JP2021177870A - Prize management system - Google Patents

Abstract

To appropriately set a ratio of player-handling to staff-handling by objectively grasping a use result of the player-handling.SOLUTION: A managing device calculates a ratio of a player exchange frequency relative to the total exchange frequency obtained by totaling the player exchange frequency and a staff exchange frequency. Accordingly, frequency at which a player oneself actually performs prize exchange operation can be grasped objectively in a self-handleable state, thus appropriately setting a ratio of self-handling to staff-handling on the basis of the frequency.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 22

Description

The present invention relates to a prize management system.

Conventionally, for example, a prize payout device for a game hall as described in Patent Document 1 is known. Specifically, the player acquires the so-called special prize and the general prize by operating the employee or the player himself / herself with the card in which the number of balls is recorded inserted in the prize payout device in which the prize is paid out. It is possible to exchange the balls for special prizes and general prizes.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-1884

With such a prize payout device, it is not necessary for the employee to hand over the prize one by one, which is expected to reduce the burden on the game hall side and improve the convenience on the player side.
However, since many players are unfamiliar with the exchange by self-operation (player operation), there is a problem that it is difficult to operate by self-operation alone.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to objectively grasp the usage record of player operation and to appropriately set the ratios of player operation and employee operation. It is to provide the system.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to objectively grasp the frequency with which the player himself / herself actually performs the prize exchange operation in a state where the player can be operated. It is possible to appropriately set the ratio of operation and employee operation.

A diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a playground system in one embodiment. Front view of pachinko machine and counting lending unit Functional block diagram of counting lending unit Perspective view of POS POS functional block diagram Front view of the end ball exchange ticket The figure which shows the waiting screen of POS The figure which shows the special prize confirmation screen at the time of inserting a general card of POS The figure which shows the general prize confirmation screen of POS The figure which shows the final confirmation screen of POS Diagram showing the screen when inserting the POS membership card The figure which shows the member account selection screen of POS A diagram showing a screen for specifying the number of POS member prizes Diagram showing the final confirmation screen for POS members Figure showing POS prize shortage error screen The figure which shows the transaction cancellation confirmation screen of POS Diagram showing the employee standby screen of POS The figure which shows the screen which the player of POS is not operating The figure which shows the screen during the player operation of POS Diagram showing POS operation settings Diagram showing the free gift exchange history Diagram showing the number of free gift exchanges

Hereinafter, one embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 schematically shows the overall configuration of the amusement park system, and the prize management system is configured as a part of the amusement park system. A plurality of gaming machines 1 are installed in the game hall, and a counting lending unit 2 and a gaming information display device 3 are installed corresponding to each gaming machine 1. A plurality of the gaming machine 1, the counting lending unit 2, and the gaming information display device 3 are connected to the relay device 4. The relay device 4 is connected to the management device 6 (exchange frequency calculation means, exchange ratio calculation means) via the LAN 5.

The management device 6 receives game signals transmitted from devices on the game machine side such as the game machine 1 and the counting lending unit 2, and thereby receives game data for each game machine 1 and an individual for each member player registered as a member. Manage data etc.
Although detailed illustrations are omitted, for example, hundreds of gaming machines are installed in the gaming hall, and a plurality of gaming machine islands having different rental unit prices (rental unit prices) of gaming media are formed. FIG. 1 exemplifies a 4-yen pachinko island with a ball rental unit price of 4 yen and a 1-yen pachinko island with a rental unit price of 1 yen as a game medium.

A POS 7 (prize exchange device, setting means) and a settlement device 8 are also installed in the amusement park, and these POS 7 and the settlement device 8 are also connected to the management device 6 via the LAN 5.

As the card for specifying the game value acquired by the player, there are a general card 9 (recording medium) which is a general recording medium and a member card 10 which is a member recording medium shown in FIG. The general card 9 is issued to an unspecified number of players as a card valid only on the day. A general ID that can identify the card 9 is recorded on the IC chip 9a built in the general card 9, and deposit balance information that can specify the deposit balance deposited in the counting lending unit 2 and the number of balls held. That is, the acquired value information that can specify the game value acquired by the player during the day is recorded for each lending unit price.

