have to be paid to a charity, as provided for by law. This difference will correspond to the sum of the payment vouchers not reimbursed and credits entered directly on the smart cards in circulation, which must remain available to the player since this is one of the main interests of the system. The operator of the slot machine will therefore have to pay more than he owes, which represents a dead loss for him.

It would be possible on machines used in France to reinstall the "CANCEL CREDIT" mechanical counter, since these machines are entirely manufactured abroad in countries where this counter is compulsory. The meter is simply not installed for machines intended to be delivered in France. This solution, however, seems difficult to implement systematically.

The simplest solution will then be to provide an electronic "CANCEL CREDIT" counter at the GCV200, making it possible to distinguish between the winnings obtained by the jack pot and the small winnings reimbursed on the cards.

In some rather rare cases, corresponding to relatively old machines or possibly simplified for reasons of cost, the coin mechanism does not exist. In this case there is therefore no electrical input on the "CREDIT" 113 counter making it possible to increment it.

• en gérant le signal du bouton "CASH OUT", de la clé "CANCEL KEY" et du compteur "CANCEL CREDIT", non représentés sur la figure 3, comme décrit dans la solution précédente,
• en utilisant les signaux adressés par la machine à sous à la trémie pour venir indiquer au GCV200 le montant du crédit à inscrire dans la carte à puce. Un relais 133 permettra alors de dévier les signaux provenant de la machine à sous et normalement destinés à la trémie 106, pour les appliquer au GCV200.

In order to be able to use a GCV200 anyway, the invention proposes using a structure as shown in FIG. 3, in which the GCV200 121 is connected to the "TOTAL IN" counter 101 via a circuit 131 which comes to collect the signals from the coin changer 132 and the GCV200. These signals therefore transmit to the slot machine the number of credits from the GCV200 when it is used, but this action is done via the counter 101, which is credited accordingly. The return of the gains in the GCV200 can then be done in two ways:

• by managing the signal from the "CASH OUT" button, the "CANCEL KEY" key and the "CANCEL CREDIT" counter, no represented in FIG. 3, as described in the previous solution,
• using the signals sent by the slot machine to the hopper to come tell the GCV200 the amount of credit to be entered in the smart card. A relay 133 will then make it possible to divert the signals coming from the slot machine and normally intended for the hopper 106, to apply them to the GCV200.

As it is important, as we have seen, to be able to control the variation of the content of the hopper, we will use two electronic counters TIcarte and TOcarte located in the coin mechanism 121 (GCV200). The indications of these counters will then be introduced into the formula for calculating VT, which will become: $$\text{(3) Vt = TI-TIcarte - CB - TO + TOcarte + BA}$$

Finally, when using a coin token with secure tokens, as described in the patent application cited above, it can of course be used to connect the GCV200 to the slot machine of the system described above.

However in this case it is interesting to connect the GCV200 to the coin-operated token secure in order to be able to provide this coin-operated, from the GCV200, a black list of tokens, or batches of tokens, prohibited for reasons explained in the patent application. in reference. This black list will advantageously be stored in the GCV200 from a specialized smart card, itself loaded by external means of collecting the numbers of prohibited tokens.

In addition, this link will also make it possible to retrieve the content of the counter of authenticated tokens, which is provided in the coin operated secure tokens.

Another object of the present invention is to prevent the player from starting a game before all the chips have been wagered in the slot machine in the case of a maximum bet. For the rest of the description, reference may be made to the diagram in FIG. 4.
Indeed, on slot machines, for example video poker machines or roller machines, the player must bet a certain number of chips before starting a game in the hope of winning. The more chips the player puts, the more he wins in a winning combination.

• le joueur insère un après l'autre le nombre maximum de jetons ;
• puis, il appuie sur le bouton 134 de lancement de partie de la machine à sous 120, sur certaines machines, la partie est lancée automatiquement lorsque le nombre de jetons pariés correspond au maximum de jetons acceptés par la machine.

On these slot machines, there is a maximum number of chips that the player can bet, for example 3, 5 or 10 chips depending on the machines. To be able to win the super jackpot or Jack-Pot, the player must absolutely bet the maximum number of chips corresponding to the machine on which he plays. The sequence is as follows:

• the player inserts one after the other the maximum number of tokens;
• then, he presses the button 134 for launching the game of the slot machine 120, on certain machines, the game is launched automatically when the number of chips bet corresponds to the maximum of chips accepted by the machine.

There is a MAX button on the 121 card coin changer for quickly issuing the maximum number of tokens. However, if the player presses the button 134 to launch the part of the slot machine before all of the tokens have been wagered by the user, the payment table used by the machine to pay the winning configurations will correspond the number of tokens wagered when the game launch button is pressed and not the maximum number of tokens. Therefore, even in the case of maximum winning configuration, it will be impossible for the player to win the Jack-Pot. To solve this problem, the possibility of launching a game before all the tokens have been wagered in the slot machine by means of a circuit is prohibited if the MAX coin button 121 is pressed. blocking (for example a relay 135) placed on the action control wire of the button 134 connected to the standard interface 136 of the slot machine. Relay is activated by the coin mechanism 121, when the player has pressed the MAX button.
When the player presses the MAX button, the coin acceptor then activates the blocking relay for the play button 134. The coin acceptor issues the maximum number of tokens corresponding to the slot machine, then deactivates the relay 135 and the player can then start the game using button 134.

Claims (7)

Game machine with statutory mechanical counters (101, 116,) and with electronic coin mechanism (121), this machine comprising reimbursement control members (123, 122, 124, 106) and stake members (103, 113 ), characterized in that the electronic coin mechanism (121) diverts connections between these organs of the machine to allow, when the electronic coin mechanism contains a valid chip card, a stake and a refund from the chip card without receiving nor issue a token. Game machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the reimbursement control members include a credit cancellation counter (123) ["CANCEL CREDIT"], a button (122) for cash out ["CASH OUT"] and a key cancellation (124) ["CANCEL KEY"] and in that the electronic coin mechanism (12) is interposed on the paths of the button (122) and key (124) connections and that the connection between the game machine (120) and said counter (123) ["CANCEL CREDIT"] at an input of the electronic coin mechanism. Game machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the play-off members include a credit counter (103) ["CREDIT"] and an entry for a coin-operated cash machine (113) connected to this counter ["CREDIT" ], and in that one connects an output of the electronic coin mechanism (121) to an input of the bill coin mechanism to allow entry into play from disbursements on the chip card. Machine according to claim 1, this machine further comprising a total input counter (101) ["TOTAL IN"], characterized in that an output of the electronic coin mechanism (121) is connected to the input of tokens ["TOTAL IN"] (131) to allow entry into play from disbursement on the Smartcard. Machine according to claim 4, this machine further comprising a total outlets counter (116) ["TOTAL OUT"] connected to a token outlet hopper (106), characterized in that the button (122) is directly connected and the key (124) to the machine (120) and that the link between the slot machine ["TOTAL OUT"] and the hopper is diverted to the electronic coin mechanism (121) to allow the reimbursement of winnings on the card without issuing tokens. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the electronic coin mechanism comprises electronic counters (TI-card, TO-card) for monitoring variations in the hopper content. Machine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it includes a blocking device (135) for the game button (134) of the slot machine in the case of a maximum bet by the bet button. maximum of the coin mechanism (121).

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