JP2001137527A - Game medium dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game medium dispenser having multiple functions, an improved fraud preventing property and high flexibility and adaptable to game machines of a specific type and other types. SOLUTION: This game medium dispenser is provided with a first connection section 29 and a second connection section 28, both the first connection section 29 and the second connection section 28 are utilized for the connection to a game machine 2A of the specific type, and only the second connection section 28 is utilized for the connection to a game machine 2B of other types. In the former case, whether the game controller of the game machine is a specific one or not can be determined, and the signal required for the ball lending control can be exchanged between the game medium dispenser and the game machine. In the latter case, the signal required for the ball lending control can be exchanged without specifying the game controller. The game medium dispenser having high flexibility, usable in common, and not necessarily limited to the game machine with the specific game controller can be provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game media lending device used in conjunction with a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine or a spinning-type gaming machine. A game medium lending device having a lending control function for instructing lending of game media (for example, a game ball in the case of a pachinko machine and a coin in the case of a spinning-type game machine) and a function of preventing unauthorized modification of the game machine. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a prepaid type voucher (so-called prepaid card) is inserted into a ball lending machine (game media lending device) attached to a pachinko machine, and a ball lending machine provided on an upper plate of the pachinko machine is used. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a gaming machine configured to discharge a predetermined number of game balls to an upper plate based on an operation signal from an operation unit.

A ball lending machine of this type (a ball lending machine of a prepaid card system; hereinafter, simply referred to as a "ball lending machine") generally operates as follows, although the details will be described later. That is, the ball lending machine reads the balance of the inserted prepaid card (hereinafter, also referred to as “unused amount”), and accepts a game ball discharge request from the ball lending operation unit within the range of the unused amount. A predetermined quantity (eg,
The number of game balls for 200 yen; however, the number of balls can be changed for each hole) is sent to the discharge control device of the pachinko machine to discharge the game balls. Also, the ball lending machine updates the unused amount of the prepaid card every time it sends out the discharge command (for example, the unused amount is reduced by 200 yen for each discharge command sent). In response to a periodic information acquisition request from the ball lending management device provided in the hall, the ball lending information such as the unused amount of the prepaid card and the number of discharged balls is notified to the ball lending management device.

On the other hand, the pachinko machine will be described in detail later,
In addition to the above-described discharge control device, various devices such as a game control device equipped with a game processing device for controlling a game on a game board are provided. In particular, in a pachinko machine equipped with a game control device equipped with a game processing unit called an amuse chip, the amuse chip has a C
By mounting the PU core, main memory, program ROM, and the like (hereinafter, referred to as “CPU core, etc.”) on-chip (integrating the CPU core, etc. on a common semiconductor substrate),
The use of a so-called back ROM (a program ROM containing a falsified game program) is physically impossible to prevent fraud, and furthermore, the amuse chip itself has a game program validity judgment function, More secure fraud prevention measures are being implemented.

[0005] As a function of determining the validity of a game program, for example, when the amuse chip is activated, the game program stored in a program ROM on the chip is read and encrypted by a predetermined algorithm, and the program is generated at the time of encryption. The check code is compared with the check code generated in advance in the same procedure and stored in the program ROM, and if they match, it is determined that the game program is valid, that is, the game program is not falsified. There is known an apparatus that starts executing a game program stored in a program ROM.

[0006] By the way, in the above-mentioned gaming machine, the pachinko machine and the ball lending machine are provided side by side to automate the discharge of the game balls, so that the convenience for the player is achieved.
Since the ball lending machine had only a single function of ball lending with a prepaid card, considering that it was installed in pairs with pachinko machines in many halls, ball lending machines were provided with functions other than ball lending functions. It was required to add some added value and to make it multifunctional.

Further, in a pachinko machine having the above-mentioned game program validity judging function, the validity judgment of the game program stored in the amuse chip is performed, but the amuse chip itself is illegally replaced ( (Including replacement of the game control device or pachinko machine), there is a disadvantage that there is no way to know it.

Accordingly, the applicant of the present invention provides a game media lending device (for example, a ball rental machine) with a function for preventing a game machine (for example, a pachinko machine) from being fraudulent, and makes the game media lending device multifunctional. In addition, a game media lending device that can judge an improper exchange of the amuse chip itself (including an improper exchange of a game control device or an improper exchange of a pachinko machine) by using the impropriety prevention function has been proposed (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 10-26139). 11-3175
No. 33, November 8, 1999).

The game medium lending device according to this proposal has the above-mentioned ball lending control function and outputs a management information request to a game machine (for example, a pachinko machine) when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The gaming machine's individual identification information included in the management information response returned from the gaming machine in response to the identification information for determination previously held is compared with the identification information for identification. A game machine judging function for judging an improper exchange of the control device or an improper exchange of the pachinko machine, and for judging the quality of the game program from the validity judgment result information of the game program included in the management information response. According to this,
A single game media lending device can perform ball lending control and judge the quality of a gaming machine (judge validity of a game program and judge illegal exchange of amuse chips). Can be strengthened.

[0010]

However, in the game medium lending device proposed above, for the following reasons,
There is an inconvenience that the model of the gaming machine attached to the game media lending device can be selected only from a specific model, more specifically, a model equipped with a specific type of amuse chip.In this regard, there is still a technical problem to be solved. there were.

That is, at present, there are several types of amuse chips applicable to game machines such as pachinko machines and spinning-type game machines, and each type has a predetermined rule (“authorization and type of game machine”). Strictly designed in accordance with the technical standards stipulated in the “Rules on Approval, etc.” of the National Public Safety Commission Regulation No. 4), so that game programs corresponding to the types of games (such as pachinko games and torso games) Although the mechanism of game control performed by executing is almost the same, the mechanism of judging the validity of the amuse chip and the method of extracting the judgment result are different for each type due to differences in design philosophy etc. It is a fact.

For example, as described above, an amuse chip of a certain type (hereinafter referred to as “type A”) determines the legitimacy of a game program (that is, it is an unaltered game program). It has a determination function, and is configured to be able to retrieve the validity determination result information and the individual information of the amuse chip to the game medium lending device. However, other types of amuse chips (hereinafter referred to as "type B") do not always have such a mechanism.

[0013] Therefore, since the illegality determination information required for the above-mentioned proposed game media lending device cannot be directly extracted from a gaming machine equipped with a type B amuse chip, at least a gaming machine equipped with a type B amuse chip is required. However, there is a problem that the game media lending device cannot be provided in addition to the game media lending device proposed above. This narrows the sales channel of the above-mentioned proposed game media lending device, which has the above-mentioned excellent merits (multifunctionalization and strengthening of fraud prevention), and reduces the competitiveness in the market. This is a technical issue that must be kept in mind.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has been made to achieve multi-functionality and to prevent fraud.
Gaming machines other than specific models (for example, pachinko machines or spinning-type gaming machines equipped with the above-mentioned Type B amuse chips)
It is an object of the present invention to provide a versatile game medium lending device (for example, a ball lending machine in a pachinko machine, and a coin lending machine in a revolving-type game machine) that can be applied to a game machine.

[0015]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game medium provided in a gaming machine provided that a storage medium storing value information is mounted. In a game medium lending device provided with lending control means for performing lending control of game media to a discharge control unit of the gaming machine based on an input signal from a lending operation unit, the game medium lending device is provided in the gaming machine. A control section determining means for determining whether or not a game control section for controlling the progress of a game is a specific one, and a storage for storing setting information for setting whether or not to activate the control section determining means Means, a first connection unit for transmitting and receiving signals between the control unit determination means and the game control unit, and a signal of the lending control means and the game medium lending operation unit and the discharge control unit Separately with the second connection part that exchanges When setting information is stored in the storage unit, the control unit determination unit is activated and the lending control is performed based on a determination result as to whether or not the game control unit is a specific one. If the means is in an activated state or a deactivated state, while the setting information is not stored, the game control unit does not judge whether it is a specific one, and the lending control means is in the activated state. And a lending state management means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the control section determining section acquires information contributing to individual identification of the game control section and stores the information in the storage section. The lending state management means determines the validity of the determination information and the acquired individual identification information, and the determination information for determining the individual identification information acquired by the control unit determination means is stored in the storage means. When the setting is stored, the control unit determination means is activated. The invention according to claim 3 is dependent on the invention described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the physical shape of the first connection portion and the physical shape of the second connection portion are different. And Further, the invention according to claim 4 is dependent on the invention described in claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the control unit determining means is configured to execute the game program in which the game control unit is stored in the game control unit. It is characterized in that a result of judging validity is obtained, and when the result information is invalid, the lending control means is deactivated.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to a game store (hereinafter referred to as a "pachinko machine", a type of ball-and-ball game machine) equipped with a number of pachinko machines. An embodiment applied to a “hole” will be described with reference to the drawings. A. As shown in FIG. 1, a gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment includes a gaming machine 2 (a pachinko machine in this embodiment) and a gaming medium lending device provided alongside the gaming machine 2. A ball rental machine 3 and a plurality of gaming machines 1 (gaming machines 2
And one of the ball rental machines 3 is counted as one;
Table) installed. Generally, a predetermined number of gaming machines 1 constitute one island (pachinko island), and supply and collect game balls to each gaming machine 2 for each island.

In the hall, one ball lending management device 4 is provided.
And a main relay device 5, and further, an appropriate number of card issuing machines 6, money amount adding devices 7, and sub-relay devices 8 are provided. The ball lending management device 4, the main relay device 5, the card issuing machine 6, the money adding device 7, and the sub-relay device 8 work together with the ball lending machine 3 of the gaming device 1 to obtain additional information on the prepaid card 9, A ball lending network 10 for collecting and managing ball lending amount information and the like is configured.