The membership card 10 is a card that is valid until a preset expiration date (for example, 3 years), and is issued to a player who has registered as a member in advance. The number of balls held and the number of balls stored corresponding to the membership card 10 are stored in the member account of the management device 6 for each lending unit price. The IC chip 10a built into the membership card 10 records a deposit balance information and a member ID that can identify a member of the card 10 as information that can identify the game value of the member account.

A plurality of POS7s are installed in the prize exchange corner (prize exchange counter) for the player to exchange the game value for the prize. POS7 reads the information recorded on the cards 9 and 10 to specify the game value (number of balls held, number of stored balls (in the case of member card 10)), and exchanges to pay out the prize corresponding to the game value. Execute the process. When the POS 7 outputs information to the management device 6, the POS No. 7 can specify which of the plurality of POS 7s the signal is output from. (Device ID) is added. Of the game value, the number of balls possessed is the number of balls acquired and counted during the day, and the number of stored balls is the number of balls acquired and accumulated by the member before the previous day.

When the general card 9 or the membership card 10 is inserted into the card insertion slot 11, the settlement device 8 uses a card R / W (reader / writer) (not shown) to check the deposit balance recorded in the inserted cards 9 and 10. A return process is executed in which the read balance is refunded from the return slot 12 with cash such as banknotes or coins.
When the POS 7 and the settlement device 8 handle the game value recorded on the cards 9 and 10, the management device 6 collates the game value with the size of the game value stored in advance corresponding to the cards 9 and 10. After that, the handling of game value is enabled.

The management device 6 includes a control unit including a CPU and a storage unit (not shown), a transmission / reception unit, an output unit such as a monitor 13 and a printer (not shown), and an operation unit such as a keyboard 14 and a mouse (not shown). It manages the operating status of the equipment on the game machine side in the hall and various equipment such as POS7, and manages the size of the game value and the deposit balance for each player based on various signals received from various equipment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the gaming machine 1 is a CR pachinko machine, which has an operation handle 16, an upper tray 17, and a lower tray 18 constituting a launching device for launching balls on the board 15, and a liquid crystal display unit on the board 15. It has 19, a starting port 20, and a large winning opening 21. When the player operates the operation handle 16, a ball is fired on the board surface 15, and when the ball wins a prize in the start opening 20, a number of balls corresponding to the prize is paid out or a big hit lottery is performed. In the big hit lottery, the liquid crystal display unit 19 executes the symbol variation by the so-called special symbol, and when the stopped displayed symbol is the jackpot symbol, the jackpot occurs. When a big hit occurs, for example, the big winning opening 21 is opened for 15 rounds.

From the device on the gaming machine side, an out indicating the number of gaming media inserted into the gaming machine 1 according to the progress of the game such as the player driving a ball or winning a prize in the starting opening 20 and the large winning opening 21. An out signal that can specify the number of balls, a safe signal that can specify the number of safe balls that indicate the number of game media paid out by winning from the game machine 1, and a state signal that can specify the jackpot state generated by the game machine 1. Various game signals such as are output.

The counting lending unit 2 receives an operation input from a status display unit 22 showing the current operating status, a bill insertion slot 23 into which bills are inserted, and a player, and also provides information on the deposit balance, the number of balls held, the number of stored balls, and the like. Touch panel type liquid crystal display unit 24 that displays various data, payout button 25 for paying out balls for one unit (equivalent to 500 yen), payout nozzle 26 through which the paid out balls pass, remote control carried by employees It has a remote light receiving unit 27 for receiving (light receiving) a signal from, a card insertion slot 28 into which a general card 9 or a membership card 10 is inserted, a counting tray 29 detachably connected to a lower tray 18 of the game machine 1, and the like. .. The counting lending unit 2 can detect the operation of the lending button 30 and the return button 31 provided in the gaming machine 1.

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of the counting lending unit 2. The counting lending unit 2 includes a control unit 32 composed of a microcomputer having a CPU 32a, a ROM 32b, a RAM 32c, and an I / O 32d, and a peripheral unit connected to the control unit 32. As peripheral parts, an I / F unit 33 that transmits and receives various signals and various information to and from the management device 6 and the game machine 1, and a bill processing unit 34 that determines the authenticity of bills inserted in the bill insertion slot 23. , A card for reading and writing various information recorded on a general card 9 or a membership card 10 inserted in a liquid crystal display unit 24, a touch panel 35 provided on the liquid crystal display unit 24, and a card insertion slot 28. R / W36, a card stock unit 37 capable of stocking up to 10 general cards 9, a remote control light receiving unit 27, a payout button 25, and a ball for one unit (for example, 500 yen) when the payout button 25 is operated. The payout unit 38 pays out from the payout nozzle 26, the counting unit 39 counts the balls flowing in from the counting tray 29, and the like.

