JP2769866B2 - Game media lending / payment system in a game store - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention uses a card-shaped storage medium supplied from a card supply organization to lend a game medium to be used in a game at a game machine, and as a game result The present invention relates to a game medium lending / payment system in a game store where a player pays out a game medium acquired by a player.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, a game media lending system in a game store lends game media by inserting money into a game media lending device.

However, in a game media lending system in which money is inserted into a game media lending device, an island facility comprising a row of gaming machines is provided in order to enhance convenience so that a player can lend game media without leaving the gaming machine. Since it is common to arrange game media lending devices between gaming machines within the same, it is necessary to have a device that transfers money to each game media lending device to one end of the island facility and collects it. .

In addition, if the money that can be used in the game media lending device is limited to coins, etc., players who have used up the coins etc. necessary to borrow game media will have to exchange banknotes one by one. If you install a game media lending device that can also use bills in the island facility, the money collection device will become more complicated, and the money will be collected in the island facility during the collection of money. In such a case, there was a risk that the money would be jammed or stolen.

That is, in such a game medium lending system, maintenance management of the collection device and the like becomes complicated, and accurate sales management relating to the lending of the game medium also becomes difficult.

Therefore, a card-type game medium lending system has been proposed in which a game medium can be lent from a game medium lending device using a card purchased by inserting money into a card issuing machine installed in a game store. In such a card-type game media lending system, even if the game media lending device is arranged in the island facility, an expensive and complicated device for transferring and collecting money is not required, and money is not required in the island facility. Since there is no risk of theft, the reliability of sales management relating to the lending of game media can be improved.

On the other hand, a player who has borrowed a game medium by the above-described game medium lending system plays a game, and as a game medium settlement system in a game store for adjusting a game medium acquired as a game result, the player has acquired A game medium is put into a predetermined counting device, a receipt on which the counting result is printed and a card on which the counting result is stored are issued, and various prizes prepared by the game store based on the information of the receipt and the card are provided. What is exchanged is widely used in general game stores.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, a card-type game media lending system that has been conventionally proposed issues a unique card that can be effectively used in the gaming shop, and the card that has been properly issued is issued. Since the game media can be rented out by inserting it into the game media lending device, the game media lending card is valid only at the gaming store that issued the card only on the day of issuance.

For this reason, the player must settle the card purchased at the amusement store (the process of having the unused balance returned) when exiting the amusement store after finishing the game. A complicated act of purchasing and paying for a card was required.

In addition, in a card-type game medium lending system that issues a game medium lending card valid only for the day at the game store, a limited number of players are required to settle the card immediately before the game store closes. In a game store where only the number of checkout machines is installed, many players have to wait for the checkout. It should be noted that, if the number of payment machines installed is increased, the waiting time for payment for such players can be reduced, but capital investment on the game store side increases,
Since the maintenance and repair of all checkout machines are also required, the burden on the game store is significantly increased, which is inefficient.

In addition, at the closing time of the amusement arcades, since financial institutions such as banks have already closed their operations, each amusement arcade must secure in advance enough banknotes necessary to settle the game media lending card. If the game store falls into a state where payment cannot be made, the risk of the game store is great because it greatly affects the trust of the game store.

Furthermore, in the card-type game medium lending system as described above, the game medium lending card is settled in spite of the card balance, and the card is made unusable. Waste of valuable resources.

For this reason, it is desirable to implement a game media lending system using a game media lending card that can be used continuously, not only on the day of issuance, but the substantial profit of the game store is Therefore, the usage information of the game media lending card is extremely important, and the system is required to have high reliability that can prevent tampering of the usage information.

In addition, in the game media settlement system for the player to settle the game media obtained as a game result, the game media can only be exchanged with prizes prepared by the game store in advance based on receipt and card settlement information. In addition, the prize desired by the player may not be prepared or may be out of stock, and forcing the player to select from the limited prize group provided by the amusement store, Very dissatisfied. For this reason, many players exchange the special prizes for money after exchanging them for so-called special prizes.

Therefore, since the player does not have a desired prize, in the settlement of the game medium, it is necessary to perform a very troublesome process (two exchanges of exchanging the special prize for money after exchanging the special prize once). However, the convenience of the player was impaired.

In order to solve such a problem, it is only necessary that money can be exchanged directly at a game store. However, even in a game medium lending system, accurate sales management is difficult at present. Performing the settlement with money also makes it more difficult for the game store to accurately manage sales.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a system capable of accurately managing information on lending of game media and information on settlement of game media in a game store.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The present invention has been proposed in view of the above, and uses a card-shaped storage medium (for example, a card 9) supplied from a card supply organization (for example, a card issuing center 8) to play a game. In a game medium lending / payment system in a game store where a player rents a game medium (eg, a pachinko ball) to be provided for a game at a machine (eg, a pachinko machine 3) and pays out a game medium obtained by a player as a game result. A card-shaped storage medium selling means (for example, a card vending machine 1) that sells a card-shaped storage medium storing valuable information when money is inserted, and the card-shaped storage medium based on a lending operation by a player. A predetermined number of game media are discharged on condition that predetermined value information is stored in the storage medium, and the value information corresponding to the predetermined number of discharged game media is discharged. Game medium lending control means (for example, a game media lending control means for subtracting the information and outputting a use value information signal related to the subtracted value information)
The control device 65) and the use value information signal output from the game medium lending control means are added and stored, and the use value total signal based on the added stored value is used by the card supply institution to request sales of a game store. Value information summing means (for example, the management device 5) to be output to the game machine, a game medium acquired by the player as a game result in the gaming machine, and a settlement amount calculated at a predetermined rate with respect to the counted value. Game media settlement means (e.g., a settlement machine 2) for discharging money and outputting settlement information, and settlement information tallying means (e.g., a management device 5) for counting the settlement information output from the game medium settlement means. , Is provided.

