JP2002224406A - Game machine monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine monitoring system which achieve excellent crime preventing function. SOLUTION: The game machine monitoring system 1 comprises terminal monitors 30 which detect and record abnormality, an island center 20 connected to the terminal monitors 30 within respective zones and a hall server 10 communicating with the island center 20. In the system, the island center is operable even with a battery to accomplish the monitoring of the terminal monitors even when the communication with a hall server is poor and the terminal monitors are operated even with a battery to switch the operation mode to the power saving mode. Since ID information of the terminal monitors is enciphered, the hall server has an enciphering program. In the system, a system address of the terminal motors has an island address automatically determined by the layout position within the island.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a monitoring system for a game machine in a game arcade, and more particularly to a monitoring system having excellent security and security functions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A gaming machine such as a pachinko machine employs computer control for performing a predetermined operation based on a program. Each gaming machine is connected to a hall server, and the operating state of the gaming machine and the like are collectively monitored (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-208072).

[0003] Therefore, by changing the control program of the gaming machine, it is possible to greatly change the state of payouts and the like, and improper activities such as remodeling the program and causing the program to malfunction are inseparable. For this reason, in a game arcade, it is necessary to prevent a program or the like from being changed from the outside or to detect that an abnormal state has occurred in the program or the like. For example, the storage portion of the program is covered with a cover or the like, and a seal is attached to the cover so that the program cannot be changed without peeling or cutting the seal.

That is, as shown in FIG. 16, for example, a control board 82 on which a microcomputer or the like is mounted is mounted on the back side of the pachinko machine 8, and a memory 83 or the like in which a program is written is mounted on the control board 82. Further, the control board 82 is accommodated in the box 85. A single or a plurality of sealing seals 91 are attached to the control board 82 and the box 85. Therefore, the program of the control board 82 is changed,
If the user wishes to replace 3, the sealing seal 9
1 needs to be peeled or cut. As a result, by providing a sensor for detecting whether or not the state of the sealing seal 91 has changed, it is possible to monitor whether or not any change has been made to the control board 82 by opening the box 85. (For example, refer to JP-A-11-295165).

[0005] In addition, there is also a fraudulent act of connecting another device or circuit to a bundle or a cable (a so-called harness) of a pachinko machine and applying another signal to the game machine to cause an abnormal operation. Attachment of the sealing seal is also effective for this detection. It is also known that an illegal radio wave is irradiated on a machine to disrupt the operation of the gaming machine, and a proposal has been made to attach a radio wave sensor to the gaming machine.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned misconduct is not only performed after the game machine is installed in the game arcade, but also performed before the game machine is shipped from the factory and installed in the game arcade. May be asked. Therefore, it is necessary to cope with fraud before installation in such a hall, and it is desirable that such fraud can be immediately determined at the stage of installation in a game hall. Also, even if incorrect information is given to the gaming machine, it is not easy to identify whether it is a genuine product or a genuine one if the data format is correct. It is preferable that such discrimination between a genuine product and an irregular product can be easily performed in a game arcade.

On the other hand, pachinko halls are frequently updated with machines in order to renew the interest of customers. It is preferable that such updating of the machine can be performed easily and in a short time by a reliable person without the help of an external worker. In addition, it is preferable that the system of the hall monitoring system for monitoring the gaming machines collectively be easily updated or added to the gaming machines. As described above, the fact that the system can respond to the updating of the gaming machine easily and quickly by a reliable person is effective in preventing unauthorized remodeling and effective in ensuring security.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and aims to provide a gaming machine monitoring system that can effectively prevent the occurrence of elaborate misconduct added to a gaming machine.

[0008]

The invention according to claim 1 of the present application is a terminal monitor installed for each game machine, which detects an abnormal state occurring in the game machine and records it in a memory, and the area in the hall is divided into a plurality of sections. An island center provided for each section to be divided, connected to all the terminal monitors in the section and collecting record information of the terminal monitors, and all the terminal monitors in communication with all the island centers and in the hall A game server monitoring system having a hall server for monitoring recorded information of the terminal monitor and the island center, which can be operated by any of an external power supply and a battery; Even if communication with the server is bad, collect the recorded information of the above terminal monitor,
Monitor, and if the external power supply is abnormal, collect and monitor the recorded information of the terminal monitor using the battery as a power supply,
In the case where the external power supply is abnormal, the terminal monitor operates using a battery as a power source, and switches an operation mode to a power saving mode in which power consumption is low to monitor an abnormality of the gaming machine. In the system.

A gaming machine monitoring system according to the present invention includes a hall server, an island center installed on each of a plurality of islands for dividing an area in the hall into a plurality of sections, and a game center installed on each gaming machine. It has a terminal monitor that detects abnormalities in gaming machines. The island center connects to all the terminal monitors on the island and collects the record information of the terminal monitors, and the hall server communicates with all the island centers to obtain the information collected by the island center and is located in the hall. Monitor the recorded information of all terminal monitors. Note that the connection between the hall server and the island center and the connection between the island center and the terminal monitor are not limited to wired connections, but may be wireless connections.

The first point which should be particularly noted in the present invention is that
The terminal monitor can operate with either an external power supply or a battery.If the external power supply is abnormal, the battery monitors the gaming machine for abnormalities and sets the operation mode to a power saving mode with low power consumption. Switching the operation mode to the mode. Since the terminal monitor operates on a battery without an external power supply, the terminal monitor can monitor the gaming machine until the gaming machine is shipped from the factory and installed in the game arcade, and can record an abnormality that has occurred during the monitoring. Therefore, at the stage where the device is installed in a game arcade, it is possible to grasp the facts of the above-mentioned fraudulent acts even after shipment from the factory.