The prepaid card 9 will be described. In general,
Prepaid cards are a type of portable storage medium,
Information recorded on vouchers and other objects (hereinafter referred to as vouchers, etc.) by electromagnetic means (electronic or magnetic methods or other methods that cannot be recognized by human perception, for example, by irradiating invisible light rays) The value information recorded by the method of printing the record information that allows the reading of the value is recognized as the monetary value (the monetary value is converted to “degrees” or other units, And the so-called prepaid voucher, etc., which is issued with a price (generally cash) corresponding to the number of units in which the voucher is issued, and in a broad sense, the issuer of the voucher or the issuer specifies If you purchase, borrow, or receive services from a third party (hereinafter referred to as “Issuers, etc.”), you will be required to present, deliver, or otherwise provide such payments Say what you can use.

Prepaid card 9 in the present embodiment
In particular, in a game arcade in which a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine or a spinning-type gaming machine is installed, in order to repay the borrowing of game media (game balls and coins) used in the gaming machine, the game hall is used. What is used. Note that there are two types of prepaid vouchers: one that can only decrement and renew the amount each time the price is paid, and one that can add and renew the amount in exchange for additional payment. The prepaid card 9 in the present embodiment may be of any type, but in the present embodiment, it belongs to the latter type. That is, the prepaid card 9 in the present embodiment subtracts and updates the amount recorded on the voucher or the like each time the price is paid, and adds and updates the amount recorded on the voucher or the like each time additional payment is made (“additional payment”). The “payment for payment” and “addition / update of amount” are performed using the above-described amount adder 7), and correspond to a prepaid voucher of a type that can be paid. The card issuing machine 6 newly issues a prepaid card 9 in which the same amount information as the price is recorded on a voucher or the like by an electromagnetic method in exchange for the price to the player. In exchange for a new price, the same amount information as the price is added to the issued prepaid card 9 and stored.

The ball lending management device 4 obtains information (card identification information, issuer information, amount information, etc.) of the prepaid card 9 issued by the card issuing device 6 from the card issuing device 6, 7 obtains the amount information (including the card identification information and the issuer information) additionally recorded on the issued prepaid card 9 from the amount adder 7, and obtains the obtained information from the total card sales amount of the hall (the card issuing machine). 6 (hereinafter referred to as “total sales amount information”), the sum of the total amount of money recorded on the prepaid card 9 issued by 6 and the total amount of money additionally recorded on the prepaid card 9 issued by the amount adding machine 7. ), Obtain ball lending information from each ball lending machine 3, and use this acquired information as the total information on the ball lending amount of the hall (hereinafter referred to as "total"). Be managed as a) that the loan amount information ". Furthermore, the ball lending management device 4 checks the validity information of the gaming machine 2 (accurately, the gaming processing device of the gaming machine 2) from each ball lending machine 3 (whether the legitimate gaming processing device is used). No, or information as to whether or not the device is a game processing device equipped with a valid game program).

In order to acquire such information, the ball lending management device 4 performs a periodic polling operation, that is, the address of the card issuing machine 6, the money adding machine 7, and the ball lending machine 3 (for example, the ball lending machine 3). In this case, an operation of sequentially outputting information requests while designating the number of the gaming machine 1) is performed,
The ball lending management device 4 stores the information acquired by polling and notifies the total sales amount information and the total ball lending amount information in response to an access from the card company 11 (for example, an access after the hall is closed). If necessary, each gaming machine 2 (more precisely, each gaming machine 2
Card processor 11)
Notify. Note that these pieces of notification information can be taken out from the ball lending management device 4 to a hall management device (for example, a hall computer described later) and checked, and the notification information display is displayed on the ball lending management device 4. It is also possible to provide a part and check.

The main relay device 5 is connected via the sub relay device 8
A data connection is made between the ball lending management device 4 and the card issuing machine 6, the amount adding machine 7, and the ball lending device 3, and the main relay device 5 and the ball lending management device 4 are wired (for example, Ethernet (Ethernet), wireless between the main relay device 5 and the sub relay device 8 and between the sub relay device 8 and the card issuing machine 6, the money adding machine 7, and the ball lending machine 3 ). The reason for the wireless connection is to increase the flexibility of the layout of the gaming machine 1, the card issuing machine 6, and the money adding machine 7 in the hall. If it is not necessary to take care of the cable re-routing due to the layout change, the main relay device 5, the sub-relay device 8, the card issuing machine 6, the money adding machine 7, and the ball lending machine 3 may also be wired. By the way, the number of sub relay devices 8 to be installed is set at an appropriate installation position at which wireless connection can be made with all card issuing machines 6, money adding machines 7, and ball rental machines 3 in the hall, for example, in the case of infrared communication. If there is an installation position where all communication partners can see through the sub-relay device 8, the number of installations can be one.

B. Settlement Method with Card Company Next, a brief description will be given of a mechanism of the settlement between the card company 11 and the hall. As described above, the card company 11 accesses the ball lending management device 4 regularly or as needed, and the total sales amount corresponding to the total card sales amount recorded on the prepaid card 9 by the card issuing machine 6 or the amount adding machine 7. The information and the global loan amount information lent using the prepaid card 9 are collected and grasped. And the card company 11
The hall requests payment of the amount indicated in the total sales amount information, while the hall requests the card company 11 to pay the amount indicated in the global loan amount information. as a result,
Payment is made between the hall and the card company 11.

C. Front Configuration of Gaming Device FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the gaming device 1 (the gaming device 1 shown in FIG. 1).
The gaming machine 1 is composed of the gaming machine 2 and the ball rental machine 3 attached to the gaming machine 2 as described above. The gaming machine 2 has a frame-shaped front frame 71,
It has a metal frame (glass frame) 72 for supporting glass, a game board 73 in which a game area is formed, a front display panel 74, and an operation panel 75 provided below the front display panel 74, The front frame 71 is supported to be openable and closable with a wooden machine frame (not shown) on which the gaming machine 2 is installed.
2 is supported by the front frame 71 so that opening and closing are possible.

One end of the display panel 74 is supported by the front frame 71 so as to be openable and closable, and an upper plate 81 for receiving prize balls and lending balls is formed. An opening / closing lever 83 for opening / closing a passage connecting the two is provided. On the upper plate 81, a balance indicator 81a for displaying an unused amount of the prepaid card, and a ball lending indicator 81b for displaying a ball lending available state (a state in which the prepaid card has an unused amount and no fraud is detected). , A ball lending switch 81c operated when requesting a predetermined amount of ball lending to the ball lending machine 3, and a return switch 81d operated when requesting return of a prepaid card (discharge from the ball lending machine 3). Is provided. These balance indicator 81a, ball lending indicator 81
b, the ball rental switch 81c and the return switch 81d
This corresponds to a game medium lending operation unit described in the gist of the invention.

On the operation panel 75, an ashtray 84 and the above-mentioned ball storage tray 82 are formed, and a ball release lever 85 for pulling out the balls stored in the ball storage tray 82 downward outside.
Is provided. On the right side of the operation panel 75, an operation handle 86 for shooting a ball is provided. In the game board 73, a game area is formed in which a substantially circular area on the front surface is surrounded by a guide rail 88. In this game area,
A special figure display device 89 that displays a plurality of pieces of identification information (so-called special symbols; hereinafter, referred to as “special figures”) in a plurality of rows, a special variable winning device 90 having a special winning opening, a special figure starting port 91, a plurality of general winnings A mouth 94, a plurality of hitting direction changing members 96 called windmills, left and right side lamps 97, 98, an out hole 99, and the like are provided. At the upper part of the special figure display device 89, one of the above-mentioned general prize ports 94 is arranged.
Are provided.

A special figure starting switch 91 is provided at the special figure starting port 91.
1 (see FIG. 4 for switches, the same applies hereinafter), and a plurality of general winning ports 94 are provided with a winning switch 102 for each winning port. Further, a continuation switch 103 is provided in the continuous winning channel in the special winning opening of the special variable winning device 90, and the special variable winning device 90
A count switch 104 is provided in the general winning channel. The special figure starting switch 101 detects that a ball has won the special figure starting port 91, and the winning switch 102 detects that a ball has won each of the plurality of general winning ports 94.
The count switch 104 is a special variable prize winning device 90.
Detects all the balls that have entered the special winning opening and continues switch 1
03 is a continuous winning (of the so-called V
The winning ball is detected.

In the game area of the game board 73, a number of obstruction nails, not shown, such as a top nail or a nail, are provided. The game board 73 is provided with various other decorative lamps, LEDs, and the like. Furthermore, game board 7
In the present embodiment, the types of the game areas in No. 3 are those belonging to the so-called “first type”, but other types,
That is, the present invention can be applied to those belonging to “second type”, “third type” or “other type”.

On the other hand, the ball rental machine 3 has an infrared receiving window 3a.
(Provided on the front face of the transceiver 24 in FIG. 3), the insertion slot 3b of the prepaid card (the card R / W device 2 in FIG. 3).
6) and a display window 3c (FIG. 3) for displaying an unused amount of money or an unauthorized state of the prepaid card.
Provided on the display surface of the display device 27).

D. Block Configuration of Gaming Device FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a gaming device 1 including a gaming machine 2 and a ball rental machine 3, and the gaming machine 2 includes a gaming control device 12 (details will be described later) and a gaming control device 12 , An external communication terminal 13, a discharge control device (corresponding to a discharge control unit described in the gist of the invention) 14, a discharge device 15, and a relay board 1.
6. A connection terminal 17 provided on the relay board 16, and a balance display 81a formed of, for example, a three-digit 7-segment element provided on the upper plate 81, a ball lending display 81b formed of, for example, an LED, a ball The rental switch 81c and the return switch 81d are provided. In addition, in addition to this, a power supply device, a launch control unit, a launch control device, a display control device,
Although a decoration control device and the like are provided, they are omitted for convenience of illustration.