The counting lending unit 2 has the following functions.
(1) When a bill is inserted into the bill insertion slot 23, the amount of the inserted bill (in units of 1000 yen) is stored and the inserted amount (payment balance) is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 24.

(2) When the lending button 30 of the gaming machine 1 is operated, a number of balls corresponding to one frequency (500 yen) is paid out from the payout unit 38 within the range of the deposit balance according to the operation of the lending button 30. Perform loan processing. If the counting lending unit 2 installed on the 4-yen pachinko island, 125 balls will be paid out, and if the counting lending unit 2 installed on the 1-yen pachinko island, 500 balls will be paid out. At this time, since a signal indicating that the ball for one frequency has been paid out is transmitted from the gaming machine 1 to the counting lending unit 2, the one frequency (500 yen) is deducted from the deposit balance displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 24. At the same time, a sales signal capable of specifying the number of rented balls indicating the number of rented balls is transmitted to the management device 6. Since one pulse is transmitted to this sales signal every time a ball for one frequency is paid out, the management device 6 specifies one pulse as the sales amount for 500 yen.

(3) When a ball dropped from the lower tray 18 of the gaming machine 1 is received by the counting tray 29, the ball received by the counting tray 29 flows into the counting unit 39, which is a game medium (game value). Is performed, and the counted number of balls is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 24.

(4) When the payout button 25 is operated, the number of balls corresponding to the number of balls (500 yen) within the range of the number of balls held or the number of stored balls (in the case of the membership card 10) according to the operation of the payout button 25. Is paid out from the payout unit 38.

(5) When the return button 31 of the gaming machine 1 is operated, the deposit balance and the number of balls held at that time are recorded on the general card 9 and issued according to the operation of the return button 31. When the membership card 10 is inserted in the card insertion slot 28, the deposit balance is recorded in the membership card 10, the number of balls held is transmitted to the management device 6 on condition that the password is input, and the membership card 10 is issued. .. When the general card 9 or the membership card 10 is issued, an issuance signal capable of identifying the information (payment balance and the number of balls held) recorded on the card 9 and the card 10 is transmitted to the management device 6 together with the general ID and the member ID. Then, the management device 6 also stores and manages the information recorded on the cards 9 and 10. If neither of the cards 9 and 10 is inserted into the card insertion slot 28, one of the general cards 9 stocked in the card stock unit 37 is drawn out, and the deposit balance and the number of balls held are recorded by the card R / W 36. And issue it.

(6) When the general card 9 is inserted into the card insertion slot 28, the deposit balance and the number of balls held in the general card 9 are read out by the card R / W 36 and displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 24. When the general card 9 is accepted, the loan / return process is performed within the range of the deposit balance and the number of balls held on the general card 9.

(7) When the membership card 10 is inserted into the card insertion slot 28, the deposit balance recorded on the membership card 10 is read out by the card R / W 36 and displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 24, and a password is required to be input. The number of balls held and the number of stored balls stored in the member account of the management device 6 are also displayed. When the membership card 10 is accepted, the loan / return process is performed within the range of the deposit balance recorded on the membership card 10 and the number of balls held or stored in the member account.

The configuration of POS 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.
As shown in FIG. 4, the POS 7 is composed of a main body unit 40, an employee operation unit 41 capable of communicating with the main body unit 40, and a player operation unit 42. The main body 40 is integrally provided with a touch panel type employee display unit 43 and a player display unit 44, in order to exchange prizes with the employee display unit 43 and the player display unit 44. It displays necessary information and executes a predetermined exchange process according to the operation on the touch panel.
Such a combination of the employee display unit 43 and the employee touch panel 49 constitutes a part of the employee operation unit, and the combination of the player display unit 44 and the touch panel 50 is a part of the player display unit. It constitutes.

Two types of operation methods are set in POS7. In other words, there are employee operations in which employees perform face-to-face prize exchange operations and player operations in which the players themselves operate without the intervention of employees, and these are set to be arbitrarily switchable. ..
The employee operation unit 41 is configured by integrating the scanner 45, the card R / W 46, and the printer 47. On the upper surface side of the employee operation unit 41, a reading surface 45a of the scanner 45, a card insertion slot 46a of the card R / W46, and a printing slot 47a of the printer 47 are provided. In addition to the cards 9 and 10, an employee card (not shown) can be inserted into the card insertion slot 46a.

