JP2008119520A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an in-store system for easily updating a program periodically. <P>SOLUTION: The in-store system comprises: a game machine provided with a discharge controller for controlling a discharge device for discharging game media; a low-order device connected with the discharge controller through a cable; and a high-order device for communicating with the communication means of the low-order device and gathering data generated accompanying the discharge control of the game media from the low-order device. In the in-store system, the low-order device comprises a memory means for storing the program, and an updating program fetch means for storing an updating program from the high-order device through the communication means into the memory means on the basis of a program updating command supplied from the high-order device through the communication means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention communicates with a gaming machine having a discharge control device for controlling a discharge device for discharging game media, a lower device connected to the discharge control device via a cable, and communication means of the lower device, The present invention relates to an in-store system that includes a host device that collects data generated in accordance with game medium discharge control from a host device.

  A conventional in-store system communicates with a gaming machine having a discharge control device for controlling a discharge device for discharging game media, a lower device connected to the discharge control device via a cable, and communication means of the lower device. , And a higher-level device that collects data generated in accordance with the game medium discharge control from the lower-level device.

  By the way, it is necessary to periodically replace the programs of the lower-level devices. However, there is a problem that a large number of subordinate devices are installed, and it is necessary to replace a memory chip with a built-in program regularly. The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an in-store system capable of easily updating a program periodically.

  In order to achieve the above object, an in-store system of the present invention includes a gaming machine having a discharge control device that controls a discharge device for discharging game media, a lower device connected to the discharge control device via a cable, An in-store system comprising: a host device that communicates with communication means of a lower device and collects data generated in accordance with the discharge control of the game medium from the lower device; the lower device includes memory means for storing a program; And an update program fetch means for storing the update program in the memory means from the host device via the communication means based on a program update command given from the host device via the communication means. .

  The memory means stores a program including an unupdatable part and an updatable part, and the update program fetch means updates the updatable part according to the non-updatable part of the program.

  The memory means includes a first area in which stored data cannot be rewritten and a second area in which stored data can be rewritten, and the program has a non-updatable portion in the first area. It is stored in one area, and its updatable part is stored in the second area.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily and cost-effectively perform work that requires a great deal of cost and labor, such as periodic replacement of program chips, only by an update command from the outside of the software. The period can be irregular and short. In particular, if the updatable part of the program is changed via communication means that communicates with the host device, the amount of work involved in the program change process can be greatly reduced. If this communication means is also used as a communication means to transmit the data generated by the game media discharge control to the host device, the existing equipment can be used effectively without the need for additional communication lines. It becomes.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a card-type pachinko gaming machine that is an example of a card-type gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention and a card-type ball lending device that is an example of a game medium lending device. FIG. 6 is a mechanism diagram showing a back mechanism. If it demonstrates from the external appearance, the card-type ball lending apparatus 1 and the card-type pachinko machine 2 will be provided adjacent to each other in the island facility in one-to-one. A card insertion slot 3 having an opening toward the passage between island facilities is provided on the front surface of the card-type ball lending apparatus 1. In addition, the upper plate 4 of the card-type pachinko machine 2 has a card balance display 5 for displaying the card balance corresponding to the valuable value information recorded in the loaded card, for performing a ball lending operation. A ball lending switch 6, a ball lending LED 7 for displaying that a ball lending operation is possible, and a card return switch 8 for performing a card returning operation are provided. In addition, a ball tank 9 for storing pachinko balls is provided at the upper back of the card-type pachinko gaming machine 2, and the pachinko balls stored in the ball tank 9 are arranged in the discharge basket 10 via the discharge basket 10. It leads to a discharge device not shown. The discharging device (not shown) is controlled by the discharging control device 11 so as to count and discharge a predetermined number of pachinko balls. The predetermined number of pachinko balls discharged from the discharging device are the ball outlets of the upper plate 4. We are contacted by 樋 to reach 12. The discharge control device 11 is connected to a control system, which will be described later, on the card-type ball lending device 1 via a cable 13. When a discharge command is applied from the card-type ball lending device 1 via the cable 13, the pachinko game A predetermined number of pachinko balls are discharged from the ball discharge opening 12 to the upper plate 4 in the same manner as the prize ball discharge process.