<Operation> The card-shaped storage medium supplied from the card supply organization is sold to the player by the card-shaped storage medium selling means, and the value of the card-shaped storage medium used by the game medium lending control means to discharge the game medium. The information is transmitted to the use value information summation means, and the use value information summation means supplies the use value summation signal based on the added storage value obtained by adding and storing the use value information signal from each game medium lending control means to the card. Output to the institution and claim sales at the amusement store.

In addition, the game media settlement means counts the game media obtained by the player as a game result in the gaming machine, and pays out the money of the settlement amount calculated at a predetermined rate with respect to the counted value, thereby making the settlement. The settlement information is output to the settlement information totalizing means, and the settlement information totalizing means totals the settlement information.

<Embodiment> Fig. 1 shows a conceptual diagram of a system in which the present invention is applied to a pachinko game store.

A card vending machine 1, a checkout machine 2, a pachinko machine 3 as a game machine, and a ball lending machine 4 as a game medium lending device are installed in the game store. In addition, a management device 5 is installed at an appropriate position in the game store, and this management device 5
The above-mentioned card vending machine 1, settlement machine 2, pachinko machine 3, ball lending machine 4 are electrically connected to each other via an in-store transmission line 6.
The management device 5 is electrically connected to a card issuing center 8 via an out-of-store transmission line 7 such as a telephone line.

Then, the card issuing center 8 performs payment of the card price based on the information sent from the game store. This card payment is made through a financial institution or directly.

Issued by the card issuing center 8 which is a card supplier,
FIG. 2 shows a card 9 as a card-shaped storage medium which is sold by the card vending machine 1 of a game store and used when renting a game ball with the ball lending machine 4.

The card 9 is a thin plate made of paper, synthetic resin, or the like. On the surface, a balance display section 10 and an issue display section 11 are provided at the upper part in the longitudinal direction, and the sales amount and the effective amount are displayed at the lower part in the longitudinal direction. There is provided an amount display unit 12 to be used and a security storage unit 13 for storing security data. Although the card 9 in this embodiment uses a so-called magnetic card that magnetically stores the above information, a card-shaped storage medium such as an IC card having the same function is used for the card 9. May be.

The balance display section 10 displays the approximate balance of the card 9 with a punch hole,
It is displayed by marking or the like so that the card user can be informed of the balance of the card 9.

The issuance display unit 11 is for preventing the card 9 from being double-issued, and when the card 9 is issued by the card vending machine 1, the fact that the card 9 has been issued is displayed by punching holes, markings, or the like.

The sales amount of the card 9 is displayed on the amount display section 12,
When the card 9 is sold with a premium, an effective amount obtained by adding the premium to the sales amount is also displayed. This premium serves the player by making the effective amount of the card 9 higher than the actual selling price and provides the difference to the player. For example, there is no 500 yen card, 40 yen for the 1000 yen card, 100 yen for the 2000 yen card, 3000 yen for the 2000 yen card The yen card costs 200 yen, the 5000 yen card costs 400 yen, and the 10,000 yen card costs 800 yen.

The security storage unit 13 is provided to prevent counterfeiting of the card 9, and stores the same data as the security data stored in the valuable data storage area using optical means, magnetic means, and the like, and The data is stored in a concealed state so as not to be read from the external appearance.

In addition, an arrow is displayed on the surface of the card 9 to indicate the insertion direction so that the insertion direction of the card can be easily understood, and one corner of the leading end of the card is cut obliquely in advance to prevent mistakes in the insertion direction. The advertisement may be displayed by providing an advertisement display unit 14 in the margin of the card 9, or a handling explanation unit 15 may be provided on the back of the card 9 to display the handling method of the card 9. .

On the back side of the card, a magnetic data storage section 16 is provided as a valuable data storage area at a lower portion in the longitudinal direction.
Below the number 16, an issue number display section 17 and an issue date display section 18 are provided.

The magnetic data storage unit 16 stores amount data representing the effective amount of the card 9, card type data representing the amount of issuance of the card 9, and security data for preventing forgery of the card 9. The amount data stores the effective amount of the card 9 as valuable value information in a predetermined mode when the card is manufactured, and when the card 9 is used in the ball lending machine 4, the used amount is subtracted and stored again. The card type data stores the amount of issuance of the card 9 at the time of manufacture, compares the amount data with the card type data when the card 9 is sold in the card vending machine 1, and checks whether the card 9 is issued incorrectly or incorrectly. Issuance is prevented.

As the security data, the same data as the data stored in the security storage unit 13 at the time of card manufacturing is stored, and the two data are compared. If the data does not match, the data is processed as an inappropriate card.

If a series of serial numbers that do not overlap with each other is displayed on the issue number display section 17, it is possible to detect a stolen card, and if a lottery is performed based on this number, the player will be able to detect an invalid card that has run out of balance. Since it is not thrown away in a game store, it can contribute to the beautification of the game store.

FIG. 3 shows a card vending machine 1 as a card-shaped storage medium selling means for selling the card 9 described above.