The scanner 45 is used by an employee to read a barcode of a general prize (daily necessities, cigarettes, etc.) and input prize information, and is used only when the employee is operating, and cannot be used when the player is operating.
The card R / W 46 reads the information of the inserted cards 9 and 10 and rewrites the number of balls stored in the general card 9 according to the exchange process. A card stock unit 46b (see FIG. 5) for collecting the general card 9 is provided inside the card R / W 46, and the general card 9 having no balls or deposit balance is collected in the card stock unit 46b. Will be done.

The printer 47 issues an end ball exchange ticket or a hold ticket (when the prize exchange is held in the middle), which will be described later, according to the exchange process.
The operation unit 42 for the player is provided with a numeric keypad 42a, and the player can input the password.

FIG. 5 shows a functional block diagram of the POS 7. The POS 7 is arranged on a control unit 48 composed of a microcomputer having a CPU 48a, a ROM 48b, a RAM 48c, and an I / O 48d, an employee display unit 43 connected to the control unit 48, and the employee display unit 43. In addition to the employee touch panel 49, the player display unit 44, the player touch panel 50 arranged on the player display unit 44, and various signals and various information with the management device 6 and the like. It is configured to include an I / F unit 51 for transmission and reception. Further, the peripheral portion includes the scanner 45 of the employee operation unit 41, the card R / W 46 and the printer 47, and the numeric keypad 42a of the player operation unit 42.

(Exchange processing in employee operation)
Next, the exchange process in the employee operation by POS7 will be described.
(1) The operator information of the employee card inserted in the card insertion slot 46a is read by the card R / W 46 to authenticate the employee in charge. The operator information includes the ID and name of the employee in charge. All employee ID tables (operator information of all employees) are registered in advance in the storage area of POS 7 (may be the storage area of management device 6), and the authentication of the employee in charge is read by the card R / W46. This is performed by collating the operator information with the all employee ID tables stored in advance in the storage area.

(2) When a general card 9 or a membership card 10 is inserted into the card insertion slot 46a instead of an employee card, information on the cards 9 and 10 including ID information such as a general ID or a member ID (hereinafter referred to as card information). Is read by the card R / W 46, the card information is transmitted to the management device 6, and the collation of the number of balls corresponding to the ID information is requested (requested). When the general card 9 is inserted into the card insertion slot 46a, the card information read by the card R / W 46 includes the number of balls held.

(3) When the handling of information on the number of balls held is enabled based on the collation result transmitted from the management device 6, the number of special prizes that can be exchanged based on the number of balls held is calculated for each rental unit price and displayed. While the number of balls and the number of special prizes are displayed in units 43 and 44, respectively, if the information regarding the number of balls is not valid based on the collation result, this is displayed as an "error" at least on the employee display unit 43. This prompts the employee in charge to confirm the authenticity of the cards 9 and 10.

(4) When exchanging prizes for stored balls with the membership card 10, when a password is input by operating the numeric keypad 42a of the player operation unit 42, the management device 6 is requested to store the number of balls stored by the corresponding member. , Displays the number of stored balls transmitted from the management device 6. To display the number of stored balls, the total number of balls (number of balls held + number of stored balls), which is the sum of the number of stored balls and the number of balls held associated with the membership card 10, is displayed on the display units 43 and 44. It is done by.

(5) The type of the prize is specified based on the operation input by the touch operation on the employee display unit 43, or the special prize is specified based on the operation input by the operation input by reading the prize identification code (for example, the barcode) with the scanner 45. Identify the type of. In addition, an arithmetic process for specifying the number of balls (prize value) corresponding to the specified special prize is performed.

(6) When the special prize to be exchanged is determined, the result of subtracting the number of balls corresponding to the special prize from the number of balls (or the total number of balls) is calculated as the latest number of balls. If the cards 9 and 10 have a deposit balance or the number of balls held, the deposit balance or the number of balls held is recorded on the cards 9 and 10 by the card R / W46 (in the case of the membership card 10, only the deposit balance is recorded). do. After that, the cards 9 and 10 are returned to the player by the employee in charge.