On the other hand, the ball lending machine 3 includes a one-chip microcomputer 18, an oscillator 19, a non-volatile memory (corresponding to storage means described in the gist of the invention) 20, an output interface 21, an input interface 22, and a communication control device 2.
3. Transceiver 24, card R / W (read / write) control device 25, card R / W device 26, display 27, terminal for chip (corresponding to second connection portion in the gist of the invention) 28
And a ball lending terminal 29 (corresponding to the first connection portion described in the gist of the invention). It should be noted that circled alphabetic symbols (a to d) in the drawing indicate that signal lines of the same symbol are connected.

The one-chip microcomputer 18 comprises:
It corresponds to a lending control unit, a control unit determining unit, and a lending state management unit described in the gist of the invention, and executes a ball lending control program (see FIGS. 9 to 11) described later to control a ball lending control or an amuse chip (see FIG. 9 to FIG. 11). A game arithmetic processing device 200, which will be described later; which corresponds to a game control unit described in the gist of the invention), performs a validity determination process, an unauthorized replacement determination process of the same chip, and the like.
Generates an operation clock for the one-chip microcomputer 19.

The non-volatile memory 20 is a storage device that can hold the stored contents even while the power is off, and is, for example, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Prog
volatile semiconductor memory (RAM) and battery backed-up volatile semiconductor memory (SRAM: Static Random Access Mem)
ory). This nonvolatile memory 20
Is identification information for determination (reference information for individual identification of an amuse chip) input from an external device (the ball lending management device 4 in the present embodiment) as necessary. This corresponds to the judgment information described below;
D code) is written and stored in a predetermined storage area.

The output interface 21 and the input interface 22 control data input / output between an internal bus (not shown) of the one-chip microcomputer 18 and the communication control device 23 and the card R / W control device 25. Chip terminal 28 and ball rental terminal 2
9 and the data input / output between the internal bus of the one-chip microcomputer 18 is controlled. The output interface 21 and a hall management device (hereinafter, a hall computer 30) may be connected as shown in the drawing to output necessary information to the hall computer 30. In this case, the required information may include ball lending information, validity information of the amuse chip, illegal exchange information of the chip, status information of the ball lending machine 3 (valid / invalid information of the ball lending function), and the like. it can. The ball lending information may represent the amount of money (for example, 1 pulse = 100 yen, n pulse = n × 100 yen) by the number of pulses.

The communication control unit 23 performs wireless communication between the transceiver 24 and the sub-relay device 8 (in the present embodiment, infrared communication, but wireless communication may be used).
And the card R / W control device 25 controls the card R / W
It controls reading and writing of storage information (security information such as individual identification information of the card and issuer information and price information) of the prepaid card inserted into the device 26, and controls ejection or insertion prohibition of the prepaid card. .

The chip terminal 28 is connected to the internal bus of the one-chip microcomputer 18 via the output interface 21 and the input interface, and a connection between the chip terminal 28 and the external communication terminal 13 of the gaming machine 2 will be described later. The second harness 31 connects the one-chip microcomputer 18 to the game processing device 200 of the gaming machine 2 for requesting management information (such as an ID code transmitted to the gaming machine 2 or a game request). Acquisition request of program validity determination result; request source is ball lending machine 3), management information response (response to request source, ie, ID code returned from gaming machine 2 or game program validity determination result), etc. Information can be transmitted.

Similarly, the ball rental terminal 29 is also connected to the internal bus of the one-chip microcomputer 18 via the output interface 21 and the input interface, and the connection terminal between the ball rental terminal 29 and the gaming machine 2 is provided. 17
Are connected by a first harness 32, which will be described later, so that various information exchanged between the one-chip microcomputer 18 and the relay board 16 of the gaming machine 2 (a lending request from the gaming machine 2, a , And information for balance display and ball lending available display) can be transmitted.

Here, the chip terminal 28 and the ball rental terminal 2
Reference numeral 9 denotes an appropriate position that does not hinder the connection work of the first harness 32 and the second harness 31 described later (for example, they are arranged at a predetermined interval on the back side of the ball rental machine 3 or one is on the back side and the other is on the back side). Are disposed independently of each other, and the physical shapes of the two are different from each other.
For example, the physical shape of the chip terminal 28 is a modular shape, and the physical shape of the ball rental terminal 29 is D-sub.
The shape of the mold. This is because by making the physical shapes of the chip terminal 28 and the ball lending terminal 29 different, it is possible to reliably prevent the first harness 32 and the second harness 31 from being mistakenly connected. It is desirable that this concept (the physical shapes of the two be different) be applied to the external communication terminal 13 and the connection terminal 17 of the gaming machine 2. The first harness 32 and the second harness 31 are connected to these external communication terminals 1.
3 and the connection terminal 17.

The first harness 32 has a required number of signal lines 32 a for transmitting signals transmitted and received between the ball rental terminal (first connection portion) 29 of the ball rental machine 3 and the connection terminal 17 of the gaming machine 2. When,
Similarly, the second harness 31 includes a chip terminal (second terminal) of the ball lending machine 3.
The number of signal lines 31a required for transmitting signals transmitted and received between the connection portion) 28 and the external communication terminal 13 of the gaming machine 2, and connectors (connection terminals) 31b attached to both ends of the signal line 31a; 31c.

The connectors 32b and 32 of the first harness 32
c and the connectors 31b, 3 of the second harness 31
The shape of 1c must conform to the shape of each connection destination terminal. For example, ball rental terminal 29 and connection terminal 1
7 is a D-sub type male shape, the connectors 32b and 32c of the first harness 32 are D-sub type female shapes, and similarly, the chip terminal 28 and the external communication terminal 13 are modular. When the male shape of the mold is used, the second
The shape of the connectors 31b and 31c of the harness 31 is a modular female type.

The "harness" generally refers to a wiring component formed by bundling a plurality of signal lines and connecting connectors to both ends thereof, but is not limited to this structure. For example,
A plurality of signal lines may be combined into a band,
Printed wiring may be provided on a flexible strip-shaped thin film material. Also, the number of signal lines and printed wiring is not particularly limited. It may be one that transmits information in a time-division manner using a single line, or may transmit information using serial data. Further, the type of the signal line is not particularly limited. The solid metal conductor may be a coaxial cable or an optical fiber as well as a single-wire metal conductor.

The gaming machine 2 and the ball lending machine 3 having the above-described configurations can store the amount information and security information of the prepaid card inserted into the card R / W device 26 of the ball lending machine 3.
Under the control of the one-chip microcomputer 18, the card R / W device 26 reads the information, and among the read information, in particular, the amount information of the gaming machine 2 via the first harness 32.
, And can be displayed on a balance display 81 a provided on the upper plate 81 of the gaming machine 2.

When the player confirms the display on the balance display 81a and presses the ball lending switch 81c, ie, performs a lending request, a signal representing the lending request (hereinafter referred to as a "lending request signal") is generated. Ball rental machine 3 via first harness 32
The amount information of the prepaid card is reduced by the card R / W device 26 in accordance with the operation of the ball rental switch 81c under the control of the one-chip microcomputer 18 (for example, 200 yen for each operation; this amount) Can be set for each hall) and updated at the first harness 3
A signal representing a lending response corresponding to the above operation (hereinafter, referred to as a “lending response signal”) is sent to the discharge control device 14 of the gaming machine 2 via the control unit 2, and the discharge device 15 controls the discharge control device 14 under the control of the discharge control device 14. The number of game balls according to the operation is discharged to the upper plate 81 of the gaming machine 2.

When the amount information of the prepaid card becomes zero, the unused amount of the balance display 81a is set to zero, the prepaid card is discharged from the card R / W device 26, and ball lending is possible. The display 81b is set to a non-sphere lending state (for example, turned off). Also, return switch 81
When d is pressed, the prepaid card is discharged from the card R / W device 26 as a matter of course.

The ball lending machine 3 has not only the ball lending function described above but also a function of judging the validity of the amuse chip. The validity determination function includes information (ID code of the game processing unit 200) contributing to the individual identification of the amuse chip from the game processing unit 200 of the game control device 12 via the second harness 31, Processing device 20
0 (information on the validity determination result of the game program executed by the game processing device 200) stored in the non-volatile memory 20 of the ball rental machine 3 in advance. The stored judgment I
The D code is compared with the ID code. If they match, OK (determined as an amuse chip of a specific individual; hereinafter, referred to as “true”), and if they do not match, NG (another individual having a different ID code). Is determined to be a false amuse chip; hereinafter, referred to as “false”). Further, from the result of the validity determination of the acquired game program, OK (determined to be an amuse chip storing a valid game program; true) )
And NG (determined as an amuse chip storing an illegal game program; false),
While the ball lending function is enabled when OK is determined,
When NG is determined, the ball lending function is invalidated (that is, the ball lending machine 3 is deactivated) and the ball lending control is stopped (in this case, the state is notified to the ball lending management device 4 together with the stop). ).

The ball rental machine 3 is connected to the ball rental network 1
In response to the information request from 0, information relating to the identification and determination processing (information as to whether or not it is an amuse chip of a specific individual storing a valid game program) and information relating to the ball lending function (a prepaid card) (The amount information, security information, and ball lending amount information) of the ball lending management device 4 of the request source.

The setting of the judgment ID code (judgment identification information) in the nonvolatile memory 20 of the ball lending machine 3 is performed manually by remote control from the ball lending management device 4. Specifically, when the gaming machine 2 is replaced, when the gaming machine 2 after the replacement is a specific model, that is, when the amuse chip mounted on the gaming machine 2 is a specific type (the type described at the beginning) A), the ID code of the amuse chip (delivered by the manufacturer)
Is set in the ball lending management device 4 together with the address of the gaming machine 2. Then, by pressing an ID code writing start button (not shown) provided on an operation panel (not shown) of the ball lending management device 4, the ball lending device 4 is provided from the ball lending management device 4 to the gaming machine 2 of the address. A request for setting an ID code is sent to
The ball lending machine 3 that has received the D code setting request writes the ID code sent at the same time as the request into the predetermined area of the nonvolatile memory 20 as identification information for determination of individual identification of the amuse chip.