The card vending machine 1 has a box-shaped body 19 which can be opened and closed.
The card outlets 21 are arranged side by side approximately in the middle of the front part 20. At the top of the card outlets 21, there are provided card remaining amount visible windows 22, respectively. At the bottom, a card amount designation switch 23 is provided. At the bottom of the left card amount designation switch 23, a balance display 24 showing the balance of the card 9 is provided. At the bottom of the balance display 24, a card slot 25 is provided. In the lower part of the card amount designation switch 23 on the right side, an insertion amount indicator 26 for displaying the amount of the inserted bill is provided, a bill insertion slot 27 is opened below the insertion amount indicator 26, and a card insertion slot 25 is provided. A bill payout exit 28 is opened below between the bill and the bill insertion slot 27. In addition, a sale indicator 29 indicating that the card 9 is being sold, and a sale stop indicator 30 indicating that the sale of the card 9 has been stopped are provided above the front part 20.
Is provided.

The card insertion slot 25 is provided in the card vending machine 1 so that the player can know the correct balance of the card 9 stored by the player. By inserting the balance, the balance is displayed on the balance display 24.

Inside the box-like body 19, the card issuing devices 31 are respectively connected to the card outlets 21 when the front part 20 is closed, and the card reader is connected to the card insertion port 25 when the front part 20 is closed. A bill discriminating device 33 is disposed at a position communicating with the bill insertion slot 27, and a bill dispenser 34 is disposed at a position communicating with the bill dispensing outlet. On the left side of the row of card issuing devices, a machine number setting switch 35 for defining the transmission address of the card vending machine 1 and a restart switch 36 for restoring the sales suspension state are provided, and a card reader 32 and a bill dispenser are provided. 34, a controller 37 for controlling the processing in the card vending machine 1 is provided. Above the controller 37, a monitor display 38 for displaying the state of the device controlled by the controller 37 is provided. Below the power supply, a power supply device 39 is provided.

The above-mentioned bill validator 33 takes in the bill inserted by the player from the bill insertion slot 27 to determine the authenticity of the bill, determines the type of the bill, sends a signal to the controller 37, and outputs If it is determined to be a bill, it will be returned to the player.
On the other hand, when the banknote recognition device 33 determines that the banknote is appropriate and determines the type of the banknote, the amount of the banknote is displayed on the input amount display unit 26 by a signal from the control device 37. For example, if a 10,000-yen bill is inserted into the bill slot, "10,0
00 yen "," 5,000 yen "for a 5,000 yen bill, and" 1,000 yen "for a 1,000 yen bill. In this state, when the player operates the card amount designation switch 23 to select a desired amount to be provided for the game, the card vending machine 1 activates the card issuing device 31 corresponding to the selected amount, and stores valuable data. Issue the stored card 9.

 FIG. 4 shows the card issuing device 31 described above.

This card issuing device 31 is provided with a horizontally-U-shaped card transport path 41 at the lower part of a card tank 40 for storing the cards 9, and the cards 9 are transferred one by one from the card tank 40 toward the back of the card transport path 41. A take-out device 42 for taking out, and an appraisal device 43 for appraising the authenticity of the issued card 9 are provided,
A transfer device 44 that reverses and transports the card 9 is provided at the bent portion of the card transport path 41, and a switching device 45 that switches the transport path of a proper card and an inappropriate card from the transfer device 44 toward the card ejection port 21, Is provided to the card outlet 21. The switching device 45 is provided with an inappropriate card transport path 47 branched from the card transport path 41, and a confiscation tank 48 is provided at a position communicating with the incorrect card transport path 47.
A first card sensor 49 for detecting the presence or absence of the card 9 in the card tank 40 is provided below the card tank 40, and a second card sensor 50 for detecting the amount of cards stored in the confiscation tank 48 is provided in the confiscation tank 48. An issuance control device 51 for controlling issuance of the card 9 based on an issuance command from the control device 37 is provided below the transfer device 44. On the front of the card issuing device 31, a card outlet 21 is opened at the exit of the card transport path 41, and between the card outlet 21 and the card tank 40,
A monitor display 52 is provided for displaying cardless information of the card tank 40 and card full information of the confiscation tank 48.

Upon receiving a card issuance command from the control device 37, the card issuance device 31 described above receives the card issuance device 42 from the card tank 40.
As a result, the cards 9 are taken out one by one, guided to the card transport path 41, and transported to the appraisal device 43. The appraisal device 43 reads the magnetic data, security data, issuance display, card type data, card size, etc. of the card 9 to be issued, and judges whether or not the card 9 is an appropriate card. The conditions for a proper card are that the amount data representing the effective amount of the card 9 and the card type data representing the issued amount of the card 9 are equal, and the security data in the magnetic data storage unit 16 and the security data in the security storage unit 13 are equal. That is, there is no issuance hole indicating that the issuance has already been issued in the issuance display section 11, the card size is a regular size, and the amount selected and designated by the player is equal to the card type data. Appraisal device 43
The card 9 that has been conveyed toward the back of the card issuing device 31 is changed in the conveying direction by the transfer device 44 and is conveyed toward the front of the card issuing device 31.
When the card 9 reaches the switching device 45, the appropriate card is conveyed to the deriving device 46 and the inappropriate card is conveyed to the confiscation tank 48 according to the result of the appraisal by the appraisal device 43. Then, the appropriate card is discharged to the card discharge port 21 by the derivation device 46. The first card sensor indicates that card 9 has been lost in card tank 40
When the second card sensor 50 detects that the confiscation tank 48 has been filled with the improper card, or that the confiscation tank 48 is full, these are displayed on the monitor display 52.