As shown in FIG. 1, a prize payer 52 is connected to the POS 7, and the POS 7 instructs the prize payer 52 to pay out the special prize when the special prize to be exchanged is determined as described above. The prize payer 52 stores a plurality of types of special prizes in a prize stock portion (not shown) in the main body, and automatically pays out the special prizes in response to a payout instruction from the POS 7. The special prize is a resin card with a built-in IC chip, and there are three types: 5000 yen, 1000 yen, and 200 yen. If an end ball is generated when the prize exchange is completed, the end ball exchange ticket shown in FIG. 6 is issued.
On the end ball exchange ticket 53, the end ball exchange information 54 indicating the unit amount of the end balls and the number (amount) thereof, and the message 55 indicating the types and numbers of general prizes that can be selected within the range of the amount are printed. There is.

As shown in FIG. 1, a general prize corner 56 is provided in one corner of the amusement park, and various general prizes corresponding to the odd balls are displayed.
When the player receives the end ball exchange ticket 53 at the prize exchange corner, he / she moves to the general prize corner 56 and selects a desired general prize. The general prize corner 56 is unmanned, and the player can freely select and take home the prize within the exchangeable range. General prizes are miscellaneous goods and confectionery, and display shelves (A to E) are classified according to the amount of money. As for the classification of general prizes, A is a 100 yen general prize, B is a 50 yen general prize, C is a 10 yen general prize, D is a 5 yen general prize, and E is a 1 yen general prize.

(Exchange processing in player operation)
Next, the exchange process in the player operation by POS 7 will be described.
In the player operation, the POS 7 displays the standby screen shown in FIG. 7 on the player display unit 44. In addition to the "call staff" button 57, a message 58 urging the card to be inserted is displayed on the standby screen.

When the player inserts the general card 9 into the card insertion slot 46a of the card R / W 46, the POS 7 reads and displays the general ID and the number of balls held by the general card 9 inserted in the card R / W 46, and then manages the card. The read information is transmitted to the device 6 to request collation, and when the collation result is received from the management device 6, the special prize confirmation screen shown in FIG. 8 is displayed.

On the special prize confirmation screen, in addition to the "call staff" button 57, the "stop exchange" button 59, and the "confirmation" button 60, a message 61 to be careful about removing the card, the unit price of the ball (4 yen in Fig. 8), And the ball / end ball information 62 indicating the possession ball and the end ball read from the general card 9, the special prize exchange information 63 indicating the number of exchangeable special prizes, and the "confirmation" button 60 are requested to be pressed. Message 64 is displayed. The large special prize is 5000 yen, the medium special prize is 1000 yen, and the small special prize is 200 yen.
As an example of calculating the number of special prizes, for example, 4 yen pachinko = 1915 balls (7660 yen) = 1250 balls x 1 + 250 balls x 2 + 50 balls x 3 + 15 balls = special prize size (5000 yen) x 1 + special prize medium (1000 yen) × 2 + special prize small (200 yen) × 3 + end ball (60 yen).

The POS 7 displays the general prize confirmation screen shown in FIG. 9 when the "confirmation" button 60 is pressed by the player. On the general prize confirmation screen, general prize exchange information 65 indicating the number of exchangeable general prizes and a message 66 urging the user to press the "confirmation" button 60 are displayed.

When the player presses the "confirmation" button 60 on the general prize confirmation screen, the final confirmation screen shown in FIG. 10 is displayed. On the final confirmation screen, a "confirm" button 67 (payout operation means) is displayed instead of the "confirmation" button 60, and the number of exchangeable special prizes and the number of exchangeable general prizes are shown. The prize exchange information 68 and the message 69 urging the user to press the "confirm" button 67 are displayed.

Here, the "confirm" button 67 is invalidated, and even if the player presses the "confirm" button 67, the exchange process is not executed, but when the player ejects the general card 9, "confirmation" is performed. The "OK" button 67 is activated. That is, the "confirm" button 67 is activated on condition that the acceptance status of the general card 9 is canceled. Not only by changing the "OK" button 67 from invalid to valid, but also by changing the red display to blue display or the blinking display to lit display as the invalidity is enabled. It may be visible that it has been done.
When the "confirm" button 67 is pressed by the player, the POS 7 pays out the number of special prizes displayed from the prize payer 52, and issues an end ball exchange ticket 53 if there is an end ball.

