JP2009153766A - Game machine profit management system and third party management device for use in system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a profit management system of lent game machines capable of smoothly acquiring operation information according to various types of lent game machines, flexibly responding to a model change and exchange of installation place and smoothly determining a rational rental fees taking the dispensing conditions into consideration. <P>SOLUTION: This profit management system of lent game machines consists of dispensing devices 2a-2n, or components of the game machine medium dispensing system, a management terminal device 1, a host computer 8 and machine information collection boards 4a-4n. At the close of business of a parlor, the management terminal device 1 transmits a machine information collection command to respective dispensing devices, and the respective dispensing devices transmit accumulated dispensing information of the day to the management terminal as dispensing data at closing based on the receiving of the command and transmit a machine operation information transmission request command to the respective machine information storage boards. The machine information boards transmit the operation information accumulated respectively to the dispensing device side as closing-time machine operation data and transfers them via the dispensing devices. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a game hall in which game machines such as a pachinko game machine, a slot machine, a card game machine, and a video game machine are arranged, and a game machine provider that provides the game machine to the game hall based on a loan agreement. The present invention relates to a gaming machine profit management system that automatically allocates and manages profits (revenue) based on the operation of gaming machines, and a third-party management device used in the system.

Conventionally, with regard to gaming machines such as pachinko machines and pachislot machines installed in this type of amusement hall (pachinko halls, etc.), the hall side has mainly been traded directly from gaming machine manufacturers or via agents. When introducing a gaming machine, the hall side pays the introduction cost by paying the purchase amount in a lump sum or paying in installments. For this reason, when a new machine is introduced at a time when hall sales are sluggish, it can be said that the payment burden of the game machine required for the installation of the new machine is never light, and the operation of the new machine introduced at the corner is not good. Sometimes it becomes increasingly difficult in terms of cash flow.

Therefore, recently, in addition to lowering the price of the gaming machine, there has been devised a transaction form such as rental or leasing based on a rental contract that does not presuppose a paid transaction of the gaming machine itself.
When renting or leasing the latter gaming machine, the rental source or leasing source incurs usage fee collection and payment management burden, and it is actually cumbersome to manage the payment from each game hall every month. And it costs labor.

Although it is realistic to determine rental or lease fees on a pay-as-you-go basis according to the operation of the gaming machine, each game can be constructed in order to construct a gaming machine lending management system that charges the usage amount according to the operating status of the gaming machine. It is necessary to collect operating information such as the number of balls that have been set up at the venue and calculate the usage fee of the rented gaming machine according to the operating information.
Patent Document 1 discloses a loan price determination system that collects operation information of gaming machines and automatically determines a loan price of gaming machines according to the collected information. In this loan price determination system, each pachinko machine installed in the hall is provided with an operation information transfer device that stores the operation information of the pachinko machine and transmits it to the polling controller. The polling controller sequentially calls the operation information transfer device, requests transmission of the operation information, receives and stores the operation information transmitted from the operation information transfer device, and transmits it to the gaming machine information collection server. Yes.

By the way, in amusement arcades, popular game machines continue to operate, but currently unpopular models are frequently switched to new game machines. Since such replacement or new installation of game machines is also applicable to rental game machines, it is necessary to install loan game machines having different output specifications of the existing machine and the external output unit in the game hall. However, in this case, in order to obtain the operation information by the operation information transfer device, for example, not only the troublesome work of manually selecting the output terminal of the external output unit of the gaming machine is required, There was a possibility that malfunction would become difficult to obtain operation information due to mistakes in terminal selection.

In addition, in the loan price determination system of Patent Document 1, as operating information, a prize was awarded in any of the normal winning opening, starting opening, and big winning opening provided in the game area of the pachinko machine during the business hours of the day. The total number of winning balls and the number of out balls that could not be won in any winning slot is used as the number of working balls (working information).
On the other hand, the actual operation of the game hall is based on the premise that a game medium (pachinko ball, medal) is rented to a player and a game using this rental medium is used. However, in the above loan price determination system, profit distribution is determined only by the number of operating balls, so for example, when a game is played with a winning ball obtained by jackpot etc. in a game of a pachinko machine, it is actually profitable. There is a problem that the system does not occur at all or becomes a slight amount, and is not necessarily a reasonable profit distribution system for the payer.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-290531

The present invention can smoothly acquire operation information according to various loaned gaming machines, can flexibly cope with model change, replacement of installation location, etc., and is rational considering the rental status of game media It is an object of the present invention to provide a profit management system for loaned gaming machines and a third party management device used in the system, which can smoothly determine a general usage fee.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a reasonable and appropriate profit distribution based on the usage fee of the rented medium considering the usage status of the lent medium, as seen from the payer side such as the hall manager. Focusing on determining usage fees based on the gross profit based on the amount of media usage, and easily obtaining the gross margin based on the usage amount of the rental media, and is highly secure in terms of confidentiality of operation Since a management system is required, third-party management with great operational merit can be realized.

