JP2007313209A - Device between game machines for game unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device between game machines with an address setting device which enables the setting or alteration of address of the device even with the main body of the device off a holder for the device between game machines. <P>SOLUTION: In the device 6 between game machines for a game unit, the main body 20 of the device is constituted of a fixed side unit 30 fixed on the holder 10 and a detachable side unit 50 detachably mounted on the holder 10. A controller 33 for the device between game machines and the address setting device are placed on the fixed side unit 30 together with a power source unit 32 for the device. Thus, even with the detachable side unit 50 taken off for maintenance inspection or other reasons, the setting or alteration of the address of the device between game machines is made possible with the address setting device which is constructed of a numeric key block 38 as an address input part of the fixed side unit 30 fixed on the holder 10 and the controller 33 having an address setting/alteration function and an address memory. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a game machine intermediary machine that lends game media such as pachinko balls. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improvement of a gaming machine platform machine including an address setting device for setting a unique machine machine address for identifying the location of each gaming machine platform machine.

  In a game store such as a pachinko store, a unique machine address is given to each machine for a game machine adjacent to a game machine, and a management computer is used via a communication network such as a LAN. The installation location of each inter-game machine is specified and managed centrally. In order to assign a pedestal machine address to the gaming machine pedestal machine, a number of mechanical switches such as a rotary switch for address setting are attached to the gaming machine pedestal machine corresponding to the number of digits of the pedestal machine address. The rotary machine of each digit is turned by a driver or the like to set the inter-machine address. In general, the address setting unit in which such rotary switches are arranged is arranged at the back of the inter-table machine for the gaming table so that a player or the like cannot access it illegally. Therefore, it is troublesome to confirm the address of the installed machine and to reset it.

  Therefore, in the prior art, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, by operating the operation buttons arranged on the front panel of the gaming machine interpolator, an address where the intermediary machine address can be set. A setting device has been proposed. Further, in Patent Document 2 below, an address setting device capable of setting and changing the inter-machine address for each inter-game machine inter-machine by optical communication using an address data transmitter for address setting. Has been proposed.

  Here, in the inter-table machine for gaming machines, the built-in bill discriminator, coin discriminator, etc. are provided with mechanical drive parts such as bills, coin transport mechanisms, sorting mechanisms, etc. It is desirable that it can be removed by a simple operation so as to cope with clogging and the like. From such a point of view, the game machine pedestal machine is generally composed of a machine machine holder fixed to the game island mounting frame, and a machine machine body that is inserted and fixed in a removable state from the front side. Then, by releasing the lock mechanism, the pedestal machine main body can be easily removed from the side of the pedestal machine holder to which the pedestal machine power supply unit is attached.

In the gaming machine pedestal machine with this structure, a communication repeater is attached to the side of the pedestal machine holder, and after inserting and fixing the pedestal machine body into the pedestal machine holder, Wiring connection work with the relay on the intermediate unit holder side is performed. This enables communication between the machine controller mounted on the machine and the outside, and the machine power supply unit on the machine holder side to the machine main unit side. Power can be supplied. Patent Documents 3 and 4 disclose such an inter-table machine for gaming machines.
JP 09-313722 A JP 2005-34527 A JP 2002-11238 A JP 2005-342236 A

  Here, in the gaming machine table machine equipped with such a removable table machine body, in order to set / change the machine address using the address setting device described in Patent Documents 1 and 2. It is necessary that the machine body is mounted on the machine holder. In other words, an operation button for address input or an address receiver is provided on the side of the machine body. Moreover, the machine power supply unit which supplies drive power to these is mounted in the machine holder side. Accordingly, the setting or changing of the address of the machine cannot be performed with the machine body removed from the machine holder.

  In view of these points, an object of the present invention is to provide a game equipped with an address setting device capable of setting and changing the address of the pedestal machine even when the pedestal machine body is removed from the pedestal machine holder. The idea is to propose a pedestal machine.

In order to solve the above-described problems,
A pedestal machine holder fixed to a game island frame,
A fixed unit fixed to the pedestal machine holder, and a pedestal machine main body composed of a detachable unit inserted and fixed in a detachable state from the front with respect to the pedestal machine holder,
The fixed unit is supplied with an inter-machine power supply unit, an inter-machine controller supplied with drive power from the inter-machine power supply unit, and supplied with drive power from the inter-machine power supply unit. It is characterized in that an address setting device for setting and changing the machine address is installed under the control of the machine controller.