Note that the card vending machine 1 may be installed not only in a pachinko game store but also in another place, for example, a tobacco store, a supermarket, or the like.

In addition, the above-described control device 31 includes a main control device that controls the reading and writing of the card 9 in order to keep the specifications of the card 9 secret and to prevent forgery of the card 9 and falsification of data stored in the card 9, May be separated from a local control device that performs the above control.

5 is a pachinko machine 3 and a pachinko machine 3.
A card insertion / ejection port 56 of a card reader / writer 55 is provided on a front portion 54 of a box 53, and a pilot lamp 57, a card amount indicator 58, a purchase selection switch 59, a ball rental port 60 are provided. The supply ball detector 62 is provided inside a ball supply gutter 61 branched from the ball supply gutter above the pachinko machine line.
A ball discharge device 63 is provided at the lower end of the ball supply gutter 61, and the outlet of the ball flow down gutter 64 of the ball discharge device 63 is connected to the ball lending port 60, and the card reader / writer 55 and the card amount indicator 58 are provided. ,
The purchase selection switch 59, the supply ball detector 62, and the ball discharge device 63 are electrically connected to the control device 65, and the control device 65 is connected to the management device 5 via the in-store transmission line 6.

That is, the control device 65 outputs a predetermined number of game media on the condition that predetermined value information is stored in the card 9 which is a card-shaped storage medium based on a lending operation of a player, It functions as "a game medium lending control means for subtracting the value information corresponding to the predetermined number of game media discharged and outputting a use value information signal relating to the value information thus subtracted."

The pilot lamp 57 accepts the card 9 and indicates that pachinko balls can be borrowed.
When there is no ball in 62 or when the connection with the management device 5 is not confirmed, the light is turned off and the reception of the card 9 is stopped.

The card amount indicator 58 displays the balance of the accepted card 9. The purchase selection switch 59 is a switch for specifying a purchase amount, and in this embodiment, 100 yen, 200 yen,
It consists of a 500 yen switch, and pachinko balls equivalent to the specified amount are lent out. Incidentally, the purchase selection switch 59 may be omitted, and a pachinko ball equivalent to a predetermined amount, for example, 200 yen may be lent out by one card insertion.

 FIG. 6 shows the card reader / writer 55 described above.

The card reader / writer 55 is a device for reproducing and updating magnetic data stored in the card 9, reading security data, and marking the balance of valuable data. A first transport roller 69 and a second transport roller driven by a transport motor 68 on the card transport path 66 via a transport belt 67;
70, the first transport roller 69 faces the card insertion / ejection port 56, and an insertion detection sensor 71 is provided on the card insertion / ejection port 56 side of the first transport roller 69, and the first transport roller 69 and the second transport roller 70 are provided.
A security reading sensor 72, a read / write head 73, and a marking device 74 are provided in the middle of the frame, and a transport motor 68 and a reversal position detection sensor 75 are provided near the end of the card transport path 66. An encoder 77 that rotates simultaneously with 68 is mounted, and a positioning sensor 78 faces the encoder 77, and the transport motor 68,
Insertion detection sensor 71, security reading sensor 72,
Read / write head 73, marking device 74, control device 65
Is electrically connected to

The transport motor 68 is a forward / reverse rotatable motor for driving a roller that transports the card 9.
It is connected to a second transport roller 70 via a transport belt 67.

The insertion detection sensor 71 detects the insertion of the card 9 and
This is a detector for driving the transport motor 68 in the forward direction. When the card 9 is ejected, the transport motor 68 is stopped when the card 9 disappears at the sensor position.

The security reading sensor 72 is a sensor for reading data hidden in the security storage unit 13 of the card 9 and includes an optical sensor, a magnetic sensor, and the like according to the storage method of the security storage unit 13.

The read / write head 73 is a head for reading data stored in the magnetic data storage unit 16 of the card 9 and updating the data, and includes a magnetic head or the like.

The marking device 74 is a device for displaying the balance on the balance display section 10 of the card 9, and includes a punching machine, a print stamp, and the like according to the balance display method.

The encoder 77 is a device for generating a positioning signal for determining a data reading position and an updating position of the magnetic data storage unit 16 of the card 9, a security data reading position, a marking position on the balance display unit 10, and the like. There is a slit disk.

The positioning sensor 78 is a sensor that detects the positioning signal of the encoder 77 and determines each reading position and the like.When the encoder 77 is a slit disk, it optically detects the slit opening / closing state and detects this. Is converted into a pulse train and sent to the controller 65.

The reverse position detection sensor 75 is a sensor for determining the stop position of the card 9 and the reverse position of the transport motor 68, and is a sensor for detecting the leading end of the card 9 and the like to determine the reverse position.

 The above-described ball discharge device 63 is shown in FIG.

The ball discharge device 63 includes a ball stopper portion 80 that protrudes and descends into the ball flow down gutter 64 by driving a ball discharge solenoid 79 to regulate the flow of the ball, and a ball discharge sensor that detects one ball passing therethrough.
81 equipped.