  Next, the present embodiment assumes a prepaid system that uses an optical LAN of a wireless transmission system, and FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of an in-store system that uses an optical LAN of a wireless transmission system. Reference numerals 1 and 2 denote the card-type ball lending device 1 and the card-type pachinko gaming machine 2, respectively. The prepaid card 14 is issued by the card issuing machine 15 and is attached to the card-type ball lending device 1. The Each card-type pachinko machine 2 is connected to a management device 20 for centralized management of the pachinko hall 19 in a store together with a jet counter device 16 for counting balls and a POS system 17 for gift exchange via a wired transmission path 18. . Next, 21 is an information processing device that manages the card-type ball lending device 1 and the card issuing machine 15 using an optical LAN. The information processing device 21 has an infrared transmitter / receiver near the ceiling in the amusement store, and is a primary relay. An optical channel is formed between the card issuing machine 15 and the card-type ball lending apparatus 1 via the machine 22 and the secondary repeater 23. A plurality of primary repeaters 22 are provided near the ceiling of the amusement store so that the secondary repeaters 23 can be accommodated in the transmission / reception field of view, and perform optical transmission between the information processing device 21 and the secondary repeater 23. The secondary repeater 23 is also provided near the ceiling of the amusement store so that the card-type ball lending device 1 and the card issuing machine 15 are within the transmission / reception field of view, and the primary repeater 22 and the card-type ball lending device 1 and the card issuing machine 15 Optical transmission between the two. Therefore, an optical transmitter / receiver 24 is provided at the upper end of the card-type ball lending apparatus 1 or the card issuing machine 15 for performing optical transmission with the secondary repeater 23 as shown in FIG. An information processing device 25 on the card company 26 side is connected to an information processing device 21 on the pachinko hall 19 side via a telephone line 27.

  Next, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a card-type ball lending apparatus. Reference numeral 30 denotes a secondary repeater 23 via an optical channel 31 including the primary repeater 22, the secondary repeater 23, and the optical transceiver 24 described above. And controls transmission / reception of data with a host device (in this embodiment, the information processing device 21 shown in FIG. 3). The communication control device 30 has a reception area 30a for temporarily storing data received from the host apparatus and a transmission area 30b for temporarily storing data to be transmitted to the host apparatus. Reference numeral 32 denotes a card read / write control device that reads and writes the loaded card 14. Reference numeral 34 denotes a flash memory which is an example of an electrically rewritable non-volatile memory. The flash memory 34 stores an updatable part in the lending program. Reference numeral 35 denotes a ROM that stores at least a non-updatable part in the lending program, and 36 denotes a RAM. The RAM 36 stores reception data 36a that stores reception data stored in the reception area 30a and transmission data that is stored in the transmission area 30b. A transmission memory 36b is included. Reference numeral 37 denotes a CPU that performs the overall control operation, 38 denotes a clock generator, and 39 denotes an input / output interface. Reference numerals 2, 8, 5, 6, 7, and 11 denote the card-type pachinko gaming machine 2, the card balance display 5, the ball lending switch 6, the ball lending LED 7, the card return switch 8, and the discharge control device 11, respectively. Indicates.

  Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described with reference to the above items and the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 shows a flowchart of normal operation of the card-type ball lending device, and FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of interrupt processing in response to a communication interrupt applied from the host device.