If there is no deposit balance on the general card 9, when the "confirm" button 67 is pressed, the prize payer 52 is instructed to pay out the special prize, and the general card 9 in the card R / W 46 is inserted. Collect to the card stock section 46b.
As described above, the player can exchange the game medium acquired by inserting the general card 9 into the POS 7 for a special prize.

Next, the exchange process using the membership card 10 in the player operation by POS 7 will be described.
When the membership card 10 is inserted while the standby screen is displayed, the POS 7 reads the ID of the membership card 10 inserted in the card R / W 46 and displays the membership card insertion screen shown in FIG. On the membership card insertion screen, in addition to the "call staff" button 57 and the "stop exchange" button 59, a keyboard 70, a message 61 cautioning to remove the card, and a message 71 prompting the input of a password are displayed.
When the password is input by the player, the POS 7 requests the management device 6 for the collation result and information on the number of balls held and the number of balls stored by the member.

When the POS 7 receives the collation result and the information on the number of balls held and the number of stored balls from the management device 6, the POS 7 displays the member account selection screen shown in FIG. On the member account selection screen, an account selection button and a message 74 requesting to select an account are displayed. In FIG. 12, a “4 yen pachinko account” button 72 and a “1 yen pachinko account” button 73 are displayed. The corresponding account balances are displayed on the buttons 72 and 73.

When any of the buttons 72 and 73 of the account is pressed by the player, the POS 7 displays the member prize number designation screen shown in FIG. FIG. 13 shows the time when a 4-yen pachinko account is selected. On the member prize quantity specification screen, in addition to the "call staff" button 57, the "stop exchange" button 59, the "maximum quantity set" button 75, and the "decision" button 76, account transaction information indicating the number of transactions and the account balance. 77, a message 80 urging the user to press the "+" button 78, the "-" button 79, and the "OK" button 76 corresponding to each special prize is displayed.

When the "+" button 78 is pressed by the player, the POS 7 increases the number of withdrawals of the 4-yen pachinko account by the number of exchanged balls corresponding to the special prize and decreases the account balance. On the other hand, when the "-" button 79 is pressed, the number of withdrawals of the 4-yen pachinko account is reduced by the number of exchanged balls corresponding to the special prize, and the account balance is increased.
When the "maximum number set" button 75 is pressed, the maximum number of special prizes within the range of the account balance is automatically set.

The POS 7 displays the member final confirmation screen shown in FIG. 14 when the "decision" button 76 is pressed by the player. On the member final confirmation screen, a "confirmation" button 67 (payment operation means) is displayed instead of the "confirmation" button 60, as well as usage statement information 81 indicating the number of withdrawals and account balance, special prize number information 82, and " A message 83 is displayed requesting that the "OK" button 67 be pressed. In this case, the pressing of the "confirm" button 67 is invalidated, and even if the player presses the "confirm" button 67, the exchange process is not executed, but the player presses the membership card 10. It is activated when discharged. That is, the "confirm" button 67 is activated on condition that the membership card 10 is ejected. Since the membership card 10 is used continuously until the expiration date, it is always returned to the player regardless of the deposit balance, the number of balls held, and the number of stored balls.

When the "confirm" button 67 is pressed by the player, the POS 7 pays out the type and number of special prizes displayed from the prize payer 52, and adds the odd balls to the account balance if any.
As described above, the player can exchange the desired account balance for a special prize by inserting the membership card 10 into the POS 7.

When the prize stored in the prize payer 52 is insufficient, the POS 7 displays a prize shortage error screen as shown in FIG. A message 84 requesting to wait is displayed on the prize shortage error screen. When the "Cancel Exchange" button 59 is pressed, the transaction cancellation confirmation screen shown in FIG. 16 is displayed. On the transaction cancellation confirmation screen, a message 87 prompting to press down the "cancel" button 85, the "back" button 86, or each of the buttons 85 and 86 is displayed.

Here, in order to reduce the work load of the employee, it is desirable to operate the POS 7 by the player operation (hereinafter referred to as self-operation) in which the player himself / herself operates without the intervention of the employee as described above. Since many players are unfamiliar, there is a problem that it is difficult to operate by self-operation alone.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the operation of the POS 7 is basically self-operation, but the self-operation is stopped as necessary, and the employee immediately performs the exchange process in the employee operation in which the employee exchanges the prize face-to-face. The setting that can be switched to is possible.