[0011] Further, even in the case of other power failure, for example, a power failure of the entire hall or a power failure of the system, the terminal monitor can continue to operate, so that monitoring data at the time of power failure can be obtained without omission. Then, when the external power supply is abnormal, that is, in the case of battery operation, since the operation mode is switched to the power saving mode in which power consumption is small,
Even if the battery lasts longer and the time from factory shipment to installation is longer, monitoring of the gaming machine is not interrupted.

The power saving mode is, for example, described in claim 2
As described in, the number of items to be monitored is reduced, the power supply to circuits and sensors that are not monitored is stopped or suppressed, and a monitoring program that monitors abnormalities is operated intermittently to monitor gaming machine abnormalities and monitor the monitoring cycle. Can be realized by lengthening the length to an appropriate length and reducing the items to be monitored. For example, monitoring items are limited to crime prevention items only.

A second point of particular interest in the present invention is that
The island center collects the information recorded on the terminal monitor even if communication with the hall server is poor or interrupted,
It is to monitor. Therefore, for example, even if the hall server is stopped or abnormal for some reason and communication becomes impossible,
The island center itself can continue to operate, and after the hall server is restored, the server can acquire monitoring data when communication is impossible without omission. Further, for example, even if the hall server is always stopped during non-business hours, it is possible to monitor the abnormality of the gaming machine, so that the power consumption of the entire system can be reduced.

A third point which should be particularly noted in the present invention is that
The island center is capable of collecting and monitoring the record information of the terminal monitor using a battery as a power supply when the external power supply is abnormal. Therefore, even in the event of a power failure in the entire hall or a power failure in the system, the island center itself can continue to operate, and monitoring data in the event of a power failure can be obtained.

As described above, according to the present invention, a gaming machine excellent in security capable of detecting a fraudulent activity before the installation of a gaming machine, a fraudulent activity caused by a power failure or intentionally stopping the power supply, and the like. A monitoring system can be provided.

Next, the invention according to claim 3 of the present application is directed to a terminal monitor which is installed for each gaming machine and detects an abnormal state occurring in the gaming machine and records it in a memory, and the area in the hall is divided into a plurality of sections. An island center provided for each section to be divided and connected to all terminal monitors in the section to collect record information of the terminal monitors, and records of all terminal monitors in communication with all the island centers and in the halls A gaming machine monitoring system having a hall server for monitoring information, wherein the terminal monitor stores, in a non-volatile memory, encrypted ID information for recording production information, model information, and the like of the individual gaming machine. And the hall server has the I
A gaming machine monitoring system comprising a D information decryption program.

A gaming machine monitoring system according to the present invention comprises a hall server, an island center installed on each island that divides an area in the hall into a plurality of sections, and an abnormality of the gaming machine installed on each gaming machine. Has a terminal monitor for detecting Then, the island center connects to all the terminal monitors on the island and collects the record information of the terminal monitors, and the hall server communicates with all the island centers to obtain the information collected by the island centers and obtain all the information in the hall. Monitor the recorded information on the terminal monitor.

It should be particularly noted in the present invention that the terminal monitor records in a non-volatile memory encrypted ID information for recording production information, model information, etc. of individual gaming machines. Means that a program for decrypting the ID information is provided. ID as above
Is encrypted, it is extremely difficult for a third party to forge a legitimate ID. Therefore, when the terminal monitor is replaced or modified with another object, the ID of the terminal monitor is decrypted and checked to easily determine that the terminal monitor is an unauthorized terminal monitor.

The hall server of the present invention has the ID
It has an information decryption program. Therefore, the hall server acquires the gaming machine ID information through the island center, decrypts the ID, and checks the decrypted content, whereby the system itself can easily detect an unauthorized ID (terminal monitor). is there. The encryption method includes, for example, DE
S, RSA, RC4, etc. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a gaming machine monitoring system having an excellent security function capable of easily detecting an illegal act of replacing or modifying a gaming machine.

Also, as in the fourth aspect, in the monitoring systems according to the first and second aspects, it is preferable that the ID of the terminal monitor is encrypted and the hole server has a decryption function as described above. Thereby, the security functions of both are added, and the security quality is further improved.

Next, the invention according to claim 5 of the present application is directed to a terminal monitor which is installed for each gaming machine and detects an abnormal state occurring in the gaming machine and records it in a memory; An island center provided for each section to be divided and connected to all terminal monitors in the section to collect record information of the terminal monitors, and records of all terminal monitors in communication with all the island centers and in the halls A gaming machine monitoring system having a hall server for monitoring information, wherein the terminal monitor is connected to a branch line branched from a connection-type bus line having a bus-type topology only one per line. And the island center is connected to the upstream end of the bus line, and the terminal monitor reads the branch line to which it is connected in the order of branching from the upstream end of the bus line. Is assigned via the island center, and the hall server recognizes an address in the system of each terminal monitor based on the ID of the island center and the address in the section. In gaming machine monitoring system.

A gaming machine monitoring system according to the present invention includes a hall server, an island center installed on each island that divides an area in the hall into a plurality of sections, and an abnormality of the gaming machine installed on each gaming machine. Has a terminal monitor for detecting Then, the island center connects to all the terminal monitors on the island and collects the record information of the terminal monitors, and the hall server communicates with all the island centers to obtain the information collected by the island centers and obtain all the information in the hall. Monitor the recorded information on the terminal monitor.