Therefore, for example, when the amuse chip (or the game control device 12 or the game machine 2) is exchanged improperly, the ID code for judgment written in the nonvolatile memory 20 and the ball rental machine 3 Gaming machine 2
Since the ID code of the amuse chip no longer matches, the ball lending machine 3 determines this match / mismatch, so that an unauthorized exchange can be reliably detected, and a notification of fraud, for example, the ball lending network 10 And the warning display on the display 27 provided on the front of the ball lending machine 3 can be performed, and the ball lending machine 3 can be quickly deactivated to stop the ball lending control. The economic loss of the hall can be avoided.

On the other hand, the gaming machine 2 after the replacement is a model other than the specific model, that is, the amuse chip mounted on the gaming machine 2 is of a type other than the specific type (see the type A described at the beginning) (the beginning). (See Type B described above), a predetermined dummy ID code is set in the ball lending management device 4 together with the address of the gaming machine 2. Then, by pressing the start button, a request for setting an ID code is sent from the ball lending management device 4 to the ball lending machine 3 attached to the gaming machine 2 of the address, and the ID code setting request is sent. The ball lending machine 3 that has received the ID code (in this case, a dummy ID code) sent at the same time as the request writes the ID code into a predetermined area of the nonvolatile memory 20.

Here, the dummy ID code is an ID code having a content corresponding to the initial value of the nonvolatile memory 20 (for example, blank data of an EEPROM). This dummy ID code is stored in the nonvolatile memory 20.
, The content stored in the nonvolatile memory 20 can be returned to the initial value. Therefore, the ball rental machine 3 checks the contents stored in the non-volatile memory 20 and, if it is the initial value (dummy ID code), does not perform the above-described determination operation. Even if 2 is a model other than the specific model, at least
The lending control function of the ball lending machine 3 can be used without any trouble. It is preferable to provide a dummy ID code generation circuit inside the ball lending management device 4 because it is possible to save the trouble of manually setting each code. As described above, in the present embodiment, the determination ID code is used as setting information described in the gist of the invention. That is, the determination ID
The code is commonly used as setting information and determination information described in the gist of the invention. It is to be noted that the setting information and the determination information are not limited to commonly used, and the setting information may be separately provided and implemented. For example, the setting information is a specific code, and the specific code and a determination ID as determination information
The code is set in the nonvolatile memory 20. When the specific code is set in the nonvolatile memory 20, the ID code of the amuse chip is determined based on the determination ID code set in the nonvolatile memory 20, and When a dummy ID code is set, the determination of the ID code is not performed.

E. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the game control device 12. The game control device 12 includes an amuse chip (game processing device 200) for controlling the accessory required for pachinko games and the like, and an oscillator 111 for dividing a high-precision oscillation frequency to generate a predetermined clock signal CLK. , CLK, to generate a reset signal RST having a predetermined period (for example, 2 ms period), an input interface 113 for inputting various sensor signals, and an output interface 114 for outputting various drive signals. A sound generator 115 that generates a sound effect (electronic sound or voice synthesis sound) required for the game, and an amplifier that amplifies the sound effect signal from the sound generator 115 and outputs the amplified sound signal to a speaker 116 provided at an appropriate position of the gaming machine 2. 117 and the external communication terminal 1
The second harness 31 connects the external communication terminal 13 and the ball lending machine 3 with a second harness 31.
1, the external communication control circuit 220 (see FIG. 5) of the game processing device 200 and the chip terminal 28 of the ball lending machine 3
(See FIG. 3).

The input interface 113 is used for the game board 7
3, that is, a special figure start switch 101, a winning switch 102, and a continuation switch 103.
And selectively receive signals from the count switch 104 and input them to the external bus interface 204 (see FIG. 5) of the game processing device 200.
The selection operation is performed in accordance with chip select signals CS0 to CS7 (see FIG. 5) from gaming operation processing device 200. Note that “1 to n” described in the rectangular figure representing the winning switch 102 indicates that the winning switch 102 is n.
It is shown that it is provided. Here, n is the number of general winning ports 94.

The output interface 114 is connected to the external bus interface 204 of the game processing unit 200.
(See FIG. 5)
That is, the external information terminal 118, the display control
Special figure start memory display 105, big winning opening solenoid 12
1, the ejection control device 14, the decoration control device 123, and the like, and the selection operation is performed by the chip select signals CS0 to CS7 (see FIG. 5) from the game processing device 200 in the same manner as the input interface 113. ).

The external information terminal 118 is for outputting game information to the hall computer 30, and the display control device 119 is for controlling the display of the special figure display device 89. The special figure start memory display 105 is for displaying the number of start memories of the special figure, and the special winning opening solenoid 121 is a special variable winning device 90.
The opening and closing of the grand prize opening, the discharge control device 14 drives the discharge device 15 to control the discharge of the game medium (game balls), and the decoration control device 123 includes the decoration lamp of each part of the game board. This is for controlling lighting of the LED and the like.

F. Configuration of Game Arithmetic Processing Unit FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the game arithmetic processing unit 200.
The game processing unit 200 is divided into a game block 200A for performing game control and a management block 200B for performing information management. The components of each block described below are mounted on a common semiconductor substrate to form a single chip. , An amusement chip manufactured by packaging (synonymous with an amuse chip). Gaming block 200A
Includes components such as a CPU core 201, a program ROM 202, and a user work RAM 203, an external bus interface 204, a clock generator 205, a reset / interrupt control circuit 206, an address decoder 207, an input / output control circuit 208, and a random number generation circuit 209. , A reset timing unit 210 and constituent elements such as an attribute register 211, and
It includes a CPU bus 212 for connecting these components.

Although not shown, the CPU core 201 includes various register groups and arithmetic / logical operation units (ALU: Arit:
hmetic and Logic Unit), instruction register (IR: Instr)
uction Register), decoder, program counter (PC), stack pointer (S
P: Stack Pointer), a data bus connecting them, an address bus, and various control units are included in the core. For example,
A CPU core of the Z80 architecture, based on a game program stored in the program ROM 202 (see the game program 202a in FIG. 8), realizes various functions necessary for the game control of the game machine 2 by software. The program ROM 202 is a non-volatile semiconductor memory (for example, a one-time PROM) in which the number of times of writing data is only one, and its storage contents include a game program 202a and a check code 202b as shown in FIG.
(Data generated by encrypting a game program with a predetermined encryption algorithm). User work RAM 20
3 corresponds to the main memory of the CPU core 201, for example, S
A high-speed semiconductor device such as a RAM is used as a work area (work area) when executing processing based on a game program in the game block 200A.

The external bus interface 204 corresponds to FIG.
, An external address signal A0 to A15 of a plurality of bits (for example, 16 bits) and a plurality of bits (for example,
It performs signal interface processing such as external data signals D0 to D7 (8 bits), a memory request signal MREQ, an input / output request signal IORQ, a memory write signal WR, a memory read signal RD, and a mode signal MODE.

For example, if the external data signals D0 to D7 are added from the outside while the external address signals A0 to A15 are sequentially incremented while the MODE signal is active, the mode becomes the write mode to the program ROM 202 and the gaming machine Of a game program (hereinafter, referred to as a "maker") or a third party. However, when the writing of the game program into the program ROM 202 is completed, a write completion code is recorded in a predetermined area of a hardware parameter ROM 214 (abbreviated as HW parameter ROM in the figure) to be described later. If a write end code is recorded in the hardware parameter ROM 214, the program R
The game program cannot be written to the OM 202.

When the WR signal is activated while the MREQ signal or the IOREQ signal is activated, external data signals D0 to D7 can be written to a predetermined external I / O. External data signals D0 to D7 can be fetched from the external I / O. Note that a predetermined external I
/ O is selected according to the state of the chip select signals CS0 to CS23 and the state of the WR signal or the RD signal among the ports of the input interface 113 or the ports of the output interface 114 or the sound generator 115 in FIG. It is one element.

The clock generator 205 is external (see FIG. 4).
An internal clock signal is generated based on the clock signal CLK from the oscillator 111) and supplied to each block of the game processing device 200 including the CPU core 201. The reset / interrupt control circuit 206 responds to a reset signal RST input from the outside (the reset generator 112 in FIG.
The system resets the PU core 201 and sets various resources inside the game processing device 200 to an initial state.

The address decoder 207 is connected to the CPU bus 21
2 and decodes information on the address bus 2 and generates an internal signal for selecting an I / O resource according to the decoding result. The input / output control circuit 208 controls the active / inactive state of the chip select signals CS0 to CS7 based on the I / O resource selection internal signal from the address decoder 207, and controls one of the ports of the input interface 113 in FIG. Output interface 11
One of the four ports or the sound generator 115
Select

The random number generation circuit 209 generates a random number (the random number is used for determining a jackpot or determining a symbol at the time of stoppage, etc.) as to whether or not to add a game value (for example, a jackpot) in the course of executing the game. A mathematical method (for example, a congruential method or an M-sequence method) for generating a uniform random number is used. The reset timing section 210 generates a user periodic reset signal for the CPU core 201, and the reset interval is determined by a value set in the attribute register 211.

The attribute register 211 holds hardware parameter set values such as a user periodic reset interval. The output port of the attribute register 211 is connected to the reset timing unit 210.
The input port is connected to the management block 20 via the management bus 221.
0B. Attribute register 211
The user periodic reset interval setting value is written from the management block 200B via the management bus 221. The setting timing is at the time of a system reset of the game processing device 200.