That is, the employee waiting screen shown in FIG. 17 is displayed on the employee display unit 43. The prize exchange display unit 88 and the menu display unit 89 are displayed on the employee standby screen, and the menu display unit 89 has a "member management" button 90, an "inventory management" button 91, and a "maintenance management" button 92. , The "setting management" button 93 is displayed.

When the "setting management" button 93 is touch-operated, settings related to self-operation and employee operation can be made, so the following settings are made.
(1) Whether to set to self-operation or employee operation by default.
(2) Whether or not "cancellation" is possible when self-operation is set in (1) above.
(3) Whether or not to automatically return to self-operation after cancellation when "cancellation" is enabled in (2) above.

If POS7 is set to self-operation by default by the setting of (1) above, and "Cancel" is set by the setting of (2) above, self-operation is initially set when the power is turned on, and then the employee. The player display unit 43 displays the player not operating screen shown in FIG. On this player-unoperated screen, a message 95 indicating that self-operation is in progress and a "cancel" button 96 are displayed.

Here, the "stop" button 96 is set to be valid or invalid depending on whether or not the prize exchange operation is performed by the player in the player operation unit 42. That is, when the player has not performed the prize exchange operation in the player operation unit 42, the operation for the "stop" button 96 is enabled. In other words, the prize exchange operation by employees is permitted.
On the other hand, when the player is performing the prize exchange operation in the player operation unit 42, the player operation screen shown in FIG. 19 is displayed, and the operation for the "stop" button 96 is invalidated (player operation). The cancel operation is disabled). In other words, the prize exchange operation by employees is prohibited.

By the way, when POS7 is set to be cancelable by self-operation, if a player who is unfamiliar with the prize exchange operation in self-operation requests a prize exchange by an employee, the employee clicks the "Cancel" button 96. Touch operation (player operation stop operation).
When the "stop" button 96 is touch-operated, the POS 7 stops the self-operation and switches to the employee operation. As a result, the employee waiting screen shown in FIG. 17 is displayed. Therefore, the employee operates the employee operation unit 41 and inputs predetermined prize exchange information to the prize exchange display unit 88 to exchange the prize. Perform the operation.

Here, in the case where it is set to be cancelable by self-operation by the setting of (3) above, and when it is set to automatically return to self-operation after cancellation, once as described above. When the prize exchange operation is completed, it automatically returns from employee operation to self-operation. As a result, it is possible to reduce the work load for switching from employee operation to self-operation one by one, so that the efficiency of the prize exchange operation can be improved.

By the way, according to the POS 7 having the above configuration, it is not necessary for the employee to hand over the prize one by one, which is expected to have the effect of reducing the burden on the amusement park side and improving the convenience on the player side. However, since many players are not accustomed to exchanging by self-operation, it is difficult to operate by self-operation alone. Therefore, it is desirable to consider the suitability of operation in POS7.

Under these circumstances, in this embodiment, the suitability of operation in POS7 can be considered as follows.
FIG. 20 shows the POS operation settings. In the example shown in FIG. 20, it is shown that the operation method of Units 1 and 2 is set to employee operation (= 1) and Unit 3 is set to player operation (= 2). In this case, since the player operation needs to be careful, the player operation is identified and displayed in red, for example. In the example shown in FIG. 20, the number of installed units is three, but the number can be increased or decreased as needed.

FIG. 21 shows the prize exchange history in each POS 7. The exchange method shown in FIG. 21, the person in charge, and the member No. Is stipulated as follows.
Exchange method: 1 = employee, 2 = player, 3 = player → employee (when the player exchange is stopped and switched to employee operation)
Person in charge: Identification number of the person in charge (1 to 10 and 99 are players), the card reader / writer of POS7 reads the ID information from the employee ID card and identifies the person in charge. : When the membership card is inserted, the member number. Read and record

The management device 6 calculates the number of times the prize is exchanged for each POS based on the prize exchange history shown in FIG. 21 by the operation by the administrator. That is, as shown in FIG. 22, the total number of exchanges (total number of exchanges), the number of exchanges by employees (number of employee exchanges), and the number of exchanges by players (number of player exchanges) are calculated. This makes it possible to calculate the number of exchanges for the total number of exchanges and consider the suitability of operation.