In order to borrow a pachinko ball with the ball lending machine 4, the card 9 is inserted into the card slot 56 of the ball lending machine 4 where the pilot lamp 57 is lit. When the purchase selection switch 59 corresponding to the desired amount of borrowing is operated within the range of the valuable data stored in the card 9, in the ball discharging device 63, the ball discharging solenoid 79 is excited, and the ball stopper 80 is moved to the ball stopper portion 80. The ball retreats from the inside of the downspout gutter 64, and the ball flows down to the ball rental port 60. Then, when the ball discharge sensor 81 counts the number of balls corresponding to the amount selected by the purchase selection switch 59, the ball discharge solenoid 79 is demagnetized, and the ball stopper 80 enters the ball flow down gutter 64 and flows down the ball. Block. In this manner, the ball discharged to the ball rental port 60 may be taken out.

An embodiment of the payment machine 2 as a game medium payment means for paying out a game medium acquired as a result of a game borrowed from the ball rental machine 4 as a pachinko ball as a game medium from the ball rental machine 4 by playing the game with the pachinko machine 3 will be described. This is shown in FIG. 8 and FIG.

The settlement machine 2 includes a settlement amount indicator 83, a settlement ball number indicator 84, and a remaining ball number indicator 85 on the left side of the center of the upper surface of the box-shaped body 82.
A pair of settlement display sections 86 having front and rear are arranged in front and rear, a display clear switch 87 for clearing the display of the settlement display section 86 is provided on the left of the rear settlement display section 86, and a front settlement display section 86 is provided.
To the left of the box, a settlement stop indicator 88 and a settlement indicator 89 are arranged side by side. Also, on the right side from the center of the upper surface, a ball input section 90
A receipt issuing port 91 is opened in front of the ball input section 90, and a print switch 92 is provided. Further, a coin payout port 93 and a bill payout port 94 are juxtaposed on the left side on the front side of the box-shaped body 82, and a surplus ball return port 95 is provided on the right side on the front side.

Inside the box-shaped body 82, the receipt printer 96 is located at a position communicating with the receipt issuing port 91, the coin dispenser 97 is located at a position communicating with the coin exit 93, and the bill dispenser is located at a position communicating with the bill exit 94. 98 are provided respectively. Further, a ball counter 100 is provided at a position communicating with the ball inlet 99 of the ball input section 90, and the ball counter 100 is connected to the upper end of the ball collection gutter 101.
Further, from the ball collection gutter 101, a surplus ball down gutter 102 is branched. As shown in FIG. 10,
The surplus ball storage unit 103 and the surplus ball discharging device 104 are connected to a surplus ball return port 95. In addition, the above-mentioned ball inlet 90 is provided with a shutter mechanism 106 driven by an opening / closing solenoid 105 for preventing the ball from flowing into the ball counter 100. Inside the box-shaped body 82, a table number setting unit 107 for generating a table number unique to a checkout machine, a surplus ball number setting unit 108 for setting a surplus ball number, and a conversion rate in ball settlement are set. Rate setting device 109, a restart switch 110 for instructing recovery of an abnormality when an abnormality occurs in the settlement machine 2, a coin dispensing switch 111 for permitting the dispensing by the coin dispenser 97, a settlement A control device 112 for controlling each device of the machine 2 is provided.

 The above-mentioned surplus ball discharging device 104 is shown in FIG.

The surplus ball discharging device 104 includes a surplus ball discharging solenoid 105.
The driving device is provided with a surplus ball stopper 114 that protrudes and descends into the surplus ball downspout 102 to restrict the flow of the ball, and a surplus ball discharge sensor 115 that detects each passing ball.

The management device 5 includes a central processing unit 11 as shown in FIG.
6, main storage device 117, auxiliary storage device 118, calendar 1
19, a keyboard 120, a display device 121 composed of a cathode ray tube or the like, a printer 122, a first transmission control device 12
3 and a second transmission control device 124, which are electrically connected. Also, an auxiliary power supply is provided to the management device 5.
Power is supplied via the power supply device 125 and the power supply device 126.

In the present embodiment, the management device 5 adds and stores the value-of-use information signal output from the control device 65 of the ball rental machine 4 as the game medium lending control means, and uses the value-of-use based on the added storage value. Use value information summing means for outputting the tally signal to the card issuing center 8 as a card supply organization for billing at the game store, and "payment for summing up the settlement information output from the settlement machine 2 as a game medium settlement means." It also has a function as "information totaling means".

The central processing unit 116 is a device for comprehensively managing each control device in the management device 5, and performs data transfer between the devices, data arithmetic processing, and the like.

The main storage device 117 has a file for storing sales data in the card vending machine 1, payment data in the payment machine 2, and the like, and stores a processing program of the central processing unit 116 when the power is turned on.

The auxiliary storage device 118 is composed of, for example, a hard disk, and stores a processing program of the central processing unit 116 and unique data such as a store number used by the card issuing center 8 to identify each amusement store. And the like.

The calendar 119 is used to set the date, time, and the like. The date information is used when each data is stored in the auxiliary storage device 118 or when data is transmitted to the card issuing center 8. The time data is used when data from each device is stored in the main storage device 117.