The CPU bus 212 includes a data bus, an address bus, and a control bus (not shown).
U core 201 and peripheral circuits, ie, program ROM
202, a user work RAM 203, an external bus interface 204, a clock generator 205, a reset / interrupt control circuit 206, an address decoder 207, and a random number generation circuit 209. ROM 21
3. It is also connected to the hardware parameter ROM 214 and the bus monitor circuit 216).

Next, the configuration of a management block 200B for managing information in the game processing unit 200 will be described. The management block 200B includes a boot ROM 213, a hardware parameter ROM 214, a management work RA
M215, bus monitor circuit 216, security memory 217, ID property RAM 218, control circuit 21
9, including the external communication control circuit 220 and the management bus 221 and including a part of the CPU bus 212 extending from the game block 200A.
12 is connected to a boot ROM 213, a hardware parameter ROM 214, and a bus monitor circuit 216.

As shown in FIG. 8, the boot ROM 213 stores a self-diagnosis program and a boot program (hereinafter referred to as a “boot program etc. 213a”) of the management block 200B executed at the time of system reset, and a predetermined encryption algorithm. 213b and the like are stored. The purpose of using the encryption algorithm 213b will be described later.

The hardware parameter ROM 214 stores
A predetermined write end code is stored, and hardware parameter setting information to be set in the attribute register 211 of the game block 200A at the time of system reset is stored. The write end code is information indicating that the game program 202a has been written in the program ROM 202, as described above. The hardware parameter setting information includes the operating speed (so-called clock speed) of the CPU core 201, the address range used by the program ROM 202 and the user work RAM 203 (upper and lower limits of the address), and the usage (input) of the chip select signals CS0 to CS7. And / or output), a set value of a user periodic reset interval, and the like. These hardware parameters are transmitted to the control circuit 21 of the management block 200B via the CPU bus 212 and the bus monitor circuit 216 at the time of system reset of the game processing device 200.
9 is set in each section as a hardware parameter set value necessary for game control. For example, the set value of the user periodic reset interval is set in the attribute register of the game block 200A via the management bus 221. It is set to 211.

The management work RAM 215 stores the game block 200A read through the bus monitor circuit 216.
(Storage contents of the program ROM 202, storage contents of the user work RAM 203, and the like) are temporarily stored. The bus monitor circuit 216 has a CP
The status of the U bus 212 is monitored, and the CPU bus 212
When not used by the PU core 201 (for example, a system reset period of the game processing device 200 or a refresh period of the user work RAM 203)
The program ROM 202 of the game block 200A and the user work R
By accessing the AM 203 and the like, necessary data (such as a game program and the contents of the user work RAM 203) is taken into the management block 200B.

The security memory 217 stores an individual number of the game processing device 200, that is, a unique ID code assigned in advance by a maker (at least a unique ID code among all manufactured individuals of the game processing device 200). Is stored in a non-rewritable state, and further, in addition to this ID code, various identification information, for example, information such as a game type code, a rank code, a maker code, a model code, and an inspection number are rewritten. Stored in impossible.

Here, the game type code is information for distinguishing between a pachinko machine, a spinning machine, and the like. For example, "P" for a pachinko machine and "" for a spinning machine. G ". The rank code is information indicating a model rank code of the gaming machine (a code for distinguishing the first type, the second type, the third type, or another type), and the maker code is information of the gaming machine. The information indicating a maker ID (or maker number) for identifying the maker, the model code is information indicating a product code of the gaming machine set by the maker, and the inspection number (or verification code) is This is information indicating a number assigned to a gaming machine that has passed an inspection by a third party organization.

The ID property RAM 218 copies and stores all or a part (at least an ID code) of the storage contents of the security memory 217, and also performs a game program validity determination process (to be described later) performed in a boot process. Result information of step P2 in FIG. 7), that is, "information on the result of validity determination of the game program"
Is stored, and the stored contents are retained during the power-on period. The timing of the above copy is
When the power of the gaming machine 2 is turned on or the game processing device 200
For example, the copy is performed in the initialization process (see step C3 in FIG. 7) executed in the management block 200B immediately after the system reset.

The control circuit 219 controls the operation of the management block 200B by executing a predetermined sequence.
For example, the contents of the security memory 217 are copied to the ID property RAM 218 at the time of system reset (to be exact, in the initialization processing executed in the management block 200B immediately after the system reset), or the CPU is connected via the bus monitor circuit 216 during the game. The bus release period of the core 201 is detected, and the program R of the game block 200A is
The contents of the OM 202 (especially a game program) and the contents of the user work RAM 203 are read out to manage the work RAM.
215, and in response to an information request command from the ball rental machine 3, stores the contents of the management work RAM 215 and the contents of the ID property RAM 218 (especially the ID code and information on the validity determination result of the game program). In order to transfer the information to the external communication control circuit 220, the information is set in a communication buffer (not shown) of the external communication control circuit 220.

The external communication control circuit 220 is connected to the external communication terminal 1
3 (see FIG. 4) and the ball lending machine 3 (see FIG. 3 or 4) performed through the second harness 31 and the game processing unit 2
00, which controls the communication with the ball rental machine 3
In response to the management information request from the server, information in the communication buffer (not shown), that is, the storage contents of the management work RAM 215 and the ID property RAM 218 (particularly, I
Control to transmit information corresponding to the D code or the validity determination result information of the game program) to the requesting ball lending machine 3 or a request for management information from the ball lending management device 4 of the ball lending network 10. In response to the request (which is made via the ball rental machine 3), information in a communication buffer (not shown), that is, information corresponding to the storage contents (especially a game program) of the management work RAM 215 is transmitted to the request source. For example, control for transmitting the ball lending to the ball lending management device 4 is performed.

G. Next, a system reset operation of the game processing device 200 will be described. FIG. 6 shows a game processing device 20.
It is a state transition diagram of 0, 230-233 are states, 234
243 are transition lines. First, when a system reset occurs due to power-on (transition line 234), self-diagnosis and initialization processing are executed in the management block 200B (state 2).
30), if the result is NG (transition line 235), a required alarm or the like is generated and the process shifts to the standby state; Line 238: waiting for a management information request) and executing the boot program stored in the boot ROM 213 (state 232). The detailed operation of the boot program will be described later.

Then, the boot result is NG (transition line 24).
If it is 1), a necessary alarm or the like is generated and the process shifts to the standby state. If it is OK (transition line 242), a boot reset (generation of a start address of the game program) is generated and stored in the program ROM 202. The current game program is executed (state 233), and thereafter, every time a user periodic reset occurs (transition line 243), the game program is repeated. The transition line 239 input to the state 231 indicates a management information request from the ball lending machine 3 (or the ball lending management device 4), and the transition line 240 output from the state 240 indicates a management information response to the request source. Represent. For example, if it is a management information request from the ball lending machine 3, the validity determination result information of the game program and the ID code are returned to the ball lending machine 3, and if the management information request is from the ball lending management device 4, The game program is returned to the ball lending management device 4.

Both the management information request (transition line 239) and the management information response (transition line 240) correspond to the external communication control circuit 220 of the game processing device 200, the external communication terminal 13 of the game control device 12, The game processing unit 200 and the ball lending machine 3 are exchanged via the 2 harness 13 and the chip terminal 28 of the ball lending machine 3.

H. Operation of Management Block 200B and Game Block 200A Next, the management block 200 of the game processing device 200
The operation of B and the game block 200A will be described in detail. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the management block 200B and the game block 200A. The left side shows the operation flow of the management block 200B, and the right side shows the operation flow of the game block 200A.

As described in the "system reset operation of the game processing device 200", the two blocks (the game block 200A,
The management block 200B) starts operation in response to the system reset at power-on. The operation of the management block 200B is controlled by the control circuit 21.
9 is controlled in sequence as follows. That is, the control circuit 219 first performs a self-diagnosis of the management block 200B in step C0, and
Then, in step C1, the hardware parameter RO
It is determined whether a write end code is recorded in M214.

As described above, this write end code is stored in the program ROM 202 in the game program 2.
02a is written to the hardware parameter ROM 214 when the writing of the program ROM 02a is completed.
This means that it is determined whether or not the game program 202a has been stored in 202. And program RO
If the game program 202a is not stored in the M202, the subsequent game processing cannot be executed as a matter of course.
Proceeding to step C2, after executing the process of writing the game program 202a into the program ROM 202, the process ends the flowchart and waits for the restart of the game processing device 200 (system reset).

On the other hand, if the game program 202a has been stored in the program ROM 202,
The storage content of 202 is in the state shown in FIG. 8, and the result of the “game game validity determination process” described later is
In the case of K, the game program 202a is periodically executed by the CPU core 201 (see Step P6 described later) to perform required game control.

If it is determined at step C1 that the game program has been stored, then at step C3, the management block 20 is stored.
0B initialization processing is performed. In this initialization processing, for example, the management work RAM 215 and the ID property RA
Initialization of M218, ID from security memory 217
Processing such as copying data to the property RAM 218 and setting hardware parameter set values in the hardware parameter ROM 214 in the attribute register 211 of the game block 200A and the like are performed.

When the initialization process is completed, the boot program stored in the boot ROM 213 is started in step C4 (see state 232 in FIG. 6), and the management block 200B is set in the idle state in step C5 (see FIG. 6).
Transition line 238). Then, when the management information request is received from the ball rental machine 3 during the idle state, a required management information response (particularly, ID code and game program validity determination result information) is returned to the request source.