  In the gaming machine pedestal machine of the present invention, the pedestal machine body is composed of a fixed side unit fixed to the pedestal machine holder and a detachable side unit detachable from the pedestal machine holder. A pedestal machine controller and an address setting device are mounted together with the pedestal machine power supply unit. Therefore, even when the detachable unit is removed for maintenance and inspection, it is possible to set and change the machine address using the address setting device fixed to the machine holder.

  Here, the inter-machine address setting device includes an address memory for storing and holding the inter-machine address, and a front surface of the fixed unit for inputting and changing the inter-machine address stored in the address memory. The address input unit arranged on the front panel attached to the unit, the processing operation for storing and holding the machine address input via the address input unit in the address memory, and the stored contents of the address memory by the machine address And a control unit that performs a processing operation to change the value.

  In this case, the control unit can be realized by the control function of the intermediary machine controller, and a partial area of the memory provided in the intermediary machine controller can be used as the address memory. In this way, there is no need to arrange a control unit for setting / changing the machine address or a dedicated memory for storing and holding the machine address.

  The address input unit may be one that inputs a machine address using a numeric keypad disposed on the front panel. Instead, an address data receiver that receives interpolator address data by optical communication through a light receiving window arranged on the front panel can be used as the address input unit.

  In the gaming machine pedestal machine of the present invention, the pedestal machine main body mounted on the pedestal machine holder attached to the gaming island mounting frame is connected to the fixed side unit fixed to the pedestal machine holder and the pedestal machine holder It is divided into a detachable side unit that is detachably mounted, and a pedestal unit controller and an address setting device are mounted on the fixed side unit together with the pedestal unit power supply unit. Therefore, the machine address can be set and changed even when the detachable unit is detached from the machine holder. Further, by using the built-in memory of the machine controller, a dedicated memory for storing and holding the machine address becomes unnecessary.

  Hereinafter, a gaming system including a gaming machine inter-game machine to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a partial front view showing the gaming system according to the first embodiment. The basic configuration of the gaming system 1 according to the present embodiment is a general configuration, and a gaming island mounting frame 3 for configuring the gaming island 2 and a plurality of mountings attached along the gaming island mounting frame 3. Game unit 4. Each game unit 4 includes a game machine 5 such as a pachinko machine or a slot machine, and a game machine inter-machine 6 disposed adjacent to the left side of the game machine 5. The inter-table machine 6 for game machines is for lending out game media such as pachinko balls and medals used for play on the adjacent game machines 5. Each gaming machine inter-table machine 6 is connected to a host device such as a management computer of a gaming store via a communication line network (not shown) such as a LAN so as to be capable of bidirectional communication.

  2A, 2B, and 2C are a front view, a side view, and a rear view of the interframe machine 6, respectively. FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which the detachable unit on the upper side of the main body of the intermediary machine is pulled out from the intermediary machine holder, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the internal structure of the intermediary machine.

  Referring to these drawings, the intermediary machine 6 is composed of an intermediary machine holder 10 and an intermediary machine body 20, and the intermediary machine holder 10 is fixed to the game island mounting frame 3. The pedestal machine main body 20 includes a lower fixed side unit 30 and an upper detachable side unit 50, and the upper detachable side unit 50 can be horizontally inserted into the pedestal machine holder 10 from the front. The lock mechanism 70 is held in a state in which it cannot be pulled out from the interstage machine holder 10. On the other hand, the lower fixed side unit 30 is fixed to the pedestal unit holder 10 in a state where it can be detached from the pedestal unit holder 10 only when the upper detachable side unit 50 is pulled out.

  The interframe machine holder 10 has a vertical frame 11 having a U-shaped cross-section that opens vertically and a U-shaped cross section that extends horizontally forward from the upper end of the vertical frame 11 and opens downward. An upper horizontal guide frame 12 in the cross section and a lower horizontal guide frame 13 extending horizontally forward from the lower end of the vertical frame 11 and opening upward are provided.

  The fixed side unit 30 on the lower side of the pedestal machine main body 20 includes a unit case 31 having a flat rectangular shape that is elongated vertically, and a pedestal machine power supply unit 32 is disposed on the lower side. Is provided with a machine controller 33. Electric power is supplied to the inter-vehicle machine power supply unit 32 from the outside via a power cable 34. In addition, driving power is supplied to the side of the machine controller 33 via the power cable 35 arranged between the machine power unit 32 and the machine controller 33 inside the unit case 31. ing.

  A lower front panel 36 is attached to the front surface of the unit case 31. On the lower front panel 36 of this example, a liquid crystal display unit 37, a numeric keypad group 38, and a non-contact type IC card reading unit 39 are arranged from the upper side. Wirings 37a, 38a, 39a drawn out from these parts are connected to input / output terminals on the side of the inter-machine controller 33, respectively.