A first aspect according to the present invention is provided for each gaming machine that performs a game by inserting a game ball or a game medal game medium and pays out a predetermined number of award media according to a prize generated in the game process. A plurality of lending devices for lending gaming media used for gaming machines, and connected to the lending device so as to be communicable in a game hall installed, receive lending information from the lending device, and manage the gaming space A third party management device that is managed by a third party different from the party, and distributes a part of the profit based on the operation of the rented gaming machine lent by the gaming machine provider to the gaming machine provider as a usage fee, A gaming machine profit management system for managing, wherein the rented gaming machine has an external output unit for outputting game history information on which a game has been performed by inserting the gaming media to the outside, and operating information on the rented gaming machine Storage means for storing An operation information processing unit that is connected to a unit output unit and temporarily stores the operation information of the gaming machine included in the game history information in the storage unit; and the operation information stored in the storage unit through the lending device A transmission means for transmitting to a third party management device, and included in the third party management device, and based on the lending information and the operation information for one rented gaming machine, a gross profit in a predetermined use period is obtained, Usage fee determining means for determining the usage fee of the rented gaming machine based on the profit, the operating information processing means identifying means for identifying the output specification of the external output unit according to the type of the rented gaming machine And a game machine profit management system that determines the operation information from the game history information output based on the output specification identified by the identification means and transmits it to the storage means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided, in the first aspect, a game information management device that is provided in the game hall and collects game information of in-game machines, and the operation information processing means includes the operation information In parallel with the information storage process, the gaming machine profit management system distributes and transmits part or all of the gaming history information to the operation information management device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, a gaming machine profit management system in which the operation information output from the external output unit includes at least the inserted number and the prize medium number It is.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gaming machine profit management system according to the first, second or third aspect, wherein the storage means is built in the lending device.

A fifth aspect according to the present invention is used in the gaming machine profit management system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, and accounting information including a usage fee determined by the usage fee determining means is stored in the game. A gaming machine profit management system comprising accounting information transmitting means for transmitting to a venue and / or the gaming machine provider.

According to the first aspect of the invention, first, the operation information processing unit has an identification unit that identifies an output specification of the external output unit according to a type of a rented gaming machine, and is identified by the identification unit. Based on the output specification, operation information including at least the input number and the prize medium number is determined and transmitted to the storage means. For example, the output specification information is simply given to the identification means in advance. It is not necessary to select the output terminal of the external output section and to switch the connection, and it is easy and reliable to acquire information from the target terminal by data processing without causing trouble that makes it difficult to obtain operation information due to mistakes in terminal selection. This can be done flexibly to change the model, change the installation location, etc. Accordingly, a gaming machine profit management system can be smoothly operated by juxtaposing gaming machines of different gaming machine manufacturers or models with different gaming specifications as loaned gaming machines in the gaming hall.
Furthermore, in the third party management device, the usage fee determination means obtains a gross profit for a predetermined usage period based on the lending information and the operation information for one rental gaming machine, and based on the gross profit, Since the rental machine usage fee is determined, the gaming machine provider lends the gaming machine to the amusement hall based on the loan agreement, and allocates the profit based on the operation of the rented gaming machine to the gaming machine provider as the rental fee. Therefore, it is possible to determine a reasonable usage fee that takes into consideration the lending status of game media.

In particular, when a plurality of gaming machine providers lend and operate at the same amusement hall, there may be situations where it is not desirable to know the terms of each other's lending contract, etc. Since the profit can be distributed in the third party management device that manages the lending device, the gross profit based on the amount of use of the lending medium can be easily obtained, and a loan agreement etc. for the game hall and the game machine provider Confidentiality is protected and a highly secure third party loan management system can be constructed.
In addition, since the operation information is acquired through the lending device attached to the gaming machine, the information acquisition destination can be set in advance for each lending device in the third-party management device. Therefore, the operation information is acquired from the rented gaming machine on the third party management device side not only on the dedicated gaming island of the rented gaming machine, but also on the gaming island where the renting machine and the non-lending (game room purchase) machine are mixedly arranged. Can be easily performed, and the rental fee management of the rented gaming machines can be smoothly performed without restricting the gaming machine layout of the gaming island.

An example of an arithmetic expression used for determining the usage fee of the usage fee determining means is represented by the following equation A. That is, for each of the lending game machines, the rental game medium usage amount M1 included in the lending information, the lending game medium lending unit price M2, and the game information included in the operation information to the lending game machine. From the input number M3, the number M4 of prize media generated in the rented gaming machine, and the unit price M5 of the prize media in the game hall, the following formula A,
Gross profit amount = usage amount M1 − ((use amount M1 / lending unit price M2) −number of inputs M3 + number of prize media M4) × conversion unit price M5... <Formula A>
The gross profit amount can be calculated based on the above and the usage fee can be determined based on the calculated gross profit amount.

In the gaming machine profit management system according to the present invention, operating information necessary for determining the usage fee is taken into the storage means through a so-called hall computer that manages gaming history information acquired from each gaming machine on the gaming hall side. Although an information acquisition mode is also included, it is preferable to provide an information acquisition route that is separate from the data acquisition route of hall computer management from the viewpoint of clarification of third-party management.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game information management device that is provided in the game arcade and collects game information of on-site gaming machines, and the operation information processing means is configured to store the operation information. In parallel, since part or all of the game history information is distributed and transmitted to the operation information management device (for example, the hall computer), an operation information acquisition route different from the hall computer management data acquisition route is set. By constructing it, it is possible to clarify the third party management in the operation of the rented gaming machine.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the operation information output from the external output unit includes at least the input number and the prize medium number, for example, it is installed in a so-called slot machine called a pachislot machine. From the external terminal board (external output unit), data such as the number of input and the number of prize media can be directly taken out and stored at any time, and in real time through the lending device during operation of the gaming machine Further, the operation information necessary for the formula A can be acquired.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the storage means is built in the lending device, in principle, the lending device entrusted to third party management maintains the acquired operation information from the lending gaming machine. Data fairness can be ensured, and safe and clear usage fee determination processing can be performed.

According to the third party management device of the fifth aspect of the present invention, the accounting for transmitting the accounting information including the usage fee determined by the usage fee determining means to the game hall and / or the gaming machine provider. Since the information transmission means is included, the accounting information including the usage fee properly obtained in the gaming machine profit management system according to any one of the first to fourth forms is notified to the game hall, for example, or It is possible to send a surrogate request for the usage fee on behalf of the gaming machine provider, and in parallel with the lending management, carry out third party lending management of lending gaming machines in response to lending status of lending media be able to.