  First, when the system power is turned on prior to the opening of the pachinko hall 19, the CPU 37 of each card-type ball lending device 1 waits to receive a store opening instruction from the information processing device 21. More specifically, the store opening command generated by the information processing device 21 is transmitted to the primary repeater 22 by infrared communication, and the primary repeater 22 transmits the store opening command command to the secondary repeater 23, and each secondary repeater is transmitted. Transmits the store opening command command to the optical transceiver 24 of each card-type ball lending device, and the store opening command is stored in the receiving area 30a in the communication control device 30 of each card-type ball lending device 1. When the communication control device 30 receives a command from the host device in this way, it generates an interrupt request to the CPU 37, and the CPU 37 executes an interrupt process. FIG. 6 shows an example in which all communication between each card-type ball lending device and the host device (information processing device 21) is processed by a common interrupt processing program. On the other hand, since there is no data to be sent to the host device side, the CPU 37 fetches the data stored in the reception area 30a of the communication control device 30 (in this case, the opening command) into the reception memory 36a in the RAM 36 and then stores the data in the RAM 36. ACK (outgoing transmission) is set in the transmission memory 36b, and the ACK set in the transmission memory 36b is transferred to the transmission area 30b of the communication control device 30. Then, the communication control 30 transmits the ACK stored in the transmission area 30b to the information processing apparatus 21 via the optical channel 31 described above.

  When the store opening command is received in this way, the CPU 37 checks whether or not there is a program change command for instructing updating of the contents of the updatable part in the lending program. The program change operation is not necessarily performed at the time of opening of the store, but here, description will be made on the assumption that the program is changed.

  For example, the program change may be transmitted from the information processing device on the card company 26 side to the information processing device 21 on the pachinko hall 19 side via the telephone line 27, or a master disk or master card created on the card company side may be used. It may be read by the information processing device 21 on the pachinko hall 19 side. In any case, when the program is changed, the information processing apparatus 21 receives the “program change command” and “during loan program” via the optical channel 31 including the primary repeater 22, the secondary repeater 23, and the optical transceiver 24. This is performed by sending out the "program that forms the contents of the updatable part" and "program end code" for each transmission unit determined by the capacity of the receiving area 30a of the communication control device 30.

  First, the program change command sent from the information processing device 21 is stored in the reception area 30 a in the communication control device 30, and the communication control device 30 issues a communication interrupt to the CPU 37. In response, the CPU 37 fetches the transmission command stored in the reception area 30 a into the reception memory 36 a in the RAM 36, sets ACK in the transmission memory 36 b in the RAM 36, and then sends the ACK set in the transmission memory 36 b to the communication control device 30. Transfer to the transmission area 30b and return to the main routine. On the other hand, the communication control device 30 transmits the ACK stored in the transmission area 30b to the information processing device 21 via the optical channel 31 described above. When the information processing apparatus 21 accepts an ACK for the program change command, the information processing apparatus 21 sends a program constituting the updatable part of the lending program to one transmission unit, and the program for one transmission unit is received in the RAM 36 in the same manner as described above. The CPU 37 sends ACK to the information processing apparatus 21 and returns to the main routine for each fetching operation. In this main routine, the CPU 37 clears the reception memory 36a after writing in the flash memory 34 the program that makes up the contents of the updatable part taken in for each transmission unit in the reception memory 36a as described above. Each time the ACK is sent from the card-type game medium lending device 1 as described above, the information processing device 21 sequentially sends a program constituting the contents of the updatable part in the lending program, and when the series of programs has been sent, Send an exit code.

  On the other hand, the CPU 37 fetches the update program sent from the information processing apparatus 21 for each transmission unit into the flash memory 34 for each transmission unit until the program end code is received. When the program end code is taken into 36a, all the updatable parts in the lending program are taken into the flash memory 34, and the CPU 37 ends the program change process upon receipt of the program end code. The updatable parts that are changed in this way include all parts of the entire program excluding the "parts that perform initialization processing", "parts that perform communication interrupts", and "parts that perform program update processes". However, in order to prevent tampering and counterfeiting of the card, the updatable part must include at least format information indicating the format of the information medium and security information indicating the authenticity of the information medium. Is desirable.

  Now, in the case of a gaming medium lending device using a card, valuable information such as the number of games is recorded in the card, for example, and this valuable value information is played according to a predetermined rate in the gaming medium lending process. Convert to media. And this lending rate does not change frequently but is not necessarily fixed. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to change the lending rate in the same way as the program change processing. When changing the lending rate, the information processing apparatus 21 sends the rate change command and the changed rate to the card-type ball lending through the optical channel 31 including the primary repeater 22, the secondary repeater 23, and the optical transceiver 24. The CPU 37 of the card-type ball lending device 1 sequentially sends the lending rate to the receiving memory 36b of the RAM 36 and flashes the lending rate loaded to the receiving memory 36b. Write to memory 34.