It should be particularly noted in the present invention that only one terminal monitor is connected to each of the branch lines branched from the bus type connection type bus line, and that the island center is connected to the bus line. The address which is connected to the upstream end and which is determined as the address in the terminal monitor section (island) by the branch order from the upstream end of the bus line of the branch line to which the terminal monitor itself is connected via the island center. Is to be assigned.

That is, the address of the terminal monitor in the present system is not unique or fixed to the terminal monitor, but is determined by the island address automatically assigned from the island center and the ID of the island center according to the arrangement position on the island. . Therefore, even if the gaming machine (terminal monitor) is replaced or rearranged, there is no need to reset or input the terminal monitor address in the system. The system may be configured such that the unique information to be fixed and managed on the terminal monitor can be read through the island center. Therefore, in the present system, even if the game machine is replaced or rearranged as a game room pattern change, the system can be updated easily and quickly by the operator. Therefore, a third party is not involved in updating the system, and the chance of unauthorized remodeling or the like is reduced, resulting in excellent system security.

As described in claim 6, it is preferable that each of the above-mentioned systems also employs such an address determination method. This is because both functions are added to further improve the security quality of the system.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the monitoring items of the terminal monitor in each of the systems include a seal attached to the control board and the harness in order to prevent the control board of the gaming machine and the wiring in the machine from being altered. There are abnormal monitoring of stop seals and abnormal monitoring of electromagnetic waves detected by a radio wave sensor installed in a game machine. By monitoring the abnormality of the sealing seal, it is possible to detect a modification of the control board which is secretly performed, or a fraud that causes a foreign substance to be added to the internal wiring to perform an abnormal operation. In addition, the radio wave sensor can detect impropriety due to the addition of abnormal radio waves to the gaming machine during the operation of the gaming machine.

[0027] As described in claim 8, the hall server preferably includes communication means capable of communicating with a remote server or a mobile phone via a public communication network or the like. By connecting the hall server to the remote server via the communication line, the remote server (center) can monitor a plurality of game arcades. In addition, when an abnormal event occurs, a notification is sent to a game center different from the game hall or a centralized center, so that the two can cooperate with each other to provide a quick and powerful response. Similarly,
By reporting the abnormality to a predetermined mobile phone or the like when the abnormality occurs, it is possible for the person who received the report to provide quick support from outside the playground.

[0028]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiment 1 In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a game machine (pachinko) 8 is installed for each pachinko machine 8 (FIG. 2) to detect an abnormal state occurring in the game machine and to store a memory (RAM) ) And an island center which is provided for each section which divides the area in the hall into a plurality of sections and which is connected to all the terminal monitors 30 in the section and collects the record information of the terminal monitors 30. The gaming machine monitoring system 1 includes a hall server 10 that communicates with all the island centers 20 and monitors recorded information of all terminal monitors 30 in the hall.

The terminal monitor 30 is provided for each of a set of branch lines 17 and 18 (control lines and data lines) branched from the connection type bus lines 15 and 16 having a bus type topology. And the island center 20 is connected to the upstream ends of the bus lines 15 and 16. Then, the terminal monitor 30 determines the branch address A determined by the branch order n from the upstream ends of the bus lines 15 and 16 of the branch lines 17 and 18 to which the terminal monitor 30 is connected.
(N) is allocated using the island center 20 and the branch unit 21. And the hall server 10
The address of each terminal monitor 30 in the system 1 is recognized based on the ID of the island center 20 and the address A (n) in the section. The bus line 15 is a control line, and the bus line 16 is a data line. The branch unit 21 is provided on the control line 15 and can branch the two branch lines 17 therefrom.

The terminal monitor 30 and the island center 20 can both be operated by an external power supply or a battery. Further, the island center 30 collects and monitors the record information of the terminal monitor 30 even when the communication with the hall server 10 is poor, and when the external power supply is abnormal, records the information on the terminal monitor by using the battery as a power supply. Information is collected and monitored (see flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4 which will be described later in detail).

On the other hand, the terminal monitor 30 detects the abnormality of the electromagnetic wave detected by the radio wave sensor 54 (FIG. 6) installed in the gaming machine 8, the storage box 85 of the control board of the gaming machine (FIG. 2), and the harness which is the wiring inside the machine. In order to prevent modification of the control board 56 (FIG. 2), abnormalities of the sealing seals 51 and 53 (FIGS. 2 and 6) attached to the storage box 85 of the control board and the harness 56 are monitored. Then, when the external power supply is abnormal, the terminal monitor 30 operates using the battery (FIG. 6) as a power supply, and switches the operation mode to a power saving mode in which power consumption is low, and monitors the gaming machine for abnormality.

In the power saving mode, the terminal monitor 30 stops the monitoring circuit of the radio wave sensor 54 and stops the power supply to the circuit and the sensor 54 to reduce the number of monitoring items. The presence or absence of an abnormality in the gaming machine is intermittently monitored and the monitoring cycle is lengthened (see FIGS. 10 and 13 for details).

The terminal monitor 30 displays the gaming machine 8
Encrypted I that records individual production information, model information, etc.
The D information is recorded in a non-volatile memory, and the hall server 10 includes a decryption program for the ID information. The hall server 10 decrypts the above-described code to determine whether the ID of the terminal monitor 30 is appropriate as shown in FIG. judge. The encryption method is DES.