The boot program is a game block 200
A is executed by the CPU core 201. That is, thereafter, the operation of the game block 200A is started. CPU
First, at step P0, the core 201
The self-diagnosis of 0A is performed, and if the diagnosis result is OK, an initialization process is performed in step P1. In this initialization processing, for example, processing such as initialization of the user work RAM 203 and adjustment of operating conditions of the game block 200A using hardware parameters set in the attribute register 211 are performed.

When the initialization process is completed, next, a "game program validity determination process" is executed in step P2. This determination process is performed in step P2a in FIG.
Then, using the encryption algorithm 213b read from the boot ROM 213, the game program 202a written in the program ROM 202 is encrypted. In step P2b, the generation check code generated at the time of the encryption and the program check code By comparing the check code 202b with the written check code 202b, if they match, OK (a valid game program) is determined, and if they do not match, NG (falsified illegal game program) is determined.

When the validity determination processing of the game program is completed, next, in step P3, the result (OK / NG) of the validity determination of the game program is stored in the management block 200B.
After storing the ID in the predetermined area of the ID property RAM 218, if the result of the legitimacy determination of the game program is NG in Step P4, the boot program is stopped (the game control is not performed), and it is OK. For example, the process proceeds to step P5, the process is passed to the start address of the game program, and thereafter, the game control process of step P6 is repeatedly executed at predetermined intervals (the interval of the reset signal RST; for example, 2 ms).

When the determination result of the game program is NG, the control of the game block 200A (game control) is stopped, but the control of the management block 200B (idle state) is performed when the determination result of the game program is OK. Is maintained as is. Therefore, even if the determination result of the game program is NG, a required management information response (especially, the validity determination result information of the game program and the ID code) is requested according to the management information request from the ball rental machine 3. It can be returned without any problems. The management block 200B is in an idle state even during the execution of the game control process in step P6.

I. Information content that can be notified from the game processing device 200 to the ball rental machine 3 The management block 200B of the game processing device 200
During the idle state, when there is a management information request from the ball rental machine 3 (see the transition line 239 in FIG. 6), a required management information response is returned to the request source. The management information response is, as described above, the storage content of the management work RAM 215 and the ID property RA.
The storage contents of M218, and these storage contents can include the following.

<Storage Contents of Management Work RAM 215 and Storage Timing> (1) Storage Contents of Program ROM 202: For example, the game program 202a. The storage timing depends on the operation period of the bus monitor circuit 216 (CPU bus 2
12 is a period in which the CPU core 201 is not occupied). (2) Storage contents of the user work RAM 203: For example,
It is various kinds of dynamic information related to game control, and its storage timing is determined by the operation period of the bus monitor circuit 216 (CPU
The bus 212 is not occupied by the CPU core 201).

<Contents Stored in ID Property RAM 218 and Timing of Storage> (3) Same contents as security memory 217: For example, individual number (ID code) of game processing device 200, game type code, rank code, manufacturer code,
The model code and inspection number, etc., are stored at the time of system reset (more precisely, at the time of initialization).
It is. (4) Validity determination result of the game program: Information indicating OK (valid game program) or NG (falsified game program), and the storage timing is determined by the boot program performed by the boot program. It is when the result of the processing comes out. The above memory contents (1)
To (4) include the ball rental machine 3
The validity determination result information of the game program and the ID code are indispensable, as will be apparent from the following description. When a request for a game program is made from the ball lending management device 4, the game program is also indispensable as a management information response.

J. Control Operation of Ball Lending Machine 3 Next, the operation of the ball lending machine 3 will be described. FIGS. 9 to 11 are flowcharts of a ball lending control program executed by the one-chip microcomputer 18 of the ball lending machine 3. After turning on the power, the ball lending machine 3 first executes an initialization process in step S1. In this initialization processing, for example, initialization processing of the communication control device 23, the card R / W control device 25, and the like is performed. In the case where data not yet transmitted to the ball lending management device 4 remains at the time of the initialization processing, the transmission processing may be performed.

When the initialization process is completed, it is next determined in step S2 whether or not the determination ID code is stored in the non-volatile memory 20. If the determination ID code is stored, the process proceeds to step S3. To “A” in the TYPE flag
Is set, and if the determination ID code is not stored, "B" is set to the TYPE flag in step S4. These "A" and "B" correspond to the amuse chip type A and type B described at the beginning. However, the actual determination in step S2 is made by checking whether the contents stored in the nonvolatile memory 20 are initial values. The reason is that the storage contents of the unused nonvolatile memory 20 are, of course, initial values, and even in the used nonvolatile memory 20, the initial value is written by writing a dummy ID code corresponding to the initial value. Because it can be returned to Therefore, if it is determined that the stored content has a content other than the initial value, the stored content may be regarded as a determination ID code written intentionally.

Storage Check of Identifying ID Code and TYP
When the setting of the E flag is completed, it is next determined in step S5 whether or not there is an access (access by polling) from the ball lending management device 4. If there is an access, a process corresponding to the access type is performed in step S6. After performing, the process proceeds to step S7, and if there is no access, the process directly proceeds to step S7. The determination as to whether or not there is an access from the ball lending management device 4 is performed, for example, by monitoring a data packet flowing through the ball lending network 10 and determining the address of the gaming machine 2 attached to the ball lending machine 3 at the destination of the packet. Is included, it is determined that access is made.

If there is an access, first, at step S6
In step a6b, the access type code included in the access type portion of the packet is checked, and if the code is a code representing "ID code setting", in step S6b, the determination ID code ( It is an ID code for determination set in the ball lending management device 4 by a technician of a manufacturer or an inspector of a third-party organization.
The ID code is the same as the ID code written in the game processing unit 200 of the gaming machine 2 attached to the game machine 2. ) Is written in a predetermined area of the nonvolatile memory 20 of the ball rental machine 3.

On the other hand, if the access type code is “information request”
If the code represents TYPE, then in step S6c, TYPE
It is determined whether or not the flag = B, and the TYPE flag = B
In step S6d, the "ball lending information" stored in the internal memory of the one-chip microcomputer 18 is transmitted to the ball lending management device 4 in the step S6d. Flag = A
In step S6e, in step S6e, both "gaming machine validity information" and "ball lending information" stored in the internal memory of the one-chip microcomputer 18 are stored in the ball lending management device 4.
Send to The contents of the information of the “gaming machine validity information” and the “ball rental information” will be described later.

Immediately after the power supply of the ball lending machine 3 is turned on, the "game machine legitimacy information" and the "ball lending information" are not yet stored in the one-chip microcomputer 18. “Gaming machine validity information” is stored and held at the time of execution of step S8 described later, and “ball lending information” is stored at step S8 described later.
This is because the information is stored and stored at the time of execution of Step 11 and Step S12. For this reason, if there is an “information request” from the ball lending management device 4 when step S8 or step S11 and step S12, which will be described later, are not executed at all, the effective transmission information is still stored and held. Therefore, for example, it is necessary to transmit a message indicating that valid transmission information is not stored or held, or transmit dummy information to the ball lending management device 4.
When the ball lending management device 4 receives the transmission data (the message or the dummy data), it does not send an information response to the ball lending device 3 that transmitted the data, and shifts to polling for the next ball lending device 3.

Next, in step S7, it is determined whether or not the "game machine validity determination condition" is satisfied. However, the result of the determination in step S7 is forcibly “NO” when the TYPE flag is not A, in other words, when the TYPE flag is B. Therefore, the game machine validity determination processing in step S8 described below is not executed when the TYPE flag = B. One of the “game machine validity determination conditions” is immediately after the power supply of the ball lending machine 3 is turned on. That is, when the power of the ball lending machine 3 is turned on, the determination result of step S7 becomes “YES”, and the game machine validity determination process of step S8 is executed. Another one of the gaming machine validity determination conditions is a predetermined periodic signal (oscillator 1).
9 is a frequency signal generated by dividing the frequency of the oscillation signal No. 9). In other words, each time a predetermined periodic signal is input (for example, every F seconds when the periodic signal is set to a period of F seconds), the determination result of step S7 becomes “YES”, and the game machine validity determination process of step S8 is executed. I do. In addition to these conditions, an “information request” from the ball rental management device 4 may be added to one of the gaming machine validity determination conditions. In other words, every time there is an “information request” from the ball lending management device 4, step S
8 may be executed.

In this game machine validity determination process, first, game machine information is obtained in step S8a. The gaming machine information is information stored in the management work RAM 215 and the ID property RAM 218 of the gaming arithmetic processing device 200 of the gaming machine 2 attached to the ball lending machine 3 and, in particular, information on the validity determination result of the gaming program And an ID code. The procedure for acquiring information is as follows.
8 generates a management information request signal, and outputs the signal to the output interface 21 → chip terminal 28 (output interface 21 → circled a → circled a → chip terminal 28 in the figure) → second harness 31 → external In the path from the communication terminal 13 to the external communication control circuit 220, the game processing device 20
0 to the management block 200B.

Management block 200B in idle state
When receiving the signal (a signal for requesting management information), the management work RAM 215 and the ID property RAM 218
(In particular, the validity determination result information of the game program and the ID code) are read out, and the information is returned as a management information response to the requesting ball lending machine 3 via the reverse route. The gaming machine information acquired in step S8a is information returned from the gaming machine 2 in this manner.

When the game machine information is obtained, the "ID code" in the game machine information is compared with the determination ID code held in the non-volatile memory 20 in step S8b. : Unauthorized game operation processing device 200) / mismatch (NG: improper game operation device 200 with different ID code). Then, in step S8c, the result of the determination and the "validity determination result information of the game program" in the gaming machine information are stored and held in the internal memory of the one-chip microcomputer 18 as "gaming machine validity information" (see step S6e). Yes (if already stored, overwrite the stored contents).