  Communication ports 40 and 41, a connector 42 for external communication, and the like are arranged on the back surface of the machine controller 33. These parts are attached to the back plate portion 11 a of the vertical frame 11 of the machine machine holder 10. It is exposed to the back side from the formed opening 11b. A communication cable (not shown) drawn from the outside is connected to the communication ports 40 and 41 and the connector 42.

  Further, a cable 45 for communication and feeding is drawn out from the inter-station controller 33 in the fixed unit 30. The cable 45 is drawn upward from the rear edge of the upper end surface of the unit case 31. A cable-connecting holder-side connector 46 is attached in a forward-facing posture at a position directly above the fixed-side unit 30 in the interframe machine holder 10.

  Here, hooks 43 and 44 project from one side edge toward the back side at the upper and lower ends of the back side of the unit case 31. In the back plate portion 11a of the vertical frame 11 of the interframe machine holder 10, slits 11c and 11d having a length through which these hooks 43 and 44 can be passed are formed. The fixed side unit 30 passes the pair of hooks 43, 44 through the slits 11c, 11d and then drops downward, so that the lower surface of the fixed unit 30 gets on the lower horizontal guide frame 13 of the interframe machine holder 10. In this state, the hooks 43 and 44 hit the lower edge portions of the slits 11c and 11d, and the fixed unit 30 cannot be removed from the interframe machine holder 10.

  Next, the upper detachable side unit 50 also includes a flat unit case 51 that is elongated vertically. In this example, a bill processing machine 52 and an IC coin (coin-like IC storage medium) processing machine 53 are arranged in the inside from the upper side. From the control board 54 of the lower IC coin processor 53, a communication and power supply cable 55 is drawn. Further, the control board 54 and the control board 56 of the upper banknote processing machine 52 are also connected by a cable 57 for communication and power supply.

  Here, the lower end portion on the back side of the unit case 51 is recessed forward, and the unit-side connector 58 is attached to this portion in a rearward posture. A cable 55 is connected to the unit side connector 58.

  An upper front panel 59 is attached to the front surface of the unit case 51, and a bill inlet 60, a multi-function lamp 61, an IC coin inlet 62, and an IC coin outlet 63 are arranged on the upper front panel 59 from above. ing. The lower part of the IC coin outlet 63 is a puller 64 for pulling out the detachable side unit 50.

  The detachable side unit 50 can be inserted from the front between the upper horizontal guide frame 12 of the interframe machine holder 10 and the horizontal guide frame 47 attached to the upper end surface of the fixed side unit 30 mounted on the lower side. These are guided and can be pushed to a position where the back surface of the interframe holder 10 contacts the back plate portion 11 a of the vertical frame 11.

  A holder-side connector 46 is attached to the pedestal machine holder 10 side in a forward-facing posture. The rear-facing unit-side connector 58 attached to the rear surface of the detachable side unit 50 is disposed at a position where the detachable side unit 50 is inserted into the holder-side connector 46 when the detachable side unit 50 is pushed into the interframe unit holder 10. When the detachable side unit 50 is inserted by these connectors 46 and 58, the connector 58 is inserted into the connector 46 to be in a connected state, and when the detachable side unit 50 is pulled out, the connector 58 is pulled out from the connector 46. A connector connection mechanism is configured.

  Next, the lock mechanism 70 that locks the detachable side unit 50 inserted into the pedestal machine holder 10 in a state where it cannot be pulled out will be described. The lock mechanism 70 includes a case 71 fixed to the back surface of the back plate portion 11a of the vertical frame 11 of the interframe machine holder 10, and the case 71 protrudes horizontally forward in a slidable state. A hook 72 is arranged. The hook 72 is always pulled downward by a tension coil spring 73. The rear end of the cable 74 is connected to the hook 72. The cable 74 is covered with the sheath 75 and is drawn from the back side of the interframe machine holder 10 through its upper side to a predetermined position on the front side. When the cable 74 is pulled, the hook 72 slides upward, and when the cable 74 is released, the hook 72 returns to the lower side again.

  A slit 76 through which the hook 72 can be passed is formed on the back surface of the unit case 51 of the detachable side unit 50. When the detachable side unit 50 is inserted into the interframe unit holder 10, the detachable side unit 50 is inserted while the lower end edge of the slit 76 pushes up the hook 72. When the detachable side unit 50 is completely inserted, the hook 72 gets over the lower end edge of the slit 76 and moves to the front side, and slides downward by the spring force of the tension coil spring 73. Thereby, the detachable side unit 50 is locked in a state in which it cannot be pulled out.

  As described above, in the gaming machine pedestal machine 6 of this example, the pedestal machine main body 20 is divided into upper and lower parts, and the detachable unit 50 on the upper side can be pulled by the simple operation of pulling the cable 74. It can be pulled out from the front and is attached to the interframe machine holder 10 in a detachable state. On the other hand, in order to remove the lower fixed side unit 30 from the inter-machine unit holder 10, first, the upper detachable side unit 50 is pulled out, and then the door of the adjacent gaming table is opened. Then, turn the hand to the back side of the fixed side unit 30 to remove the power cable 34, the communication cable, and the like, and then lift the fixed side unit 30 so that the upper and lower hooks 43, 44 are connected to the base unit holder 10. It is necessary to remove from the side. Therefore, it is substantially fixed to the interframe machine holder 10.

  Here, in the gaming machine pedestal machine 6 having this configuration, the pedestal machine controller 33 of the fixed side unit 30 sets and changes the pedestrian machine address assigned to the gaming machine pedestal machine 6. An address setting function is provided, and a part of the built-in memory is used as a storage area (address memory) for the inter-station machine address. Further, the numeric keypad group 38 disposed on the lower front panel 36 functions as an address input unit for inputting an inter-machine address.

  Therefore, even when the detachable side unit 50 of the interframe machine main body 20 is pulled out for maintenance and inspection, the numeric keypad group disposed on the lower front panel 36 attached to the front surface of the fixed side unit 30. 38 can be used to set or change the machine address.

  In addition, it is not necessary to arrange an independent device as the address setting device, and the control function of the intermediary machine controller 33 is provided with an address setting function, and a part of the built-in memory of the intermediary machine controller 33 is allocated to It can be used as an address memory for storing machine addresses. Therefore, the address setting device can be incorporated without incurring an installation location and high cost.

  In addition, according to the inter-table machine 6 for game machines of this example, the following effects can be obtained. First, the banknote handling machine 52 and the IC coin handling machine 53 including a mechanical drive part are mounted on the detachable side unit 50. Therefore, when a banknote jam occurs, or when an IC coin jam occurs, the recovery operation can be easily performed.

  In addition, the stationary unit 30 is equipped with an inter-machine power supply unit 32 and an inter-machine controller 33. A cable for external communication can be directly pulled out from the back of the fixed machine controller 33 and connected to an external device, and there is no need to arrange a communication repeater in the machine holder 10. In addition, the connection mechanism of the cables 45 and 55 for communication and feeding between the inter-machine controller 33 and the upper detachable unit 50 is a small and simple structure comprising the holder side connector 46 and the unit side connector 58. It's fine. Therefore, compared with the case where the large repeater for communication is arrange | positioned at the holder of an intermediary machine like before, it is advantageous to size reduction and cost reduction of the intermediary machine 6. FIG.

  In addition, since the interstage machine power supply unit 32 and the interstage machine controller 33 are arranged inside the fixed side unit 30, the power cable 35 drawn from the interstage machine power supply unit 32 is connected to the outside of the unit. There is no need to pull it out. Therefore, there is no need to secure a space for routing the power cable 35 on the back side of the inter-machine 6. It is also easy to shield the power cable 35 and the like so as not to cause electromagnetic interference in peripheral electronic devices. Therefore, from these points, it is advantageous for downsizing and cost reduction of the intermediary machine.

  In this example, the banknote handling machine 52 and the IC coin handling machine 53 are mounted on the detachable side unit 50. If a coin processor and a card-like storage medium processor are provided, these may be mounted on the detachable side unit 50. In other words, the part including the mechanical drive part in the inter-story machine 6 may be mounted on the detachable side unit 50. Further, although the fixed side unit 30 is arranged on the lower side, it is also possible to arrange this on the upper side and the detachable side unit 50 on the lower side.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a gaming machine inter-table machine according to Embodiment 2 to which the present invention is applied. The basic configuration of the gaming machine pedestal machine shown in this figure is the same as the gaming machine pedestal machine 6 described above. The difference is that an address setting device for setting / changing the inter-station address by optical communication is incorporated. Accordingly, parts corresponding to the respective parts of the gaming system shown in FIGS.

  The game machine pedestal machine 100 in this example also includes a machine machine holder 10 attached to a game island frame (not shown), and a machine machine body 20. The lower fixed side unit 30 fixed to the machine holder 10 and the detachable side unit 50 that is detachably inserted and fixed from the front to the interframe machine holder 10 are configured.