In the example shown in FIG. 22, the ratio of each exchange count to the total exchange count can be calculated as follows.
Ratio of player exchanges to total exchanges = 37/160 = 23.1%
Ratio of the number of exchanges in the player operation POS to the total number of exchanges = 41/160 = 25.6%
Ratio of the number of player exchanges to the total number of exchanges in the player operation POS = 37/41 = 90.2%
Ratio of employee exchanges to total exchanges in player-operated POS = 4/41 = 9.8%

In the case of the above ratio, it can be considered as follows.
Although the number of exchanges of player-operated POS is slightly less than that of employee-operated POS, it is presumed that they are fully utilized. In addition, 4 out of 41 exchanges of the player-operated POS were switched to employee exchange in the middle, but 37 times the exchange process was performed while the player was operating, and the player could fully use it. It is presumed that there is. Therefore, it is considered that the ratio of the player operation settings may be increased a little more.

According to such an embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
Since the management device 6 calculates the ratio of the number of exchanges of the player to the total number of exchanges of the player and the number of exchanges of employees, the player himself actually exchanges the prize in a state where self-operation is possible. It is possible to objectively grasp the frequency of operations, and it is possible to appropriately set the ratios of self-operation and employee operation based on the frequency.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified or expanded as follows, each modification can be combined with the above embodiment, or each modification can be combined.
The management device 6 (player attribute specifying means) may aggregate the number of times the prize is exchanged for each player's attribute (gender, age, etc.) and calculate the ratio of the prize exchange method for each attribute. The attribute of the player is the member No. at the time of membership registration. Since it is generally recorded in association with the member number of the used membership card. The attribute can be specified from. This makes it possible to objectively grasp the correlation between the attributes of the player and the prize exchange method.

The card R / W 46 is provided with a card stock unit 46b for collecting the general card 9, but the card stock unit 46b may not be provided. In this case, it is desirable to separately install a collection box for the general card 9 in the vicinity of the card R / W 46 so that the general card 9 ejected by the player is put into the collection box.

The ratios of employee operation and self-operation of POS7 can be appropriately set in consideration of the usage status of the player. In other words, it is desirable to increase the ratio of self-operation as the number of players accustomed to self-operation increases.
As for general prizes, the so-called Viking method is used so that the player can freely bring back his / her favorite prize, but the employee may hand it over according to the player's wishes.

There are only two types of prizes, special prizes and general prizes, but you may prepare different prizes from the general prizes. However, when exchanging for a prize other than a general prize, it is not possible to handle it by self-operation, so it is desirable to support only employee operation.
The type of the special prize is not limited to this embodiment, and may be any form and amount. Similarly, the type of general prize may be any form and amount of prize.
As for general prizes, a prize dispenser that automatically pays out may be installed in the same way as special prizes.

The rental unit price of the game medium can be arbitrarily set by the game hall side within the range specified by the rules. Further, the lending unit price is not limited to two types and may be three or more types.
Although the type of gaming machine that pays out the actual gaming medium according to the winning is exemplified, the type of enclosed gaming machine that gives a score instead of paying out the gaming medium may be used.
Although the pachinko gaming machine is exemplified as the gaming machine, it may be a slot machine. Further, although the ball is exemplified as a game medium, it may be a medal.

In the drawing, 6 is a management device (exchange number calculation means, exchange ratio calculation means, player attribute specifying means), and 7 is a POS (prize exchange device, setting means).

Claims (2)

In a prize management system equipped with a prize exchange device that executes an exchange process for exchanging a game value acquired by a player for a prize.
In the prize exchange device, the operation state of either the player operation state in which the player can perform the prize exchange operation or the employee operation state in which the employee can perform the prize exchange operation is set. Setting means and
Exchange number calculation means for calculating the number of player exchanges in which the player himself has performed a prize exchange operation in the player operation state and the number of employee exchanges in which an employee has performed a prize exchange operation in the employee operation state, respectively. When,
An exchange ratio calculating means for calculating the ratio of the number of exchanges of the player to the total number of exchanges obtained by adding the number of exchanges of the player and the number of exchanges of the employee.
A prize management system characterized by being equipped with. A player attribute specifying means for specifying the attribute of the player who performed the prize exchange operation is provided.
The prize management system according to claim 1, wherein the exchange number calculation means calculates the player exchange number for each attribute of the player specified by the player attribute specifying means.

Images