Next, step S8d and step S8f
And the determination result of the ID code is NG, or “Gaming program validity determination result information” in the gaming machine information.
Is determined to be NG, and if one or both are NG, the abnormality flag is turned ON (step S8).
e, step S8g). Next, proceeding to step S9, if the abnormality flag is ON, the abnormality processing of step S10 is executed. If the abnormality flag is not ON, the normal processing, that is, the prepaid card processing of step S11 and step S11 are performed. After executing the ball lending process of S12, the above-mentioned step S5 and subsequent steps are repeatedly executed.

In the abnormality processing in step S10, first, an abnormality is displayed (notified) on the display 27 of the ball rental machine 3 in step S10a, and then the card R / W is processed in step S10b.
It is checked whether a prepaid card has been inserted into the device 26. If it has not been inserted, the insertion of the prepaid card is prohibited in step S10d, and a ball lending impossible display is displayed on the ball lending display 81b of the gaming machine 2. If the card has been inserted, the process proceeds to step S10c. After discharging the prepaid card, insertion of the prepaid card is prohibited in step S10d, and a ball lending impossible display is displayed on the ball lending possible display 81b of the gaming machine 2.

In the prepaid card processing in step S11, the security information check processing of the prepaid card, the reading of the prepaid card amount information (unused amount), the display updating processing of the balance display 81a of the gaming machine 2,
Discharge processing of the prepaid card (however, when the unused amount is zero or when the return switch 81d of the gaming machine 2 is operated), display processing of the ball lending display 81b of the gaming machine 2 and the like are performed.

In the ball lending process of step S12, the gaming machine 2
In response to the operation of the ball lending switch 81c, a signal (ball lending signal) for instructing the discharge of the number of game balls is generated, and the processing of outputting the ball lending signal to the discharge control device 14 of the gaming machine 2 is performed. A process of subtracting and updating the amount information (unused amount) of the prepaid card in accordance with the number of discharged game balls is performed, and information obtained by converting the number of discharged game balls (that is, the number of ball rentals) into the amount is converted into one-chip micro data. A process of storing and holding “ball lending information” in the internal memory of the computer 18 is performed.

Here, as described above, the aforementioned step S
8 is not executed when the TYPE flag = B, and the TYPE flag = B
In the case of B, the abnormality flag is never turned on. Therefore, when the TYPE flag = B, the determination result in step S9 is always “NO”, and the normal processing, that is, the prepaid card processing in step S11 and the step S12
Only the ball lending process is executed.

K. Operation example of ball lending machine 3 The ball lending machine 3 operates in accordance with the above-described ball lending control program. Time (or replacement due to failure, etc.) "and" when power is turned on during business hours "are described below. <In the case where the gaming machine 2 equipped with the type A amuse chip is additionally provided> First, when the model of the gaming machine 2 attached to the ball rental machine 3 is a specific model, that is, the type A amuse chip described at the beginning An example in the case of a model equipped with is described. (A) When opening a new hall The work when opening a new hall generally involves playing equipment (ball lending management device 4, main relay device 5, sub relay device 8, card issuing machine 6, credit card addition machine) Machine 7, ball rental machine 3, gaming machine 2, etc.) are all set in place, power cables and other cables are wired, and the gaming machine 1
After the back wiring is completed and necessary preparations such as supply of game balls to the pachinko island are completed, the game equipment is turned on and various settings and operation tests are performed.

Here, in the case where the model of the gaming machine 2 attached to the ball rental machine 3 is a model equipped with a type A amuse chip (hereinafter referred to as “gaming machine 2A”), the above “D.
As described in the section of “Block Configuration of Gaming Device”, the gaming machine 2A includes a terminal (connection terminal 17) for controlling lending of a game medium, individual identification information (ID code) of an amuse chip, and a game program. (External communication terminal 13). Then, these terminals (the connection terminal 17 and the external communication terminal 13) and the required terminal (the chip terminal 2
8 and the ball rental terminal 29) are connected by a first harness 32 and a second harness 31 (see FIG. 12A).
Accordingly, in a game period performed after “at the time of power-on during a business period” to be described later, the control of lending of game media using the ball rental machine 3 and the determination of the validity of the amuse chip (the individual identification and the (The validity determination of the game program stored in the chip).

By the way, in the above-mentioned new store opening operation,
At the stage when the gaming device 1 is powered on, the ball rental machine 3
Is not written in the non-volatile memory 20. Therefore, it is necessary to first write the determination ID code. The technician of the maker, the manager of the hall or the inspector of the third-party organization checks the ID code of the gaming machine 2A attached to the target ball rental machine 3 from the technical data issued by the maker, etc. The address of the gaming machine 2A is set in the ball lending management device 4, and an ID code setting packet including the address and the ID code in the information is flown from the ball lending management device 4 into the ball lending network 10.

At this point, the ball lending machine 3 has already been turned on, and after executing the initialization process (step S1), determines whether or not there is access from the ball lending management device (step S5). Is in a loop state to execute periodically. It should be noted that the game machine validity determination condition is satisfied (step S7), the abnormality flag is checked (step S9), the prepaid card process (step S11), the ball lending process (step S12), and the like are also performed periodically. ,
Since the setting process of the ID code has no direct relation, it is ignored here. At this time, the TYPE flag indicates that the ID code has not been written in the nonvolatile memory 20 yet,
Since it is the initial value, "B" is set tentatively (step S4).

[0110] ID poured into the ball lending network 10
The code setting packet is captured in the periodically executed step S5 (determination of the presence or absence of access from the ball lending management device). Then, in step S6a, access type = ID code setting is determined, and in step S6b,
A process of storing the determination ID code transmitted from the ball lending management device 4 in the nonvolatile memory 20 is performed. Then, in the first loop thereafter, the determination I
It is determined that the D code is stored (step S
2) Thereafter, "A" is set to the TYPE flag (step S3).

(B) When opening a new hall or replacing due to a failure The above-described determination ID code setting process is performed when the gaming machine 2A attached to the ball rental machine 3 is replaced (for example, a game control device due to a machine failure). (When replacing 12 or opening a new hall)
The same is true for The difference from the time when the store is newly opened is that the ID code for determination remains exclusively in the nonvolatile memory 20 of the ball rental machine 3 (therefore, "A" is set in the TYPE flag from the first loop). In step S6b, when storing the determination ID code transmitted from the ball lending management device 4 in the nonvolatile memory 20, the old determination ID code is overwritten with the new determination ID code. Not at all. In addition, the gaming machine 2A
Will be described later when the model is changed to a model equipped with a type B amuse chip (hereinafter referred to as “game machine 2B”).

(C) When the power is turned on during the business period Next, the operation when the power is turned on during the business period will be described. When the ball rental machine 3 and the gaming machine 2A are powered on,
The gaming machine 2A starts the control operation of the management block 200B and performs self-diagnosis of the management block 200B (step C).
0), determination of the write end code (step C1), initialization of the management block 200B (step C3), and activation of the boot program (step C4)
The operation waits in the idle state (step C5). When the boot program is started, the CPU core 201 of the game block 200A starts the control operation, and
00A self-diagnosis (step P0), initialization processing (step P1), game program validity determination processing (step P2), and storage processing of the game program validity determination result in the ID property RAM 218 of the management block 200B (step P2). After performing P3), if the validity determination result of the game program is OK, the process is passed to the game program, and thereafter, the game control process is periodically executed (step P6).

On the other hand, during this time, the ball lending machine 3 executes an initialization process (step S1), sets “A” to the TYPE flag (step S3), and then determines whether the game machine validity determination condition is satisfied (step S3). It is in a loop state in which S7) is periodically executed. In addition, the presence or absence of access from the ball lending management device (step S5), the check of an abnormal flag (step S9), the prepaid card process (step S11), the ball lending process (step S12), and the like are also periodically executed. However, since there is no direct relationship with the game information acquisition process, it is ignored here.

As described above, the game machine validity determination condition is when the power is turned on, when a predetermined periodic signal is input, or when information is requested from the ball lending management device 4. That is, when any of these conditions is satisfied, the ball rental machine 3 sends the game machine 2
A management information request is output to A via the second harness 31. Now, assuming that the processing of step P3 of the gaming machine 2A has been completed when the first condition (power-on) is satisfied, the ID of the gaming operation processing device 200 of the gaming machine 2A
In the property RAM 218, the ID code and the information on the validity determination result of the game program are already stored. Therefore, if the ball rental machine 3 outputs a management information request to the gaming machine 2A when the first condition (power-on) is satisfied, the gaming machine 2A
From "I" stored in the ID property RAM 218.
D code "and" Gaming program validity determination result information "
Is returned via the second harness 31.

If the processing of step P3 of the gaming machine 2A has not been completed when the first condition (power-on) is satisfied, a valid management information response is not returned from the gaming machine 2A. Other conditions, for example, the input of a periodic signal and the information request from the ball lending management device 4 are satisfied after a lapse of a predetermined time after the power is turned on. At the time of establishment, the processing of step P3 of the gaming machine 2A should be completed,
Therefore, since a valid management information response is returned from the gaming machine 2A, there is no problem in obtaining necessary gaming machine information although there is some waiting time.

<Case where game machine 2 equipped with type B amuse chip is installed> Next, in the same case as above, a case where game machine 2B equipped with the type B amuse chip described at the beginning is installed. An example will be described. (D) When opening a new hall The difference in the installation work with the gaming machine 2A is that the first harness 3
1 is not used. This is because the amuse chip mounted on the gaming machine 2B does not have a mechanism for extracting the validity determination information of the amuse chip to the ball rental machine 3, as described at the beginning.