The keyboard 120 is a command panel for the central processing unit 116, and as shown in FIG.
7, store opening switch 128, store closing switch 129, sales switch 1
30, a print switch 131, a transmission switch 132, a file switch 133, a numeric keypad 134 and the like are provided. Key switch 12
Reference numeral 7 denotes a switch for preventing an erroneous operation of the store opening switch 128 and the store closing switch 129. Each switch does not operate unless this switch is turned on. The store opening switch 128 is a switch for transmitting a store opening instruction signal to each device. The store closing switch 129 is a switch for transmitting a store closing command signal to each device. The sales switch 130 displays the operation result data of each device on the display device 1
This is a command switch for displaying on 21. The print switch 131 is a command switch for causing the printer 122 to print the operation result data of each device. Transmission switch 132
Is a command switch for transmitting the data stored in each file to the card issuing center 8. When data is automatically transmitted by a command from the card issuing center 8, the transmission switch 132 becomes unnecessary. The file switch 133 is a switch for storing data stored in each file in the auxiliary storage device 118. The numeric keypad 134 is a switch for inputting a device number or the like of a specific device when it is desired to know the sales of the device.

The printer 122 is a device for printing the operation results and the like of each device described above.

The first transmission control device 123 is a device for establishing a transmission / reception right and standardizing transmission / reception data on the in-store transmission line 6 in the amusement store, and performing data transmission / reception management required by the central processing unit 116.

The second transmission control device 124 is a device for establishing a transmission / reception right on the out-of-store transmission line 7 between the game store and the card issuing center 8 and for standardizing transmission / reception data.

The power supply device 126 is a device for supplying power to each control device, and the auxiliary power supply device 125 is a backup power supply at the time of a power failure, and sales data and the like stored in the main storage device 117 are lost due to the power failure. This is a device provided to prevent the problem.

FIG. 14 to FIG. 23 show flowcharts of the processing in the above-described settlement machine 2 and the processing in the management device 5 relating to the settlement machine 2.

When the power is turned on in the checkout machine 2, the RAM area is cleared, the I / O ports are initialized, and the machine number setting unit 107
, A conversion number from the number of balls to a price is read, and a reference ball number to be discharged as surplus balls from the surplus ball number setting device 108 is read. Then, the payment stop indicator 88 is turned on, the shutter mechanism 106 is closed, and the payment ball is not accepted, and a store opening command signal from the management device 5 is waited.

When a store opening instruction signal is received from the management device 5, the encryption code, the store code, and the date information transmitted together from the management device 5 are stored, and a response signal is transmitted to the management device 5 to check the abnormality of each device. Move on to processing.

In the abnormality confirmation processing of each device, the remaining amount of bills of the bill dispenser 98, the remaining amount of coins of the coin dispenser 97, the abnormality of the surplus ball discharging device 104, and the remaining amount of receipts of the receipt printer 96 are confirmed. When an abnormality is found in each abnormality confirmation process, an abnormality notification process to the management device 5 is performed. On the other hand, if no abnormality is found, the payment stop indicator 88 is turned off, the payment indicator 89 is turned on, the shutter mechanism 106 is opened,
The ball counter and the surplus ball counter are cleared, the settlement amount display 83, the settlement ball number display 84, and the surplus ball display 85 are turned off, the settlement ball is accepted, and the process proceeds to the ball detection process.

In the abnormality notification process described above, a monitor generation factor indicating an abnormality is set in the monitor information, the monitor information is transmitted to the management device 5, and the process waits until the restart switch 110 is pressed. When the abnormality is recovered by the game clerk and the restart switch 110 is pressed, the monitor information is reset and the monitor information is transmitted to the management device 5 again to notify the abnormality recovery.

In the ball detection process, every time the ball counter 100 detects a settlement ball, the surplus ball counter is incremented by "1", the surplus ball counter value is compared with the surplus ball set value, and when both values match, Adds the surplus ball counter value to the ball number counter and clears the surplus ball counter. According to the above-described processing, when the number of remaining balls is equal to or less than the remaining ball set value, the remaining balls are processed as they are, and when the number of remaining balls reaches the remaining ball set value, they are processed as settlement balls. Then, the remaining ball counter value and the ball number counter value are respectively displayed as a remaining ball number display 85 and a settlement ball number display 84.
To be displayed.

Then, after performing the above-described processing or when no settlement ball is detected, if the ball number counter value is “0” and the surplus ball counter value is “0”, the process returns to the abnormality confirmation processing. On the other hand, when the ball counter value is equal to or greater than “1” and the surplus ball counter value is equal to or greater than “1”, the process proceeds to the money payout process.

In the money dispensing process, when the print switch 92 is pressed, the shutter mechanism 106 is closed, the payment ball is not accepted, the number of balls is converted to the amount by the conversion rate, and the calculation result is displayed on the payment amount display 83. indicate. If there are bills to be paid out, the number of sheets to be paid out is set in the banknote dispensing machine 98 to pay out the banknotes. The process proceeds to the ball discharging process.

In the surplus ball discharging process, the surplus ball is discharged when the surplus ball counter value is equal to or more than “1”, and when the surplus ball counter value is “0”, the process proceeds to the abnormality checking process. If the surplus ball counter value is "1" or more, the surplus ball number is set in the surplus ball discharging device 104, the surplus ball discharging solenoid 113 is turned on, and the discharge monitoring timer is set. When the surplus ball discharge solenoid 113 is turned on, the surplus ball stopper 114 retreats from the surplus ball down gutter 102, and the surplus ball returns to the surplus ball return port 95.
Is discharged to Then, every time the surplus ball detection sensor 115 detects a ball, “1” is subtracted from the surplus ball counter, and the surplus ball number display 85 is updated. When the surplus ball counter value becomes “0”, the surplus ball discharge solenoid By turning off 113, the extra ball stopper 114 is projected into the extra ball downspout 102 to prevent the ball from flowing down, and the extra ball discharging process is terminated. Here, when the discharge of the extra balls is not completed within a predetermined time, for example, due to a ball clogging in the extra ball flow down gutter 102, the extra ball discharge solenoid 113 is turned off, and the extra ball discharge device 104 is monitored. Set the cause and return to the abnormality confirmation processing.