The hall server 10 includes a modem, and communicates with the remote server 100 and the mobile phone 96 via the public communication network 95 as shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, each will be described in detail. The pachinko hall is divided into a plurality of sections (commonly called “islands”) in which pachinko machines are continuously arranged, and in the present system 1, one island center 20 is provided for each of the above-mentioned islands, and as shown in FIG. All terminal monitors 30 are connected. Usually, the island is a pachinko machine arranged in a row near the wall (see top and bottom connections in Figure 1)
And pachinko machines located inside the hall, with a pair of pachinko machines arranged in a row in front and rear. And, on the island where pachinko machines are arranged in a row one by one in front and back, bus lines 15, 16
Sets of two branch lines 1 branching in opposite directions
One terminal monitor 30 is connected to each of 7 and 18. Further, on an island in which pachinko machines are arranged in a row at a side of a wall, terminal monitors 30 are connected one by one to a set of branch lines 17 and 18 branched from the bus lines 15 and 16. The branch line 17 branched from the control bus line 15 always branches via the branch unit 21.

Then, the island center 20 and the terminal monitor 3
Communication is performed by a half-duplex binary synchronous communication system between 0 and 0. As shown in FIG. 1, all the island centers 20 are connected to the hall server 10 via a bus line 13, and communication is performed by a packet communication method via a hub (not shown). As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the island center 20 always collects information of the terminal monitor 30 on the island, and immediately transmits the abnormality information to the hall server 10 immediately at the time of cyclical or abnormal occurrence. I do.

FIG. 4 shows a routine 61 for collecting data from the terminal monitor 30 and transmitting the data to the hall server 10 in the island center 20. First Step 60
At step 1, a connection request is sent to the hall server 10, and the
If there is a response in 02, it is checked in step 603 whether there is a request to acquire and transmit the latest data from the hall server 10. If there is no particular request in step 603, the process proceeds to step 613 and the island center 20
Sends the data it holds. On the other hand, when there is a request for the latest data in step 603, the latest data of the terminal monitor 30 in the island is collected in step 604, and the collected latest data is transmitted as shown in steps 604 to 606.

On the other hand, if there is no request for the latest data from the hall server 10 and the process proceeds to step 613 and the island center 20 transmits the retained data, then the process proceeds to step 614 to collect data of the terminal monitor 30 in the island. Then, as shown in the next step 615, if abnormal data is generated here, the process proceeds to step 616 and immediately transmits abnormal information (abnormal content and time of occurrence) to the hall server 10 (steps 617 to 619). If a communication failure with the hall server 10 occurs in step 618, the flow returns to step 614 to continue collecting data of the terminal monitor 30 and continue recording abnormal occurrence data, thereby enabling communication. Is transmitted to the hall server 10 (step 619).

If no abnormal data is generated in step 615, the hall server 10 is called again in step 601 or 611, and the collected data is transmitted. In this case, as shown in step 610, the processing differs slightly depending on whether it is within one minute since the data was last transmitted to the hall server 10. That is, if one minute or more has not elapsed since the previous transmission, a procedure for confirming whether there is a request for acquiring and transmitting the latest data from the hall server 10 as shown in step 603 is performed. If more than minutes have elapsed, step 61
As shown in 3, the held data is transmitted as it is. This is for the purpose of always sending the latest data of the terminal monitor 30 to the hall server 10 within one minute.

As can be seen from the above flow chart, the island center 30 collects and monitors the record information of the terminal monitor 30 even when the communication with the hall server 10 is bad. Therefore, for example, even if the hall server 10 is stopped or abnormal for some reason and communication becomes impossible, the island center 20 itself continues to operate and collects information from the terminal monitor 30 and after the hall server 10 is restored, The server 10 can also acquire monitoring data at the time of communication failure without omission.

As described below, the island center 20 collects and monitors the information recorded on the terminal monitor 30 by using the battery as a power source when the external power source is abnormal.
That is, in the overall processing of the island center 20 shown in FIG. 3, the presence or absence of an external power supply is checked in step 632, and if there is no external power supply, the process proceeds to step 633 and a power failure is transmitted to the hall server 10. I do. continue,
In step 634, the battery capacity is checked. If the battery capacity is not insufficient, the routine 61 for collecting data from the terminal monitor 30 and transmitting the data to the hall server 10 is performed.
Proceed to. Therefore, even in the event of a power outage of the entire hall or a power failure of the system, the island center 20 itself can continue to operate,
Monitoring data at the time of power failure can be acquired.

Next, the configuration and operation of the terminal monitor 30 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal monitor 30 is mounted integrally with the seals 51 and 53 on the surface of the control board (storage box) 85 of each pachinko machine 8. The control board sealing seal 51 is affixed to each of four locations across the space between the control board storage box 85 and the main body of the pachinko machine 8. The sealing seal 53 for the harness 56, which is an aggregate of wiring, is attached to each harness 56 one by one over the space between the harness 56 and the pachinko machine 8.

The terminal monitor 30, as shown in FIG.
A processing unit 31, a communication unit 34 for communicating with the island center 20,
Power supply control unit 35 and detection unit 3 of sealing seals 51 and 53
And 2. The processing device 31 has a built-in RAM and EEPROM (not shown) as storage means.
The ROM stores fixed information (such as an ID including manufacturing information) specific to each pachinko machine 8, and the RAM records monitoring information of the pachinko machine 8 that changes with time. The communication means 34 is connected to the island center 2 via the connector 37.
Connected to 0. The power supply control device 35 has a built-in battery 36 and is supplied with electric power from the outside via a connector 37. Further, seals 51 and 53 are connected to the detection unit 32 via a connector 33, and a radio wave sensor 54 is connected to the processing device 31.

As shown in FIG. 7, conductor patterns 511 and 512 are formed on the seals 51 and 53. When the seals 51 and 53 are broken to modify the control board and the harness 56, the terminal monitor is closed. 30 can detect this. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the terminal monitor 30 connects the conductor patterns 511 and 512 of the sealing seals 51 and 53 via the connector 33 (FIG. 7).
The detection unit 32 of the terminal monitor 30 can detect an open circuit of the conductor pattern 511 or 512 or a short circuit between the conductor pattern 511 and the conductor pattern 512.

That is, the detecting unit 32 of the terminal monitor 30 shown in FIG. 7 determines whether the conductor pattern 511 or 512 is open or the conductor pattern 511 and the conductor pattern 511 by the change of the output signal SD of the element 323 in the judging unit 322 in FIG. A short circuit between the patterns 512 is detected. The detection procedure is as follows. As shown in FIG. 8, in the reset state (sequence NoSQ = 0), the control switches SL1 to SL1 of FIG.
4 is SL1 = 0 (off), SL2 to SL4 = 1 (on)
It is. When the detection is started, in the first stage (sequence NoSQ = 1 to 3), SL1 to SL1 are set to SL1 = 1.
(ON), SL2 to SL4 = 0 (OFF). Then, the conductor patterns 51 of the sealing seals 51 and 53 are formed.
7, when the circuit state is normal, as shown in FIG. 7, the capacitor C of the sensitive section 321 is charged and its voltage E
Gradually rises according to the time constant.

Then, the process enters the second stage of the determination (sequence NoSQ = 4), in which SL1 and SL4 are inverted and SL
By setting 1 = 0 (off) and SL4 = 1 (on), the charged state (voltage E) of the capacitor C is maintained. And the determination unit 3
By reading the 22 detection signals SD, an output signal (normal signal) corresponding to the voltage E is obtained. On the other hand, when the conductor patterns 511 or 512 of the sealing seals 51 and 53 are opened or a short circuit occurs between the conductor patterns 511 and 512, the first stage (sequence N
At oSQ = 1 to 3), the capacitor C is not charged and the voltage E remains at 0. Therefore, the detection signal SD is inverted in the second stage (sequence NoSQ = 4). Note that, as described in a flowchart described later, in the above, the duration of each of the sequences NoSQ = 1 to 4 is 0.5 ms, and the charging time constant of the capacitor C is sufficiently shorter than 1.5 ms.

The opening of the conductor pattern 511 or 512 or the conductor pattern 511 and the conductor pattern 5
Since the short circuit between 12 is caused by an abnormal operation of the sealing seals 51 and 53, it can be determined that the sealing seals 51 and 53 have an abnormality such as breakage by the above detection procedure.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing each stage (sequence NoSQ = 0 to 4) for determining the state of the seals 51 and 53. That is, first, in step 581, it is checked whether or not the sequence NoSQ = 0. Since SQ = 0 (reset state) at the start of measurement (at the time of the first "0.5 millisecond interrupt processing"), the process proceeds to step 582, where the sequence NoSQ is changed to 1, and the reset state is set at step 583. Is S
L1 = 0 (off) and SL2 to SL4 = 1 (on) are maintained or ensured, and the first "0.5 millisecond interrupt processing" is completed.

At this stage, the sequence NoSQ is no longer 0. Therefore, the second "0.5 millisecond interrupt processing" is started after the 0.5 millisecond stop time by step 543 of the flowchart of FIG. 11 and step 543 of the flowchart of FIG. In the second "0.5 millisecond interrupt processing", the process proceeds to step 591 via steps 581 and 585, proceeds to step 592, and SL1 = 1 (ON), SL2 to SL4
= 0 (off), all SL states are inverted, and step 5
At 93, the value of SQ is increased by one and the second “0.5
Millisecond interrupt processing ”(sequence NoSQ =
2).

In the subsequent third and fourth “0.5 millisecond interrupt processing”, steps 591 to 593 are executed.
The SL state is maintained as it is by simply increasing the value of SQ by one (sequence NoSQ = 2 to 3,
4). In the fifth “0.5 millisecond interrupt processing”, the sequence NoSQ = 4.
Proceeding from step 585 to step 586, SL1 = 0
(OFF), SL4 = 1 (ON), and the state of the voltage E of the capacitor C is maintained as described above. Then, in step 587, the detection signal SD is read, and it is determined whether or not the sealing seals 51 and 53 are normal. Then, in step 588, the SQ value is reset to the sequence NoSQ = 0, and the measurement is completed (the result of step 543 in the flowchart of FIG. 11 and step 543 in the flowchart of FIG. 12 become positive and proceed to the next step).

Further, as shown in FIG.
0 is connected to the processing device 31, and the detection information detected by the radio sensor 54 is transmitted to the processing device 3.
1 of the internal RAM device. The radio wave sensor 54
Detects an abnormal electromagnetic wave, but does not detect an electromagnetic wave in a band of a mobile phone or a PHS after being filtered.

Next, the processing procedure of the entire terminal monitor 30 will be described with reference to a flowchart. Terminal monitor 30
, Unique information (ID) to be fixed for each pachinko machine, such as model information and production lot information, is set at the time of factory shipment. Only after the above-mentioned unique information is set, the actual operation can be started. When the operation starts, the terminal monitor 30 has a power saving mode and a full mode as its operation modes. When the external power supply is abnormal, the terminal monitor 30 operates by switching the operation mode to the power saving mode.

That is, as shown in FIG.
When the power is turned on (switch-on) in step 1, if it is first confirmed in step 502 that there is no command to reset the settings and recording of the terminal monitor 30 (normal case), immediately in step 511 It is confirmed that the above-mentioned unique information is set, that is, it is a legitimate shipment. Here, if the unique information is not set, the operation mode of operation cannot be entered, and the unique information needs to be set separately as shown in step 513. Then, in step 511, the setting of the unique information, that is, it must be recognized that the product is a legitimate shipment. When the unique information is forged, it can be determined that the product is a forged product by decrypting the hall server 10 as described in detail later.

If it is confirmed in step 511 that the product is a legitimate shipment with the unique information set,
In step 512, the presence or absence of an external power supply is checked. If there is an external power supply, the flow proceeds to a full mode 520 described later in detail. If the external power supply is not supplied, the flow proceeds to a power saving mode 540 described in detail below.

If there is a command to reset the settings and recording of the apparatus 30 (initial setting or resetting) in the first step 502, the flow advances to step 503. The reset signal is automatically issued from a hardware circuit when a battery is attached and when the supply of external power is started. In step 503, the presence or absence of an external power supply is checked. If there is no external power supply, in step 506, it is checked whether or not the above-mentioned unique information is set. initialize. This is because if there is a battery power source and the unique information has not been set, it is the state before shipment from the factory, and it is not necessary to record the abnormality information. If there is an external power supply in step 503 and if unique information is set in step 506, the initialization is performed except for the abnormality information collected so far and its time.

In the power saving mode, the number of items to be monitored as processing on the hardware is reduced, and the radio wave sensor 5
The monitoring circuit of No. 4 is stopped, and the power supply to the circuit and the sensor 54 is stopped. That is, as shown in FIG. 13, when the terminal monitor 30 collects sensor data, first, the presence or absence of an external power source is checked as shown in step 561. If the external power source is not present, the process proceeds to step 565. The power supply to the radio wave sensor 54 is cut off. Then, in step 566, after confirming that there is remaining battery capacity, data on the sealing seals 51 and 53 is collected as described above. If the battery capacity is insufficient in step 566, the process ends without performing data collection. On the other hand, when the external power supply is turned on in step 561, data of both the radio wave sensor 54 and the sealing seals 51 and 53 are collected in steps 562 and 563.

In the power saving mode of the terminal monitor 30, the monitoring program for monitoring an abnormality provides a sleep mode for stopping the monitoring, thereby extending the monitoring cycle of the sealing seals 51 and 53. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, first, in step 541, the length St of the sleep time is set to, for example, 500 milliseconds. And step 5
At 42, the sleep mode is stopped and the sealing
Enter the measurement mode of 1,53. And step 58,
The “0.5 ms interrupt process” is executed five times by the routine of 543, and the last “0.5 ms interrupt process” is executed.
As a result, the sequence NoSQ becomes 0 and the sealing seal 51
The measurement of 53 ends.

Subsequently, at step 56, the process for collecting the sensor data (FIG. 13) is started. Here, if there is abnormality information in the sensor detection data, the abnormality information and its occurrence time are recorded in step 546, and if there is no abnormality information in the sensor detection data, the recording data is not updated. In the following step 548, it is confirmed that there is no reset signal, and the apparatus enters a sleep mode in step 551 to temporarily stop data collection. And step 55
As shown in FIG. 2, the sleep mode is continued until the set time St of the sleep time reaches the set length St (for example, 500 milliseconds), the sleep timer is reset to zero in step 553, the process returns to step 542, and data collection is started again. .

On the other hand, in the full mode when the external power is supplied, there is no sleep mode as shown in FIG. 12, and the data collection of the sensor is continuously continued. That is, in the full mode, the power saving mode is stopped in step 521,
Steps 58, 543, and 5 as in the power saving mode
At 6,545,546, sensor data is collected and recorded, and this process is repeated and continued unless there is an external power supply (step 525) and no reset command (step 526). Then, when it is confirmed in step 525 that there is no external power supply or when there is a reset command in step 526, the process returns to the mode selection routine shown in FIG.

As described above, since the terminal monitor 30 operates on the battery 36 without an external power supply, the terminal monitor 30 monitors the game machine even before the game machine is shipped from the factory and installed in the game arcade. The abnormality that has occurred can be recorded. Therefore, at the stage where the device is installed in a game arcade, it is possible to grasp the facts of the above-mentioned fraudulent acts even after shipment from the factory. The terminal monitor 3 can also be used for other power failures, such as a power failure in the entire hall or a power failure in the system 1.
0 indicates that the data collection can be continued, so that the present system 1 can also monitor a power failure. When the external power supply is abnormal, that is, when the external power supply is operated with the battery 36,
Since the operation mode is switched to the power saving mode that requires less power consumption, even if the battery 36 lasts long and the time from factory shipment to installation is long, monitoring of the gaming machine is not interrupted.

As described above, the ID information encrypted by the DES method is recorded in the non-volatile memory on the terminal monitor 30. And the hall server 10
Has a decryption program for the ID information,
An ID request command is issued to the island center 20 to acquire ID information, and the above cipher is decrypted to determine whether the ID of the terminal monitor 30 is appropriate. The DES method is preferable because it can be decrypted immediately using a common key without accessing the center. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, first, in step 681, the hall server 10 specifies the address of the terminal monitor 30, requests transmission of the ID, and obtains the encrypted ID.