  The program stored in the flash memory 34 after the program is changed or the rate is changed in this way is transferred to the RAM 36, and the CPU 37 performs the following ball lending process while sequentially executing the program transferred to the RAM 36. . Since the ball lending process itself is different from the subject of the present invention, only the outline will be described. First, the card 14 inserted into the card insertion slot 3 is read according to the format information included in the updatable part in the lending program. Therefore, if the format information is different at this time, the reading process itself becomes impossible, and the card is forcibly ejected or confiscated. On the other hand, if the format is correct, the card side security information and valuable information such as the number of games are read by the card read / write control device 32, and these data are written in the work area of the RAM 36. Then, the security information is collated normally. The card balance corresponding to the number of games is displayed on the card balance display device 5 and the ball lending LED 7 is lit.

  When the player operates the ball lending switch 6, the number of lending information corresponding to the lending rate is transmitted to the discharge control device 11, and the discharge control device 11 controls the discharge device (not shown) based on the received lending number information. The pachinko balls are discharged to the upper plate 4. Further, the CPU 37 subtracts and records the valuable value information on the card 14 side according to the number of balls discharged using the card read / write control device 32. At this time, an account receivable is generated for the card company in accordance with the pachinko ball discharge process, so this account receivable or a numerical value corresponding to the account receivable is set in the transmission memory 36b of the RAM 36. When the accounts receivable is set in the transmission memory 36b in this manner, when a communication interruption is applied from the information processing apparatus 21 for data collection, the accounts receivable data is transferred to the transmission area of the communication control apparatus 30, and the optical channel The information is transferred to the information processing apparatus 21 via 31. That is, in this embodiment, a data collection communication channel for collecting game medium lending information such as accounts receivable generated in association with game medium lending control is also used as a program update channel. When the game by the player is finished and the card return switch 8 is operated, the CPU 37 uses the card read / write control device 32 to discharge the card 14 and enters a customer waiting state.

  In the above example, the updatable part in the lending program is taken into the flash memory 34 and then copied to the RAM area 36 for execution. This is because the updatable part is not necessarily of a nature that should be updated every day, so it was adopted as a measure to ensure a sufficient operating speed while eliminating the need for power backup. Alternatively, if the updatable part is transferred from the information processing device 21 side every day, the flash memory can be stored directly in the RAM area. Although the data transfer process is performed using an optical LAN, it goes without saying that a wired transmission line can be used. In the above, an example in which the present invention is applied to a device that lends a pachinko ball to a card-type pachinko gaming machine has been shown. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be widely applied to a game medium lending device using a so-called prepaid card. Nor.

  The following are typical examples of aspects of the present invention other than those described in the claims.

  (1) At least by loading an information medium in which security information and valuable information are recorded, the information recorded in the information medium is read and the rental control of the game medium is performed based on the player's operation A gaming medium lending device including a ROM area at least in part, and a lending area including an unrenewable part and an updatable part for controlling the operation of the gaming medium lending apparatus over the ROM area and an area other than the ROM area. The memory means for storing the program and the non-updatable portion stored in the ROM area in the program are operated in accordance with a program update command given from the outside, in an area other than the ROM area in the lent program An update program for storing an updatable part to be stored in an area other than the ROM area in the memory means from outside And write means, said game medium lending apparatus and a lending control execution means executes the lending program stored in the memory means namely the renting of the game medium.

  (2) At least by loading an information medium in which security information and valuable information are recorded, the information recorded in the information medium is read and the rental control of the game medium is performed based on the player's operation And a gaming medium lending device for transmitting gaming medium lending information generated along with gaming medium lending control to a host device, communication means for communicating with the host device, and at least partly including a ROM area, Memory means for storing a lending program including an updatable part and an updatable part for controlling the operation of the game medium lending device over the ROM area and an area other than the ROM area, and the ROM area in the program Based on a program update command given from the host device via the communication means. Update program fetching means for storing an updatable part stored in an area other than the ROM area in the lending program in an area other than the ROM area in the memory means from the host device via the communication means; A gaming medium lending apparatus comprising lending control execution means for executing lending control of gaming media by executing a lending program stored in the memory means.

  (3) When at least an information medium on which security information and valuable information are recorded is loaded, the information recorded on the information medium is read and the rental control of the game medium is performed based on the player's operation In addition, in the gaming medium lending device for transmitting gaming medium lending information generated along with the gaming medium lending control to the host device, communication of information including gaming medium lending information generated along with the gaming medium lending control is performed on the host. Communication means for performing communication with the device, and at least part of the ROM area, the non-updatable part and the updatable part for controlling the operation of the game medium lending device over the ROM area and the area other than the ROM area Operating in accordance with a memory means for storing a lending program including a portion and a non-updatable portion stored in the ROM area in the program, Based on the program update command given from the device via the communication means, the updatable part stored in the area other than the ROM area in the lending program is sent from the host device to the memory means via the communication means. A game medium lending device comprising update program fetch means for storing in an area other than the ROM area therein, and lending control execution means for executing lending control of the game medium by executing the lending program stored in the memory means .

  (4) The game medium lending device according to (1), (2) or (3), wherein the updatable part of the lending program includes format information indicating a format format of the information medium.

  (5) The game medium lending as described in (1), (2), (3) or (4), wherein the updatable part in the lending program includes security information indicating the authenticity of the information medium apparatus.

  (6) The updatable part in the lending program includes a conversion rate when converting valuable information recorded on the information medium into the game medium (1), (2) , (3), (4) or (5).

  (7) The memory means includes a rewritable nonvolatile storage area, and an updatable portion in the lending program is stored in the rewritable nonvolatile area (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) a game media rental device.

  (7) The memory means includes a rewritable volatile storage area, and an updatable part in the lending program is stored in the rewritable volatile area (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) a game media rental device.

The perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the card-type pachinko gaming machine and pachinko ball rental device to which the present invention is applied. The mechanism figure which shows the back mechanism of the apparatus shown in FIG. Block diagram of the entire game hall and card company. The block diagram which shows the example of a control system of the game media rental apparatus and card type game machine which concern on the Example of this invention. The flowchart of control operation | movement of the game media rental apparatus based on the Example of this invention. The flowchart of the interruption process when a communication interruption is added from the high-order apparatus with respect to the game medium rental apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Card-type ball device 2 Card-type pachinko machine 5 Card balance indicator 6 Ball lending switch 7 Ball lending LED
8 Card Return Switch 11 Ejection Control Device 12 Ball Ejection Port 14 Card 21 Information Processing Device 22 Primary Repeater 23 Secondary Repeater 24 Optical Transceiver 30 Communication Control Device 30a Reception Area 30b Transmission Area 34 Flash Memory 35 ROM
36 RAM
36a Reception memory 36b Transmission memory 37 CPU

Claims (3)

A gaming machine having a discharge control device for controlling a discharge device for discharging game media;
A subordinate device connected to the discharge control device via a cable;
A higher-level device that communicates with the communication means of the lower-level device and collects data generated in accordance with the discharge control of the game medium from the lower-level device;
In-store system with
The subordinate device is
Memory means for storing the program;
Update program fetching means for storing the update program in the memory means from the host device via the communication means based on a program update command given from the host device via the communication means; In-store system characterized by that. The memory means stores a program including a non-updatable part and an updatable part;
The in-store system according to claim 1, wherein the update program fetching unit updates the updatable part according to the non-updatable part of the program. The memory means includes a first area in which stored data cannot be rewritten and a second area in which stored data can be rewritten,
The in-store system according to claim 2, wherein the non-updatable part of the program is stored in the first area, and the updatable part is stored in the second area.

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