Therefore, when newly installing the gaming machine 2B, the ball rental machine 3 and the gaming machine 2B are connected only by the first harness 32 (see FIG. 12B), and the ball rental machine 3 Only the functions (typically the lending function) other than the functions of the Amuse Chip except the amuse chip validity judging function are used.
When newly installing the gaming machine 2B, the gaming machine 2B
A dummy ID code must be written in the non-volatile memory 20 of the ball lending machine 3 attached to B. The ball lending machine 3 is a new machine brought in from the manufacturer, and the storage contents of the non-volatile memory 20 are stored. Is an initial value at the time of shipment from the factory, and may be used as it is. However, the nonvolatile memory 2 may be used for some reason (for example, due to cosmic rays).
Since it is undeniable that the stored contents of 0 may have a bit garbled or the like, in practice, the dummy ID code and the address of the gaming machine 2B are set in the ball lending management device 4 and the ball lending management device 4 is set. A packet for setting an ID code including the address and the ID code in the information from the network 1
It is desirable that the value be set to 0 and written to the non-volatile memory 20 of the target ball lending machine 3 (the stored content is forcibly returned to the initial value).

(E) When opening a new hall or replacing due to a failure First, a gaming machine (or a game control device) performed when a failure occurs
Is exchange of the same model, that is, the gaming machine 2B
To the gaming machine 2B, and the second harness 31 is not used even after the replacement, and the dummy ID code is already set in the nonvolatile memory 20 of the ball rental machine 3. It is only necessary to exchange the gaming machines 2B. On the other hand, the replacement of a gaming machine performed when a hall is newly renovated opens, of course, involves a change of model, so that a change between models equipped with amuse chips of different types may be performed. That is, a change from the gaming machine 2B to the gaming machine 2A or a change from the gaming machine 2A to the gaming machine 2B may be performed. In this case, if the model after the change is the gaming machine 2A,
Ball rental machine 3 using first harness 32 and second harness 31
After connecting between the game machine 2A (see FIG. 12A),
It is sufficient to set the ID code of the changed gaming machine 2A in the ball lending management device 4 and rewrite the contents stored in the non-volatile memory 20 of the ball lending machine 3, or the changed model is the gaming machine 2B In this case, the two are connected only by the first harness 32 (see FIG. 12B), a dummy ID code is set in the ball lending management device 4, and the nonvolatile memory 20 of the ball lending machine 3 is set. What is necessary is just to perform the operation of returning the stored contents of the above to the initial value.

(F) At Power-on During Business Period Regarding the operation at the time of power-on of the ball rental machine 3 attached to the gaming machine 2B during the business period, the amuse chip validity determination process (step S6) and the amuse The description is the same as that of the above-mentioned "c. At power-on during business period" except that the chip abnormality notification processing (step S10) is not performed. That is, the ball rental machine 3 performs the initialization process (step S
After executing 1), the storage contents of the non-volatile memory 20 are checked (step S2). When the gaming machine 2B is used, a dummy ID code equivalent to the initial value is written in the storage contents. By setting "B" to the TYPE flag (step S2), the TYPE flag prevents the subsequent execution of the amuse chip validity determination process (step S6) and the amuse chip abnormality notification process (step S10). ing.

L. Conclusion As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (B) A gaming machine 2 equipped with a type A amuse chip
Application to A The ball lending machine 3 according to the present embodiment is connected to the gaming machine 2A by using the first harness 32 and the second harness 31 (see FIG. 12A), thereby lending the gaming machine 2A. Request first
Accepted via the harness 32 and responded (lending response)
Is returned to the gaming machine 2B via the first harness 32, and a management information request is sent to the gaming machine 2A via the second harness 31,
The response (management information response) is received from the gaming machine 2A via the second harness 31, and the individual identification of the amuse chip mounted on the gaming machine 2A and the validity determination processing of the game program stored in the amuse chip are performed. It can be carried out.

(B) Application to Game Machine 2B Mounted with Type B Amuse Chip The ball rental machine 3 of the present embodiment is connected to the game machine 2B using only the first harness 32 (FIG. b))
In addition, by writing and initializing a dummy ID code in the nonvolatile memory 20, a lending control process, that is, a lending request from the gaming machine 2B is received via the first harness 32, and a response (lending response) is received. 1st harness 3
While the lending control process of returning to the gaming machine 2B via the PC 2 is enabled, various processes related to the determination of the validity of the amuse chip, that is, the management information acquisition process for the gaming machine 2B and the related processes (step S6e, step S6e) S8
And step S10) can be invalidated.

(C) Improvement of versatility Therefore, the ball lending machine 3 of the present embodiment has two usages (a) and (b), that is, the connection form of FIG. Since it can be used in the connection form of (b), a gaming machine 2A equipped with a type A amuse chip
Needless to say, it can be applied to other types of gaming machines 2B equipped with an amuse chip of type B, for example, without any problem. It is possible to provide a ball rental machine having a particularly advantageous merit that the competitiveness in the market is not reduced.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a pachinko machine has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. In short, a game machine installed in a game hall using a prepaid voucher (prepaid card) for repayment of borrowing of game media such as game balls and coins may be used. Other gaming machines may be used.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, a ball rental system using a prepaid card is taken as an example, and when reading or rewriting information recorded on the prepaid card, the prepaid card is inserted into a card R / W device. Although the type (contact type) in which the reading / writing unit (not shown) of the card R / W device 26 and the information recording unit of the prepaid card are brought into contact with each other by inserting it into the insertion slot 3b of the card R / W device 26 is exemplified, the present invention is not limited to this. As described above, the card R / W device 26 can read its recorded information by an electronic method or a magnetic method or other methods that cannot be recognized by human perception, for example, by irradiating an invisible light beam. Any method can be used as long as the information can be read or rewritten by using a method for printing the record information, and the prepaid card is placed on the read / write section as well as the contact type described above. Or a non-contact type in which the reading / writing unit and the information recording unit of the prepaid card are brought close to each other. The term "wearing" in the summary of the invention is used to encompass all these types.

The embodiment disclosed this time is an example in all respects, and should be considered as not restrictive. That is, the scope of the present invention should not be interpreted restrictively based on the description in the above embodiment. It is shown by the description of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the description of the claims.

[0126]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine whether the game control unit is a specific one by using both the first connection unit and the second connection unit,
Signals required for lending control can be exchanged with the gaming machine. As a result, the illegality of the game control unit can be prevented, and the game medium can be lent. Further, by using only the second connection unit, it is possible to perform transmission and reception of signals necessary for lending control without specifying the game control unit. Therefore, it is possible to provide a versatile game medium lending device that can be used in common without being limited to a gaming machine having a specific game control unit.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, not only game machines of a specific model capable of outputting information contributing to individual identification of the game control section, but also game machines of other models which do not output the same information. A highly versatile game media lending device that can be used in common can be provided. Also, by initializing the storage contents of the storage means, for example, only the transfer of a lending request and a lending response required for lending control can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to easily change from a specific type of gaming machine to another type of gaming machine (or vice versa). According to the invention described in claim 3,
A connection mistake between the first connection portion and the second connection portion can be reliably avoided,
Malfunctions and failures can be prevented. Claim 4
According to the invention described in the above, in the case of a specific type of gaming machine capable of outputting the information on the result of determining the validity of the game program stored in the game control unit, if the result information is incorrect, Since the lending is stopped, the fraud prevention function can be further enhanced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a gaming device and a ball rental network.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the gaming machine.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a ball rental machine and a gaming machine.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a game control device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a game processing device.

FIG. 6 is a state transition diagram of the game processing device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation for each block of the game processing device.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing stored contents of a program ROM and a boot ROM.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a ball lending control program (1/1).
3).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a ball lending control program (2 /
3).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a ball lending control program (3 /
3).

FIG. 12 is a connection diagram of a game machine equipped with a type A amuse chip and a ball rental machine, and a connection diagram of a game machine equipped with a type B amuse chip and a ball rental machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Game machine 3 Ball lending machine (game media lending device) 9 Prepaid card (storage medium) 14 Emission control device (emission control unit) 18 One-chip microcomputer (lending control means, control unit determination means, lending state management means) 20 Non-volatile memory (storage means) 28 Chip terminal (second connection part) 29 Ball lending terminal (first connection part) 81a Balance display (gaming medium lending operation part) 81a, ball lending possible display (gaming medium lending) Operation unit) 81c Ball lending switch (game medium lending operation unit) 81d Return switch (game medium lending operation unit) 200 Game processing unit (game control unit)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A game medium is transmitted to a discharge control unit of a game machine based on an input signal from a game medium lending operation unit provided in the game machine, on condition that a storage medium storing value information is stored. In the game medium lending device provided with a lending control means for performing lending control, the game medium lending device determines whether or not the game control unit for controlling the progress of the game provided in the gaming machine is a specific one Control unit determining means, and storage means for storing setting information for setting whether to activate the control unit determining means, and a signal of the control unit determining means and the game control unit A first connection unit for exchanging signals, and a second connection unit for exchanging signals with the lending control unit and the game medium lending operation unit and the discharge control unit, which are separately arranged and configured; When the setting information is stored in the means Activates the control unit determining means and sets the lending control means to an activated state or a non-activated state on the condition of a result of determination as to whether or not the game control unit is a specific one, while setting information is stored. A game medium lending device comprising: a lending state management unit that sets a lending control unit to an activated state without determining whether or not the game control unit is a specific one when not. 2. The control unit determining unit obtains information contributing to individual identification of the game control unit, and determines the validity of the determination information stored in the storage unit and the acquired individual identification information. The lending state management unit activates the control unit determination unit when determination information for determining individual identification information acquired by the control unit determination unit is set and stored in the storage unit. The game medium lending device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The physical configuration of the first connection part and the physical shape of the second connection part.
3. The game medium lending device according to claim 1, wherein a physical shape of the connection portion is different from the physical shape of the connection portion. 4. The control unit determining unit obtains a result of the game control unit determining the validity of a game program stored in the game control unit, and when the result information is invalid, the lending control unit 4. The game medium lending device according to claim 1, wherein the game media lending device is inactivated.