Then, the I encrypted at step 683
Decrypt D. Subsequently, at step 683, DES
Check whether the decoding by the method is performed correctly,
If the decryption is not performed correctly, the process proceeds to step 689, where the ID of the terminal monitor 30 is abnormal and the terminal monitor 3
It is determined that 0 is not regular. If the decryption was successful in step 683, step 684
It is determined whether or not the code decoded in step 2 has a regular code system and whether the content is correct.

If it is determined that the code is not a legitimate code, the flow advances to step 689 to determine that the ID of the terminal monitor 30 is abnormal, that the terminal monitor 30 is not legal, and that the code is legitimate. In this case, the process proceeds to step 686. Then, whether the ID is normal or not, the determination result of the ID is displayed to the operator in step 690.

Next, the procedure for setting the intra-section (island) address An of the terminal monitor 30 will be described with reference to the system connection diagram of FIG. 1 and the flowchart of FIG. This procedure is started by a command issued from the hall server 10. First, in step 651, the island center 20
Sends a response command pulse to the control bus line 15 at regular intervals. Branch unit 21 located first
Transmits the first received pulse and the second pulse received first to the branch line 17 side, and transmits all the third and subsequent pulses to the downstream side of the control bus line 15.

Then, the branch unit 21 located on the control bus line 15 branches and transmits the third and fourth response command pulses to the branch line 17 branching therefrom. In this manner, the branching of the response command pulse by the branch unit 21 is repeated, and the pulse transmitted at the nth position is transmitted to the branch line located at the nth position from the upstream of the control bus line 15.

The terminal monitor 30 receiving the response command pulse from the branch line 17 returns a response from the data line 18 as to whether or not the address has been set. The island center 20 knows whether the terminal monitor 30 is on the n-th branch line depending on whether or not there is a response to the n-th pulse, and determines whether or not the address has been set according to the response content when there is a response. You can know. Step 6
If there is a terminal monitor 30 for which an address has not been set in 52, the process proceeds to the subsequent step 653, where the procedure for updating the address setting is entered.

In this case as well, the island center 20 sequentially sends the response command pulses downstream at regular intervals. In response to the first response command pulse, the monitor number n is first set to 1 in step 653, and in step 654, the n-th response command pulse corresponding to the number n which is increasing one after another is transmitted. As described above, the nth response command pulse is delivered to the terminal monitor 30 of the nth branch line 17. If a response is received from the terminal monitor 30 in the next step 655, an island address An corresponding to the monitor number n corresponding to the n-th pulse is transmitted in step 656.

In step 657, if there is a response from the terminal monitor 30 to the transmission of the island address An, the address ledger of the island center 20 is updated. That is, the fact that the terminal monitor 30 of the monitor number n exists and the address An corresponding to the monitor number n is set is recorded in the ledger. Then, in step 660, the same procedure is repeated by advancing the monitor number n by one in response to the next response command pulse. This procedure is repeated, and when the monitor number n reaches the maximum value Nm (for example, 48) in step 659, the above-described procedure of address setting is stopped. In step 661, the setting information of the island address An is transmitted to the hall server 10.

The monitor number n corresponds to the response pulse transmission order n as described above, and the branch unit 21
Deliver the nth pulse to the nth branch line. Accordingly, the island address An corresponding to the monitor number n is assigned to the bus line 15,
This corresponds to the arrangement order n on 16.

As described above, the address of the terminal monitor 30 in the present system 1 is not uniquely or fixedly set to the terminal monitor 30, but is automatically assigned based on the ID of the island center 20 and the arrangement order in the island. Is done. Therefore, even if the gaming machine (terminal monitor) 8 is replaced or rearranged, the address setting of the terminal monitor 30 in the system 1 does not need to be redone or input for each machine at all. Is automatically reset by sending a single command to command. On the other hand, unique information (ID) to be fixed and managed in the terminal monitor 30 can be separately obtained by transmitting a command from the hall server 10 to the island center 20 as described above.

Therefore, in the present system, even if the game machine 8 is replaced or rearranged as a game room pattern change, the system can be updated simply and in a short time by an instruction from the operator. Therefore, a third party or the like is not involved in updating the system, and the risk of unauthorized modification or the like accompanying replacement or rearrangement of the gaming machine is reduced, and the system has excellent security functions.

The hall server 10 includes a modem and communication software. As shown in FIG. 15, the hall server 10 can communicate with the remote server 100 and a predetermined number of mobile phones 96 via a public communication network 95. Yes, remote server 10
0 remotely monitors a plurality of game arcades for abnormalities. That is, when an abnormality occurs in the game arcade, the hall server 10 notifies the remote server 100 of the occurrence of the abnormality via the public communication network 95. As a result, both parties can cooperate quickly and powerfully. When an abnormality occurs, the hall server 10 reports the abnormality to the mobile phone 96 having a predetermined telephone number via the public communication network 95. Then, the person who has received the notification to the mobile phone 96 can provide support for the countermeasure in the same manner as the amusement arcade.

[0073]

As described above, according to the present invention, a gaming machine monitoring system having an excellent security function capable of easily detecting various fraudulent acts of replacing or altering a control board or the like of a gaming machine. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system connection diagram of a gaming machine monitoring system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a manner in which the terminal monitor according to the embodiment is attached to a pachinko machine.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a change in operation of the island center according to a power supply condition according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart showing a procedure of communication with the hall server and the terminal monitor of the island center according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart showing a procedure of checking a terminal monitor ID in the hall server according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a connection diagram showing a basic configuration of the terminal monitor according to the embodiment and a connection mode between the terminal monitor and the outside;

FIG. 7 is a connection diagram of a state detection unit of a sealing seal of the terminal monitor according to the embodiment.