  A light receiving window 101 for translucent optical communication is disposed on the lower front panel 36 attached to the front surface of the fixed unit 30. When the pedestal machine address data is transmitted from the portable address data transmitter 110, which is a component of the address setting device, by optical communication with the light receiving window 101 as a component, the transmitted pedestal machine address is stored in the gaming machine table. It is set as an inter-machine address of the inter-machine 100.

  An optical address data receiver 102 is disposed on the back side of the light receiving window 101 of the lower front panel 36. The address data receiver 102 receives the address data from the address data transmitter 110 through the light receiving window 101. The received machine address data is stored and held in the address memory 103 developed in a part of the built-in memory of the machine controller 33. The address memory 103 is composed of an EEPROM or SRAM which is a nonvolatile memory, and holds the set machine address even when the power is turned off. In addition, when the address data receiver 102 receives new address data while the address memory 103 holds the address of the machine, the contents stored in the address memory 103 according to the received machine address data. Can be updated. Further, the control unit 104 having such a function for setting / changing the machine address is provided as a control function of the machine controller 33.

  Thus, in this example, the control unit 104, the address data receiver 102, the address memory 103, and the portable address data transmitter 110 that are mounted on the fixed side unit 30 of the gaming machine pedestal machine 100. Thus, the address setting device 120 of the gaming machine pedestal machine 100 is configured.

  The same effects as the above-described gaming machine pedestal machine 6 can also be obtained in the gaming machine pedestal machine 100 configured as described above.

  In addition to this, by using the address setting device 120 of this example, the portable address data transmitter 110 can be used to remotely set and change the machine address of each game machine machine 100. Can do. Therefore, it is not necessary to arrange a switch for setting the machine address in each gaming machine machine 100, and the machine address can be set or changed very easily. Further, such wireless communication has an advantage that it can be realized by optical communication or the like at a low cost and with a simple configuration.

  In this example, the interpolator address is set by optical communication, but the interpolator address may be transmitted by radio waves of a predetermined frequency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial front view showing a gaming system including a gaming machine pedestal machine according to Embodiment 1 to which the present invention is applied. (a), (b) and (c) are a front view, a side view and a back view of the interpolator. It is a side view which shows the state which pulled out the attachment / detachment side unit of the upper side of the main body of a base machine from a base machine holder. It is explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure of a table machine. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the platform machine for game machines which concerns on Embodiment 2 to which this invention is applied.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Game system 2 Game island 3 Game island mounting frame 4 Game unit 5 Game stand 6 Standing machine 10 Standing machine holder 11 Vertical frame 11a Back plate part 12 Upper horizontal guide frame 13 Lower horizontal guide frame 20 Standing machine main body 30 Fixed side unit 32 Inter-machine power supply unit 33 Inter-machine controller (control unit and address memory)
34 Power cable 35 Power cable 36 Lower front panel 38 Numeric keypad (address input section)
42 Connector for external communication 43, 44 Hook 45 Cable 46 Holder side connector 50 Detachable side unit 52 Banknote processing machine 53 IC coin processing machine 55 Cable 58 Unit side connector 70 Lock mechanism 100 Pedestrian table machine 101 Light receiving window 102 Address Data receiver 103 Address memory 104 Control unit 110 Address data transmitter 120 Address setting device

Claims (5)

A pedestal machine holder fixed to a game island frame,
A fixed unit fixed to the pedestal machine holder, and a pedestal machine main body consisting of a detachable unit inserted and fixed in a detachable state from the front with respect to the pedestal machine holder,
The fixed unit is supplied with an inter-machine power supply unit, an inter-machine controller supplied with drive power from the inter-machine power supply unit, and supplied with drive power from the inter-machine power supply unit. A game machine platform machine equipped with an address setting device for setting and changing the machine machine address under the control of the machine controller. In claim 1,
The address setting device includes:
An address memory for storing and holding the machine address;
In order to input and change the machine address stored in the address memory, an address input unit arranged on the front panel attached to the front surface of the fixed unit;
A processing unit that stores and holds the machine address input via the address input unit in the address memory, and a control unit that performs a process operation that changes the storage contents of the address memory according to the machine address. An inter-table machine for game machines, characterized by In claim 2,
The control unit is provided as a part of the control function of the inter-machine controller.
The gaming machine platform machine, wherein the address memory is a partial area of a memory provided in the machine controller. In claim 3,
The gaming machine platform machine, wherein the address input unit inputs a machine machine address using a numeric keypad arranged on the front panel. In claim 3,
The gaming machine pedestal machine, wherein the address input unit is an address data receiver that receives pedestal machine address data by optical communication through a light receiving window disposed on the front panel.

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