FIG. 1 shows a game machine arrangement configuration of a pachinko hall (game room) to which a third-party loan management system for loan game machines, which is an embodiment of the present invention, is applied.
This pachinko hall has pachinko gaming islands PC1 and PC2 where pachinko machines are lined up and a pachislot gaming island PS where slot machines are lined up. A game media lending system has been introduced in each island, and pachinko balls or slot medals are lent out using a card with a written value. Card ball lending devices CR11 to CR1m are arranged adjacent to each of the pachinko machines P11 to P1m of the pachinko game island PC1. Card ball lending devices CR21 to CR2m are arranged adjacent to each of the pachinko machines P21 to P2m of the pachinko game island PC2. In the pachislot game island PS, card medal lending devices 2a to 2n are arranged adjacent to the respective slot machines 3a to 3n. The card ball lending devices CR11 to CR1m, CR21 to CR2m and the card medal lending devices 2a to 2n are so-called card-type lending devices called card-to-card machines or card sands. In addition, as a lending medium, a stick form or a coin form can be used in addition to a card form.

In the hall, a card issuing device 28 arranged independently from the amusement island, and a payment processing device 29 for adjusting a card having a remaining number are installed, and each lending device, the card issuing device 28 and the payment processing device 29 are installed. An on-site management terminal device 1 for third party management to be managed is installed. The management terminal device 1 is a management terminal for each hall of the card game medium lending system, and is also a revenue management terminal for the lending game machine, and stores and manages lending usage data collected from each lending device and a rental game machine usage fee. Computer. The computer of the management terminal device 1 is connected to the installed lending device, the card issuing device 28 and the payment processing device 29 of each amusement island through a bidirectional communication line 21 so as to communicate with each other. The management terminal device 1 is a terminal device of a host computer 8 of a third-party management organization (system management company) outside the hall, independent of the hall management facility, such as the host computer 8 and an ISDN telephone communication line. The communication line 17 is connected to bidirectional data communication.

The card ball lending devices CR11 to CR1m are connected to the on-site management terminal device 1 via the bidirectional communication line 22, the relay device 23, and the communication line 21. The card ball lending devices CR21 to CR2m are connected to the management terminal device 1 via the bidirectional communication line 24, the relay device 25, and the communication line 21. The card medal lending devices 2 a to 2 n are connected to the management terminal device 1 via the bidirectional communication line 26, the relay device 27, and the communication line 21. The management terminal device 1 totals the usage data sent from each lending device, and transmits the totaled usage data (usage total data) to, for example, the host computer 8 after the hall is closed. The host computer 8 calculates the system usage fee of the game medium lending system that the system management company should collect from the hall based on the usage total data sent from the management terminal device 1. The host computer 8 is commonly used for a plurality of game medium lending systems having the same configuration, and always performs third-party lending management for a plurality of holes.

In this embodiment, a third-party management organization (system management company) that manages the game medium lending system also manages the profit management of the rented gaming machines independently of the hall. For example, the system management company contracts with a game machine provider and / or an installed game room that rents a game machine to a game room based on a loan contract and collects a rental fee according to the operation of the loan game machine, Performs the agency operation of collecting the gaming machine operation information for collecting and managing the operation information of the rented gaming machine or the agency service of requesting the loan fee based on the operation information. The host computer 8 performs third party lending management including a usage fee determination process for determining a reasonable usage fee in consideration of the gaming medium lending status through the management terminal device 1 in the hall.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of a third-party lending management system in the pachislot gaming island PS where the lending slot machine (lending gaming machine) according to the present embodiment is installed. 2, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
Each slot machine 3a to 3n in the pachislot gaming island PS is a rented gaming machine lent to a game hall from one or more gaming machine providers. The card medal lending devices 2a to 2n arranged adjacent to each slot machine can lend medals by inserting cash or inserting a card having a remaining number, and a lending medal hopper 42 with a built-in lending medal (see FIG. 3 described later). ) And a card-type medal sand that is discharged through the medal nozzle 14.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the card medal lending device. A bill insertion slot 12, a card insertion slot 13, a status display lamp 37, and the like are provided on the front face of the card medal lending device. In this embodiment, the bill insertion slot 12 accepts a thousand yen bill, a 5,000 yen bill, and a 10,000 yen bill in a new or additional manner, and corresponds to the bill insertion slot 12 inside the apparatus main body. The banknote processing device 33 for identifying the inserted banknote and guiding it to the banknote collection path (not shown) in the game island is incorporated in the position. The banknote handling device 33 incorporates a sensor for detecting insertion of a banknote, a banknote discriminator for collating the inserted banknote, a banknote transport mechanism for taking in the banknote and guiding it to the banknote collection path, and the like. . The banknote collection path is provided along the longitudinal direction of the game island, collects banknotes received by each lending device on the island, and conveys them to a safe (not shown). The status display lamps are composed of multicolor light emitting type LED built-in lamps, and are disposed above the bill insertion slot 12 and the card insertion slot 13. For example, when a bill can be accepted, it is lit in green and cannot be accepted. Lights red when in a state.

A card processing device 34 is provided at a position corresponding to the card slot 13 in the apparatus main body. The card according to this embodiment has a magnetic stripe attached to the card body for magnetically recording data. The card processing device 34 is a magnetic read / write processing device that reads / writes information from / to this magnetic stripe. The card read / write method of the present invention is not limited to the magnetic recording method, and for example, a card with a built-in IC tag may be used to read / write information from / to the card by non-contact communication.

Although not shown, the card processing device 34 is provided with a card detection sensor for detecting an inserted card, a card holding mechanism for holding the inserted card by a biasing force of a spring, and the like. Further, a lending switch 40 for instructing lending of game media, a return switch 41 for returning the inserted card, and a lending permission display lamp 39 are provided on the front surface portion of the card medal lending device. When the return switch 41 is operated or an inappropriate card is inserted, the spring of the card gripping mechanism is released, and the card is ejected and returned from the card insertion slot 13. The lending permission display lamp 39 is set to light up when the card processing device 34 receives a card and is in a state where lending processing is possible. The operation of the lending switch 40 is validated only when the lending permission display lamp 39 is lit.