Then, the date and time are read from the calendar 119, the date, time, number of adjustment balls, and amount of adjustment are output by the receipt printer 96, and each data of the machine number, number of adjustment balls, and amount of adjustment is processed by a pre-stored encryption. Then, it is transmitted to the management device 5 as the settlement data, the ball number counter is cleared, the value of the amount is cleared, and when the display clear switch 87 is pressed, the display of the settlement number display 84 and the settlement amount display 83 is performed. Clear and
The process proceeds to the closing confirmation process.

In the store closing confirmation process, when a store closing command signal from the management device 5 is received, the shutter mechanism 106 is closed, the balance stop display 88 is turned on, and the balance display 89 is turned off.
This indicates that the settlement ball is not accepted, and the processing in the settlement machine 2 ends.

On the other hand, when the store closing command signal from the management device 5 is not received, the above processing is repeated.

When the power is turned on, the management device 5 clears each file stored in the main storage device 117 and waits for each set value to be transmitted from the card issuing center 8. Then, the encryption code, the store code, and the like transmitted as the set values are stored in the common file, and the process waits until the store opening switch 128 is pressed.

When the store opening switch 128 is pressed, a store opening command signal, an encryption code, a store code, and date information are transmitted to the checkout machine 5,
Wait for a certain time for a response. Then, when response signals are received from all the payment machines 5, the processing shifts to a communication abnormality confirmation process. On the other hand, if no response signal is received, a communication error is set in the monitor information of the checkout machine file, and the display device 12
1. The number of the machine in which an error has occurred in the printer 122 and the cause of the error are output.

In the communication abnormality confirmation processing, the store opening instruction signal and the encryption are transmitted again to the table in which the communication abnormality has occurred, and a response is waited for a certain time. When the response signal is received, the communication abnormality of the monitor information of the corresponding file is reset, and the process proceeds to the monitor information reception confirmation processing of the settlement machine 5. On the other hand, if a response signal is not received within a certain time, the abnormal table is not started to settle.

In the reception confirmation processing of the monitor information of the payment machine 5, the payment
If an error occurs and monitor information is sent,
The corresponding machine number in the checkout machine file is searched, reception monitor information is written, the machine number in which an error has occurred in the display device 121 and the printer 122 and the cause of the error are output, and the process proceeds to a process of transmitting the adjustment data. On the other hand, if there is no settlement machine 5 in which an abnormality has occurred, the above processing is skipped.

In the payment data receiving process, when payment data is received,
Search the applicable machine number in the payment machine file, add the number of payment balls received and the payment amount in the payment file, add “1” to the number of payments, and add the total number of payment balls and payment amount in the common file The value is updated, and the process proceeds to the end processing.

The end process includes a data output process, a store closing process, a data transmission process, and a file storage process.

In the data output process, when the sales switch 130 and the print switch 131 are pressed, the sales data of the common file is output to the display device 121 and the printer 122, respectively.

In the store closing process, when the store close switch 129 is pressed,
A closing instruction signal is transmitted to the checkout machine 5.

In the data transmission process, when the transmission switch 132 is pressed, the sales data of the common file is read out, the store number and the transmission data are processed by encryption, and transmitted to the card issuing center 8 as sales data. Then, the card issuing center 8 receiving the sales data audits the sales data, issues a payment instruction to the financial institution, and pays the settlement.

In the file storing process, when the file switch 133 is pressed, the ball rental machine sales file, the payment machine file, and the common file are stored in the auxiliary storage device 12 together with the date information.
5, and the processing related to the settlement machine in the management device 5 is completed.

24 to 27 schematically show files managed by the management device 5. FIG.

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of the settlement machine file. Each time the settlement in the settlement machine 2 is completed, the machine number, the settlement amount, the number of settlement balls, and the number of remaining balls are transmitted to the management device 5 as settlement data.
These data are stored in the management device 5 as data for each checkout machine. The data for each payment machine includes the vehicle number, total payment amount, total number of payment balls, total number of remaining balls, number of payments, and the time of payment, payment amount, number of payment balls, number of remaining balls, and monitor information. Consists of

The monitor information described above is transmitted to the management device 5 together with the machine number when an abnormality has occurred in the checkout machine 2 and when the abnormality has been recovered. This monitor information is composed of 8 bits, and is composed of 1 bit for controlling the abnormality information and 5 pieces of abnormality information corresponding to each bit. The remaining two bits are unused.

 FIG. 25 shows an outline of the ball lending machine sales file.

Each time a ball is purchased in the ball lending machine 4, the unit number, the card type, and the purchase price are transmitted to the management device 5 as sales data. These data are stored in the management device 5 as data for each ball lending machine. The file for each ball lending machine includes a machine number, sales, a purchase time for each purchase, a card type, a purchase price, and monitor information.

The monitor information described above is transmitted to the management device 5 together with the machine number when an abnormality occurs in the ball rental machine 4 and when the abnormality is recovered. This monitor information is composed of 8 bits, and is composed of one bit for controlling the abnormality information and four pieces of abnormality information corresponding to each bit. Note that the remaining three bits are unused.

 FIG. 26 shows an outline of the vending machine file.