8 is a time chart showing an example of a transition of a variable of a main element in the detection unit in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure for detecting the state of the sealing seal in the detection unit in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary flowchart showing a procedure for selecting a basic operation mode of the terminal monitor according to the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in a power saving mode of the terminal monitor according to the embodiment;

FIG. 12 is an exemplary flowchart showing a processing procedure in a full mode of the terminal monitor according to the embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an internal processing procedure of a sensor data reading step in FIGS. 11 and 12;

FIG. 14 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a procedure in which the island center according to the embodiment sets an intra-island address of the terminal monitor;

FIG. 15 is a connection diagram schematically showing a mode of cooperation between the hall server, the remote server, and the mobile phone according to the embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing an example of the arrangement of a control board, a seal, and the like in a conventional pachinko machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 gaming machine monitoring system 8 pachinko machine, gaming machine 10 hole server 13, 15, 16 bus line 17, 18 branch line 20 island center 21 branch unit 30 terminal monitor 31 processing device 32 detection unit 33 connector 34 communication means 35 power control device 36 Battery 37 Connector 51, 53 Sealing Seal 520 Full Mode 540 Power Saving Mode 54 Radio Sensor 56 Harness 82 Control Board 83 Memory 85 Storage Box 91 Sealing Seal 95 Public Communication Network 96 Mobile Phone 100 Remote Server 321 Sensing Unit 322 Judgment Unit 511 , 512 Conductor pattern An island address

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A terminal monitor installed for each gaming machine for detecting an abnormal state occurring in the gaming machine and recording it in a memory, and a terminal monitor provided for each section for dividing an area in a hall into a plurality of sections. Has an island center that connects to all the terminal monitors and collects the record information of the terminal monitors, and a hall server that communicates with all the island centers and monitors the record information of all the terminal monitors in the hall. In a gaming machine monitoring system, the terminal monitor and the island center can be operated by any of an external power supply and a battery, and the island center can operate even when communication with the hall server is poor. Collects and monitors the record information of the terminal monitor, and collects and monitors the record information of the terminal monitor using a battery as a power supply when the external power supply is abnormal, The terminal monitor is characterized in that when an external power supply is abnormal, the terminal monitor operates using a battery as a power source and switches an operation mode to a power saving mode in which power consumption is low to monitor an abnormality of the gaming machine. system. 2. The monitoring program according to claim 1, wherein in the power saving mode, the monitoring program for reducing an item to be monitored, stopping or suppressing power supply to a circuit or a sensor that is not monitored, and monitoring an abnormality is intermittent. A gaming machine monitoring system characterized in that the presence or absence of an abnormality in the gaming machine is monitored, the monitoring cycle is lengthened, and the items to be monitored are reduced. 3. A terminal monitor installed for each gaming machine for detecting an abnormal state occurring in the gaming machine and recording the information in a memory, and a terminal monitor provided for each section for dividing an area in a hall into a plurality of sections. A gaming machine having an island center connected to all terminal monitors and collecting record information of the terminal monitors, and a hall server communicating with all the island centers and monitoring the record information of all terminal monitors in the hall. In the monitoring system, the terminal monitor stores, in a non-volatile memory, encrypted ID information that records production information, model information, and the like of the gaming machine individual, and the hall server stores the ID information Gaming machine monitoring system, comprising a decryption program according to (1). 4. The terminal monitor according to claim 1, wherein the terminal monitor records, in a non-volatile memory, encrypted ID information for recording production information, model information, and the like of the gaming machine. A gaming machine monitoring system, wherein the hall server includes a program for decrypting the ID information. 5. A terminal monitor installed for each gaming machine for detecting an abnormal state occurring in the gaming machine and recording the information in a memory, and a terminal monitor provided for each section for dividing an area in the hall into a plurality of sections. A gaming machine having an island center connected to all terminal monitors and collecting record information of the terminal monitors, and a hall server communicating with all the island centers and monitoring the record information of all terminal monitors in the hall. A monitoring system, wherein the terminal monitor is connected to a branch line branched from a connection-type bus line having a bus-type topology only one per line, and the island center is located upstream of the bus line. The terminal monitor is connected to the end, and the terminal monitor has an address within the partition determined by the order of branching from the upstream end of the bus line of the branch line to which the terminal monitor is connected. Allocated through the center, the holes server, game machine monitoring system and recognizes the address in the individual terminal monitoring system by the ID and the compartment address of the island center. 6. The terminal monitor according to claim 1, wherein only one terminal monitor is provided for each branch line branched from a connection-type bus line having a bus-type topology. At the same time, the island center is connected to the upstream end of the bus line, and the terminal monitor displays the address in the section determined by the order of branching from the upstream end of the bus line of the branch line to which the terminal monitor is connected. A gaming machine monitoring system which is allocated via the island center, wherein the hall server recognizes an address in the system of each terminal monitor based on the ID of the island center and the address in the section. 7. The terminal monitor according to claim 1, wherein the terminal monitor detects an abnormality of an electromagnetic wave detected by a radio wave sensor installed in the gaming machine and a modification of a control board and an in-machine wiring of the gaming machine. A gaming machine monitoring system for monitoring an abnormality of a sealing seal affixed to the control board and the harness in order to prevent the gaming machine. 8. The hall server according to claim 1, wherein the hall server includes communication means capable of communicating with a remote server or a mobile phone via a public communication network or the like. Gaming machine monitoring system.