The control unit of the card medal lending device includes a CPU 30 that is a control main body, and a ROM 31 and a RAM 32 are connected to the CPU 30. The CPU 30 has a banknote processing device 33, a card processing device 34, a status display lamp 37, a remaining frequency indicator 38, a lending permission display lamp 39, a lending switch 40, a return switch 41, a lending medal hopper 42 and the like via a bus line. Is connected. The CPU 30 includes a communication interface circuit 35 for communicating with the management terminal device 1 and a base information collection board (any one of 4a to 4n in FIG. 2) for relaying the operation information signal of the gaming machine to the outside. A table information collecting board interface circuit 36 for interfacing the operation information signal is connected.

In the card medal lending device having the above-described configuration, when the card processing device 34 accepts an appropriate card, the control unit is in a state capable of executing processing for adding new frequency data to the card and lending processing. . The process of giving frequency data is started when the banknote processing device 33 accepts an appropriate banknote, and a process of setting a predetermined frequency according to the amount of money of the accepted banknote (for example, 100 yen as a frequency, The received amount is converted into a frequency.) And an addition process for adding the set frequency to the current frequency data of the card is included.

The card medal lending devices 2a to 2n independently store and manage lending information 15a to 15n such as issued card data, reception card data, inserted amount data, medal lending data, etc. during hall operation, and the communication line 26. Then, polling communication is performed with the management terminal device 1 via the relay device 27 and the communication line 21, and the lending information 15a to 15n is transmitted for backup.
At the end of business, the card medal lending devices 2a to 2n receive a business end (operation stop) command from the management terminal device 1, and collectively transmit the lending data of the day stored and held to the management terminal device 1, respectively. .

The external output unit provided in the gaming machine is called an external information terminal board in the case of a pachinko machine, or an external concentration terminal board in the case of a slot machine, and is used for data output to be output to the hall computer 6 It consists of an interface board. The game history information output from the external output unit of each gaming machine (pachinko machines P11 to P1m, P21 to P2m, slot machines 3a to 3n) in the hall is a game history display device called a call lamp (5a to 4 in FIG. 4). 5n etc.) and transmitted to the hall computer 6 installed in the hall as needed. The hall computer 6 is connected to the hall management dedicated terminal 7 through the communication line 18.
The game history information signal output from the pachinko machine is, for example, a symbol fluctuation occurrence signal, a small hit or big hit occurrence signal, a probability fluctuation occurrence signal, a prize ball occurrence signal, a security signal such as door opening, a ball lending occurrence signal, etc. is there. The game history information signal output from the slot machine is, for example, a medal insertion signal, a medal payout signal, a special feature (bonus game or the like) operating signal, a security signal, or the like.

Each slot machine 3a to 3n in the pachislot gaming island PS has a control unit 300 including a CPU for controlling the slot game, and various game history information signals from the control unit 300 are externally concentrated terminal board according to the execution of the game. An external output is possible through 301.
FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of the base information collection boards 4a to 4n. The output data D1 from the external concentration terminal board 301 consists of a game history information signal group, and is introduced into the base information collection boards 4a to 4n installed outside the gaming machine.

The game history display devices 5a to 5n are installed on the so-called curtain plate corresponding to each slot machine, which is a partition plate constituting the game island frame, and are attached to each game history display device behind the curtain plate. Then, the base information collection boards 4a to 4n are installed. The table information collection boards 4a to 4n are connected to an external output unit of the gaming machine, and out of the game history information output from the gaming machine to the hall computer 6, at least the operation information of the medal insertion number and the award medal number data. The operation information distribution means for transmitting to the lending device side is configured. The control unit 400 of the base information collection boards 4 a to 4 n includes a CPU 401, a control program storage ROM 402 and a working area RAM 403 connected to the CPU 401. Communication between the game history display device and the lending device is performed by serial communication.

Output data D1 from the external concentration terminal board 301 is given to the control unit 400 via the input interface circuit 404 at any time during operation of the gaming machine. A connector is connected between the external concentrated terminal board 301 and the input interface circuit 404 by a harness. From each output terminal of the external concentrated terminal board 301, a medal insertion signal, a medal payout signal, a special function (bonus game, etc.) operating signal, A game history information signal such as a security signal is output. The game history information signal introduced into the control unit 400 passes through the control unit 400 and is output to the game history display devices 5a to 5n via the output interface circuit 405. Each game history display device has a built-in console information collection terminal (not shown) composed of a microcomputer. The platform information collection terminal receives a game history information signal D3 output through the slot machine. The base game information is notified by a data display (not shown), and a game history information signal is also transmitted to the host computer 6. The host computer 6 performs game table management based on the game history information of the gaming machines acquired through the table information collecting boards 4a to 4n and the game history display devices 5a to 5n.

Game history information signals introduced into the control unit 400 via the input interface circuit 404 are sequentially stored in the RAM 403. The game history information output data D2 stored in the control unit 400 is output to the lending devices 2a to 2n via the output interface circuit 406. An input signal 500 such as a transmission command (such as a table operation information transmission request command in FIG. 6 described later) or transmission data from the lending devices 2a to 2n is given to the control unit 400 via the input interface circuit 407.

FIG. 5 shows the contents of memory data in the RAM 403 that are stored and held so that they can be transmitted from the base information collection boards 4a to 4n to the lending devices 2a to 2n. The contents of the memory data include a sequence identification process number d1, medal IN / OUT operation information including medal insertion number data d2 and medal payout number data d3, game history information including four types of game history data d4 to d7, A security signal d8, a status signal d9, and an error signal d10 are included.

The medal insertion number data d2 is total medal insertion data in which the control unit 400 accumulates and stores medal insertion signals sequentially output from the external concentration terminal board 301. Similarly, the medal payout number data d3 is payout medal total data in which the medal payout signal is accumulated and stored in the control unit 400. The game history data d4 to d7 are occurrence history total data for each special feature type stored in the control unit 400 and stored in the special component operating signal sequentially output from the external concentration terminal board 301. This corresponds to the total number of occurrences of bonus games (hereinafter referred to as BB games), regular bonus games (hereinafter referred to as RB games), CB bonus games, and CT games. The difference between the BB game and the RB game differs in the number of acquisitions that can be acquired by the bonus game. The CB bonus game is a second type special object defined in the “Act on Regulations on Customs Business and Optimization of Business” of the rules on pachislot. The CT game is an accessory continuous operation device according to the second type special accessory of the same rule. The presence / absence of output of game history information related to these special bonus items is determined by the contents of the game mounted on each of the slot machines 3a to 3n. For example, if only the BB game is selected, the special bonus other than the BB game is selected. No history information is generated and is not output.

The security signal d8, the status signal d9, and the error signal d10 are transmitted from the base information collection boards 4a to 4n to the lending device whenever necessary. The security signal d8 is generated as security information when a slot machine door opening, probability setting change processing, or the like occurs, is transmitted to the management terminal device 1 via the lending device, and is stored and held. The state signal d9 is generated during a specific gaming state of the gaming machine, for example, during a BB, RB, CB, or CT game. The error signal d10 is generated by a medal insertion error or a prize medal payout error.
The card medal lending devices 2a to 2n respectively transmit lending information 15a to 15n by polling communication with the management terminal device 1 via the communication line 26, the relay device 27, and the communication line 21, and the table information collecting board 4a. The operation information 16a to 16n collected by ˜4n is transmitted. This transmission information includes the gaming history information, security information, status signal d9 and error signal d10, which are not directly used for determining the usage fee of the rental gaming machine according to the present invention. Is stored and managed as auxiliary data in order to assist the history details of the medal IN / OUT operation information acquired from.

FIG. 6 shows the correlation of mutual communication processing among the lending game machines of the slot machines 3a to 3n, the base information collection boards 4a to 4n, the lending devices 2a to 2n and the management terminal device 1 in the third party lending management system. These system components are activated when the power is turned on, and the management terminal device 1 starts the operation of third party lending management and card lending management by performing the input operation of the start processing 61 by the hall manager (processing 61, 62, 63).
The lending devices 2 a to 2 n start the data communication process 65 by receiving the operation start command 64 from the management terminal device 1. The data communication processing 65 is periodically executed by polling communication with the management terminal device 1. That is, when the lending information collection command is sequentially transmitted from the management terminal device 1 to each lending device and the lending device that has received the lending information collection command stores and holds lending information, the stored lending data is stored in the management terminal. Sent to the device 1. When receiving the lending information collection command, the security signal d8, the status signal d9, and the error signal d10 are also transmitted as needed.

FIG. 7 shows an outline of card lending processing in each lending device. When a card is inserted into the lending device, a reading process for reading card data stored in the card is executed (steps S1 and S2). In this reading process (step S2), the read card data is also verified by communication with the management terminal device 1. A card determined to be inappropriate as a result of the verification is returned to the card slot 13. The read card data is temporarily stored in the RAM 32, and the current frequency data is displayed on the remaining frequency display 38 based on the card data (step S3). The card data includes the card usage expiration date in addition to the validity count, and the expiration date is checked during the verification. If the expiration date has expired, the card is returned to the card slot 13.

If the card has not expired, the process waits while executing the loop of steps S4, S8, and S15. Next, when the banknote processing device 33 accepts an appropriate banknote, the frequency corresponding to the amount value of the inserted banknote is added to the frequency data in the RAM 32 (steps S4 and S5). At this time, a new card expiration date is set, and an update process of the expiration date data in the RAM 32 is executed. In this way, when the frequency data and the expiration date in the RAM 32 are updated, the updated frequency data and the expiration date are rewritten by the card processing device 34 so that the frequency data and the expiration date of the accepted card are rewritten. Performed (step S6). In step S6, a process of rewriting the registration information of the card is also performed by communication with the management terminal device 1. When the update process of the card data is completed, the frequency data of the remaining frequency indicator 38 is also updated with new information (step S7).

When the lending switch 40 is operated after accepting the card, if the current frequency data is zero, the operation of the lending switch 40 is canceled (steps S8 and S9). When there is a remaining number, a transmission instruction signal (lending medal payout instruction signal) is transmitted to the lending medal hopper 42 (step S10). In the present embodiment, in a single medal lending process, medals for a uniform number are withdrawn and discharged regardless of the remaining number of cards. A process of subtracting the frequency corresponding to the number of transmissions of the lending instruction signal from the frequency data in the RAM 32 is executed (step S11). If the remaining frequency after the subtraction process is not zero, card data rewrite update processing is performed based on the expiration date and the frequency data after the subtraction process (steps S12 and S6), and the display on the remaining frequency display 38 is also updated. (Step S7). When the frequency data after the subtraction process is zero (step S12), only the frequency data is rewritten out of the card data stored in the card (step S13). At this time, similarly to step S6, the update frequency data is transmitted to the management terminal device 1 and the update process of the registration information is executed. Further, after the display of the remaining frequency indicator 38 is updated to zero (step S14), the process returns to step S6, and even if the remaining frequency of the card becomes zero, a new frequency is added to the card by inserting a new bill. It is possible to add additional data. In addition, if the return switch 41 is operated in the state which has received the card | curd, a card | curd will be returned to the card slot 13 (step S15, S16).

According to the card lending process described above, after receiving the card, the frequency data can be assigned and the medal lending process can be executed any number of times unless the card is returned. However, with regard to the application of frequency data, a predetermined upper limit value is provided, and if the frequency data is subsequently applied and the upper limit value is exceeded, the processing is stopped and the inserted banknote is returned. The expiration date is set in units of days starting from the processing date, and the effective expiration date will change even if the expiration date is updated each time the received card is processed multiple times. However, the expiration date updating process may be performed only once, and thereafter, only the frequency data rewriting process may be performed. In addition, each time the frequency data is added or the ball lending process is performed, the number of processes is counted, and the expiration date is updated on condition that the number of processes is greater than zero when the card is returned by operating the return switch 41. You may make it do.

The above lending process is a case where a card-type medal sand is used as a lending device. However, when a so-called CR lending device for discharging a lending medal or lending a credit on the slot machine side is used, reference numeral 501 in FIG. As shown, in step S10, a transmission process of a lending instruction signal is performed to the control unit of the CR slot machine.
In addition, in the card-type ball lending devices CR11 to CR1m and CR21 to CR2m used for the pachinko machines of the pachinko game islands PC1 and PC2, in step S10, when the lending instruction signal is transmitted to the pachinko machine, once. In the ball lending process, regardless of the remaining number of cards, the same frequency is deducted, and the lending instruction signal is set for the number of deductions while confirming the completion of lending of the pachinko ball every time by the response signal from the pachinko machine Send in order for the number of times. That is, the ball lending process is started in response to the operation of the lending switch 40, and includes a process of transmitting a lending instruction signal to the pachinko machine and a process of subtracting the frequency data of the accepted card. The lending instruction signal is a pulse signal in which one pulse corresponds to one frequency, and the lending instruction signals for the number of times corresponding to the frequency deducted from the card are sequentially transmitted. On the pachinko machine side, every time a lending instruction signal is received, a predetermined number (for example, 25) of pachinko balls are paid out, and a response signal is returned to the lending device side upon completion of paying out. The CPU of the lending device sequentially transmits lending instruction signals corresponding to the subtraction frequency while checking the response signal from the pachinko machine. In the case of a card-type medal sand, the remaining frequency indicator 38, the lending permission indicator lamp, the lending switch 40, and the return switch 41 are on the lending device side. However, in the lending device for CR pachinko machines, these are pachinko machines. Deployed on the front side.

The lending information 15a to 15n, such as the input amount obtained by the lending process and the discharge amount of the lending medal, is sequentially stored in the card medal lending apparatuses 2a to 2n while backing up the data in the management terminal apparatus 1 in the data communication process 65. Is done. In parallel with this, the base information collection processing 66 is executed, and the operation information 16a to 16n is transmitted from each gaming machine to the base information collection boards 4a to 4n as needed, and sequentially collected.

When the hall business is finished, the gaming machine is turned off and a power-off process 70 for the closing process is performed. The management terminal device 1 shifts to a third party lending management and a card lending management ending process when the hall manager performs an input operation of the ending process 67 by closing. The lending devices 2 a to 2 n receive the operation stop command 68 from the management terminal device 1, thereby ending the data communication processing 65 and moving to the end time data processing 69.
In the end-time data processing 69, a table information collection command is transmitted from the management terminal device 1 to the lending devices 2a to 2n. Based on the reception of the table information collection command, each of the lending devices 2a to 2n transmits the accumulated lending information 15a to 15n on the current day to the management terminal device 1 as lending data at the end, and also transmits a table operation information transmission request command to the table information. It transmits to the collection board | substrates 4a-4n. Based on the reception of the table operation information transmission request command, the table information collection boards 4a to 4n transmit the accumulated operation information 16a to 16n as the table operation data at the end to the lending device side. The lending devices 2 a to 2 n transfer the received end-time operation data to the management terminal device 1.

The management terminal device 1 transmits the end-time lending data collected by the execution of the end-time data processing 69 to the host computer 8 through the communication line 17 as usage total data used on that day. The system management company periodically aggregates the usage aggregation data stored in the host computer 8 to determine the system usage fee, and charges the usage fee to the rental system introduction hall.

The profit management system for the rented gaming machine according to the present embodiment includes the lending devices 2a to 2n, the management terminal device 1 and the host computer 8, which are components of the gaming machine medium lending system, and the base information collecting boards 4a to 4n. Composed.
FIG. 8 shows a rental fee management processing flow of the rental gaming machine performed by the management terminal device 1.
The management terminal device 1 collects, stores, and manages end operation data of the rented gaming machine via each lending device by starting execution of the end time data processing 69 (steps S20 to S22). Lending gaming machine management information is set and stored in advance in a memory (not shown) of the management terminal device 1. This rental game machine management information includes a hall identification store number, model information of a game machine that is rented for each hall and installed on a predetermined game island, and an adjacent rental device corresponding to the machine number of the installed game machine. Includes specific data to be identified, provider identification data of loaned game machines, loan unit price of loaned game media, unit price of award medium for loaned game machines, billing factors negotiated between halls and loaner game machine providers, etc. ing. When operation information and the like from all managed game machines managed by the management terminal device 1 are collected and stored, the usage fee (for the day) of the managed game machine is calculated and stored (step S23).

Based on the lending information (lending usage amount) and operation information (IN / OUT data) acquired for each lending game machine (slot machine), the computer of the management terminal device 1 includes lending medals included in the lending information. Use amount M1, the rental unit price M2 of the loan medal, the number M3 of medals inserted into the slot machine (IN data), and the number of award medals paid out M4 (OUT data) generated in the slot machine And a calculation program for calculating the gross profit amount B of the day obtained by the lending gaming machine based on the following equation from the cash unit price M5 of the prize medal in the hall.
Gross profit amount B = usage amount M1-((use amount M1 / lending unit price M2) −number of inputs M3 + number of prize media M4) × conversion unit price M5
It should be noted that the gross profit calculation formula used in the present invention is not limited to the above example, and may be one based on at least the usage amount of the game medium. For example, the cost or discount agreed between the hall and the rental game machine provider It may be an arithmetic expression that uses the amount of money that takes into account

As an example of determining the usage fee, for example, the usage fee is calculated by (total amount of gross profit amount B of all loaned gaming machines) × α. α is set between 10 and 90%. For example, when the gaming machine provider provides the gaming machine to the hall free of charge, the α value is set to a value of about 50% as a compensation. Further, the α value may be changed in accordance with the change in the operating status of the rented gaming machine. For example, it starts from 60% in the month of introduction, and it is judged from the usage fee revenues after that whether the operation status continues well. If the operation status is good, the monthly usage is gradually reduced to 60% or less. You may make it go. As an example of the gradual decrease pattern, if the operating condition is favorable, it is 55% after February, 50% after March, and 45% after April. Adopting such a profit distribution fluctuation method reduces the risk of the provider at the beginning of introduction and also increases the profit on the hall side due to continued operation, so the profit sharing relationship between the two is good And the continuous operation of the lending system can be performed smoothly.

Charge the gross profit amount B obtained by executing the usage fee calculation process (step S23) for each managed game machine based on the above calculation program (preliminarily charge X% of the gross profit amount B by the loan agreement) The amount to be used is calculated and determined by multiplying the amount by the billing factor that has been agreed between the hall and the lending machine provider. The determined usage fee is edited into data by business day, business month (billing month), and year, and is stored and managed in the management terminal device 1 (step S24). The usage fee for the day is sent to the host computer 8 at each decision (step S25), and the host computer 8 side also stores the usage fee data for each hall by business day, business month (billing month), and year. Managed.
FIG. 9 shows the storage contents of the same day usage fee management memory of the management terminal device 1. This memory content area is allocated according to the provider of the rented gaming machine, and each of the memory areas m1 to m9 has a hall identification store number, a usage fee determination date (year / month / day), a determination time, a table of the target game machine Number, number of inserted medals, number of paid-out prize medals, gross profit amount B, unit price for lending (lending amount per medal; for example 20 yen), unit price for cash (amount of cash per medal; for example, 20 for equivalent exchange) Yen) is memorized.

The computer of the management terminal device 1 and the host computer 8 have an output function capable of printing out the operation result data of the loan game machine managed on behalf of the management terminal device as needed. FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 show examples of printing the operation result table information of the daily report for the current day and the monthly report for January. The exchange rate described in the print example is a value obtained by dividing the cash amount per 100 yen by 20 (yen), and is “5” in the case of equivalent exchange. In particular, in the monthly report shown in FIG. 11, since the gross profit amount is a negative value, in this embodiment, a usage fee is not substantially collected. Of course, it is possible to adopt an operation system that collects a small amount of the basic usage fee on a daily or monthly basis.

In the profit management system for lending gaming machines (slot machines 3a to 3n) according to the above-described configuration, the usage fee data for the daily and monthly reports is transmitted from the host computer 8 to the lending gaming machine providing computers 9 to 11 through the communication line 20. Automatic transmission becomes possible, and it is possible to perform proxy management of loan machine operation results. In addition, the profit management system can be used for a billing agency service for a usage fee. For example, a billing amount may be created based on the monthly usage fee data, and a billing notice may be transmitted from the host computer 8 to the billing hall management dedicated terminal 7 through the communication line 19. In this case, the host computer 8 may grasp the payment status of the price from the hall and communicate the dunning process according to the payment status of the billing price to the hall management dedicated terminal 7.

As described above, according to the lending gaming machine profit management system according to the present embodiment, one lending gaming machine is used by the third-party management device (management terminal device 1 and host computer 8) that operates the gaming machine medium lending system. Based on the lending information and the operation information, the gross profit for a predetermined usage period is obtained by the usage fee determining means such as the step 23, and the usage fee of the rented gaming machine is determined based on the gross profit. When a machine provider rents a gaming machine to a game hall based on a loan agreement, and distributes profits based on the operation of the rented gaming machine to a gaming machine provider as a rental fee, a reasonable factor that reflects the lending status of gaming media The usage fee can be determined smoothly.

In particular, when a plurality of gaming machine providers lend and operate at the same amusement hall, there are situations where it is not desirable to know the terms of each other's lending contract, etc., but the third party management device is separate from the amusement hall. Since it exists and manages lending devices, fair and clear profit distribution is possible. Moreover, it is not necessary to establish a new communication path by using the communication path of the gaming medium lending system under the supervision of the system management company, and the gross profit based on the amount of lending medium used can be easily and accurately determined. Obtainable. Therefore, the confidentiality of the loan agreement and the like is protected for the game hall and the game machine provider, and a third party loan management system with high security can be constructed.

In addition, since the operation information is acquired through the lending device attached to the gaming machine, the information acquisition destination can be set in advance for each lending device in the third party management device. The output data D1 from the external centralized terminal board 301 selects the harness connection between the external centralized terminal board 301 and the input interface circuit 404 when the specifications of the contact output vary depending on the machine type or manufacturer. Trouble to do. In this case, in the management terminal device 1, the gaming machine model information in the gaming machine management information is set in the memory so that the gaming machine is set when executing the gaming machine model setting process prior to the gaming machine operation. What is necessary is just to transmit the data of the output data specification from an external concentration terminal board to the rental apparatus installed, and to encourage specification change processing. When executing the lending gaming machine model setting process, the lending device transmits the contact output specifications to the control unit 400 via the input interface circuit 407 based on the received data of the output data specifications. The base information collection boards 4a to 4n store the contact output reception specifications in the RAM 403, and thereafter identify the contact outputs from the external concentrated terminal board 301 based on the reception specifications and store the operation information in a personality. Therefore, only the game machine model information setting operation by the management terminal device 1 does not require the trouble of selecting the harness connection between the external concentration terminal board 301 and the input interface circuit 404, and the worker simply connects the harness. It is only necessary to deal with troublesome model changes and movement changes at a low cost. In other words, it is not limited to dedicated gaming islands only for rental gaming machines, but also on gaming islands where both lending machines and non-lending (game hall purchase) machines are mixedly arranged, the operation information from the rental gaming machines on the third party management device side Acquisition can be performed easily, and rental fee management of rental gaming machines can be performed smoothly without restricting the gaming machine layout on the gaming island.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the same scope or equivalent scope as the present invention. It is possible to add deformation.
In particular, in the above embodiment, the lending game machine is a slot machine and the IN / OUT information is acquired through the external concentrated terminal board. However, when the lending game machine is a pachinko machine, the pachinko machine A counter is installed in the collection path provided inside the game island to collect the game balls to be discharged, and the counter output is input to the table information collection boards 4a to 4n or the lending device as the used game ball data (IN information). And may be used.
Further, the base information collection boards 4a to 4n are not only externally attached to the outside of the lending device, but may be incorporated as an element of the control unit of the lending device.

1 is a configuration diagram of a pachinko hall gaming medium lending system to which a lending gaming machine third party lending management system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. It is a schematic block diagram of the said third party loan management system. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the card medal rental apparatus used for the said embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the base information collection board | substrate used for the said embodiment. It is a figure which shows the memory data content of RAM403 stored and hold | maintained so that transmission output is possible from the said base information collection board | substrate to a lending apparatus. It is a figure which shows the correlation of the mutual communication process of the rental game machine in the said embodiment, a base information collection board | substrate, a rental apparatus, and a management terminal device. It is a general | schematic flowchart of the card | curd lending process in the said lending apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the usage fee management process of the said management terminal device. It is a figure which shows the memory content of the same day use fee management memory of the said management terminal device. It is a figure which shows the example of daily report printing for the day printed out by the said management terminal device and a host computer. It is a figure which shows the monthly report printing example for 1 month printed out by the said management terminal device and a host computer.

Explanation of symbols

1 management terminal device,
2a-2n card medal lending device, 3a-3n slot machine,
4a-4n stand information collection board, 5a-5n game history display device,
6 hall computer, 7 hall management terminal,
8 Host computer, 9-11 Lending game machine provider computer,
12 bill slot, 13 card slot,
14 medal nozzle,
15a-15n rental information, 16a-16n operation information,
17 communication lines, 18 communication lines, 19 communication lines, 20 communication lines,
21 communication line, 22 communication line, 23 relay device, 24 communication line, 25 relay device, 26 communication line, 27 relay device,
28 card issuing device, 29 checkout processing device,
30 CPU, 31 ROM, 32 RAM,
33 banknote processing device, 34 card processing device,
35 communication interface circuit, 36 interface circuit,
37 status indicator lamps, 38 remaining frequency indicator,
39 lending indicator lamp, 40 lending switch, 41 return switch,
42 Medal hopper,
300 control unit, 301 external concentration terminal board,
400 control unit, 401 CPU, 402 ROM, 403 RAM,
404 input interface circuit, 405 output interface circuit,
406 output interface circuit, 407 input interface circuit,
500 input signals,
PC1, PC2 Pachinko Island, PS Pachislot Island,
P11-P1m, P21-P2m pachinko machine,
CR11-CR1m, CR21-CR2m card ball lending device,
D1 output data, D2 output data, D3 operation information signal,
d1 sequence identification process number, d2 medal insertion number data,
d3 medal payout number data, d4 to d7 game history data,
d8 security signal, d9 status signal, d10 error signal

Claims (5)

A game machine that plays a game by inserting a game ball or a game medal and pays out a predetermined number of prize media by a prize generated in the game process, and a game medium provided for each game machine and used for the game machine In a game hall where multiple sets of lending devices to lend are installed,
The gaming machine provider includes a third party management device that is communicably connected to the lending device, receives lending information from the lending device, and is managed by a third party different from the management of the game hall. A gaming machine profit management system that distributes and manages a part of the profit based on the operation of the loaned gaming machine as a usage fee to the gaming machine provider,
The rented gaming machine has an external output unit that outputs game history information in which a game has been performed by inserting the game medium to the outside,
Storage means for storing operation information of the rented gaming machine;
Operation information processing means connected to the external output unit and temporarily storing operation information of gaming machines included in the game history information in the storage means;
Transmitting means for transmitting the operation information stored in the storage means to the third party management device through the lending device;
Included in the third party management device, based on the lending information and the operation information for one rented gaming machine, the gross profit for a predetermined usage period is obtained, and the rental fee for the rented gaming machine is calculated based on the gross profit A usage fee determining means for determining,
The operation information processing means has an identification means for identifying an output specification of the external output unit according to a type of a rented gaming machine, and based on the output specification identified by the identification means, from the game history information output A gaming machine profit management system, wherein the operating information is determined and transmitted to the storage means. The game information management device is provided in the game hall and collects game information of the game machines in the hall, and the operation information processing means is a part of the game history information or in parallel with the storage processing of the operation information. The gaming machine profit management system according to claim 1, wherein the whole is distributed and transmitted to the operation information management device. 3. The gaming machine profit management system according to claim 1, wherein the operation information output from the external output unit includes at least the inserted number and the prize medium number. The gaming machine profit management system according to claim 1, wherein the storage means is built in the lending device. The accounting information used in the gaming machine profit management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and including the usage fee determined by the usage fee determining means is transmitted to the game hall and / or the gaming machine provider. A third-party management device comprising accounting information transmission means.

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