Every time the card 9 is issued in the card vending machine 1,
The card number, card type, amount accepted, amount paid out, and number of confiscated cards are transmitted to the management device 5 as card issuance data. These data are stored in the management device 5 as data for each card vending machine. The data for each card vending machine includes a unit number, sales, the number of issued cards, the number of issued cards for each amount of money, the number of confiscated cards, the total amount of received money, the total amount of paid out, and monitor information.

The monitor information described above is transmitted to the management device 5 together with the machine number when an abnormality occurs in the card vending machine 1 and when the abnormality is recovered. This monitor information
It consists of 16 bits, each bit corresponding to abnormality information.

FIG. 27 shows an outline of a common file that summarizes data of ball rental machine sales files, checkout machine files, and vending machine files.

This common file is updated together when the data of each file is updated, and the total number of ball rental machines sold, the total number of purchases, the total number of uses for each card, and the sales Total sales of vending machines corresponding to the machine file, total number of issued cards, total number of cards issued for each card type, total amount of settlement corresponding to the settlement machine file, total number of settlement balls, total number of settlements, total number of remaining balls, It comprises the conversion rate, encryption code, store code, date information received from the card issuing center 8, and the working area.

 Note that the encryption data may be changed every day.

The above-mentioned common file is transmitted to the card issuing center 8. Also, if you need more detailed data,
The content such as a checkout machine file may be added and transmitted. By transmitting the above file, the amusement store requests the card issuing center to settle the sales.

In the above embodiment, the surplus ball is counted by adding “1” to the surplus ball counter and comparing the surplus ball counter value with the surplus ball set value each time the ball counter 100 detects the settlement ball. If the two numbers match, the surplus ball counter value is added to the ball counter, and the surplus ball counter is cleared to determine the number of surplus balls to be returned to the player. After the counting, the total number of settled balls may be divided by the surplus ball set value, and the surplus may be returned to the player as surplus balls.

<Effect of the Invention> As described above, according to the game medium lending / payment system in the game store according to the present invention, the card-shaped storage medium supplied from the card supply organization is sent to the player by the card-shaped storage medium selling means. The value information of the card-shaped storage medium which has been sold and used by the game medium lending control means to discharge the game medium is transmitted to the use value information totaling means, and the used value information totaling means controls each game medium lending control. The use-value information signal from the means is added and stored. The use-value sum signal, which is calculated as sales data relating to the sales of the game store based on the added stored value, is transmitted to the card supply organization. It is assumed that the sales amount corresponding to the information summation signal is paid from the card supply organization to the game store.

Therefore, since the card-shaped storage medium storing the predetermined value information supplied from the card supply organization can be used continuously without being limited to the day of purchase, the convenience of the player is greatly enhanced. Becomes possible. in addition,
The settlement of the sales of the game store based on the use of the card-shaped storage medium is performed by the card supply organization, so that the sales management of the game medium lending using the card-shaped storage medium is accurately performed.

In addition, the game media settlement means counts the game media obtained by the player as a game result in the gaming machine, and pays out the money of the settlement amount calculated at a predetermined rate with respect to the counted value, thereby making the settlement. Since the settlement information is output to the settlement information totalizing means, and the settlement information totalizing means totals the settlement information, accurate sales management based on the settlement of the game medium is also possible.

Therefore, the game store can pay for the game media without disturbing the sales management, so that a variety of prizes desired by various players having different tastes can be obtained. This eliminates the need to pay for the media and also eliminates the need for the player to exchange special prizes and exchange for more money if the desired product is not a prize, which is convenient for the player. Can be greatly increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the system of the present invention, FIG. 2A is a front view of a card, FIG. 2B is a back view of the card, and FIG. 4A is a front view of the card issuing device, FIG. 4B is a sectional view showing the inside of the card issuing device, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the inside of the ball lending machine, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a ball discharging device, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a payment machine, FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the inside of a payment device, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the extra ball discharging device, and FIG.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a management device, FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a keyboard, FIGS. 14 to 23 are flowcharts of processing in a checkout machine and a management device, FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of a checkout machine file, FIG. Is a schematic diagram of a ball rental machine sales file, FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of a vending machine file, and FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram of a common file. In the figure, 1 ... card vending machine, 2 ... payment machine, 3 ... pachinko machine, 4 ... ball rental machine, 5 ... management device, 8 ... card issuing center, 9 ... card.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G07F 7/08 G07F 7/08 L M

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A game store in which a game medium for use in a game machine is rented out using a card-shaped storage medium supplied from a card supply organization, and a game medium obtained by a player as a game result is settled. In the game medium lending / payment system, a card-shaped storage medium selling means for selling a card-shaped storage medium in which value information is stored by inputting money, and the card-shaped storage based on the lending operation of a player. A predetermined number of game media is discharged on condition that predetermined value information is stored in the medium, and value information corresponding to the discharged predetermined number of game media is subtracted. Game medium lending control means for outputting a use value information signal related to value information; and a use value information signal output from the game medium lending control means, which is added and stored. A value-of-use information summarizing unit that outputs a value-of-use summation signal based on the calculated storage value to the card supply agency for billing of the game store; and counts a game medium acquired by a player as a game result in the game machine. A game medium settlement means for discharging money of a settlement amount calculated at a predetermined rate with respect to the count value and outputting settlement information; and a settlement information totalizing section for summing up settlement information output from the game medium settlement means. A game media lending and settlement system in a game store, comprising: